Coral Reef Teacher Receives National Recognition

May 30, 2013 – Washington, D.C. – Congratulations to Dr. Claire Oueslati-Porter, a teacher at Coral Reef Senior High School, as she has been selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Scholar, supported by NEH. The Endowment is a federal agency that, each summer, supports these enrichment opportunities at colleges, universities, and cultural institutions so that teachers can study with experts in humanities disciplines.

Dr. Oueslati-Porter will participate in an institute entitled “Roots of Arab Spring.” The three-week program will be held at the University of California, Davis and directed by history professor Omnia El Shakry and The History Project.

The twenty-eight teachers selected to participate in the program each receive a stipend of $2700 to cover their travel, study, and living expenses.

Topics for the 24 seminars and institutes offered for teachers this summer include African history, African-American literature, Diversity, unity in the Pueblo world, China and India, Mind, meaning, and morality, Turkish history and culture, Thomas Jefferson, John Steinbeck, Native Americans of New England, Political and constitutional theory, Appalachian culture, Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Roots of the Arab Spring, South African history and culture, American history through song.

The approximately 528 NEH Summer Scholars who participate in these programs of study will teach almost 66,000 American students the following year.

DO THE RIGHT THING AND UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL!

May 24, 2013 – Miami, Florida – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School graduating senior in the International Baccalaureate Academy, Joany Lamur, for DO THE RIGHT THING AND UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL! She was nominated by Glenn Steinberg at Colonial Drive Elementary School. Joany was one the winners (from the group of 10 winners) for the month of April and in additon receives an all expenses paid trip to New York City in the fall.
The purpose of Do The Right Thing of Miami, Inc. (DTRT) is to recognize and reward Miami youth for their exemplary behavior, accomplishments and good deeds. The DTRT Awards Program distinguishes exceptional school-age children who choose to be drug and crime free, exhibit non-violent behavior, do well in school, make a difference in their communities and demonstrate turnaround behavior. Each month of the school year, parents, police officers, teachers and other adults nominate up to 1,000 children for “doing the right thing.” A selection committee reviews the nominations and selects ten finalists for the month.
Joany will be attending Hamilton College.

Peninsula Community Foundation

May 23, 2013 – Newport News, Virginia – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School graduating senior Melanie Orejuela, as she is the recipient of a $6,000 college scholarship from Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. Melanie is in the International Baccalaureate Academy.

This scholarship was established in 2007 to assist students whose parents are part of the Ferguson “family.” These students must have a commitment to community service, school activities, honors and awards, a personal essay defining what character means to them, and a good grade point average. This year Melanie was one of ten outstanding applicants selected out of 81 applicants.

Melanie will be attending the University of Florida majoring in General Health and Behavior.

Herff Jones Believe in You Scholarship and Principal’s Award

May 23, 2013 – Miami, Florida – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School graduating senior Lucia Baca as she received the Herff Jones Believe in You Scholarship and Principal’s Award. Lucia was recognized with a personalized engraved Student Achievement Medal. Each medal is engraved with the student’s name and year of the award.

Lucia will be attending Yale University in the fall.

National Achievement Scholarship Program Winner

Evanston, Illinois – May 23, 2013 – Congratulations to the 2013 National Achievement® Scholarship Program winner, Raivo Andrian from Coral Reef Senior High School. Raivo is a graduating senior in the International Baccalaureate Academy. This program is open to Black American high school students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Raivo will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall.

National Merit Scholarship Winner

May 23, 2013 – Evanston, Illinois – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School graduating senior, Prudhvi Lokireddy, in the International Baccalaureate Academy. He has been named a National Merit Scholarship recipient and receives a $2500 Scholarship! Prudhvi intends to use his scholarship reward towards the University of California, Berkeley. He intends to major in Mathematics and Finance.

The Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards

May 22, 2013 – Miami, Florida – The Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards is one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs. The purpose of this Awards program is to recognize outstanding students who have not only maintained good grades but have also unselfishly applied their special knowledge and talents to contribute significant service to their schools and communities. The Silver Knight Awards program was instituted at The Miami Herald in 1959 by John S. Knight, past publisher of The Miami Herald, founder and editor emeritus of Knight-Ridder Newspapers and 1968 Pulitzer Prize winner.

Congratulations to the following outstanding Coral Reef Senior High School Silver Knight winners and Honorable Mention winners, their respective category, and the university they will be attending:
Silver Knight Awards Winners:
Cedric Hankerson – Business – Boston University
Juliana Lopez -Journalism – Princeton

Honorable Mention Winners:
Lucia Baca – General Scholarship – Yale University
Jialin Zhang – Science – University of Pennsylvania
Juan Castano – Social Science – Harvard University
Werner Glass – Speech – University of Pennsylvania
Joany Lamur – World Language – Hamilton College

Nominees from all Miami-Dade schools – public, private, and charter are interviewed by a panel of independent judges. Each panel of judges selects one Silver Knight and three Honorable Mentions in that category. Names are not revealed until the Silver Knight Awards ceremony. Silver Knights receive $2,000, a Silver Knight statue and a medallion presented by American Airlines. TheHonorable Mentions are presented $500 and an engraved plaque. The cash awards are made possible in part by the generous support of American Airlines, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Coral Reef Captures First All-Sports Trophy During Miami Herald’s All-Dade Awards

May 22, 2013 – Miami, Florida – For a few minutes, the main stage at Jungle Island belonged to a school of “Barracudas.” Coral Reef High School had a banner year that included the school’s first state championship in softball and trips to the state finals in boys’ and girls’ volleyball.

The Barracudas took advantage of the chance to celebrate their memorable year by winning their first All-Sports Trophy — the most prestigious school award given by The Miami Herald at its annual All-Dade Athletic Awards breakfast. The event, sponsored by Doctors Hospital Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and The Orange Bowl, drew a crowd of more than 1,100 and honored the top athletes and coaches in Miami-Dade County in 18 sports.

Coral Reef won the Class 8A-5A All-Sports Trophy and the Girls’ Major Sports Award in the category. During the acceptance portion, Coral Reef coaches and faculty, including Principal Adrianne Leal, Athletic Director Deb Margolis, and players crowded the stage posing for pictures and celebrating the momentous occasion for the school.

“We have to savor this because it’s a first for our school,” said Coral Reef boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach Yasmin Ortiz, who won Coach of the Year honors in both categories. Among the big winners for Coral Reef were softball coach Dario Rodriguez, who earned Overall Girls’ Sports Coach of the Year honors as well as for Class 8A-6A softball. Coral Reef pitcher Dayna Wilson and shortstop Kylan Becker won the Pitcher and Player of the Year honors, respectively. Boys’ volleyball standout Cedric Hankerson won Player of the Year honors in his sport.

In addition Kylan and Cedric were finalists for the following: Scholar Athlete of the Year (top 5) Cedric Hankerson; Overall Male Athlete of the Year (top 5) Cedric Hankerson; and Overall Female Athlete of the Year (top 5) Kylan Becker.

Arts for Life! Scholarship

May 17, 2013 – Miami, Florida – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School’s graduating senior in the Visual and Performing Arts Academy, Jurissa Tellez, as she has been selected to receive an Arts for Life! Scholarship. There were more than 450 applicants and she is one of twenty-five students who will receive a scholarship in the amount of $2,000.

The Foundation for Excellence in Education and former Governor Jeb Bush and First Lady Columba Bush will host a luncheon and awards ceremony to honor scholarship recipients on Friday, June 21, 2013, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

National Merit Scholarship Award to Carleton College

May 13, 2013 – Evanston, Illinois – Congratulations to Coral Reef Senior High School graduating senior, Tanarut Chaisuesomboon, as he was offered a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship®award. The name of the Scholarship is the National Merit Carleton College Scholarship. Pursuant to an Agreement with National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), this scholarship is sponsored by Carleton College.