SJCSD

On September 5^th, secondary students and their parents had the opportunity to meet with more than 80 representatives from colleges, universities, technical schools and other organizations during our school district’s annual College and Career Night.

School grades released by the Florida Department of Education show that the St. Johns County School District continues to be a top performing district in the state and is one of only two that remains an “A” rated district. St. Johns County had 27 “A” schools, seven “B” schools, five “C” schools and one “D” school.

Fourteen elementary schools, four middle schools, all three of the district’s K-8 academies, four high schools, St. Johns Virtual Franchise and St. Johns Virtual Instructional Program all received a grade of “A” this year.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication of our teachers, administrators, support staff and parents in their efforts to ensure the success of our students,” said Superintendent Tim Forson. “Our school grades provide us the opportunity to celebrate areas where we are excelling and pinpoint those where we may need to apply additional resources and support.”

The elementary schools receiving an “A” are Cunningham Creek Elementary, Durbin Creek Elementary, W.D. Hartley Elementary, Hickory Creek Elementary, R.B. Hunt Elementary, Julington Creek Elementary, Ketterlinus Elementary, Mill Creek Elementary, Ocean Palms Elementary, Palencia Elementary, Picolata Crossing Elementary, PVPV/Rawlings Elementary, Timberlin Creek Elementary and Wards Creek Elementary.

The middle schools with an “A” are Fruit Cove Middle, Alice B. Landrum Middle, Pacetti Bay Middle and Switzerland Point Middle. Liberty Pines, Patriot Oaks and Valley Ridge academies received an “A” as did Bartram Trail, Creekside, Allen D. Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools. St. Johns Virtual School also received an “A”.

Otis A. Mason Elementary, R.J. Murray Middle, St. Augustine Public Montessori, Gamble Rogers Middle, Sebastian Middle, Pedro Menendez High and St. Augustine High schools received a “B” this year. John A. Crookshank Elementary, South Woods Elementary, and St. Johns Technical High schools received a “C” this year as did The Webster School and First Coast Technical College. Osceola Elementary School received a “D”.

Additional details and information can be found at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org.

Congratulations to the PVPV/Rawlings Sea Turtles and Palencia Pirates on their hard earned wins at the 12th Annual Elementary School Battle of the Books which were held on May 8th and May 10th. The Northern Battle was held at Landrum Middle School and the Southern Battle at Gamble Rogers Middle School. We are extremely proud of the students for their participation in this literacy event. The students were well prepared, well behaved, and “well read”. We also appreciate all of the parents, peers, teachers, staff members, and administrators who supported our readers.

A special thank you to principals Ryan Player and Greg Bergamasco for hosting the events. Please acknowledge the media specialists, teachers and support staff for the time they took to create the questions, and to recruit, prepare and mentor the students from their schools. St. Johns County School District librarians are amazing and we are better because of them. Thank you to all of the school administrators for supporting your library media programs and specialists. Additionally, many school technology specialists, maintenance managers, and other employees pitched in to make this possible. Thank you!

Lorrie Cosgrove, Brock O’Shell, Amanda Bergamasco, specialists in the Instructional Resources and Media Services department, are the epitome of hard work and coordination. This event would have been impossible without their support. Thank you also to the amazing Media Services staff for their hard, behind-the-scenes work to support these efforts.

Next year promises to be as exciting as this year. View the lists of the new SSYRA books. Be sure to share the lists and encourage your students to read, read, read over the summer.

May 7th through 11th is National Teacher Appreciation Week, a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. Please join us in thanking our district’s educators who work tirelessly to serve the students and families in our schools.

A team of students from Switzerland Point Middle School led by Media Specialist Kristen Badger won the 2018 Middle School Battle of the Books contest.  This year’s Battle was held on Friday, March 23, 2018, at First Coast Technical College (FCTC).  Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive program for students in grades 3-12.

A team of students from Creekside High School School led by Media Specialist Amelia Zukoski won the 2018 High School Battle of the Books contest.

The 2018 Character Cup was held on Wednesday, March 21 at St. Augustine High School. The Character Cup, a student-centered event highlighting physical education, links academics and character education through athletic competition. Two hundred student-athletes representing 20 elementary schools participated in the 2017 event.

THE PLAYERS will serve as the title sponsor of the district’s CHARACTER COUNTS! program beginning in the 2018-2019 school year.

As part of the CHARACTER COUNTS! program, THE PLAYERS is sponsoring multiple programs in the St. Johns County school district, including:

• WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) Mentorship Program
• Link Crew Mentorship Program
• Pursuing Victory With Honor Program
• Character Cup
• Grants available for St. Johns County teachers

In addition to the CHARACTER COUNTS! sponsorship, THE PLAYERS is purchasing The First Tee Golf in Schools program, equipment and curriculum for every elementary and K-8 school in the district. For more information about THE PLAYERS Championship visit THEPLAYERS.COM