Congratulations to Lisa Burke of Lewis Carroll Elementary School and Jeffrey Draves of Viera High School for being named the 2023 Florida Council for the Social Studies (FCSS), Dr. Theron Trimble Social Studies Teachers of the Year. They will be honored with this state award at the annual FCSS Conference in Orlando this October.

Ms. Burke, the Elementary School Social Studies Teacher of the Year, has been involved with and accomplished much within her school including being the SAC Secretary since 2001, Social Studies Contact since 2012, Lead Mentor since 2018, Social Committee Coordinator, CPALMS writer since 2018, inservice presenter, Lewis Carroll Teacher of Year 2020-2021 and Brevard County Social Studies Teacher of the Year in 2023. Ms. Burke also recently acquired her Civics Literacy Endorsement. She is also a member of professional organizations such as the NEA (National Education Association), FEA (Florida Education Association), and the Florida Council of Social Studies.

Mr. Draves was nominated to receive the honor of High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year because he was Brevard’s 2018 FCSS Social Studies High School Teacher of the Year and a Finalist for the Dr. Trimble Award. He was also named Viera High School’s 2017 Teacher of the Year and is the recipient of the 2019 Harry T. Moore Teaching for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Award. Teaching since 2002, Mr. Draves serves as Department Chair, sponsors Model Student Senate, and currently teaches AP World History and AP Capstone Seminar at Viera High School.

From March 8-11, 2024, Space Coast Jr./Sr. High School's chorus will be performing at the 2024 National Youth Choir in Carnegie Hall in New York City. The event will feature honor choirs composed of incredibly talented high school students from across the country. SCHS will be the first program from Brevard County to perform in New York City since 2019 and the first from SCHS since 2006.

If you are interested in contributing to assist with travel costs, please consider mailing your donation to Space Coast Jr./Sr. High School, bringing your contribution to their front office, or visiting their online fundraising page: https://instaraise.com/spacecoastjrsrhs/chorus/teams/newyorktrip?a=17 

For more information, you can visit https://sites.google.com/share.brevardschools.org/spacecoastchorus/home or contact avey.michel@brevardschools.org.

Congratulations and good luck in NYC!

The Society for Science has announced the Top 300 competitors in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, a national science competition for middle school students. Five students from Brevard have been selected as top 300 finalists. They were chosen from over 1800 entrants and will now compete for more than $100,000 worth of awards and prizes.

The Brevard students in the top 300 are:

Griffin Kirby, Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School

Affiliate Fair Name and ID: Brevard Intracoastal Regional Science and Engineering Fair (USFL14)

Project Title: A Bright Idea for Tracking Septic Wastewater Pollution

Sidharth Patsamatla, Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School (now at West Shore Jr./Sr. High School)

Affiliate Fair Name and ID: Brevard Intracoastal Regional Science and Engineering Fair (USFL14)

Project Title: A Novel Artificial Intelligence Tool for the Detection of Cancer Towards Improved Radiotherapy via High-Level Computer Vision and Image Segmentation

Ava Ramsey, Andrew Jackson Middle School

Affiliate Fair Name and ID: Brevard Mainland Regional Science and Engineering Fair (USFL28)

Project Title: Which Lubricant Is the Most Resistant to Corrosion in a Marine Environment?

Aswath Rajesh, DeLaura Middle School (now at Viera High School)

Affiliate Fair Name and ID: State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida – Ying Scholars (USFL50)

Project Title: Eco-Friendly Polymeric Material: Paving the Way for Circular Bio-Economy

Dominic Tosi, Herbert C. Hoover Middle School (now at Melbourne High School)

Affiliate Fair Name and ID: State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida – Ying Scholars (USFL50)

Project Title: Using a Modified Protégé Technique Aimed at Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension

The top 30 finalists will be announced on Sept. 20.

Steven Vilgats is the Heart of Brevard!

The Heart of Brevard is a person who puts their heart and soul into teaching, inspiring, and supporting our children in whatever role they play in BPS.

If you know of a BPS staff member or community partner who is the “Heart of Brevard,” nominate them HERE!

How to Become a Teacher - Virtual Meeting

Interested in teaching but no education background? Great news! - You can become a certified teacher in the state of Florida with any bachelor’s degree! Join us for a virtual meeting to learn about the different certification pathways for teachers here in the sunshine state.

Pre-register here: https://forms.gle/MzHsnvrdtP5zixfd8 or contact huss.victoria@brevardschools.org.

The School Board unanimously approved the budget for the 2023-2024 school year during Thursday’s board meeting. The budget totals more than $1.6 billion and will fund the district for the year. Also, during Thursday’s meeting, Senator Debbie Mayfield and Representative Tyler Sirois presented the district with a check for over one million dollars. This money will fund two programs that Ms. Mayfield and Mr. Sirois championed during the 2023 Legislative Session. The money is being used to fund the Aqua Science program at Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, a new Career & Technical Education (CTE) program. The money is also being used to buy a new plane for the school’s Aircraft/Aerospace Assembly CTE program. These investments will allow Brevard Public Schools to continue to expand the number of academic opportunities we make available to our students.