A message from our superintendent
Dear Spartan families,
The 2024-2025 school year is off to a great start here at the Florida Union Free School District!
Our students are thriving in and out of the classroom.
Third through fifth graders are engaging in new enrichment classes, and S.S. Seward students are exploring new electives and clubs. With new drainage and mulch at Golden Hill’s playground, students are able to enjoy a dry and refreshed outdoor space. New signage and a renovated weight room are enhancing school pride and spirit at S.S. Seward. On the court and fields, our athletic teams are excelling. The varsity volleyball team is undefeated! I have enjoyed seeing the camaraderie as our teams support each other.
This year, we will seek approval of a capital project to prepare our district, buildings and learners for brighter futures.
We conducted a successful community survey, and the over 100 responses we received will be taken into consideration along with our Building Condition Survey as we take our next steps. There will be a presentation from our fiscal advisers at the Board of Education work session early in October, and we will work on renditions of programmatic spaces, a desired area of focus in both surveys. We will continue to update you as our project takes shape. A public vote will be held on Dec. 17.
As we enter the fall season, so beautiful in our region with crisp air, turning leaves and a hint of pumpkin spice, there is so much to be thankful for!
Board of Education Recognition Week starts Oct. 14. I would like to thank President Rob Andrade, Vice President Robert Scheuermann, Stephen Caldwell, Lori Gorcsos and Virginia Moore-Stam for their unwavering dedication to the success of our district and our students.
October is also National Principals Month! Our school and student success wouldn’t be possible without the love and support Starla Ciarelli, Michael Maesano and Amanda Collins pour into their work each and every day.
Today and every day, I am grateful for our new and returning staff, and our students and their families for making our community such a special place.
— Lisamarie Spindler, Ed.D.
In our schools
Seen at Seward
Renovations infuse weight room with Spartan spirit
Recent renovations and upgrades have completely transformed the S.S. Seward weight room.
The space features brand new rubber flooring, new ceiling tiles, walls with mirrors and inspiring messages, and an abundance of new equipment.
“We have three new multi-adjustable benches, a customized half squat rack, a dumbbell set, kettlebell set, custom made rubber plates, a stationary bike, elliptical and treadmill,” shared physical education teacher and athletic director Joe DiMattina. He added that more equipment will be arriving in the coming months.
The weight room will be used by physical education classes, athletic training classes and sports teams.
“We’re able to do a lot more now that the weight room has been renovated,” shared Kendall Dazi. A student in the athletic training class, Dazi shared that her class has been doing workouts targeting certain muscle groups to understand how to strengthen them.
She especially likes the new atmosphere in the room due to the changes because “it makes the room feel less intimidating and more welcoming.”
“The goal is for students to build healthy habits. Having the ability to use a weight room with instruction gives them life long skills for physical wellness,” shared Principal Michael Maesano. “We want that to be a source of pride for kids, so the area they are doing those activities should help foster that sense of pride.”
Jaxon Chiavaro finds the new mirrors helpful. “You can watch yourself while you’re working out and adjust your movements to make sure you’re using proper form. It’s all about mind-muscle connection.”
Chiavaro plans to apply what he’s learned in the weight room when working out with others. “I want to help family and friends,” he shared.
The opening of the weight room was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the August Board of Education meeting.
Pep rally showcases school spirit
Covered in their class colors from head to toe, with feather boas, face paint, sequins, beaded necklaces, hats and more, S.S. Seward students showed off their school spirit at the annual pep rally Sept. 27.
A great way to end spirit week and welcome homecoming weekend in style, the pep rally is organized by the student council each year.
“Each day adds excitement until we get to the pep rally,” shared Shannon Maher, president of the student council. “It’s pretty hectic getting everything together, but it’s a lot of fun and it’s so worth it.”
Throughout the week, the middle and high school grades and sports teams create banners. While the grade banners hang above the bleachers, the teams run through their banners, creating unique entrances and building the energy in the room.
All grades get involved through a variety of activities, including soccer, volleyball, musical chairs, and pass the hoop. A fan favorite that created a lot of laughter this year was tank commander, described by Maher as “blindfolded dodgeball.”
“The students lead all of it,” shared Principal Michael Maesano. “They emcee it, they come up with the different competitions and games. One of the goals is to make sure every grade level can be competitive and involved in the games. I really appreciate how the high schoolers look for opportunities to bring the middle schoolers into the celebrations.”
“I hope this event encourages the younger grades to have a lot of school spirit and to continue to plan these events for the school in the future,” Maher shared.
Hannah Perez and Robert “Treh” Hicks emceed the event. “There was so much enthusiasm in the crowd. It was really encouraging,” shared Perez, who painted her jeans with “Seniors 2025” for spirit week.
In addition to the games, senior class superlatives and the homecoming court were announced, all while the crowd cheered.
“We’ve been doing it since sixth grade and so it’s really special. I love that our whole school can fit in the gym and celebrate together,” shared senior and student council member Malina Grove.
Before her first pep rally, sixth grader Casey Kimble shared she was most excited for the games. Her favorite part of spirit week was pajama day. Knowing that the week of celebration wasn’t over yet, she looked forward to attending her first middle school homecoming party the following day.
In addition to the party, the high schoolers enjoyed their Starry Night dance on Saturday night.
These celebrations followed the annual parade down main street, complete with skits from the high school grades, athletic competitions for varsity volleyball and boys and girls varsity soccer, and the hall of fame induction ceremony. “We have great community support surrounding the spirit and culture in our building,” Maesano shared, speaking to the annual turnout for these events.
There’s no question about it. S.S. Seward has school spirit!
Read more from S.S. Seward Institute here:
Golden Hill happenings
New enrichment classes at Golden Hill pique student interest
Third, fourth and fifth graders are channeling their interests and discovering others during their enrichment classes, new to Golden Hill Elementary this school year.
In addition to the specials all young Spartans attend, the students had an opportunity to pick three out of four additional classes, including library, music, art and physical education enrichment. They will attend a different enrichment class each trimester of the school year, once in every six day cycle.
Principal Starla Ciarelli shared that enrichment will “help students gain more experience beyond the standard curriculum they learn in the classroom.” She added, “It gives them more learning opportunities and builds their skills, enhancing creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration with their peers.”
Library Enrichment
Students are learning about coding in their enrichment class with librarian Brian Slevin, through Scratch, a programming website created by MIT. The class will also do some hands-on work with robotics.
Slevin was a computer consultant at Mitsubishi before becoming a teacher. “Sharing my knowledge of coding is something I feel will give these students a leg up in the future,” he shared.
“It’s fun! We get to tell all the sprites what to do,” said fifth grader Elodie Lundell. Explaining that sprites are characters that she can code to move, interact with other sprites and more, a passion for coding was evident on her face.
“I’ve always had an interest in it. I think I might want to be a game developer when I grow up,” she added. Although Lundell has some experience in Scratch, she has already learned new things and is fascinated by the future of robotics.
Music Enrichment
In music enrichment, students are enhancing their skills on the xylophone.
“Each small group will create their own Orff ensembles,” shared music teacher Kristin Risedorph. Orff Schulwerk is a developmental music education method, and Risedorph has Orff level certifications for the xylophone.
Each class will write the rhythms, choose the instruments for the ensemble and practice the piece they create. Choices include alto and bass metallophones or xylophones. Finally, the class will record their performances to share with the rest of their grade.
“We are going to focus on teamwork, and how to respectfully work together with people when there are different opinions,” Risedorph said.
“I liked how we practiced how to hold the mallets and play so that when we practice on our own instruments we know how to do it,” Cameron Lawrence shared about her first class.
“I like trying new things that we don’t usually do in class,” she added.
Art Enrichment
Art teacher Nick Camia has noticed his students’ interest in digital art in recent years, which inspired the focus of his fourth and fifth grade enrichment classes.
Using the school’s new iPads, Camia shared, “I’m teaching them the basic tools on the app Procreate, which can be used for design, illustration, painting and so much more.”
After learning some new tools, students have time to explore what they’ve learned, and later in the trimester they will complete a project.
“I think digital art is really cool because you can do so much with it,” shared fifth grader Everett Misir. Misir has some experience in Procreate, but is enjoying advancing his skills in this class.
“I’m really looking forward to future projects,” he shared.
The third grade enrichment class is focusing on three dimensional sculptures, using materials such as modeling clay, paper and pipe cleaners.
Physical Education Enrichment
In physical education enrichment, classes are focused on seasonal sports.
The fall course will focus on soccer and football, winter will include basketball and volleyball, and spring features baseball/softball and golf.
“Our typical units focus on skill based activities. With this enrichment class, we want students to be able to participate at a higher level, so we’re focusing on advanced skills and a lot of game play,” shared Michael Barbariantz, who is running the class with fellow physical education teacher Ryan Wall.
Third grader Matthew Younghans chose gym as one of his enrichment classes because soccer is his favorite sport. “I want to get better at it,” Younghans shared. “Right now, we’re working on keeping control of the ball,” he added.
“It gives the students a chance to engage their competitive side. I hope this class encourages them to continue to play sports as they get older,” said Barbariantz.
New ELA curriculum supports teachers and students
After months of detailed research and discussion, the English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum Committee at Golden Hill chose iReady Magnetic Reading as the new curriculum for kindergarten to fifth grade students, and presented their findings to the Board of Education in June.
“Our biggest goal was to find a curriculum that was suitable for our students and was also sustainable for years to come,” shared Principal Starla Ciarelli.
Ciarelli brought in three curriculum vendors to present to the entire faculty, and teachers filled out rubrics with their thoughts. The ELA curriculum committee did a deep dive into all grade levels and narrowed it down to two options. The committee conducted multiple site visits, visiting classrooms and speaking with teachers and administrators about how the curriculum was working in their school and classrooms.
Previously using curriculum maps and not a specific program, teachers found and made their own resources. With iReady Magnetic Reading, teachers have access to Teacher Toolbox, a collection of resources including interactive tutorials, lesson slides, tools for instruction and more.
“Right now, we’re working on summarizing, which can be really hard for students,” shared fourth grade teacher Jennifer Guerra. “When I go into the toolbox, there are extra lessons just on summarizing and key concepts like major and minor information.” Because of this, it’s “easy to give more support” and Guerra finds that she has “more time to plan for other parts of the day.”
Magnetic reading focuses on all components of ELA. In kindergarten to first grade, the curriculum focuses on phonics, comprehension and vocabulary. In third to fifth grade, the focus is on comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. In second grade, a transitional year, the curriculum encompasses all of these areas.
“The class just started working with vocabulary and spelling, and I absolutely love it. I love how it lays out the sequence and how we move through the lessons,” shared fifth grade teacher Noreen Meehan. “The vocab words are phenomenal, and the students get a packet to work on that goes along with the stories in their Magnetic Reading book.”
“Another benefit of this curriculum is that it intertwines with our iReady benchmark that students already complete three times a year,” Ciarelli shared.
This school year, the school will use a similar method to select a math curriculum to support teachers and students.
Golden Hill celebrates spirit week
During the last week of September, Golden Hill students enjoyed showing their school spirit, wearing favorite hats and headbands on Monday, crazy socks on Tuesday and pajamas on Wednesday. Students enjoyed twin day on Thursday and Spartan day on Friday, wearing spartan gear or colors.
“I loved pajama day because I got to dress comfy and bring a stuffed animal,” said third grader Leilani Caldwell. “I twinned with my sister on Thursday. It was so fun!”
Nathan Harter, also a third grader, shared that his favorite day was sock day because he got to borrow his father’s long purple socks. Spirit week makes him proud to be a student at Golden Hill. Harter said, “It’s important to have fun weeks like this!”
Read more from Golden Hill Elementary here:
Athletics update
Seward Alumni Sports Hall of Fame inducts new members
During the 15th Annual Seward Alumni Sports Hall of Fame Induction on Sept. 28, eight individuals were recognized for their contributions to Spartan athletics. Congratulations to John Burns, Brooke Burnside, Ryan Chevrier, Brian McAteer, Nick Salamone, Taylor Steele, Alyse Space and Lindsey Dunn!
S.S. Seward homecoming matches
The Florida community came out to support our athletic teams for three homecoming competitions the weekend of Sept. 27-28. On Friday, the varsity volleyball team celebrated a thrilling win, defeating Chester in a three-set sweep. On Saturday, the boys varsity boys soccer team secured a commanding 5-1 victory over Sullivan West. The girls varsity soccer team played a tough match, but ultimately fell to Chester 2-0.
Check out the team’s schedules and support our teams at upcoming matches!
Read more from athletics here:
Florida’s Finest
These features highlight FUFSD staff who add so much to our Spartan community.
Read the most recent article here:
Announcements
- Juniors, seniors and their parents are invited to attend the Seward/Chester College Financial Aid Presentation from 7 to 8 p.m. at Chester Academy on Tuesday Oct. 15.
- If you are planning to take the SAT in November, don’t forget to register! The deadline is Oct. 18.
- On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the PSAT will be administered during the school day for 10th graders at no cost. The PSAT provides students with a valuable opportunity to experience the structure of the SAT while offering detailed feedback that can be used to enhance their performance on the actual SAT.
- Oct. 15 is Fire Prevention Day at Golden Hill. Fourth and fifth graders will hear a presentation from the Florida Fire Department’s chief and trucks will be outside where all students will learn more about fire safety.
- The fourth and fifth grade costume bash, sponsored by the PTA, will be held Oct. 18 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Golden Hill PTA’s Trunk or Treat is Oct. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. A costume parade will take place during the school day on Oct. 31.
- Golden Hill’s PTA is sponsoring a bullying prevention assembly during school on Oct. 16 for all students.
- Golden Hill Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Oct. 22 and 30. Parents can sign up through Parent Square.