Shorecrest Preparatory School is pleased to announce it has received an anonymous $2 million gift to the Transform Campaign. The gift is the single largest in the school's 95+ year history and brings the total raised for Transform to more than $9 million.

Important announcements, updates and reminders for Middle School Families

Experience the many talents of our middle schoolers in the Middle School Variety Show on Friday, December 14 at 7pm in the JRT. No tickets required, free and open seating, all ages.

The 2018 Winter Music Concert featured dedicated student musicians from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Click to view a video and photos from the show.

Once again the Shorecrest community will participate in St. Petersburg's Dream Big Parade (formerly the MLK Drum Major for Justice Parade.) The parade will be held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Monday, January 21. Every member of the community is encouraged to wear your Charger Green & Gold and to march with us as the parade weaves through downtown St. Petersburg.

Bring your inner child to Shorecrest on January 31 at 6pm for a block building experience! Enjoy a glass of wine and a tasty treat as you use your imagination to construct a bridge, tower, castle, robot, dinosaur… the possibilities are endless! Bring your friends and experience the joys of play, collaboration, and creativity.  Thursday, January 31, 6-7:30pm in the Shorecrest Lower School Block Room

Taking a step back and looking at where you started and where you finished is an important lesson for everyone. That moment could not have been captured better than when Coach Z celebrated the growth of the Chargers MS football team at the season ending banquet. With a team that went from being winless in his first year to compiling a record of 9-3 over the past two seasons, it is easy to see how they are on the rise! 

Spring Sport start dates are around the corner and we’re listing them below for your calendars! If you are interested in conditioning for a team prior to your start date, reach out to the coaches listed or our Strength & Performance Coach, Richie Cameron, and they can help get you going!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from parents and guardians is “What age do you think it is okay to give my child a cell phone?” I wish there was any easy answer, but unfortunately there isn’t. There is no right age, but rather many factors that come into play when making this decision.

This year for Grandparents and Special Friends Day SCA is starting a #jointheflock initiative. Florida’s iconic pink yard flamingos will be placed in a flock in front of the Janet Root Theatre to represent that our families are unique but we flock together. The flamingos will be on sale between December 15-January 24 and are $25 each. All proceeds from the sales of the flamingos go directly to the Shorecrest Community Association.

In an effort to keep parents/guardians informed on the Middle School, teachers will be hosting a variety of info sessions called "Middle School Downloads."

Shorecrest parent Jonathan Bowman recently led a parent workshop about creating a Family Plan. Just like a business plan helps to effectively guide the direction of a business toward achieving goals, a family plan can help keep your household focused! Get tips on how to clarify and simplify your family plan in the video from his presentation below. 

Eighth Graders are wrapping up their semester in Music with Mrs. McCarthy by learning about Music Engineering in the computer lab. They have been learning about the physics of sound, and recently conducted a scientific experiment using Slinkies.

Dorothy M. '24 will travel to Spain this February to race for the Palamos International Optimist Trophy while Kate D. '24 will be in Italy this April for the Riva Del Garda regatta.

The Upper School SPARC service club is pleased to launch a new service club just for our Middle School peers. It's called Best Buddies. Best Buddies is an international organization that creates friendships between students and a population of special needs students. Their mission is to be the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Shorecrest dads are invited to meet other dads at fun, monthly nights out.  All events will be at 7:30p unless otherwise stated.

The Big Event ~ Shorecrest in Wonderland
Friday, March 1, 2019, at 7:00pm at the St. Petersburg Woman's Club.
Ticket sales open January 10, 2019.

Shorecrest has partnered with New Oasis International Education to help recruit and house international students at Shorecrest. New Oasis homestay is not about renting a room in an American house, it's about joining an American family. By saying "yes" to the experience, we can foster a global understanding.

Shorecrest's Jr. Thespians Troupe 88197 took a total of 21 Acts to the District Festival. Five acts were scored and rated as Excellent and 16 received the highest score rating of Superior.

Fifth graders embarked on a Long Walk with Water around campus. Students are learning about the many women and girls in South Sudan who have limited education and job opportunities because of a lack of clean, running water in their communities. They have been reading “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park in English class. This book’s main character is Nya, a girl who must trek to collect water daily for her family’s survival. The other main character is Salva Dut, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who escaped the massacre in his South Sudanese village as a boy. He became a refugee for over a decade in Ethiopia and later Kenya.

With cold and flu season upon us, here are a few reminders to help decrease the spread of germs in our school community. Please teach and review with your children good health habits to protect themselves and others.

Shorecrest Swim and Dive Chargers finished up the 2018 season with a very successful 1A State Meet. Award winners were also announced for the end of the season. Congratulations to these hard-working and deserving athletes!

At the 1A-3 Championship meet, our girls out-performed expectations with a big finish as Region Runners-Up! The boys team finished fifth overall out of 32 teams. The 1A State Meet is Friday, November 16 at 9am. Watch live at www.fhsaa.org and Go Chargers!

After studying Ancient Mesopotamia in Social Studies, Shorecrest sixth graders built a scaled model of a city-state in Minecraft. The students spent two weeks planning, designing and building their cities.

24 middle school students garnered 14 trophies at the 2nd Forensics Meet at Berkeley Wednesday night. 

The Middle School Golf Team gathered for an awards party on Monday, November 12. The team reflected on a fun and rewarding season. Coach Every is so proud of these student athletes and their hard work all season long. 

The past two weeks, students of Middle School French class learned about World War I and celebrated the 100th anniversary of its end on November 11. Students were most surprised to learn the uncommon animals which helped with the war. Classes also learned of the role young people and women played in this war.

On Wednesday, November 14, the Shorecrest Community Association welcomed Dr. Anna Baralt, Shorecrest Director of Educational Technology, to talk to parents/guardians about popular apps that students are using and what parents should know about them. The apps spanned from Snapchat to Fortnite, Houseparty to KIK, vaults and video apps and more. Also at the SCA meeting was Shorecrest Athletic Director Anthony McCall who talked about the wonderful fall season for Chargers Athletics and the growing Intramural Programs for students in Lower and Middle Schools.

The Cross Country team concluded their season this past Friday, November 2. The Girls varsity team ran in the Regional Finals in Gainesville and came up just shy of qualifying for the State Finals. The girls ran a great race - Isabelle Saunders '20 placed 21st and Lili S '25 placed 22nd.

Shorecrest Middle School Theatre took audiences on a journey under the sea with Ariel and her aquatic friends in "Disney's The Little Mermaid JR.," adapted from Disney's Broadway production and the motion picture. 

Parents of current Shorecrest eighth graders and prospective incoming Upper School families are invited to join the Admissions Office and Shorecrest Administrators for the Upper School Sampler, Tuesday, November 13, 2018. Hear from administrators, college counselors, faculty, parents, and students about the exciting opportunities that Shorecrest 9th graders have at their fingertips.

On Friday, October 26, fourth and fifth graders attended SPIFFS, the St. Pete International Folk Festival, which was held at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. SPIFFS hosted an art contest themed “Desserts Around the World.” Mrs. Williams entered 11 students’ artwork in the art contest and the judges loved the entries so much they couldn't choose one winner, so they were all awarded first place! The students received awards on the main stage of the festival. Fourth graders also visited the Festival to glean ideas for the Latin Fair they will create in the spring.

We have been made aware of a second school that was affected by the Hurricane in Panama City. We would like to do a one week drive from Monday, November 5th to Friday, November 9th for Holy Nativity Episcopal School.

A SCA Used Uniform Sale will be on November 8 (Fall Conference Day) from 7:30am-2pm in the lobby of the Janet Root Theatre. 
SCA is now collecting any used uniforms you may like to donate.
Sign up to volunteer the day before to set up or during the sale: http://signup.com/go/EcmdnEL.

If you have an interest in international culture, please join us for an informal meeting after drop-off around 8:15am on Tuesday, November 6 at the Hahn’s home: 115 Cordova Blvd NE, to discuss how we can tap into the wealth of international knowledge that already exists within the Shorecrest community.

Shorecrest Preparatory School is pleased to announce that it has been named an Apple Distinguished School for 2018-2021. Shorecrest was awarded the distinction for its innovative teacher-leaders, its successful 1:1 iPad implementation, and the thoughtful integration of technology throughout its PK-12 program. The 2018-2021 distinction is a renewal based on continued evidence of innovation and academic excellence. Shorecrest first received the distinction in 2016.

On Friday, October 19, the teams competed in the CCC Invitational. The Girls Varsity continued their success by winning the CCC Invitational and bringing home the Championship Trophy! The boys team ran well and placed in the top 5.
Wednesday, October 24, the team traveled to Bradenton to compete in the District Championship. The girls team earned a 3rd place team finish and qualified for the Regional Meet on Friday, November 2, in Gainesville.

A 44-0 win in the season finale against Northside Christian was huge for the Chargers! The team's defense stuffed Northside Christian, only allowing three first downs the entire game.

The Middle School Golf Team concluded their golf season on Monday, October 22, at Mainlands Golf Course. The format for this tournament was different as only individual scores were recorded. Our team had a great time and performed well on the new and challenging layout.

Shorecrest Swim & Dive Middle School team traveled to Tampa Prep this past Saturday to compete at the Middle School Championship Meet. With only four boys and four girls competing, the Chargers were able to finish 5^th overall out of 9 teams and took home some hardware too!

Robert F. Munroe Day School in Quincy, Florida, was badly damaged by Hurricane Michael. They are unable to have school on their campus so they have moved to two churches in the area. There are three classrooms and an art room that are being demolished this week. Water and falling roofs destroyed most of the items below and their budget will not allow them to afford to replace these items. Interact Club is collecting donations to help.

SEED, The Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity Project on Inclusive Curriculum, is the nation's largest peer-led leadership organization through which participants develop ways of understanding complex relations between self and systems with regard to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability/disability, and other lived cultural experiences. We invite you to see what this is all about in an introductory, welcome session.

Session 2 clubs are ready for you to register: https://shorecrest.campbrainregistration.com. 
You will see some new clubs such as 2 intramural sports for 3rd - 6th graders, some returning clubs such as Running and Chess, and now even an Upper School offering. Also new is a waitlist system; if your chosen club is full, your student will be waitlisted automatically.

24 fifth - eighth graders attended the Forensics meet at Berkeley Prep last night. The following Chagers placed in their respetive categories:

Chargers MS Football vs Out-of-Door Academy (ODA), October 11: Loss 12-42

The Chargers Middle School Golfers are still on track and recorded their lowest team score of the season this week. They took second place with a score of 134. The tournament was held on October 17 at Twin Brooks Golf Course. Cruz C. was the medalist, with the lowest score of the tournament by shooting 28, his lowest score this season! Seventh graders Daven F. 32, Aiden S. 35, and Davis K. 39 rounded out the top four scores.

Are you curious about what Design Thinking is and how it relates to curriculum at Shorecrest? SCA sponsored a parent session about Design Thinking. A video of the presentation is included.

Fifth graders at Shorecrest were treated to a visit by Sidney Wall ‘13, who is serving in the Peace Corps in Lesotho, a small country in southern Africa. Sidney, her mother, one of her brothers and few of her other family members attended Shorecrest. Her mother, Beth Bartlett ‘85, currently teaches Upper School math. Home for a brief visit, Sidney took time to visit the fifth grade classes to share about the Peace Corps and Lesotho’s culture and geography.

When Marissa Streng was in third grade, her school participated in a project fair called Invention Convention. She was tasked with inventing something that did not yet exist. Working solo, Marissa put her attention to her dog, Mojo, and decided to make something for dogs. She envisioned her dog in a tube filled with warm air to dry him off, and named her invention the Puff-N-Fluff. This week Marissa (who is now 17 and a junior in high school) visited Shorecrest to talk to fifth graders about being inventors.

Beginning Monday, October 1, the Shorecrest community has been celebrating Homecoming Week. The activities, friendly competition, and school spirit is full of much-anticipated traditions in Upper School. The full Alpha through 12th Grade school community gathered for a pep rally on Friday, October 5 in the Crisp Gym. The week culminates with the Homecoming football game on Friday evening, October 5.

Boys won the City Championship meet and girls were runners up. The Chargers won overall combined team. Caleb Kravitz '20 broke two city records in the 200 individual medley and 500 free. 

The Varsity Golf Chargers had a busy few weeks of matches and tournaments.

FLRunners Invitational: Girls Fifth Place
City Championship: Girls Runners-Up and Boys Sixth Place

The Shorecrest Chargers Girls Basketball season begins on October 29. If you have a daughter in Middle School or Upper School, the team wants your help in building a new program. The Chargers will have at least one Middle School team, with the possibility of two teams based on need. There will also be a Varsity team. A mandatory meeting (and pizza night!) for all interested girls and their parents will be held on October 18 at 6:30pm in the Crisp Gym.

In preparation for moving the library into the new building, Mrs. Smay can use some help organizing and weeding the book collection. Duties include pulling books from shelves, checking out books, boxing books, and lifting small boxes of books. No prior library experience needed!

A recent presentation to help parents navigate PowerSchool Learning was videoed for anyone who missed it.

Three cheers for Isabel G ‘25 and Sarah K ‘25 who have done an amazing job collecting donations for the Ronald McDonald House. Two summers ago they started collecting donations for the Ronald McDonald House (RMH), a favorite charity of theirs. Through their persistent efforts and everyone’s contributions the girls were able to collect a grand total of over $101 in cash and more than 7 pounds of tabs.

The Chargers Middle School Golf Team is trending in the right direction. The team, led by Daven F. 29, recorded their best team score of the season - 139. The team placed third in the match due to their hard work on their short game this season. 

After finishing fifth of 15 teams at last weekend’s IRC Tournament, the MS Green Volleyball Chargers carried over their strong play by defeating Seffner on Tuesday, October 2, 25-17, 25- 16 and Carrollwood Day School on Thursday, October 4, 25-23, 28-26. Way to go ladies!

The Chargers Middle School football team forged a great comeback down 6-0 at halftime, and found a way to fight back and win 14-6 to a shocked Keswick team!

Varsity Volleyball

The Middle School Golf Chargers competed well in their match at Cypress Links on September 26. A single stroke separated third from fourth place. Our golfers shot their second best score of the season on a more difficult and soggy golf course. The team was led by Daven F. with a very solid round of 32. Cruz C. 35, Davis K. 38, and Carson G. 38 rounded out the top four scores.

Shorecrest is ready to help The Kind Mouse again this year! The Fall Food Drive officially launches on Monday, September 10. Collection bins will be located at each School.

Fifth grade science classes enjoyed a hands-on lab this week. Working in pairs, students used droppers to drip different liquids onto pennies to see which liquid would support the most drops.

The Middle School Golf Chargers played very well in their match, improving by 16 strokes as a team. The match was held at Twin Brooks Golf Course on September 19. Four team members recorded scores in the thirties, leading to our best score of the season - 141!

The Shorecrest Middle School Football Chargers improved their record to 2-0 with a solid 22-0 victory against Seffner Christan this past Thursday.

The next meeting for LATINOS en SHORECREST will be Wednesday, September 26 at 3:45pm in La casita de Español (the Spanish Portable on Charger Blvd by the field.)

The old adage, "You gotta see it to believe it!" holds true with Transform. There is a growing chorus of excitement for the dynamic construction that changes daily at the crest of our campus. And I would echo and offer that participating in a Hard Hat Tour is the best way to experience it.

Middle School girls are invited to join students from Academy Prep and Shorecrest Upper School STEAM Ambassadors for a monthly STEAM Girls Club after school. Together they will work cooperatively to problem solve and complete design challenges related to science, technology, engineering, art and math.

Middle School Downloads will be hosted on campus throughout the year, and we will also livestream the meetings so families can view them in real time off campus, or go back to them to review later. We appreciate that parents can’t always be here with us, so this affords everyone the opportunity to participate and be part of developing a strong climate and culture for fifth through eighth grades.

Shorecrest Mom's Night Out Luau Party!
Friday, October 19, 6:30 - 10:30pm

Fearlessness and perseverance are not usually topics associated with a middle school Pre-Algebra classroom. Add logical thinking and you have the reasons for incorporating Apple's coding app, Swift Playgrounds, into the curriculum.

Shout out to the VARSITY CHEERLEADING TEAM for leading the Middle School Fall Sports Pep Rally!

After-school intramural activities allow students to get familiar with various sports and games, connect with other students, and stay healthy. Intramurals also create a sense of belonging to the school community and develops connections with teachers and peers outside the classroom. We are excited to launch Intramurals this fall for students in 4th-12th grades.

Forms, tryouts, snacks and much more. Parents of athletes - please read!

There are lots of options at Shorecrest to keep students safe, busy and having fun after school!

Learn more about how you can help plan the Big Event at a wine tasting and info meeting. The theme for this year's fundraising gala is Shorecrest in Wonderland.

This year, fourth and fifth graders will have a delegation visiting for two weeks from El Salvador. They will be visiting from Colegio Maya, a bilingual school in the capital city San Salvador in February or March. (This will not interfere with spring break.) Eighth grade will be hosting a delegation for two weeks in April from Escuela Ameyali, a bilingual school from Mexico City, Mexico.

The Cross Country team opened the season last Saturday, August 25 at Holloway Park in Lakeland, FL. The top female varsity runner was Sabrina Aboud '22. The best boys varsity finish for Shorecrest was Gregory Glasscock '21. The best finish of the day for the Chargers came in the girls Middle School 3K race. Lili S. finished sixth out of 157 runners.

On Monday, August 27, the Chargers Varsity Golf boys team played in its first tournament of the year, the Mustang Invitational, hosted by Northside Christian at Countryside Country Club. 

Would you like to volunteer to assist with your Lower School child’s class on their library day? Helping the class at the library is a great chance to get to know your child's teacher and classmates. Come to a training session to learn more!

What do the dots on the SAGE menus mean? SAGE updated their Spotlight program according to the most recent USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which encourage evaluating food as a whole rather than evaluating for negative nutrients alone.

Shorecrest is excited to announce changes and new additions to our faculty and staff for the 2018-19 school year. 

The Shorecrest Community Association (SCA) Board is excited to start this transformative year at Shorecrest. All parents, guardians, grandparents and community members are members of SCA. The SCA Board and its committee Chairs provide volunteer support for our teachers, plan and host fundraising and social events, and host meetings where speakers are invited to present to our community. SCA invites all community members to volunteer and help Shorecrest “Be More!” Join us by viewing all the volunteer opportunities here, or signing up here.
(Both files can be found in the future on the SCA page of the website: www.shorecrest.org/sca.)

Important Announcements and Reminders for Middle School Families

Inspired by the Wish Tree Art Project by Yoko Ono and the Dali Wish Tree, Shorecrest has added a Wishing Tree to the faculty garden.

We’re so happy you’re part of the SAGE community! As you look forward to the school year ahead, we encourage you to look over our menus in advance to plan what to eat, especially if you follow a specific eating pattern or have food allergies. This guide will remind you of key features of our menu, and might even introduce you to something new. Start by going to www.shorecrest.org > Student Life > Food Service. Then click menus, the first button.

Northeast Little League invites you to PLAY BALL this FALL! Registration is now open. Fall Ball is an instructional season that focuses on player development and teamwork while gaining confidence, building new relationships and having fun!

Start of School info is now live in PowerSchool Learning. All families should have received an email with login credentials and instructions to login.

View Summer Reading and Supply Lists

At the Middle School Awards Assembly, awards were given in a variety of categories including: Academics, Arts, Film and Animation, Reading, Battle of the Books, Thespians, LEGO Robotics, World Languages, Science Fair, History Fair, Geography Bee, and Duke TIP SAT/ACT scores. Special awards were also given highlighting exceptional student characters, such as the Harold Bruggeman Award and Citizen of the Year Awards.

Each year, eighth graders are challenged to find something they are passionate about, a talent they want to develop more, or something to take on as an independent project. These are known as their Passion Projects. At the end of the year, they are revealed on campus in a project showcase.

As a culminating project of the Hero’s Journey unit and the reading of "The Hobbit" in English class, sixth graders re-told the story of Bilbo Baggins' adventures in stop-motion animation format using LEGOs and other found objects.

The environmental work and beautification the eighth graders accomplished this year around campus was made possible by a mini-grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. 

As the Official K-12 School of the Rowdies, all Shorecrest Faculty, Students and Families may purchase $10 General Admission, Lower Goal Reserved, and Corner Reserved tickets to all home matches.

Fifth graders studied what life on Mars would be like, how to sustain life on Mars if people travel there, and what colonists would need to survive. They created a model of a colony using MinecraftEdu software.

The Seventh Grade Music Performance was held in the Janet Root Theatre on Thursday afternoon. The students shared songs from the Golden Age of Radio such as Ira and George Gershwin's Strike up the Band, Harold Arlen's It's Only a Paper Moon, Irving Berlin's Puttin' On the Ritz, and Louis Jordan's Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't Ma Baby. In celebration of the recent Eurovision Song Contest, students also performed a popular Eurovision winning song from 1967, Puppet On a String. Ending the performance was Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie's humanitarian pop hit, We Are the World.

Ancient Bestiary/Gods/Goddesses in Aztec/Mayan, Egyptian, Greek, and Norse Legends and Literature: A cross-curricular project between art, English, science, foreign language, library media, and the sixth grade team.

The Shorecrest Community Association hosted a celebratory breakfast at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club to thank Shorecrest volunteers for all they did to make the 2017-2018 school year so special. At the breakfast, author Laurie Hill spoke about the power of volunteering and the incoming SCA Board was announced. In addition, the volunteer breakfast is when the recipient of the Janet Root Volunteer Service Award is announced each year.

The Shorecrest Chargers track and field team headed to the District meet at St. Stephens in April. The Regional meet followed on April 25th at Cypress Creek Middle High School in Wesley Chapel. The State Meet was held at University of North Florida in Jacksonville on May 4-5th. 
Good luck to Sabrina A, Kaja D and Devyn K as they head to Bradenton to compete in the Florida Youth Running Association (FLYRA) Middle School State Track Championships on Saturday. Sabrina will be running the 1500m, Kaja will be competing in the 800m race and Devyn in the 100m dash.

Congratulations to the MS Football Spring Team on their 30-0 win over Northside Christian on Thursday afternoon. The Chargers held a total of 15 practices this Spring, with 28 rising sixth, seventh & eighth graders

Students in JK, fifth grade, sixth grade and eighth grade worked together to restore a section of campus. This area was previously full of Australian pines, an invasive species that dampers surrounding wildlife. The pines were removed and students planted native species in their place. Funding for this project came from part of a grant Shorecrest received from the Tampa Bay Estuary Project. 

The Upper School Spanish Club collects donations of used textbooks year round that they then sell online. The proceeds from the sales are donated to a charity linked to the Spanish-speaking world. Last year, they donated the proceeds to La Carpio immigrant and refugee camp in Costa Rica, a destination visited by Chargers in the past during Service Week. This year proceeds will go to the relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

German student Erik V. would like to attend tenth grade at Shorecrest. His family spends time in Anna Maria, FL, each year during their Autumn Break. Erik’s brother, Dominic, spent a year in an American high school, and now Erik is excited to do the same. Erik has been playing the piano since he was 8 years old and he’s a competitive tennis player. Can you help give him a home for a year?

This year the seventh grade team took a risk by planning a true Project Based Learning (PBL) experience for students surrounding the theme of disease prevention and elimination. In the end, teachers were inspired by student creativity, tenacity, knowledge, and empathy. This project's essential question was: How do we learn from the diseases of our past to solve those of today and tomorrow? Throughout the year, students engaged in this topic in English, history, math, science, health, technology, music and world language classes. The unit culminated in a Disease Project Showcase.

Team Shorecrest won first place at the Bay Area Association of Independent Schools (BAAIS) Battle of the Books Competition on May 1, 2018, for the third consecutive year in a row! Team Captain Duran V, Addy C, Akshay P, Max B and Sophia J collaborated and worked extremely well under pressure. Coach Tatelbaum said she is super proud of her hard-working lovers of reading.

Shorecrest fifth graders were among a select group of K-12 students from the Tampa Bay area invited to attend the GEOINT 2018 Symposium on April 24, an annual conference sponsored by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). GEOINT, a hot topic in STEM fields, is the profession of using satellites, drones, and sensors combined with other geographic information to gather, map, and visualize data to make informed decisions.

Wednesday, April 25th, was host to the annual Spring Music Concert. The concert showcased the second semester music selections of the concert and rock bands and featured everything from Mozart to The Beatles. All ensembles played expressively and received resounding applause.

Art instruction is interwoven throughout the Shorecrest curriculum. To celebrate the lessons and skills taught all year, we open the campus to the community for a week each spring during Celebrate the Arts.

I am pleased to announce that Kris Grant has accepted the position as Interim Head of Middle School. Kris, who currently serves as eighth Grade Dean and as a seventh and eighth grade Spanish teacher, is excited to continue the great work Jane Johnson and Jonathan Davis have initiated with the Middle School faculty and staff. Kris will begin her new duties on July 1.

For decades, Florida schools have participated in the Sunshine State Young Reader Award Books-Battle of the Books. This month, 25 fifth graders took the Battle of the Books Qualifying Test, and 14 students qualified for the 3 School Teams. The 2018 Shorecrest Battle of the Books was held in the JRT on Tuesday, April 17. Teams answered questions on 15 Sunshine State Young Reader Award books. 

Shorecrest eighth grader Anna J's art was selected to be in the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s 2019 calendar, which will be available for download later this year. The calendars serve as reminders every day to be responsible stewards of the ocean.

Coming soon to Shorecrest, the Smash Hit "A Chorus Line" (high school edition) - Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 19, 20 & 21 at 7pm in the Janet Root Theatre. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Learn more about what it means to be an Upper School Thespian in a series of video clips of "A Chorus Line" cast members in Ebytes and on Shorecrest social media.

"A lot of work was necessary to smoothly run this year’s Relay For Life event by the co-leads Lexi Klein ‘18, Jordan Tralins ‘19, Olivia Olson ‘19, and the entire Committee. I can proudly say that this hard work paid off because we raised over $10,000 that night and $83,000 in total, reaching our goal! Shorecrest’s Relay For Life will make a real difference within the American Cancer Society and the lives of everyone who came to donate their time and money.”

MS and Varsity spring football practice begin on April 23. (There is no school that day.) All athletes must have appropriate athletic forms on file.

Eighth graders at Shorecrest have been given a unique opportunity to serve as student judges for the 2018 Ocean 180 Video Challenge​. The Video Challenge​ encourages ocean scientists to share their discoveries and excitement for research with teachers, students, and the public in a video for persons outside their discipline.

The Little Event Committee has extended the deadline for some of our amazing Charger Winnings items and experiences! Get a choice 12th grade locker, the best seats in the house for the 4th grade show, a spot for the Kindergarten *almost* sleepover, and more!

Eighth graders worked over the course of sixth months on ROVs that solved modern-day problems, ROV art projects of PVC and wire, and motorized PVC ROVs that completed underwater challenges. The underwater ROVs were presented at STEAMfest for the greater community to drive and explore. Eighth graders gave their final presentations of the initial innovative ROV projects - along with product pitches, advertisements, and the PVC sculptures - before an audience of parents and peers in March.

In the lobby of the Janet Root Theatre a team of sixth graders adeptly maneuver LEGO robots through a model course - avoiding buildings, gliding into parking spaces, making deliveries from one model structure to the next. The course looks familiar to many of the passersby at STEAMfest. "Hey, is that Landy Hall?" asks an observer. Indeed. Landy Hall, the Janet Root Theatre, the Athletic Center, and even a model of the future Innovation Center and Community Commons, the course is a scale model of the Shorecrest campus. Dubbed "Smallcrest" by its seventh grade engineers, the project is a prime example of interdisciplinary project-based learning, faculty collaboration, and experiential education.

The Word and Image Art Awards were presented on March 17, 2018, at the Morean Arts Center. Five Shorecrest fifth grade students were selected to have their artwork exhibited. The Middle School artists honored were Fiona Joy G., Daisy N., Drew D., Graham F.  and Charlie N. Congratulations to these fine artists who wrote and made a mixed media art piece about looking at the world through their eyes!

Shorecrest Headmaster Mike Murphy joined Heads of independent schools all over Florida to speak out against gun violence. Their open letter to the President and legislative leaders appeared as a full-page ad in the Tampa Bay Times and in the Miami Herald on Friday, March 23.

Construction will commence on May 28 to raze the outdated buildings on our lower campus, raise the ground by four feet, and build a 60,000 square foot facility that will house the Experiential School, Lower School special subjects, all-school libraries and innovation labs, a new state-of-the-art Dining Hall, and more. The project will also create more than an acre of greenspace, including interesting play areas, and allow for students of all ages to convene together and connect across our PK-12 campus.

Fifth graders delighted audiences in the Janet Root Theatre on Thursday with their Music Performance. Under the direction of Mrs. McCarthy, fifth graders sang specially selected songs with harmonies and dynamics. Songs included: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, Disney’s “When You Wish Upon a Star”, “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, “Send it On” from Disney’s Friends for Change, and the 1966 Monkey’s hit, “I’m a Believer” in the arrangement from Broadway’s Shrek the Musical.

With only two regattas left on the schedule, the Shorecrest sailing team traveled to Davis Island in their hunt to advance to post-season competition. Read on to see how the JV and Varsity teams fared.

Tuesday was a wonderful conclusion to our Middle School Track and Field season. The coaches are all very proud of the way the Chargers performed! Congratulations to both the girls and boys for their strong finishes. Girls earned 1st place overall and boys were 2nd out of 16 full teams. A number of Shorecrest athletes were able to also qualify for the Middle School State Meet.

Twenty Middle School students accompanied Mr. Hodgson to Largo High School to compete in the 20th annual Pinellas County History Day. This was one of the largest county fairs to date with over 20 participating middle schools. This year’s theme for the competition was “Conflict and Compromise in History.” Students had to research and analyze a topic in history and then create an exhibit, documentary, performance, website, or author a historical paper.

The final MS Forensics meet of the year was on March 7. "It was a great season!" said faculty sponsor Ms. Nelson. Special congratulations go to:

• Fiona G, fifth grader - 2nd place Original Oratory
• Ellie L and Stella P, eighth graders - 3rd Place Duo Drama
• Sarah K, fifth grader - 4th place Original Oratory
• Daisy N, fifth grader - 5th place Individual Drama

From February 25 through March 9, Shorecrest Lower School hosted its third international delegation. Shorecerst fourth and fifth graders graciously opened their homes and hosted 12 students from Escuela Ameyalli in Mexico City. While at Shorecrest, the visiting students made a cultural presentation for the Lower and Middle Schools, in which they spoke about their country's history and culture and performed a traditional Mexican dance.

On Friday, March 2, the full school community gathered for the public launch of the Transform Campaign. While some families and students knew the campaign intimately, others had heard only rumblings, leaving a number of guests scratching their heads come Friday asking, "What is Transform?" To find out what Transform is truly about, visit www.transformshorecrest.org.

Middle School performers entertained audeinces last Friday in our 11th Annual Middle School Variety Show! Jr. Thespian Troupe 88197 performed many of their award-winning acts as part of the show, held in the Janet Root Theatre.

Join us for an info session about summer travel opportunities for parents and students (6th grade - 12th grade):
Tuesday, March 6, 4-6pm 
in the Library Classroom

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and one of our North American neighbors in dire need. After suffering through a devastating earthquake in 2010, and most recently Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, Shorecrest once again collaborated with Youth Partners With Haiti to help the Haitians. 

The Middle School Robotics team, INFOBOTS, returned victorious from their First LEGO League Tournament with the prize for Best Project. First LEGO League introduces students aged 9-16 to the fun and excitement of science and technology. In addition to building and programming working robots for challenges, students were tasked with solving a real-world problem regarding hydrodynamics and presenting their project to judges.

Time to clean out those bookshelves! Please consider donating any used childrens' books you have to SCA's Oldie Goldie Book sale. You can send books in with your child or drop them off at the drop bins located in your child’s classroom areas and front office.

Walker Willis '19 was tasked with a science project when he was in eighth grade, and ended up removing Australian Pines. His Middle School project turned into an Eagle Scout project. Then, into something that his fellow classmates and future students at Shorecrest Preparatory School.
"It generated the best memories and made me appreciate what I have," Willis said. "It gave me experiences that I could never wish for."

Four of the seventh grade stop motion animation movies created this year have won Scholastic Arts awards and were invited to a ceremony on Feb. 7 at Gibbs High School. In addition, several students won awards for drawing and digital art.

Jr. Thespians performed in the 3-day State Festival at the Orlando Convention Center last weekend with amazing results! Come see some of our acts at the upcoming MS Variety Show on February 23rd.

Forensic speech is the study and practice of public speaking and debate, according to the American Forensic Association. School and college contests are patterned after ancient Greek competitions at public forums. 27 Middle School students attended the most recent meet, last Wednesday. Here are the Shorecrest results:

Congratulations to the following Middle School students moving on to the Pinellas County History Day competition on March 2 & 3 at Largo High School.

Students, faculty and staff were excited to welcome visitors for Shorecrest's 34th Annual Grandparents & Special Friends Day! After a continental breakfast in the Athletic Center, nearly 600 guests of grandparents, great-grandparents and special friends were ushered into the Janet Root Theatre for performances from all ages.

On Thursday, January 25, the Shorecrest Community Association hosted Dr. Sherri Danyali, Director of The Experiential School of Tampa Bay, as its guest speaker. Sherri has more than 20 years of experience in early childhood education. Sherri's doctoral research focused on the effects of a parent training program on overparenting behaviors. She shared her inspiration for the topic, approach, and research findings with Shorecrest parents at the January 25th SCA meeting.

Shorecrest friend Norm Bungard has once again provided award money to students who wrote outstanding essays. This year, Mr. Bungard encouraged students to think deeply about their attitudes toward tolerance of ideas in response to the question, “What Does Tolerance Mean in Your Life?” Click to find out who won!

The 2018 Shorecrest Preparatory School Science Fair was a huge success. Judges from among our science teachers as well as scientists from the local community evaluated projects, ranging from topics such as bacterial growth and removal, trash clean up, soggy cereals and effective shampoos. Each project also included a QR code leading to a short video explaining the project.

Last week just after sixth graders wrapped up their Science Fair showcase, they embarked as a grade on a two-day/overnight field experience. Common Ground Adventures is a bonding, team-building opportunity.

The MS Girls soccer team ended their season this week with an impressive record of 11-1. The only loss was the first game of the season against Berkeley with a score 2-1. The team included 20 players, several of whom were new to the game. Congratulations to the team for an amazing season!  

The SCA Shorecrest Cares Committee is a quiet, behind-the-scenes group of volunteers that makes a big impact where the Shorecrest community needs it most. Shorecrest Cares responds to community members' needs when there is an illness, death, or other difficult situation. The support can take many forms, from food delivery to childcare arrangements, depending on the needs of the family.

The Board of Trustees and Administration of Shorecrest Preparatory School presented the second installment of the State of Shorecrest Community Meetings on January 16 in the Janet Root Theatre at Shorecrest. The content of the community forum was the Financial Operation of Shorecrest.

On Monday, January 15, more than 60 members of the Shorecrest community joined the greater St. Petersburg community to march in the MLK Dream Big Parade in downtown St. Pete. 2018 marked the school’s sixth consecutive year participating in the celebration.

The National Geographic Geography Bee was held in the Janet Root Theatre on January 16. The top two geographers from grades 4-8 competed on stage plus last year's winner. The Shorecrest Champion was sixth grader Nicolas H. For the last two years he won at Shorecrest and also qualified to compete at the state level.

We have exciting news to share with you about the tennis program. Coach Davis has been very busy over the summer and fall helping to improve the program. As a result, we secured our home courts for this coming season earlier than we have ever done before. Tennis tryouts will begin Monday, January 22​.