SunRidge Middle Orchestra Students Excel and more school news …

compiled by Lauren Salinero


Lake Whitney Elementary

Caitlyn Muller spends the morning with her father at Lake Whitney Elementary’s Donuts with Dad. Caitlyn is a fourth-grader in Ms. Dasher’s class.


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Alex Villegas and his dad take part in Lake Whitney Elementary’s Donuts with Dad. Alex is a student in Mrs. Kantor’s class.


120116sn03Lake Whitney Elementary teacher Alicia Qualls’ top-collecting class, volunteers from the Guardian Angel Committee, representatives of One Heart for Women and Children, and LWES staff members gather to donate nonperishable food items to One Heart for Women and Children.

Lake Whitney Elementary held its annual food drive. It surpass last year’s donations by collecting 4,022 nonperishable food items for families in need. All of the donations were given to One Heart for Women and Children, a nonprofit that serves LWES families and the community at large with needed resources. LWES classes and grade levels competed for who could bring in the most donations. Winners were as follows: Alicia Qualls’ fifth-graders, 426; Brenda Dasher’s fourth-graders, 245; Patricia Barker’s third-graders, 135; Anne Christensen and Robin Parker’s second-graders, 238 and 229, respectively; Eileen Harvey’s first-graders, 86; Charlotte Warren’s kindergartners, 112; and Anne Axtell’s prekindergartners, 24. Mrs. Qualls’ class brought in the most, and overall, the fifth grade was the top grade level with 1,164 items. The school’s Guardian Angel Committee helped coordinate and collect items for a successful pickup day.


Whispering Oak Elementary

Second-grade teacher Marie HenryLouis is Whispering Oak Elementary’s teacher of the year.


120116sn05-2Resident custodian Salvador Zambrano is Whispering Oak Elementary’s support person of the year.

Whispering Oak Elementary named its 2016-17 teacher of the year and support person of the year. Teacher-of-the-year honors went to second-grade teacher Marie HenryLouis. Salvador Zambrano, the school’s resident custodian, is the support person of the year.


Bridgewater Middle

120116sn06Members of Bridgewater Middle’s National Junior Honor Society volunteer to help the Save the Manatee Club.

The National Junior Honor Society at Bridgewater Middle in Winter Garden participated in a volunteer event at the Save the Manatee Club in Maitland. The nonprofit organization was founded by Jimmy Buffet when he discovered that manatees were becoming extinct. During their visit, the group learned about the club as well as manatees. They worked together, making adoption packets and doing other tasks for the group. For more information, visit www.savethemanateeclub.org on the web.


SunRidge Middle

120116sn07SunRidge Middle orchestra students are admitted to the All County Auditioned Orchestra and All County Honors Orchestra.

Several members of SunRidge Middle’s orchestra made the All County Auditioned Orchestra and All County Honors Orchestra. Those who made the All County Auditioned Orchestra were Adrienne Fee, bass; Natalie Gordon, cello; Hannah Imler, violin; Dominique Khan, violin; Ciara Lee, viola; Payton Moore, violin; Sean Muller, cello; Allison Olsson, viola; Hailey Paek, viola; Vanessa Sanchez, violin; Isabella Sharp, viola; and Emma Stankos, violin. Those who made the All County Honors Orchestra were Breonna McKenzie, bass; Sarah Opitz, violin; and Kendrick Williams, violin.


Dr. Phillips High

Ocoee resident Samantha Chery, a student at Dr. Phillips High, had her poetry entry in the National High School Poetry Contest accepted for publication. Her poem, Watch Your Step, appeared in the fall edition of the American high school poets Inside of Me anthology. The quarterly publication is published by the Live Poets Society of NJ in conjunction with Just Poetry, the national high school poetry quarterly magazine. Samantha, the daughter of Judes and Ina Chery, is under the tutelage of language arts instructor Kelly Roth. She hopes to study English with a concentration in business at Columbia University.


Et Al

120116sn08The staff of Cranium Academy undergoes critical incident response training.

As part of Cranium Academy’s commitment to the safety of its students, staff members participated in critical incident response training. Led by Marc Connolly, executive vice president of Secure Education Consultants who retired after 27 years in the U.S. Secret Service, the training involved instruction and how-to scenarios for hostile situations. The program is designed to educate participants by “training with the best to prepare for the worst.” Marc used his expertise to help the academy prepare its faculty and staff with a detailed emergency and critical incident response plan.


120116sn09Children at Premier Academy receive a special visit from Orange County firefighters.

Although we try to ensure that all information presented above is the most current, correct and dependable available, we do rely on others for the source of our news. Therefore, the Southwest Orlando Bulletin and Kearney Publishing Corp. cannot be held responsible for the validity of the information presented here, nor does mentioning it constitute an endorsement. School News is welcome and may be mailed to P.O. Box 851, Windermere, FL  34786; or emailed to Lauren@kearneypublishing.com. 💓