SCHOOL BOARD BULLETIN

+ The more the merrier
Southside Elementary drama teacher Christine Mattern and dance teacher Deb Lombard had some difficult decisions to make: Out of 385 students auditioning for the school’s “101 Dalmatians” production, they had to choose 120.

“Our goal was to choose 101, but it was really difficult,” said Mattern. The children will perform at 7 p.m. May 21 and May 22, at The Players Theatre. Students in the advanced violin class will play select songs for the production.

+ Bay Haven students travel back in time
Bay Haven fourth-graders in Tracy Bakich’s Advanced Work Class presented The Great American Slavery Debate Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the Media Center. Twenty-two children were divided into seven groups and given roles.

Children dressed in period costumes as station masters, conductors on the Underground Railroad, plantation masters, slaves, servant slaves, historians and African-American Union soldiers. In honor of Black History Month, students have been researching their characters for the past few weeks

+ Caring kids
The Out-of-Door Academy students and siblings, Alexandra and Nicholas Cavanaugh, teamed up with Build-A-Bear to host a Victory Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Drive this past week. The children collected teddy bears to give to kids at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and All Children’s Hospital on Valentine’s Day.

+ Rising stars
Booker Middle School drama students earned superior and excellent ratings at the State Junior Thespian Festival Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, in Melbourne. Students are given ratings in categories such as monologues, small- and large-group acting, costume design, makeup design, scene writing and more.