Mrs. Carolyn Zaremba and Ms. Phyllis Fimiani, who teach at Omni Middle School, sponsor an after school club called FCCLA. FCCLA is a national organization that stands for Family, Career, and Community, Leaders of America. FCCLA is made up of middle and high school students. Omni is one of only a few middle schools that have an FCCLA club in Palm Beach County. Pictured: Several of the Omni FCCLA winners, from left to right: Victoria Gonzalez, Valerie Kwong, Rebecca Tesmond, Annie Coen, and Maya Portal. On November 7, 2012, Omni Middle School’s FCCLA chapter attended the 2012-2013 FCCLA Palm Beach County District 8 meeting. At this meeting Omni eighth grader, Shelby Black-Smith, was elected as the district secretary. While at the meeting, Omni was successful in winning first place in each of the following categories they competed in:
Themed Poster – Donja Dewberry and Abigail Taylor
Hand Constructed Themed Banner – Shelby Black-Smith
Machine Constructed Themed Banner – Victoria Gonzalez, Valerie Kwong, Maya Portal, Annie Coen, and Rebecca Tesmond
Hand Constructed Themed T-Shirt – Alana Bruckenstein, Serena Gibbs, Alexandra Lopez, and Olivia Lopez
It isn’t rare to walk through the local supermarket and see products stamped with an “organic” or “all natural” sticker. The amount of recyclable bags is increasing, and being “eco-friendly” has become a lifestyle statement. While “going green” may seem like a fad, healthy eating and living in a sustainable fashion is not. Jason McCobb, owner of Farmer Jay Pure Organics, is s Delray Beach grower who knows that “going green” begins with the basics: Know what you eat. Farmer Jay can implement custom gardens and raised beds for the beginner or expert gardener. All are made of rot-resistant cedar that is certifiably sustainable. Image courtesy of Farmer Jay’s Facebook page. Farmer Jay offers fresh, chemical-free vegetables to local restaurants. Other than providing the freshest local ingredients to restaurants, Farmer Jay brings a sustainable lifestyle to the community by helping other gardeners (from the beginner to the expert) create successful gardens to be proud of. He offers the service of building custom-made raised beds for gardens, all made of rot-resistant cedar that is certifiably sustainable, and can have a self-watering system. Local restaurants, such as Tanzy of Boca Raton’s iPic theaters, already boast beautiful gardens from Farmer Jay. Farmer Jay also offers lectures and events that educate the community on topics such as how to have a garden in your own backyard to understanding soil. The upcoming event, called ‘Farm Anywhere– Size Does Not Matter!’ will be held on Saturday, November 19th from 1-2:30 at the Ellenville Garden Center (220 NE 11th Street, Boca Raton) The cost of the workshop is $25. This is the second workshop of a series of workshops that will run through December, each with a different theme (check the line-up here!) [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&q=220+NE+11th+Street,+Boca+Raton&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=220+NE+11th+St,+Delray+Beach,+Palm+Beach,+Florida+33444&gl=us&t=m&z=14&ll=26.360133,-80.082098&output=embed&w=425&h=350] Farmer Jay offers classes and workshops throughout the community to schools, events, and birthday parties. Photograph courtesy of Farmer Jay’s Facebook page. Farmer Jay can also be contacted to speak at events ranging from community events to schools and birthday parties, where kids decorate pots, plant herbs, and plant seeds for plant anatomy garden that explores the six different parts of the plant we eat. Whether it be tossing out the junk food, taking shorter showers, or keeping that New Year’s Resolution to recycle more, the Boca Raton area has plenty of alternatives to commercialized food and unhealthy lifestyles that also supports local land and farms. Like Farmer Jay on Facebook to get the most up-to-date information on their offerings and upcoming events in the community for healthy living.
We heard that Loggers Run Middle School had its own presidential election Monday, with President Obama winning in a 600-300 landslide. It’s unlikely that this is much of a predictor for the overall national outcome, but we also heard that they had a simplified ballot with only the presidential race and only two candidates on the ballot, plus a line for write-ins. No word yet on the write-in count.
Area high school cross country teams will be running against each other in the Palm Beach County championships, this coming Monday starting at half past 4. This is a delayed date from this week due to the weather.
Due to Hurricane Sandy, Palm Beach County schools will close three hours early on Thursday and all day Friday. For more details, read the Palm Beach County Schools News Apparently the forecast high winds can pose problems for school buses. That makes sense. Seems a little premature to cancel Friday already. But if you’re in their shoes, it might seem like the prudent thing to do.
