May 7, 2020 Coastal/Greenacres Observer Page 3

MAd Scientist Awards Celebrate STEM Achievements students are getting

MAD about science! The MaD (Making a Differ-ence) scientist awards at the south Florida science Center and aquarium re-cently brought together 40 top middle and high-school student regional science

fair winners for an evening of recognition and celebrat-ing achievements in sTeM.

From a 3D printed water quality monitoring device, to an equation predicting the animal population in Florida, to an app to help assist the blind and visually

impaired, to the discovery of a drug to treat breast cancer cells, the students science fair projects spread the spectrum, filling gaps in our society and all mak-ing a difference by expertly solving problems faced by many.

“The goal of the MaD scientist awards is to bring together bright young minds in sTeM research and provide them opportunities to network with each other and with professionals in their fields,” said Kate arrizza,

CeO of the science Center. “We’ve also brought to-gether coaches to mentor these regional winners. The science Center is the perfect hub for this activ-ity, and we are proud to partner with the school districts, Junior Achieve-ment and the stiles-Nich-olson Foundation to make it happen.”

The MaD scientist awards event is the result of a shared vision between the stiles-Nicholson Foun-dation, Junior Achieve-ment of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, the school District of Palm Beach County, the Martin

County school District and the south Florida science Center and aquarium.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the science Cen-ter is temporarily closed. however, the learning does not stop as the nonprofit is taking its mission virtual. educators are offering live aquarium programs, science demos, story time, biology lessons and more. These programs will be offered until the science Center reopens.

For more information on science Center program-ming, call 561-832-1988 or visit www.sfsciencecenter.org.

PBC School district Brings Awareness to Mental Health Awareness Month

May is designated as Mental health awareness and Trauma-Informed Care Month, an oppor-tunity to highlight the importance of positive emotional well-being and its impact on a person’s quality of life.

The school District of Palm Beach County pro-vides mental health sup-port services to students, given that mental health and school success are closely linked. Untreated mental health challenges can create significant bar-riers to academic, social, emotional, and career success.

according to the Na-tional alliance on Mental Illness (NaMI), half of all lifetime mental con-ditions begin by age 14,

making it essential that schools and communities take a proactive stance in promoting student mental health awareness through support and early inter-vention. The National Institute of Mental health collected these sobering statistics about youth mental health:

• One in five children ages 13-18 has, or will have a serious mental illness.

• 11 percent of youth have a mood disorder.

• 10 percent of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder.

• Eight percent of youth have an anxiety disorder.

With these realities in mind, District schools staff highly trained and skilled professionals to support student mental health,

including school counsel-ors, school psychologists, and school behavioral health professionals. With the transition to distance learning in the last half of the 2019-2020 school year, these professionals are available to help students virtually.

• Parents can contact their child’s school coun-selor, school behavioral health professional, or classroom teacher for as-sistance.

• The Student Mental health helpline is avail-able at 561-432-6389, Mon-day through Friday, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

• 211 is a local com-munity helpline and cri-sis hotline that provides suicide prevention, crisis intervention, information,

assessment, and referral to community services for people of all ages.

The school District is also collaborating with community stakeholders in the “Get Your Green On” campaign, to pro-mote awareness of mental health, educate and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, and encour-age action on mental health issues.

The community is en-couraged to wear green on Thursday, May 21 as part of the campaign. This sig-nals a collective effort to create visible support and foster safe spaces to talk openly about behavioral health and trauma. For more information, visit www.GetYourGreenOn.org.

Pre-Register Now for KindergartenThe school District of

Palm Beach County is look-ing forward to welcoming nearly 15,000 kindergar-teners for the 2020-2021 school year.

If you have a child who will be five years old on or before september 1, 2020, and has never been enrolled in a Palm Beach County public school, you are encouraged to pre-enroll your child in his or her school.

Once the pre-enroll-ment is completed, par-ents and/or guardians will receive a confirmation of pre-enrollment and will later receive more infor-mation on completing registration, including submitting immunization records, proof of a physi-cal, and signing the official registration form prior to the start of the school year.

To locate your stu-dent’s home school go to

palmbeachcountyschools.org, menu, parents and students and click on find my school. Information on required registration docu-ments, visit student Reg-istration Requirements, and student Registration Forms is also available at the school district website, palmbeachcountyschools.org.

Pre-enrollment is not required to reserve a place at your child’s school. how-

ever, your child will not be enrolled until the full registration is complete.

If you have already enrolled your child in kin-dergarten or followed the Kindergarten Round-up process provided by your school, no further action is required.

To pre-enroll your child, visit the school district website online at Palm-Beachschools.org/Kinder-gartenPreenrollment.

LW Christian Girls’ Volleyball Coach Named High School Coach of the Year

WesT PalM BeaCh – The Palm Beach County sports Commission an-nounced Tuesday, May 5, that lake Worth Christian academy girls’ volleyball coach Terri Kaiser has been named high school Coach of the Year by the Palm Beach County sports hall of Fame presented by the law Firm of lytal, Reiter, smith, Ivey & Fronrath.

This represents yet an-other achievement in Kai-ser’s illustrious 42-year coaching career. Kaiser’s Defenders have won three state championships and

hold six runner-up fin-ishes. With 691 career wins, Kaiser’s program has con-sistently produced NCaa scholarship athletes. Most recently, lake Worth Chris-tian’s sarah Franklin and Caitlyn Waters accepted scholarships to play at the Michigan state University and Palm Beach atlantic University, respectively.

Other finalists for the award included Park Vista Community high school softball coach Joseph Del-laRocca and Oxbridge academy girls’ basketball coach Tracy Wolfe.

Making A difference

Annamaria Hunt spends her time volunteering to help educate neighborhood children. Here, Annamaria helps Maria and Nancy with their home schooling. Annamaria also works with them on art projects and stresses the importance of speaking English.

This is the garden the children have planted and take care of under the supervision of Annamaria Hunt.

LEONARD BRYANTPHOTOGRAPHY

LEONARD BRYANTPHOTOGRAPHY

Leonard D. BryantPhotographer / Owner402 South “L” Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460ALSO243 Hillside Drive, Lake Placid, FL 33852CELL (561) 721-5249 • (561) 586-5413 HOME & FAX

Leonardbryant@hotmail.com