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468 honored for academic success

The annual PRIDE awards ceremony recognized Pinellas County School students for their achievements.

By RITA FARLOW
Published April 11, 2006

Only 13 years old, Philip Bauer has already amassed 26 credits from St. Petersburg College. He has taken college-level Calculus I, II and III, though he's currently studying geometry in the eighth grade at Safety Harbor Middle School.

Philip, who holds a 4.0 grade point average in middle school and his college courses, was honored for his achievements in math on April 4 at the annual PRIDE awards ceremony for Pinellas County Schools' students.

Philip said it was nice to be commended for his academic achievement in a society that seems to revere celebrities and athletes.

"For once people are there to recognize people for academics. It's nice to know that there are people out there who care,'' Philip said.

His dad, Roland Bauer, said he credits his son's achievements to his early start with reading and an insatiable curiosity.

"He's doing a lot of (calculations) in his head. He's always asking questions. He's very curious, it's always 'what if' questions,'' he said.

Roland Bauer said he thinks some students have an unnecessary fear of math.

"A lot of kids don't like math. We've always treated math like a sport. You've got Little League, you've got math. Treat it as a game. We wouldn't ever say math is difficult. In fact math is the easiest subject because there's only one answer,'' he said.

Tracy Gaunt, whose 11-year-old son Aaron won a PRIDE award in math as a fifth-grader at Madeira Beach Elementary School, said the subject "comes very easy to him.''

"I'm very proud of him,'' Gaunt said.

"I guess I like having the feeling of people being proud of you,'' Aaron said.

Aaron was one of 348 fifth-grade students who was recognized for excelling in either math, science, social studies or writing. An additional 120 eighth-graders were honored for excellence in math, science, social studies, writing and world languages.

To be eligible, fifth-graders must achieve an "A" average in their subject, demonstrate a positive attitude and score the highest in the school on a subject-area test. Eighth-grade students must have a grade point average of 3.5 in the subject area for grades 6, 7 and 8, be involved in subject-related clubs or programs, and demonstrate good citizenship.

PRIDE, which stands for Program to Recognize Initiative and Distinction in Education, was originally a state of Florida initiative, but the Pinellas school district decided to continue the program after the state dropped its funding. The program is one of many initiatives supported by the Pinellas Education Foundation, and Ditek Corp. of Largo has provided money for the awards for many years.

The following students were honored on April 4 at a ceremony at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater:

South county elementary schools:

Bardmoor Elementary: Jacob Hall, math; Kayla Delgado, science; Cody Mason, social studies; Breanna Raspopovich, writing.

Bay Point Elementary: Michael Kracht, math; Allison Paddock, science; Solomon Howard, social studies; Cheyenne Braden, writing.

Bear Creek Elementary: Tykera Woods, math; Josh Goldfarb, science; Joshua Ballard, social studies; Katherine Kurbatov, writing.

Campbell Park Elementary: Calvin Lu, math; Julia Cooper, science; Joseph Hawblitzel, social studies; Savannah Miller, writing.

Cross Bayou Elementary: Ryan Berg, math; Manuel Gonzalez, science; Brian Long, social studies; Brittany Kelly, writing.

South county middle schools:

North county elementary schools:

Academie Da Vinci Elementary: Aubrey Wetzelberg, math; Andrew Waldner, science; Mariah Salas, social studies.

Anona Elementary: Drew Curry, math; Anna Margiotta, science; Adam Meares, social studies; Katherine Kaufman, writing.

Belcher Elementary: Filip Terzic, math; Clayton Dahm, science; Joshua Cornell, social studies; Austin Berry, writing.

Belleair Elementary: Fazela Sukhu, math; Trinten Ore, science; Alejandro Gonzalez, social studies; Kathleen Boyle, writing.

Brooker Creek Elementary: Jesse Faylo, math; Sarah Jones, science; Jori Mansfield, social studies; Sarah Mangan, writing.

Clearwater Intermediate: Jeremy Anania, math; Monica Hargrett, science; Taylor Smith, social studies; Bryson McAuley, writing.

Curlew Creek Elementary: William Moore, math; Kira Rib, science; Katelyn Goode, social studies; Cassidy Myers, writing.

Curtis Fundamental: Narahari Varanasi, math; Taylor Russell, science; Cameron Baldino, social studies; Alyxandra Bailey, writing.

Cypress Woods Elementary: Andrew Tremblay, math; Jessica Mravoich, science; Elizabeth Svenson, social studies; Angela Hawthorne, writing.

Dunedin Elementary: Caitlyn D'Souza, math; Cassidy Bonovitch, science; Jesse Strumpfler, social studies; Alex Lebhar, writing.

Eisenhower Elementary: Clarissa Alvarez, math; Kathryn Rendt, science; Michael Sanders, social studies; Zayda Janiak, writing.

Forest Lakes Elementary: Sarah Hou, math; Erin Crawford, science; Troy Strominger, social studies; Kyle Jones, writing.

Frontier Elementary: Nicholas Tavares, math; Jared Piotrowski, science; Vincent Rotondo, social studies; Mikayla Bellardini, writing.

Fuguitt Elementary: Anthony Powers, math; Dana Ward, science; Clover Poirier, social studies; Angela Patton, writing.

Garrison-Jones Elementary: Robert Fava, math; Kenneth Sills, science; Benjamin Markham, social studies; Haley Brinton, writing.

Highland Lakes Elementary: Joshua Preisig, math; Andrew Peluso, science; Christopher Fowler, social studies; Alexandra Duprey, writing.

Kings Highway Elementary: Olivia Ferris, math; Alex Hougham, science; Hunter Kelly, social studies; Kristopher Ivy, writing.

Lake St. George Elementary: Logan McCoy, math; Steven Billette, science; Jordan Wells, social studies; Catherine Buga, writing.

Largo Central Elementary: Joshua Thomas, math; Sheldon Lord, science; Nicole Nightingale, social studies; Jenelle Vinachi, writing.

Leila G. Davis Elementary: Christopher James, math; Samantha Irvine, science; Marley DiSalvo, social studies; Carey Stevens, writing.

McMullen-Booth Elementary: Morgan Fuller, math; Kirin Tiwary, science; Robert Krayer, social studies; Sara Mangrumm, writing.

Mildred Helms Elementary: Kayla Delashaw, math; Gavin Di Angelius, science; Jacob Senchak, social studies; Katherine Pappas, writing.

North Ward Elementary: Steven Quintero, math; Liam Lathan, science; Zachary Evenwel, social studies; Lauren Rukavina, writing.

Oakhurst Elementary: Tristan Sutherland, math; Cole Clausen, science; Kristine Koon, social studies; Rachael Hayduke, writing.

Oldsmar Elementary: Amber Hair, math; Symone Gabrielle Caballes, science; Richard Rogers, social studies; Morgan Lopez, writing.

Orange Grove Elementary: Nasir Sayani, math; Emily Butler, science; Meagan Alexander, social studies; Hanna Blessing, writing.

Ozona Elementary: Paxton Brady, math; Jude Morera, science; Jason Richards, social studies; Elena Jones, writing.

Plumb Elementary: Nicholas Tornatore, math; Rachel Broadwater, science; James Tanton, social studies; Sara Myslicki, writing.

Ponce De Leon Elementary: Steven Higginbotham, math; Adrianna Wilson, science; Anthony Mannino, social studies; Alex Dumaine, writing.

Ridgecrest Elementary: Bruce Kolek, math; Alisha Henry, science; Charae DiModica, social studies; Gabrielle Ganthier, writing.

Ridgecrest Elementary Gifted: Kristian Randall, math; Loren Whitaker, science; Alexander Meadows, social studies; Megan Feldman, writing.

Safety Harbor Elementary: Kevin Neumann, math; Cody Hersman, science; Terrence Ring, social studies; Melissa Merz, writing.

San Jose Elementary: Alexandra Rasdal, math; Kellie Ickes, science; Patrick Guevara, social studies; Domenic James, writing.

Sandy Lane Elementary: Guilain Despointes, math; Alexander Bradley, science; Kim Luai, social studies; Ciara Adriance, writing.

Skycrest Elementary: E. Bautista, math; Camby Abell, science; Cody Deegan, social studies; Crystal Salvador, writing.

South Ward Elementary: Amir Ben-Hayon, math; Grace Whitten, science; Amy Seaver, social studies; Danielle Wilson, writing.

Sunset Hills Elementary: Marco Karay, math; Lauren Thompson, science; Grace Samarkos, social studies; Hali Marshall, writing.

Sutherland Elementary: Yevgeniy Ryasnianskiy, math; Justin Bone, science; Alexander Karras, social studies; Christopher Philippe, writing.

Tarpon Springs Elementary: Daniel Miradakis, math; Sebastian Grus, science; Jeffrey Brown, social studies; Ford Dau, writing.

Tarpon Springs Fundamental: Edward Shontz, math; Brett Murphy, science; Alec Neller, social studies; Amanda Findlay, writing.

Walsingham Elementary: Steven Nguyen, math; Ashley Hansel, science; Amber Boivin, social studies; Matthew Tanawan, writing.

North county middle schools:

Dunedin Middle: Amber Bedford, math; Angelique Dailey, science; Tatianna Pizzutto, social studies; Latorra Wilkerson, writing; Kelcey Duggan, world language.

Fitzgerald Middle: Agnieszka Maslanka, math; Steven Luke, science; Ashley Martin, social studies; Larissa Pacella, writing; Celine Rodrigues, world language.

John F. Kennedy Middle: Elizabeth Keller, math; Sandor Hugert, science; Samantha Ford, social studies; Brenda Garcia, writing; Marina Draga, world language.

Largo Middle: Erica Beers, math; Gurart Radani, science; Catlin Cartmell, social studies; Kersey Williams, writing; Yesha Amin, world language.

Oak Grove Middle: Grace Senatre, math; Robert Crown, science; Savannah Nease, social studies; Jennifer Gaudreau, writing; Jessica Liao, world language.

Palm Harbor Middle: Sarah Lansmann, math; Cassandra Roy, science; Nicholas Posyton, social studies; Blake Freeman, writing; Catherine Brinkman, world language.

Safety Harbor Middle: Philip Bauer, math; Sarah Yu, science; Sankar Kannusamy, social studies; Erika Queen, writing; Shailaja Emani, world language.

Tarpon Springs Middle: Emily Snyder, math; Nicholas Mastromarino, science; William Fulmer, social studies; Alexandra Haley, writing; Denise Marton, world language.

[Last modified April 11, 2006, 16:16:38]