Members of the 5th and 6th Grade Student Council led the way in the “Pennies for Pasta” program sponsored by Olive Garden to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The students raised a total of $730.00 for the charity! 5th and 6th Grade Kestrels and Ospreys collected the most funds, so they will enjoy a pasta lunch from Olive Garden soon.

Submitted by Elizabeth Magnusson

“Science Fair was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot,” eighth-grader Colleen Lopez said about the Pasco Regional Science and Engineering Fair at River Ridge High School on Saturday, February 6th.

Colleen was one of seven Academy students who competed in the fair. All seven students placed in the top three slots in their category. Six students won first place and will continue to the state science fair.

Seniors Helen Latimer and Julian Doromal won first place in the teams category of the high school competition with their work, Multilayer Polypeptide Nanofilms. Helen and Julian efficiently and reproducibly generated biological nanofilms, a breakthrough necessary to transform nanotechnology into a marketable commodity. Julian and Helen worked in Dr. Donald Haynie’s laboratory in the USF Physics Department and will continue their work until they leave for college in the fall.

Ninth-grader Alex Stark won first place in the computer category with his project “Tic Tac Toe: Adventures in Decision Making.” Alex programmed an invincible tic tac toe game and demonstrated that his program is infallible compared to its human competitors. Alex earned commendations from both Intel Corporation and the U.S. Army.

In her project Regional Groundwater Study Through Isotopic Analysis, senior Carly Harro analyzed hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios by mass spectrometry to trace surface and groundwater interconnectivity in the Weeki Wachee Ground Water Basin in Hernando County. Her findings will be utilized by the Southwest Florida Water Management District to study local water shortages. Carly won first place and received commendations from the Association of Women Geoscientists and the American Meteorological Society and also took home the U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize Regional Award and an invitation to enter a special competition.

In the middle school science fair, eighth-grader Shayne Fitzgerald won first place in the Environmental Science category with his project Quick Steam II. Shane utilized steam from an exothermic reaction of calcium oxide with water to turn an alternator. This reaction could be a cheap, readily available energy source to power batteries or run a generator. Shayne hopes to apply his work to powering a car.

Eighth-grader Colleen Lopez won first place in the Botany category for her work on The Effect of Centrifugal Force on Radish Seed Germination. Colleen utilized centrifugal force to mimic the mechanism for producing gravity in space. She hopes her work will be applicable to growing fresh food in space.

Seventh-grader David Gamero earned third place in the Environmental Science category with his work titled Electric Magnets. David calculated the productivity of an electrical generator turning at different speeds and compared single generators to multiple generators. He determined that using multiple generators is more efficient than using one large generator. He hopes to charge the lithium ion battery of a laptop or iPod by placing two generators on either side of a bicycle axle.

The spirit of inventiveness and inquiry is a hallmark of the educational experience at Academy at the Lakes. We are most proud of our students, their teachers, and the special school culture that encourages and supports our future leaders, scientists, and innovators.

Academy at the Lakes, located on Collier Parkway in Land O’Lakes, serves students from the entire North Tampa metropolitan area from PK3 through 12th grade.

This was a great opportunity for our little ones to get a better understanding of the important role that firemen play and how they contribute to our community.  Afterwards, students bid the firemen a cheerful farewell and happily returned to their classes. 

Students also have been learning about letter writing, so their follow-up activity was to write “thank-you” letters to the firemen.

The teachers also enjoyed the visit from the “good-looking” firemen, so it was a great visit for all.

-Contributors: Desiree Rodriguez and Del Garside

To show their appreciation to Mr. Vo for his great job in teaching them Pre-Calculus, Alex Aucoin and Carrie Layden made an amazing cake to celebrate his January 25th birthday. “This cake is downright a work of art!” said Mr. Vo. The cake was a birthday cake made with a lot of love and attention to details. It was a vanilla cake decorated with all things that were close to Mr. Vo’s heart such as the Minnesota Vikings, Math, Tennis, and Golf.

Mr. Vo thoroughly enjoyed the cake. He was even more impressed with how these two students used what they had learned in earlier art and math classes to design the exterior of the cake and to adjust a recipe to make a cake big enough for Mr. Vo and the entire Pre-Calculus class. Way to go, ladies!

“We make cakes for our families and friends to celebrate special occasions. It is a lot of fun and has become a hobby,” said Alex Aucoin. From the looks of the cake, these ladies could make a living at it! Who knew that in the midst of Academy’s both academically and artistically talented students could also be found such amazing culinary talent?

- Contributors: Del Garside and Hung Vo

– Submitted by Desiree Rodriguez

Mr. Heller dazzled 2^nd Graders with “Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel,” a favorite classic.  The 2^nd Graders were also graced with “The Giving Tree,” a reading by Ms. Cynthia Martin (Board of Trustees – Chair).  Ms. Martin’s lovely daughter, Katherine (also an Academy alumni), entertained with “Stop that Pickle” which added humor to a very cold day.  To the 3^rd Graders Ms. Kapetanis read “Pickles to Pittsburgh,” a sequel to Judi Barrett’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”  Mr. Pitcairn enlightened 4^th Grade students with “The Night I Followed the Dog.”  Ms. Stein charmed Senior Kindergarteners with her “Harry, the Dirty Dog“ story.  First Graders were mesmerized with  “The Marshmallow Incident” read by Ms. Caudill and with “Miss Nelson Has a Field Day” read by Ms. Carlson.  What could be more delightful than the two stories from “Days on the Farm” read by Ms. Gates to Junior Kindergarteners?

 Lower Division students thoroughly enjoyed this special occasion because they were allowed to eat doughnuts, drink hot cocoa and wear their cozy pajamas.  Talk about being “snug as a bug in a rug!”

Academy took the lead early in the game with a beautiful goal by Nick but Hillel managed to tie the score moments before the half-time whistle. In the second half, Academy dominated and took the lead once again with a nicely placed ball from Cade. Unfortunately, Hillel tied the game again only a minute before the end of regulation time. After a scoreless period of extra time, the contest went on to be decided by the dreaded penalty kicks. Academy converted four of its five chances and Academy keeper Blake stopped two of Hillel’s spot kicks to earn the Wildcats a well-deserved tournament championship.

Congratulations to all members of the Academy at the Lakes Middle Division soccer team.

Academy at the Lakes students (JK to grade 12), teachers and staff were the models of the holiday fashions!

Students explored the Atlanta History Center’s signature exhibit, Turning Point: The American Civil War, one of the nation’s largest and most complete exhibits of Civil War artifacts and stories.  Students visited the Chickamauga Battlefield, part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, where they viewed a film that put the battle in context, enjoyed a hands-on Common Soldier program led by one of the National Park Rangers, and visited selected sites on the battlefield – including the monument erected by the State of Florida to honor its soldiers who served there.

Students learned about one of the important, culminating battles of the Civil War at the Atlanta Cyclorama.  This unique museum features a 358’ circumference “cyclorama” painting of the July 1864 Battle of Atlanta.  Students also visited the Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Georgia, where they were guided through both the site and story of the infamous Civil War POW camp by one of the National Park Rangers, explored the excellent exhibits at the National Prisoner of War Museum, and walked the hallowed ground of the Andersonville National Cemetery.  Interspersed with these visits to significant curriculum related sites, students also enjoyed a guided tour of CNN’s Atlanta studios, exploring Stone Mountain Park (with the expansive views from the summit and the challenge one of the country’s largest adventure ropes courses), and the opportunity to engage in a few hours of traditional teen fun (video games and go-karts) at a nearby Malibu Grand Prix Entertainment Center.

By the end of the trip, students experienced an action-packed and enlightening adventure, learned a variety of life lessons about traveling, and bonded more closely as a class.