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We hope you will find this site interesting, useful, and an easy way to keep up with everything that's happening at our school. Check back frequently for updates on current events and the latest news.

Go, Eagles!

Friday, May 18

This guy was just outside the back door, stalking Miss Rosita's class and making them uncomfortable, so he was relocated to the back of the property by the fence row.

Friday, May 11

Today was a big day! After meeting at 7:00 a.m. for instructions and prayer, the whole school went to Sea World for our year-end field trip, and it was great! The older students especially enjoyed the rides, such as Kraken and Manta, while the younger students watched a lot of animal shows, including sting rays and dolphins and killer whales, oh my! The Pets Ahoy! show had dogs, cats, birds, a pot-bellied pig, a rat, and even a skunk playing all sorts of games; it was amusing.

Field trip day was a warm day, and the occasional cloud cover was a welcome relief, bringing a cool breeze. Lots of students were thrilled to get soaked in Shamu Stadium, when the orcas used their tails to throw water across the crowd! Riding the Journey to Atlantis also raised a splash, and that felt good, but the crowd-pleaser was the Manta; some students rode it a half-dozen times or more.

Walking through Shark Encounter, students were excited to see several different kinds of sharks, with lots of fish and manta rays, swimming around and even overhead. Looking up at the belly of a shark is a rare experience. At the Manta Aquarium, students were allowed to reach into the pool and touch passing rays; they said the rays feel soft and slippery. Others opted to travel to the top of the 400-foot Sky Tower, where they were treated to a truly bird's-eye view of Sea World and the rest of Orlando.

By 4:30, it was time to meet at the gate to leave. Some arrived at the exit gate with clothes still soaked from Journey to Atlantis, but they didn't seem too upset about it. Others said that the roller-coaster rides left their tummies, um, less than settled, but they recovered quickly. After slogging through a traffic jam on I-4 and I-75, we ate supper at Cici's Pizza, then headed back to the school house, where we arrived safely, thank God, around 8:30.

What a day.

Tuesday, May 8

The Third-Quarter Honor Roll students had the distinct pleasure of visiting the largest commercial printing company in Sarasota, Coastal Printing, Inc. They employ around 50 people, and fulfill about 300 printing jobs per month at an average contract rate of $1,500 each. They work in a five million dollar facility, and spend approximately $8,000 per month on their electric bill. Their presses run 24 hours a day every day except weekends, which means they shut down from Friday evening until Sunday night at 10:00, when they start up again. They spend about $100,000 on paper materials each month. Paper and ink are all recycled as much as possible within their facility; when those resources are exhausted, the materials are sent elsewhere for final recycling. The ink, for instance, is sent to Texas, where it is burned to produce electricity. They have an extensive range of clients, including Boar's Head, BP (petroleum), Coldwell Banker, Tattoo Factory (for Disney/Pixar, Dr. Pepper, etc.), and Sun Hydraulics.

Terry Rayner (whose business card says he is the "COO, Compass, Trailblazer" for Coastal Printing) gave us a personal tour of their facility. Originally from England, he lived in Texas for 20 years before moving here. Have you ever heard someone say "y'all" in a British accent? It's hilarious. He showed us the complete production run, explaining how lasers etch aluminum plates, which are then used by computers to transfer ink to paper. He explained what offset printing is, and why "RGB is a bigger color space than CMYK" - because it has white [paper] coming through! Interesting stuff; at least, he made it interesting for us. We all enjoyed hearing him describe the process, and we even learned a few things.

Stepping out the front door of Coastal Printing, the students voted for Subway as our lunch destination. The Subway staff at the corner of Bee Ridge Road and Beneva Road takes good care of us when we crash their place with 20 people. After lunch, we went to the Colonial Oaks park gym for almost three hours of Extreme Indoor Kickball, Team Two-Square, and basketball games. This wore them out. To rejuvenate their spirits, we took them to 7-Eleven for Slurpees. That helped.

Thursday, April 26

The Great Duck Caper went down during second period this morning, when a Wood duck with about two dozen ducklings ambled into the school yard. Kindergarten and first grade students were all over them, trying to love on them, but frightening them out of their wits. They scattered, of course, going every which way, peeping frantically for mama duck. Naturally, we felt an obligation to be heroes, and reunite them.

Behind shrubs, under bushes, around corners, on hands and knees we went after them, eventually herding the little fuzzballs into one larger flock. A hawk dove in, touching the corner of the school roof, then dropping like a rock to snatch a duckling, before zooming off into the sky. Your children's mouths gaped in shock and dismay, then shut firmly in righteous anger, and the battle was set.

Snatching ducklings here, there, and, it seemed, everywhere, we gathered them and walked them across the field. Leaving the shelter of a tree, they were exposed, and a nasty crow immediately took advantage of the situation by plucking another duckling and lifting off into the sky. Again, students were outraged.

Moving out across the field toward the next stop, which was a large old oak, our worst fears were realized: like lightning, the hawk was back! She dove into the flock of tiny waddlers, greedily plucking her hapless victim. However, the fearless principal saw her plan, and charged bravely into her path, furiously waving his arms. She was startled (and afraid, too!), and dropped the downy duckling promptly. It was a small victory for the saviors, but the hawk lives to hunt another day.

Eventually the flock was reunited in the neighbor's yard, where we watched them heading toward the pond. Later in the evening, they were seen huddling in the safety of a culvert, where no hawk or crow could spot them to decimate their numbers.

You should have been here.