gator bites - Pembroke Pines Elementary

Homecoming: A New Experience
For the Youngest Gators
By Austin Felder
Gator Reporter
From Monday, October 29 to
Friday, November 2, the class of 2016
got their first real taste of the excitement
of high school during homecoming
week.
Anthony Wilson, freshman,
said, “I was excited for twin day
because my friends and I dressed up. It
was a lot of fun.”
During this action packed
week, freshmen actually had more fun
than they thought they would.
“Luau day was my favorite
because I like the nice floral shirts,”
Phil Nelson, freshman, said.
The preparation was different
because freshmen had not seen anything
like this before. Their way of showing
spirit was not expressed the same way
as the sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
There was only one freshman
participating in the Powder Puff game.
In order to participate, the sponsors
created a team that consisted of the
H A R D N E W S
single freshman, sophomores and
seniors to play against the juniors.
Ms. Kathy Saiano, English
teacher, said, “Many students received
forms in order to participate, but they
did not return them to the advisor by the
due date.”
There was also only one
freshman decorating the hallway for the
competition.
Sarah Uribe, freshman, said,
“Being the only freshman was a lot of
work. I was the only student decorating
our wall.”
The homecoming game
appealed to freshmen students because
they were looking forward to relaxing
with their fellow classmates while
watching their team obtain a victory.
Karla Pascual, freshman, said,
“The homecoming game was a lot of
fun because I got to hang out with my
friends and cheer on our Gators.”
Gators Welcome Renewable Energy
to the Swamp
BY INDIRA BUSTAMANTE
Gator Reporter
Everglades is one of ninety
educational facilities in the state of
Florida that will have a solar electric
system. This system, with battery
backup, will have the ability to power
thirteen classrooms on a typical day.
The solar panel installation has begun.
The panels are located between the
stadium and the athletic wing.
[PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. MARILYN
ZARAGOZA, SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
CHAIR]
Dr. Marilyn Zaragoza, science
department chair, wrote the application
over two years ago in hopes of
decreasing the school’s electricity costs
and making the school more
environmentally friendly.
The 10,000-watt system will
be connected to the school’s main power
and will work together to offset the
price paid during normal operation of
the facility.
This program is funded by the
state of Florida through a grant from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA).
The Florida Solar Energy
Center, a research institute at the
University of South Florida, administers
the Sun Smart E-Shelter Program.
As part of this program,
teachers will also be able to incorporate
this technology in their lessons. The
program will offer workshops
throughout Florida over the next six
months.
For more information about
this program, go to fsec.ucf.edu.
We’ve Got Spirit,
and We Show It
By Pamela Valverde
Gator Reporter
Wearing their assigned colors on Monday for color
wars, students showed their grade-level pride, starting off the
2012 spirit week.
Freshmen dressed in yellow, sophomores in green,
juniors wore blue and seniors in red. Some showed off their
creativity by dressing up in morph suits while others dressed up
like movie characters with their color.
With everyone dressing up like twins, everyone was
seeing double on Twin Day Tuesday. From simply wearing the
same colored shirt to full on role-play and costumes, dressed up
for the part. One girl, Rebekah Jones, junior, even dressed up like
twins with her toy doll, carrying it around the whole day.
Lauren Douglas, sophomore, who dressed up like Psy,
the Korean pop-star sensation who sings “Gangnam Style”, with
her friend Hailey Brun, sophomore, said: “We just really liked
the video and thought it’d be a fun idea.”
On Wednesday, students dressed up along wit their
decorated hallways. A week prior to spirit week, the classes met
to decide the theme for the hallway for each grade level.
Freshmen had the theme of Battleship, and came as by
being sailors, both dead and zombiefied.
Sophomores had the game Jumanji and the Swamp was
filled with explorers and wild animals.
Juniors had a magical time with Dungeons and Dragons
and their wizard and magical creature costumes.
Finally, seniors blended perfectly with their hall way as
they got sweet with Candyland and dressed up as King Kandy,
Princess Lolly and Queen Frostine.
It felt like Gators swam to Hawaii on Thursday when
students dressed up in their best luau day attire. From hula skirts
and leis to Hawaiian shirts and straw hats, the Swamp turned into
a tropical paradise.
The week concluded on Friday, November 2, when
Gators dressed in silver and black to show off their school pride.
From silver and black glitter, face paint and even people dressed
up as alligators, students showed how much school spirit the
swamp really has.
This all was displayed at the annual pep rally at the end
of the day, pumping us up for the Homecoming game against
West Broward later in the day.
Marcela Marrugo and Alejandra Benjumea
Trillos, juniors, dressed for twin day.
[PHOTO TAKEN BY FABIOLA PINA,
FRESHMAN]
Check out
more
Spirit
Week
photos on
pages
C6-c8
A2