On March 23-26, the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit (FFCC) hosted their annual Championships competition. Among the 170 winter guard teams that competed, seven teams were from Brevard County – Bayside HS, Eau Gallie HS, Johnson MS, Melbourne HS, Merritt Island HS, Palm Bay HS, and Rockledge HS.

Melbourne High came in 1st place in their round of AAA, earning the highest score of all 48 AAA teams and taking home a gold medal. This caps off an amazing season for Melbourne where they attended six different competitions and placed 3rd or higher at all six events, including three 1st place finishes. 

Bayside High also came in 1st place in their round of AAA, earning the second highest score of all 48 AAA teams and taking home a gold medal. This was an amazing end to the season that started with them getting promoted from Regional A to AAA after their premiere competition in January.

Participating in just their 2nd full season with the FFCC, Merritt Island High came in 3rd place in their round of Regional A, taking home a bronze medal.

Congratulations to the following students on winning medals at the FFCC Championships:

• Melbourne HS - Amanda Emory, Ava Flamm, Diana Ishaev, Sarah Ishaev, Maddy Mattix, Sophi Satoro, Rheagan Shogran, Caleb Small, Marissa Stoll, Rachelle Vandall, and Sarah Weems
• Bayside HS – Devi Bell, Serenity Blombergh, Destiny Carpenter, Dahlia Carroll, Emily Deskins, Tabatha Haman, Kylie Huges, Megan Hutson, Kat Johnston, Erin Ketchum, Yolle Pierre, McKenna Roof, Charlotte Russell, Grace Tobin, Saylor Tobin, Jordan Voigt, and Summer Ward
• Merritt Island HS – Talia Favreau, Esteicy Heredia Taveras, Madison Honel, Trinity Leigh, Elizabeth Parrill, Alyssa Pender, Reina Pineda Alfaro, Ava Rivas, Brianna Vidal, Chelsea Vu, and Qinyao Zhu

Please click the links below to see a video of their shows:

Melbourne HS “Heart of Stone”: https://youtu.be/jWK-cUlmNho

Bayside HS “Letters from War”: https://youtu.be/PMHgfY572ug?t=20

Merritt Island HS “Back to Black”: https://youtu.be/PkIGy0KW48k

On March 25, the Omega Omicron Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. hosted their annual EmpowHERment Summit at Eastern Florida State College.

The purpose of the event is to empower young girls and women as the future leaders of the Space Coast. The event was attended by over 100 women and girls, 70 of which being BPS students. Topics such as entrepreneurship and leadership were discussed and attendees participated in interactive workshops on skills such as communication, STEM, agriculture, relationship building, financial management, and networking.

During the event, five scholarships were awarded to deserving seniors to support their collegiate endeavors, including four to BPS students:

• Jaiyana Green, Bayside High School
• Hailey Kon, Astronaut High School
• Quintaeshia Southern, Melbourne High School
• Jayda Loyd, Palm Bay Magnet High School

Over spring break, students from Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School participated in the 71st annual Le Congrès de la Culture Française en Floride, a competition and convention for students to promote competency in the French culture and language among students across Florida.

CBHS students competed in diverse competitions ranging from poem recitation to reading comprehension to creating a real flying model of the French Concorde. They took home 13 blue ribbons, 10 red ribbons, and 2 white ribbons, and students blew everyone away with their musical talent and engineering abilities.

10th grader Zanna Paraskevas took home a special judge’s trophy for her stellar speech.

Congratulations to the following students: Harry Watters, Zanna Paraskevas, Delaney Maroney, Sammy Marquis, Sophie Brownfield, Kristiana Quiett, Sasha Paraskevas, Addison Buck, Carina Hansen, Olivia Gibbs, Delaney Mager, Kendra Belaski, Juliet Loftis, Victoria Amores Ramazanova, Austeja Ivanauskaite, Olivia Cooper, Frazier Hoak, Kira Furton-Sparks, Alek Vinogradov, Valentin Baudel, Johnnie Jones, Richard Brownfield, and Annalynn Conley.

On March 24, Palm Bay Magnet High School hosted their 4^th Annual Multicultural Fair. The event was led and organized by the students. The goal of the event was for students and staff to showcase the diverse cultures present at PBMHS.

Students received passports to ‘travel’ to different countries to learn about that country's food, clothing, language, artifacts, games, and practices. Prizes were given to students who provided written facts from the countries they visited in their passport. 

From March 9-29, BPS students from 35 elementary schools participated in the Boeing-funded, Brevard Schools Foundation design challenge, Destination Mars.

A culmination of year-long efforts put forth by the students, the goal of Destination Mars is to cultivate tomorrow’s innovators by engaging students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenges. The projects are designed to develop real-world problem-solving skills, simulation-based inquiry, exploration, and collaboration.

Teams were presented with four standards-aligned STEM challenges that were planned and executed in class and in after-school STEM clubs. 

Teams selected one of the following challenges:

• Mission Base Camp: Students identified one of the challenges that humans might face living or working on Mars and then designed a pod for their base camp that would address the challenge they identified.
• Mission iWear: Teams designed a wearable device that would assist a member of their mission or another organism with maintaining homeostasis on Mars. The wearables included an AdaFruit Circuit Playground which was coded by the students using MakeCode block coding.
• Mission Robotic Rover Spike Prime: Teams used block programming to program their LEGO rover to complete missions on Mars.
• Mission Bio-Dome: Teams used Minecraft: Education Edition to design and build a Martian Bio-Dome that would allow members of the mission to maintain homeostasis on Mars.
• Mission Reporter: Students documented the progress of each mission and compiled a video to show the team’s journey.

On March 24, Ralph M. Williams, Jr. Elementary School hosted their inaugural International Night event & Ralph M. Williams, Jr. Legacy Contest.

During International Night, students, teachers, and families showcased cultural traditions through song, dance, poetry, fashion, and instruments. One of the highlights of the evening was a Traditional Chinese Lion Dance performance in costume, which is one of the most important traditions in Chinese New Year. 

The Ralph M. Williams, Jr. Legacy Contest was designed to encourage students to learn more about Mr. Williams through a school resource developed in partnership with the school and his family. Students had the choice to submit an essay or original artwork that honored his legacy and contributions in Brevard County and with Brevard Public Schools. There were 19 students who participated in the contest and were recognized during the evening.

Four students were placed as top winners and received prizes:

1st place: Cali Rush

2nd place: Aubrey Wilson

3rd place: Anthony Melo

Principal’s Award: Cole Stuart

Natalie Harris 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!

Nicholas Grey of Viera High School

Nicholas (Nick) Grey of Viera High School will join other outstanding musicians from across the nation as part of Music for All’s 2023 Honor Band of America, one of the finest scholastic ensembles in America. Nick plays French horn and was selected by audition to rehearse and perform in concert as part of the Music for All National Festival, March 31-April 2 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

The Honor Band of America will perform in concert at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, April 2, at Clowes Memorial Hall on the campus of Butler University. Members will also participate in student workshops and special Festival events. 

Nick was the second-place finisher in both the 2022 International Horn Symposium and the 2022 Southeast Horn Workshop Young Artist Competitions. For the past three years, he has been a member of the Florida All-State Band and has also held the principal horn position of the Brevard All-County Orchestra. Nick has been a member of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, Space Coast Symphony Youth Orchestra, Brevard Symphony Youth Orchestra, Central Florida Winds, Central Florida Chamber Brass, and the Coastal Brass. A member of the National Honor Society, Nick currently maintains an unweighted 4.0 GPA and expects to graduate with an AP Capstone Diploma and the AP Scholar of Distinction.