SCHOOL BOARD BULLETIN

Kindness Starts with Me
Mayor Suzanne Atwell honored Alta Vista Elementary students for their commitment to kindness Wednesday, April 3, at Selby Public Library. Children created kindness quilts comprised of 300 individual portraits of kindness, which will be on display during the month of April.

Linda Commito, author of “Love is the New Currency,” coordinated the “Kindness Starts with Me” program at Alta Vista, which instills in children values of empathy, responsibility, trust and the importance of family and the community.

“Our students have become noticeably kinder in their thought processes, and we’re seeing a higher level of respect and caring about what’s going on in their classrooms and in the school,” says Principal Dr. Barbara Shirley.

Kindergarten roundup
Emma E. Booker Elementary School will host a Kindergarten Roundup at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4, to welcome incoming kindergartners and their parents. Staff will give a presentation on the reading and math series and how to prepare children for kindergarten. Children will spend the evening
in the kindergarten classroom to familiarize themselves with the classroom setting, and staff will screen children
to assess their skills.

Odyssey of the Mind
Bay Haven School of Basics Plus students will compete in the Odyssey of the Mind state finals Saturday, April 6, at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando. Both of Bay Haven’s Odyssey of the Mind teams won first place at the regional level of the creative problem-solving competition March 2. The top-two teams will move on to the World Finals May 22 through May 25, in East Lansing, Mich.

Student scholar
Ringling College of Art and Design awarded Cardinal Mooney senior Kyle W. Leicht its Presidential Scholarship. Ringling chose Leicht from a pool of 1,500 applicants to receive the $80,000 scholarship, the largest merit scholarship Ringling offers. Art teacher Fran Topp said she noticed Leicht’s talent his sophomore year and that he is an outstanding student in computer graphic design and traditional drawing and painting.