Panther Press
From the Desk of Dr. Cady:
Dear Panthers!
While February has fewer days then other months, it is certainly one of the most active months for decorations and activities for the elementary years, and Valentine’s Day this year did not disappoint. We had red and pink for dress down day, so many arts and crafts, and giving and receiving of Valentines. Many big days also compete for dress down fun in January, like the 100th Day of Kindergarten, when teachers and students dress like little old ladies and gentlemen. Then there is the 101st Day of School where first-grade students and teachers dress like the theme from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. Math factors in greatly, with posters quantifying 100 and 101 of their favorite things. And of course, we cannot forget about our own Wear Yellow to celebrate School Choice. We appreciate the commitment that our families make to their child’s education by choosing a charter school for the best choice in public education. Did you know our new VCS Artemis Academy helps students define their passions and interests so they can pursue the very best high school of choice once they graduate from the 8th grade? We are so excited about the great new things happening to continue our second decade serving the Viera/Suntree/Rockledge community, and of course, that means kicking off two great projects to improve our community as well as our school: our new Sports Complex, and our new Performing Arts Theater, wonderful opportunities for our straight-A school to grow even greater! Pictured with me is VCS Athletic Director Coach Casey, the No. 1 fan of the plan to fuel students’ hunger for more sports! Enjoy this double-edition of memories and photos from December and January.
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Julie Cady
DECEMBER/JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS:
Artemis Academy Helps Students Get to their High School of Choice
Viera Charter School’s new Artemis Academy launched its effort to help VCS students get to their high school of choice. A famous statue of Artemis, twin of Apollo and goddess of education, care of children and animals, athletics, and the performing arts, is on display in The Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Many of today’s students at Viera Charter School have great-great-grandparents who helped launch humankind to the moon during the Apollo mission and those that led up to it. Since the beginning, in 2013, VCS has worked to provide students with learning opportunities in hopes to raise up the next generations of space employees, contractors to NASA, and other entrepreneurs. Artemis is the perfect name for our new academy because it is also the name of the U.S. space program Artemis, which will return mankind to the moon and beyond to Mars and will remain in force even beyond the lives of our current young students. Through the Artemis program students have exciting opportunities to enjoy: Music and Theater, Sports, Digital Arts, Robotics, Advanced Math: Algebra Honors and Geometry, Environmental Science. Brevard County Schools distributes its resources to high schools so that there is a specialization or more at each site. VCS students spend grades K-8 pursuing interests through enrichment activities in elementary school, electives in middle school, and of course, core subjects, so that they have a good idea of what they want to pursue further. Schools of choice may have lotteries and waiting lists, but most are very interested in knowing that the students who come to them are prepared for their rigorous study, and that is where Viera Charter’s reputation for excellence comes into play. High schools are currently visiting feeder schools like VCS to attract the best and the brightest to their halls. Artemis Academy helps students by coordinating letters of recommendation for their high school of choice and helps them discover which schools are the strongest for their interests.
Readers Theater Raises Up Performing Playwrights
Readers Theater continues to be a smash hit on the elementary enrichment activity wheel for grades K-5, with modifications for kindergarten. Students line up on stage and read out an entire play and get applause afterward. This semester, advanced classes have completed original screenplays of Readers Theater works. Students come to the stage and select a puppet from Ms. Mercer’s grand collection, form a small group, and look to their puppets and their imaginations to come up with a story that is similar to the dramatic stories found in their books. After finalizing their story, they find a quiet space to practice their play. Then, they come up and perform their play. “I could tell that a lot of my students were ready to take the creativity to the next level and write a story of their own,” said Ms. Mercer. “I can’t say enough about what a great activity Readers Theater has been, how great it has been for them to gain confidence in reading out, and how the kids light up when they know they will come see me that day and literally play on stage.”
Dress Down Days Jam Pack January
We had so many special dress-down days in January. For starters, kindergarteners celebrated their 100th day of school, with children and their teachers dressing like 100-year-old ladies and gentlemen. Posters lined the kindergarten hall with artistic collections of 100 things to celebrate the milestone. First graders joined in on the day-counting milestone by dressing like spotted puppies and a very evil Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. Toss in Decades Dress Down, and you get the best from every 10-year period. Seventies and 90s topped the list. Our favorite is Wear Yellow for School Choice, of course.
Third Grade Science Fair Soars
Young scientists in grades 3-5 competed in the Viera Charter Science Fair Jan. 14. “They have worked hard over the last several months brainstorming ideas for projects, learning how to build a study, gathering and analyzing data, and putting together a presentation,” said third-grade lead teacher Mrs. Basirico, elementary Science Fair coordinator. The students were required to state the purpose of the project, the hypothesis, the scientific procedure they followed, observations, gather and interpret data, draw a conclusion, and finally, present the project to judges. One of the wonderful things about the Science Fair is that students get to dive into a topic of interest and merge it with what they are learning in science. Winning first place is Lalithsai Paripally, grade 5; second place winner is Benjamin Tillery grade 3; and third place winner is Joseph Donfrancesco, grade 3. The winners will move on to compete in the BPS Regional Science Fair, where they will face off against top students across Brevard County Feb. 27.
Giving and Receiving are the Reasons for the Christmas Season
Students in the primary grades of kindergarten to second grade were the happiest youngsters in school because of all the activities, parties, and decorations to celebrate Christmas and other winter holidays. In these pictures, students made parachutes to make sure Santa was safe in his travels to deliver presents on midnight before Dec. 25. “First grade students absolutely loved using their critical thinking skills to make sure that Santa landed safely with his parachute,” teacher Mrs. Hauck said of the STEM activity. “Students had to use lots of teamwork and communication, so that way Santa did not lose any presents, and that Santa had a safe landing. There was a lot of trial and error, but each team saved Santa and all his presents.”
VCS Receives Award for Supporting Active and Veteran Military Members
VCS received the beloved Purple Star District Award for supporting active and veteran members of the U.S. military who sacrifice their safety and comfort to protect our freedoms. The award extends from 2024-2027.
The Clock Tower Tells More Than Time
Mr. Henigin, our Facilities Director and Dean, has earned a reputation as someone who gets things done. Over the past 18 months since joining the VCS family, he has worked hard to implement new Florida Department of Education security changes to keep staff, students, and families safe. One thing more than any other makes this point about “getting things done.” Mr. Henigin searched the globe to find the solution and brought in an expert from Georgia who worked all day to renovate and refurbish the clock. It now runs like a, well, clock. Fresh lights shine on its huge face. Mr. Henigin was selected to keep us safe because of his training and experience, which includes military and police service. He is well versed in security work at the highest levels.
Firefighters Teach Children to Run To them In a Fire, Rather than Away
Each year, kindergarteners get a treat in the form of a visit from one of our three local fire stations, complete with a fire engine they can hop aboard to look at and touch all the cool equipment, maybe even ride up high in a cherry picker. The point of this exciting visit is to teach students to connect firefighter personnel with safety, rather than fear. The show always ends with a firefighter dressing layer by layer in full gear, including suit, gloves, boots, helmet, neck cover, and a face covering breathing apparatus with heavy air tank. Every inch of the body is covered in fire retardant materials, so the rescuer can literally walk into fire to rescue survivors and breathe stored oxygen in a contained system. The problem is that they look and sound like a movie villain, compete with the breathing sounds of Darth Vadar and the crackling sound of a microphone speaker so the rescuer can speak and hear sounds outside the suit. “It’s really important for children to run toward the firefighter should a fire break out,” said Mrs. Bordner, lead kindergarten teacher who organized the activity, “Rather than being afraid and running away from them when seconds count.
Musical Theater, Chorus, Band Students Spread Holiday Cheer
December is the busy season for all things performing arts in all grades K-8. Fine Arts director for middle school Mr. Law and music teacher for grades K-5 Mrs. Blaiz organized shows for all grades both at school and out in the community. Each had shows in the gymnatorium for parents, and Mr. Law’s groups put on a show for elementary students the week before break. “We are blessed to have very serious and talented students who work hard and shine brightly as performers,” Mr. Law said. Plans are underway to construct a Performing Arts Theater right next to the gym, along Judge Fran Jamieson Way, which will be lined with additional parking. Parents wishing to give input on the project can reach out to VCS Board of Governors liaison Steve Muzzy at Steve.muzzy@yahoo.com.
Governing Board Liaison
Per F.S.S. 1022.33(9)(p)2. Each charter school’s governing board must appoint a representative to facilitate parental involvement, provide access to information, assist parents and others with questions and concerns, and resolve disputes. Viera Charter School, Inc., the governing board for Viera Charter School has appointed Steve Muzzy as the representative for your student’s school. The governing board representative for Viera Charter School may be reached at Liaison@vieracharterschool.com.
PTSO
Visit the Viera Charter School PTSO website where you can shop for spirit gear, find their calendar of events, volunteer information and much more.