Scott Visits Pensacola To Push STEM Education Funding In New Budget
January 27, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott visited the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola Monday to highlight proposed STEM education funding in his 2015-2016 “Keep Florida Working” budget.
Scott has announced $1 million in in proposed funding to partner with high-tech companies in Florida to create a paid summer residency program for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teachers to bring new industry trends in STEM fields back to Florida’s K-12 classrooms. In addition to the summer residency program, Governor Scott’s 2015-2016 “Keep Florida Working” Budget also proposes $30 million for a new workforce training initiative focused on STEM occupations and $5 million to incentivize $10,000 STEM degrees at state colleges.
“We want Florida to be the global leader for jobs, and we must have a skilled workforce to reach that goal. By investing in science, technology, engineering and math education, we are ensuring our students are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. Our teachers are essential to preparing our students and helping them realize better educational outcomes, and that is why it is so important that we invest in educating our teachers so they can bring innovative ideas to the classroom. We know that the workers and leaders of tomorrow are in our classrooms today and we will continue to make important investments to help our students succeed in the classroom and beyond,” Scott said.
There are 16 Florida companies that have already confirmed their participation in the STEM Residency Program, including the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and Gulf Power Company.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott discusses STEM education funding Monday morning at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Students To Move Into New Ernest Ward Middle School Next Monday (With Photo Gallery)
January 26, 2015
Students are expected to move into the new Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill one week from today.
Many of the school’s teachers spend a portion of their weekend setting up their new classroom, which contain all new furniture and new technology that includes triple smart boards with “smart pens” that can be used by students from their desks.
All of the items such as computers and furniture, with the exception of library shelving, will be brand new. The school includes new to Ernest Ward technology such as a closed circuit television systems with a complete TV studio, closed circuit video monitoring, electronic security and access controls, and more.
The $20 million facility is not quite complete; there’s still minor work to be done throughout the building, and the school’s agricultural classroom and band room won’t be completed for several more weeks.
If all goes as planned, students will report to their homerooms in the old EWMS building on Monday, February 2. They will escorted grade by grade into the new facility where they will get the grand tour. There will be changes to student drop-off and pick-up areas as well on February 2. Those changes and complete move-in details will be published on NorthEscambia.com.
About a week later the move into the new building, demolition on the old Ernest Ward will begin. That demolition and new parking lots are due to be completed by the end of July.
OPEN HOUSE: An open house and tours for the public will be held on Monday, February 16 from noon until 4 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge
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Cruce, Singleton Place In Speaking Events At FFA Districts
January 26, 2015
Two Northview High School students recently placed in FFA District One competitions. Mitchell Singleton placed second in the district in Prepared Public Speaking, while Tiffani Cruce placed first in the district for Extemporaneous Speaking and will advance to the finals during the State FFA Convention in June. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Stop Crape Murder: Don’t Cut Back Your Myrtles
January 25, 2015
by the Santa Rosa County Extension Service
Proper pruning is one of the most misunderstood of all gardening practices, yet it is one of the most important procedures in a landscape. A common victim of bad, improper pruning is the crape myrtle. Crape myrtles will occasionally need pruning to obtain the desired landscape effect, but many times these plants are butchered for no good reason.
According to Dan Gill, LSU Ag Center Horticulturist, an unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to lop off their tops, which results in a tree reduced to large branches ending in stubs. The lush growth that occurs at these cut sites appears vigorous but is actually structurally weak and more susceptible to fungus diseases such as powdery mildew. And when pruning is conducted improperly over several years, unsightly large, swollen knobs form at the point where pruning is done each year.
Flowers are not the only virtue of this tree. Many varieties have beautiful bark and growth habits that can be enjoyed all year if trees are not heavily pruned.
Crape murder
This unsightly, ugly pruning known as crape murder is not recommended. Once it’s done, it ruins the tree’s graceful natural shape for the rest of its life.
Often gardeners think they are supposed to prune their crape myrtles that way, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Many think that crape myrtles need to be cut way back to bloom well. This is not accurate. The flower clusters may be larger on lopped trees, but the added weight on the ends of long branches causes them to bend over awkwardly, especially after it rains. And since the tree is smaller, it actually produces fewer flower clusters.
Many people say they need to cut a crape myrtle back because of its size. If the height of the crape myrtle is not causing a problem with a nearby structure or power lines, there is little reason to reduce the tree’s height. To cut a crape myrtle back for the vague reason of “it just seems too large” ignores the fact that these plants are trees. They are supposed to be large.
To prune a crape myrtle properly, first decide if it needs to be pruned. As with any pruning project, you must have a specific, valid purpose in mind before you begin. In other words, if you can’t come up with a good reason to prune your tree – leave it alone. If you do see something that calls for pruning, study the tree carefully and determine what needs to be pruned to accomplish the specific purpose identified.
There are a few valid reasons for pruning a crape myrtle. One reason is to eliminate crossed and rubbing branches because rubbing branches can lead to open wounds.
Over time, branches that are too low on the trunk will need to be pruned to raise the canopy. We often need to remove weak, thin branches from the inner part of the tree to produce a cleaner-looking tree. Selected branches may need to be pruned back to a side branch or the trunk to create a shapelier tree. Of course, you need to prune to keep suckers removed from the base of the trunk.
Generally, avoid cutting back or shortening branches much larger than your finger, although cutting larger branches back to a side branch or to the trunk when needed is fine.
Visitors to our area often marvel over our crape myrtles. During summer, their colorful flowers, attractive bark and beautiful shape make them among our most valuable landscape plants. Please appreciate this – and stop the unfortunate trend of hacking them back.
Pictured top: Crape myrtle trees do not need pruning for new growth. Pictured below: These Crape myrtles were ruined with unnecessary topping. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Weber Performs With All State High School Honors Band
January 25, 2015
David Weber of Northview High School was chosen to be in the All State High School Honors Band. He recently traveled to Tampa to the Florida Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference and All-State Concerts to perform with 123 other students from across the state. Pictured below: Weber performs with guest conductor Barry L. Houser from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Names January Students Of The Month
January 23, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School has named January Students of the Month. They are: (L-R) Addison Albritton, seventh grade; Amber Gillman, sixth grade; and Dalton Hamilton, eighth grade. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia School Board Honors Sara Calhoun, Florida’s Top Elementary Reading Teacher
January 21, 2015
The Escambia County School Board honored a Molino Park Elementary School teacher Tuesday night for being named the top elementary school reading teacher in the entire state.
Sara Calhoun was named the Florida Reading Association’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2014-2015. She was honored with an award presentation last October at the Third General Session of the Florida Reading Conference in Orlando.
“Teaching and leading a child to read is the most incredible privilege, second only to leading another soul into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. This is clearly the most exciting and humbling highlight of my career,” Calhoun said, as she praised the work of other Molino Park and district educators.
“We are all so proud of Mrs. Calhoun and know that this award is well deserved,” Molino Park Principal Alice Woodward said in a September 2014 NorthEscambia.com story. “We are so blessed to have her as part of our Molino Park team.”
Calhoun has taught first grade at Molino Park Elementary for three yeras. She has been married to her husband, Brian, for the past 18 years, and they have two children. The family moved to Molino seven years ago when Brian was called to be the pastor and Highland Baptist Church.
The Florida Reading Association is an affiliate of the International Reading Association (IRA), a 52,000 member nonprofit educational organization devoted to the promotion of lifetime reading habits and the improvement of language and literacy instruction.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: A Barrineau Park Sunset
January 18, 2015
Pictured: Saturday’s sunset as seen from near Barrineau Park School Road. Reader submitted photos by Kayla Bedell fro NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Have an interesting photo to share? Email news@northescambia.com.
Airman Travis Deese Graduates From Basic Military Training
January 18, 2015
Air Force Reserve Airman Travis L. Deese graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, TX.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Deese is the son of Sewonya York of Atmore and grandson of Dan York of Mobile.
He is a 2013 graduate of Escambia County High School, Atmore.
Photos: It’s My Red Couch, And ECUA Can’t Have It
January 15, 2015
A red couch put out with the trash on Kingsfield Road attracted a little extra attention this week because of a dog that just really did not seem to want to give up his favorite spot.
Louis O’Rear, a teacher at Ransom Middle School, shared these photos, and his vision of the story:
“Tuesday, on Kingsfield, just down from Ransom Middle School toward Highwy 97 a little bit, I noticed someone had placed an old red couch on the side of the road. This morning about 7:15, someone was using it. I figure it is his, and no matter where it is, he’s going to use it. Maybe he has been sleeping on that couch for 10 years and isn’t going to stop now. In any case, seeing the look on his face, I don’t think anyone is going to be taking that couch for awhile.”
But within a short time of this story first being published on NorthEscambia.com, we learned that some picked up the little fellow. His condition led them to believe he was homeless and abandoned, and none of the neighbors had seen him before. He was taken to to the Chemstrand Oak Vet Clinic (850-474-1922) for one day, and then he’ll be headed to the animal shelter if no one claims/saves him. For more information, call the vet clinic or (850) 384-1490.
Photos submitted by Louis O’Rear for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
