Magic of Christmas at AME
Tag: Anna Maria Elementary School
Celebrating ‘The Magic of Christmas’
The Snowflakes perform with Santa’s very own North Pole boy band. - Kristin Swain | Sun
The fifth-grade cast of “The Magic of Christmas” strikes a pose after receiving a standing ovation on Dec. 19 at The Center of Anna Maria Island. From left, back row, are Mrs. Stephanie Davis, Vincent Myers, Sam May, Stryder Petitt, Jase Moore, Gunnar Maize, Sawyer Leibfried, Kellan Oelfke, Colten DeBerry, Eastin Walker. From left, front row, are Kellan Reed, Leo Tyler, Jack Palmer, Roman Smith, Fabian Cianciarelli, Grayson Hinckle, Brandon Sato, Aria Thomas and Sofia Hendrickson. - Kristin Swain | Sun
The Snowflakes, Aria Thomas and Sofia Hendrickson, perform Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” Dec. 19 during the Anna Maria Elementary School fifth-grade performance of “The Magic of Christmas” at The Center. - Kristin Swain | Sun
The cast of “The Magic of Christmas,” a musical holiday production performed by 18 Anna Maria Elementary School fifth-graders, dance together to “I’ve Got The Magic In Me.” - Kristin Swain | Sun
Stewart Elementary to host AME students
BRADENTON – Stewart Elementary School, 7905 15th Ave. N.W., has opened its doors to Anna Maria Elementary (AME) students temporarily beginning on Monday, Sept. 30.
In a Saturday afternoon email to Stewart parents, Principal Joe Hougland wrote: “First, I hope you and your families are safe and any damage to your homes is minimal. The same can’t be said for our friends on Anna Maria Island,” the email stated.
Hougland said the Manatee County School District is aware of the serious challenges Anna Maria Elementary faces following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.
“Due to the conditions on the Island and at the school, they will not be able to have classes on the AME campus until the situation on the Island substantially improves,” he wrote.
He noted the importance of getting children back to school. With that in mind, he has been working on a plan with the school district and AME Principal Dr. Katie Fradley for Stewart to host students and staff from AME until they can resume classes on the Island.
“We have room to accommodate them, and we have come up with a plan to keep all students learning and create minimal disruption to the daily school schedule,” Hougland wrote. Starting Monday, Sept. 30th, AME students and staff will relocate to Stewart Elementary temporarily.”
Stewart students and teachers will share existing classrooms with AME students and teachers in a team teaching model to continue education for both schools.
“We have been working with the school district and the AME team on details to make this temporary educational model work,” he wrote.
At morning drop-off and dismissal, the Anna Maria Elementary parents will use the South Catalina neighborhood loop for their students. Stewart families will use the regular car rider line on 15th Ave N.W. Stewart Elementary parents are asked to not use the South Catalina neighborhood entrance in order to keep school arrivals separate.
AME students will begin their dismissal early to lessen the impact on the Stewart car line. Families arriving by golf cart or low-speed vehicles are asked to exercise additional caution due to the increased congestion in the area. Parents and guardians also are not able to attend breakfast or lunch with their students while Stewart and AME are temporarily combined due to lack of space.
“We appreciate your patience and support as we welcome the AME family to our amazing campus,” Hougland stated in the email. “Please do what you can to make them feel welcome and help, if necessary.”
AME, new principal preparing for first day of school
HOLMES BEACH – As children stock up on supplies and pick out their perfect outfits for the first day of school, Anna Maria Elementary School staff, including the new incoming principal, Katie Fradley, are working to make AME the best it can be for an exciting year of learning.
The Sun spoke to Fradley about what is in store for students this year.
With the first day of school coming Monday, Aug. 12, what are you doing to prepare?
Fradley: We have been working all summer to prepare our campus for our students’ safe return on Aug. 12. Our playground has seen some updates this summer. We had a new back stop installed, repaired some sidewalk damage and will be replacing clay and grass on the field. We are also in the process of adding fencing to our car rider drop off area that will ensure a safe environment at arrival and dismissal. We are incredibly excited about our new teaching and learning deck. It will have been worth the wait! The deck will be completed this fall and will provide an outdoor teaching space that includes a portable touch tank for our students to complete marine biology lessons and experiments overlooking the bay.
Is there anything special planned for the first day?
Fradley: We will welcome our families to campus for Open House on Thursday, Aug. 8. During Open House they will meet their teacher and staff and visit with friends. Then we are so excited to welcome our students back on Aug. 12! On the first day of school, we will host a “Meet and Greet” for our kindergarten parents and the parents of new students in our auditorium at 8:30 a.m. This is an AME tradition and is a perfect opportunity to introduce our leadership team and share information about our incredible school with our newest dolphins.
AME has many annual events such as Peace Day. As a new principal, do you have anything new planned for this year?
Fradley: I am looking forward to continuing well-loved AME traditions such as Peace Day as well as bringing some new events to campus. Our school wide theme this year is, “Dolphins make a difference.” As a school community we will be exploring what we can each do to make a difference in our school, community and our world. We will be sharing more information on this exciting initiative after the students return.
What do you hope to bring to AME as you begin your first year as principal?
Fradley: As I look forward to my first year as principal of AME, I hope to bring positive energy and a passion for making a difference to our school. I look forward to strengthening our enrollment, continuing our history of strong academic achievement and helping our teachers to inspire our students to make a difference in their school, community and the world.
School zone changes approved
HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners have approved changes for the school zone in front of Anna Maria Elementary School, but drivers won’t notice them until school begins on Aug. 12.
A new ordinance will expand the school zone by 300 yards – 200 to the south and 100 to the north. The area will be restriped and flashing signs will be moved to alert drivers of the lowered speed limit during school hours in the mornings and afternoons.
A no-cost camera system also will be installed by Blue Line Solutions to catch speeders through the school zone during the same hours before and after school when children are likely to be crossing the street. At a previous public hearing, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said the camera system would only be used to catch and issue tickets to speeders during times when the flashing beacons are in use to indicate an active school zone.
In the agreement with Blue Line, the city could choose to either pay a service fee to the company of $25 per ticket, taken out of the ticket cost to a speeding driver, or lease the camera system. In messages to The Sun, Tokajer said the city had chosen the service fee agreement.
Once the system is active, he said speeding tickets during school zone hours will cost drivers $100 with $25 of that going to Blue Line, $40 to the city, $20 to the state of Florida, $12 to a school fund and $3 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s criminal justice training program. A nominal processing fee of $4-5 may also be charged by Blue Line for processing credit card payments.
Cameras to ticket school zone speeders
HOLMES BEACH – Changes are coming to the school zone in front of Anna Maria Elementary School and drivers need to take note to avoid a ticket.
“This isn’t about making a buck, it’s about safety,” Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said of the planned camera system.
The system, being provided by Blue Line Solutions, is intended to catch drivers who speed through the school zone and who illegally pass school buses during school zone hours. City leaders in Holmes Beach are entering into the agreement through a piggyback agreement from one recently executed in Hollywood, Florida.
Though the speed limit on Gulf Drive is typically 25 mph, it drops to 15 mph when the yellow flashing beacon activates before and after school hours when there is more traffic in the area and kids are crossing the street.
With the new system, it will be easier to enforce the school zone speed limit with the system automatically generating speeding tickets for offending drivers. A representative for Blue Line, Dave Bocchino, said that the system uses artificial intelligence to identify illegal activity in the school zone and generate tickets, allowing for law enforcement services to be reallocated to other areas, if needed.
Bocchino also said that the system is funded by offenders, meaning that no charges will be billed to the city for the camera system, installation or services provided by Blue Line. The company recoups the cost of operation through an administrative fee charged and fines issued to traffic offenders. Rather than making money or “a cash grab,” he said it’s about making school zones safer for students.
A study conducted by Blue Line in the AME school zone showed 327 speeders over a five-day period going 11 mph or more through the school zone while the flashers were on indicating the lowered speed limit. Starting 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the flasher times in the morning and afternoon, Bocchino said the study showed 1,300 drivers going through the school zone at speeds in excess of 11 mph over the speed limit. With the camera system, he said the company sees an average reduction of 90% in school zone speeding incidents.
Tokajer said the camera system would only be used to enforce speeding in the school zone while the flashers are on in the mornings and afternoons, when students are moving about in the area. He added that he’s spoken with representatives from AME who are in favor of the camera system.
Blue Line collects a $25 per incident fee along with a monthly fee of $2,500 per camera plus a $15-per-incident processing fee. All fees are subtracted from the gross amount of tickets issued through the system.
The camera system is being installed under a law passed by the state Legislature and approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis that allows camera enforcement of speeding and illegal school bus passing in school zones as of July 1, 2023.
Bocchino said in addition to the camera system and operation, Blue Line also offers an included public education component to help spread the word through the community that the camera system is in place and what to expect when driving through the school zone during school zone hours.
After meeting with several potential vendors while at the Florida Chief’s Association annual conference, Tokajer said that he selected Blue Line because the company has a local presence in Sarasota and charges less in administrative fees to offenders than some other companies.
In addition to the new system, Tokajer said that Director of Public Works Sage Kamiya also completed a Florida Department of Transportation study that shows the one-block-long school zone is not large enough to meet the department’s standards. When the cameras go in, he said the school zone will be restriped and extended by 100 yards to the north and 200 yards to the south.
Drivers won’t have to worry about the new system or the larger size of the school zone until classes resume in August.
Commissioners passed the first reading of an ordinance allowing for the regulation of the school zone. City Attorney Erica Augello said that the ordinance is required to enforce regulations in the school zone.
AME welcomes new principal
HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) Principal Mike Masiello announced his retirement earlier this month, and Willis Elementary School Assistant Principal Katie Fradley has accepted the job.
The Sun recently spoke to her regarding her new position.
“My career spans 34 years. Thirty of those years were spent right here in Manatee County and four of them in Hawaii,” she said. “I hold a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from FSU, a master’s degree in reading from USF and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from USF. I’m a teacher at heart and was a teacher for 21 years at Braden River, Sea Breeze and Rowlett. When I left the classroom, I served as a reading coach at Moody Elementary, a literary coach at a private school in Hawaii, and an instructional specialist with the school district. I then moved into administration in 2020 when Mr. Masiello hired me as assistant principal at Ballard Elementary School. After working at Ballard for two years, I moved to Willis Elementary School, a large school in Lakewood Ranch with tremendous family involvement, as assistant principal.
“I look forward to bringing my own passion and excitement for teaching and learning to AME, as well as carrying on the traditions that have been established throughout the years,” Fradley said. “As I settle into the role, I look forward to seeing how I can maintain the unique historical qualities of the AME experience while ensuring that the students are also provided with opportunities for growth and success.
“AME is magical!” she said. “I love its charm, starting with its traditions, small student body, family-like atmosphere and community involvement. The partnership with the Guy Harvey Foundation has so much potential to have a major impact on our community, and I look forward to being very involved. I am so excited to get to know each of the families and to support and nurture every child as they move through the AME experience.”
Principal Masiello, who has been at AME since 2020, said he was retiring to spend more time with his family, and requires surgery in the coming months with a lengthy recovery time and felt it was the right time to step down.
“I love AME and it’s been an amazing time here at this special school,” Masiello said, adding that he believes the school is in very good hands.
“Getting to be involved in the Guy Harvey Academy has been a highlight of my time here, and I know the school will continue to grow and provide a learning experience like no other. I wish the new principal the best,” said Masiello, whose retirement wraps up an almost 30-year career in the Manatee County School system.
AME parts with beloved train caboose
HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) is unique for many reasons – a caring and dedicated staff, its spectacular location on the bay and the recent addition of the world’s first Guy Harvey Academy are just a few things that make the Island’s only school something special.
For the past 37 years, students, staff and visitors have also been treated to the unmistakable sight of the school’s unofficial mascot, its train caboose, which has been as much a fixture of the school since 1987 as teachers, principals and homework. Unfortunately, due to years in the salty air that makes the school’s location one of the best in America, the caboose had to be removed on Feb. 24.
The caboose spent nearly four decades on a short stretch of track near the main entrance of the school. It all began in 1987 when a former student and parent, Joan Pettigrew, read about CSX Railroad phasing out their cabooses. With some help from members of the community, she convinced the school’s administration and the Manatee County School Board to allow it to be moved to the school.
Billie Coles, AME’s curriculum specialist from 1988-1992, led the successful effort to make the caboose a computer lab in 1988, and the caboose was later dedicated to her. According to current Principal Mike Masiello, Coles was instrumental in getting parents involved in students’ computer education at a time when most schools had limited access to computers. The caboose later went on to serve as the speech classroom and later the school store. Even once the caboose was no longer being used as a classroom, it remained a source of pride for students and staff, as well as a backdrop for plenty of class pictures. So the question for many has been, why remove it?
“It’s a safety hazard at this point,” Masiello said. “It was too rusty, it was falling apart to the point where nobody could go inside of it. The roof was shot, it leaked, causing mold and mildew. Nobody has been in it for years. It just kept rusting and rusting and rusting because of the salty air here on the Island.”
Early in the morning on Feb. 24, a crew from the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish arrived at AME with a large crane and an extended-length “wide load” semi-truck to remove the caboose. They chose a Saturday because of safety concerns associated with such an undertaking when children and staff were on the campus. The caboose was successfully lifted off its track and onto the truck without incident. It was then taken to Parrish, where Florida Railroad Museum staff will evaluate whether it can be restored and join the museum’s five other vintage cabooses currently on display.
Editorial: Strange changes
Anna Maria Island beachgoers lost their beloved fishing pier at Manatee Beach in 2009. There were some good reasons; principally, it was a safety hazard due to its deteriorating condition, lifeguards said. But for those who remember learning to surf there, it was like a death.
Within the next three months, the Island is about to lose the beloved treehouse at Angelino’s Sea Lodge. There are some good reasons for that too – for one, the owners never got a permit from the city of Holmes Beach before building it. But fans who come back year after year always ask the same thing: “Is the treehouse still here?”
Last week, we lost the beloved red train caboose at Anna Maria Elementary School, which for nearly 40 years was the school’s unofficial mascot (the official mascot is the dolphin). There was again a good reason; it was deteriorating due to the salt air.
Old Australian pines were recently removed on Coquina Beach, leaving pedestrians in the sun instead of the shade, but the good reason was that their roots were buckling the sidewalk.
Pines Trailer Park residents in Bradenton Beach – and many islanders – fear losing the old-Florida-style park now that new, development-minded owners have purchased it. Progress may be a good reason to some, but not so good to others.
Losing the Gregg Allman-era vibe on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach with the recent demolition of the historic Magnolia Inn and several other buildings soon to be replaced with a bigger, better hotel – ditto.
When they got rid of the automobile ferry to Anna Maria Island after the first bridge to the island was built – which happened within the lifetime of some elders who are still with us – those folks shook their heads, but they faced the strange changes.
Y’all, listen up.
The only constant in life is change.
Sometimes, it’s for a good reason. Sometimes, a bad one. Sometimes, it’s for an anguished but necessary reason, like using the nuclear bomb to end WWII. Sometimes, it’s for a selfish reason. Sometimes, a greedy reason. Sometimes, for no apparent reason at all.
Back in the day, Anna Maria Island used to be pronounced Anna “Mar-eye-ah” Island. That changed too.
Love AMI now, because – like everything else in life – we will eventually lose what we thought it was to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. And again and again, we will have to let it go.
Family, friends honor AME teacher with memorial garden
HOLMES BEACH – Friends, family and Anna Maria Elementary (AME) staff gathered at the school on Saturday to honor Kim Bobo and dedicate a memorial garden in her honor.
The beloved member of the AME staff worked as the school’s speech pathologist for 34 years, touching many lives in the process.
Bobo and her husband, Allen, moved to Anna Maria Island in 1988, having their son, Matt, shortly after. She finished her master’s degree in speech while her children were young and began her career at AME. Anyone who has visited the AME campus is familiar with the red train caboose on the property. Although it is used for storage today, when Mrs. Bobo joined the AME family, it was her first classroom.
“You talk about finding a place in paradise,” Allen Bobo said. “Anna Maria Island in general, then you find this school and wind up in the caboose by the bay. It was just paradise for her and she absolutely loved it.”
Allen Bobo was vice-president of The Center of Anna Maria Island for 16 years and recalls the kids coming to The Center for activities, and how it fostered a camaraderie among the people who call AMI home.
“All the kids on the Island were playing all these sports at the community center, so you sat there in the bleachers with everybody,” he said. “Everybody got to know each other. The old joke was, ‘It takes a community to raise a kid.’ Everybody raised each other’s kids out here.”
In honor of her service to AME and the thousands of children over the years who’ve passed through the school’s doors, a memorial garden has been created on the property, ensuring her memory will live on for many years to come.
“They did a friendship memorial garden in her honor,” Bobo’s son, Matt, said. “Some teachers and former staff came out last week and helped dig up what was there and re-plant and put down mulch to make it nice. A plaque should be here in the coming days that will stand in the garden.”
Fundraising efforts from the AME PTO helped make the garden possible.
“Mrs. Bobo was a long-time, valued staff member of the AME family, spending her entire career at AME,” AME Principal Mike Masiello said. “She was an outstanding person and speech-language pathologist and will be missed. We are happy to be able to dedicate a garden space in her name. Kim was a friend to all and touched so many lives, especially students and staff at AME.”
AME students back in school
HOLMES BEACH – For some children, it was their first day of kindergarten, and emotions ranged from excitement to just plain nervousness. For fifth graders, it was the first day of their last year at Anna Maria Elementary School (AME), and they were ready to enjoy a year of being at the top of the elementary school food chain.
school at Anna Maria Elementary, as Joshua Cook looks back. – Anne Yarborough | Sun
Dressed to impress, with many sporting new backpacks and their personal favorite outfit, students were ready for the first day of school on the morning of Aug. 10. Parents lined up to drop off their children at AME as Principal Mike Masiello, the school staff, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer and several Holmes Beach police officers greeted parents and this year’s 206 students.
“We had a great turnout for back-to-school night. Parents and students were excited to meet the teachers,” Masiello said. “It’s wonderful to be back in session and see the kid’s smiling faces as they walked into the building for the first day of school. We look forward to a school year full of teaching, learning and all of the wonderful events that make AME such a great school.”
It wasn’t just staff and students who were excited to begin the new school year; parents were also ready for another year at the little school by the bay that many feel is a special privilege for their children to attend.
“My kids couldn’t wait to get into school this morning,” said Margie Messinger, who has three children at AME. “I have children in kindergarten, second and third grades. They were dressed up and ready to go, and there was quite the welcoming committee this morning. The principal, chief of police and just about everybody was out there; it was great.”
“This is one of the reasons we live here. Anna Maria Island is already amazing, but this school is the cherry on top,” second-grader parent Michelle Urbiola said. “They brought in the Guy Harvey program and I can’t have my kids anywhere else. This is the best place for them and I’m just so grateful.”
Reel Time: Empowering the Next Generation
You don’t have to convince an angler of the importance of a healthy grass flat or a robust stand of mangroves or persuade them that we’re losing this precious resource at an alarming rate.
Anglers like Capt. Justin Moore, who is on the water over 200 days a year, sees the changes firsthand. Moore has been guiding on Manatee County waters for 24 years. He learned his trade under the tutelage of his father, Capt. Scott Moore, and worries that his son, Jas, will not have some of the opportunities he’s had. That’s why it’s important to empower the next generation of anglers who don’t have a vote but will inherit this landscape. Fortunately, there are a couple of high-profile programs on Anna Maria Island that are doing just that.
The Center of Anna Maria Island engages children in activities that teach sustainability and give them an understanding of the responsibility we all have to be stewards of our paradise. Through curricular units that include recycling, composting, gardening (on their property) and natural nutrition, they make these connections between responsibilities and action.
Bishop Museum and Mote Marine facilitators teach Anna Maria’s young citizens to understand the environment around them and develop a love for its creatures and the environment that supports them and us.
Clean water units are shared annually with students through The Center’s Earth Echo program. Participants in the curricular units collect water samples and analyze them, helping them focus on the importance of clean water. The program was developed after famed oceanographer Philippe Cousteau’s visit to The Center three years ago when he guided those in attendance to “zip tie themselves to the mangroves to protect them!”
This past year, Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) announced it would be home to the world’s first Guy Harvey Academy of Arts and Science. The academy, which focuses on marine sciences, conservation and the arts, is a collaboration between the School District of Manatee County and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF).
Harvey has devoted his talent, time and resources to protecting oceans, fish populations and reef systems through the development of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University and the GHOF. Those institutions have educated the next generation of environmentalists and made contributions to protecting fish resources and biodiversity in the world’s oceans.
The program will benefit students from other schools as well with field trips and summer camps, and will eventually expand to all elementary schools in the district as well as to complementary programs at King Middle and Manatee High.
Programs like this need to be expanded to give the next generation of anglers and Island residents the tools they will need to protect these endangered marine resources. In the meantime, we the voters need to step up for those who don’t have a vote, empowering them so they have a fighting chance to succeed where we have failed.
In the words of 14-year-old Brice Claypoole, “Vote for politicians who put our future over the deep-pocketed interests who pay them in campaign donations. And spread the word! Inform others on how to properly trim mangroves on their property and the dangers these trees face. Our paradise is in peril, and it takes everyone to stand up to developers and uninformed homeowners to realize the great benefits these trees offer. On behalf of my generation and those of the future, thank you.”
Guy Harvey visits AME to dedicate academy
HOLMES BEACH – Prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year, Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) announced it would be home to the world’s first Guy Harvey Academy of Arts and Science, and Dr. Harvey dedicated the academy in person on Friday.
The academy, which focuses on marine sciences, conservation and the arts, is a collaboration between the School District of Manatee County and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF).
With the academy up and running and students and staff beyond enthusiastic, Harvey met students and staff and saw the academy’s progress on dedication day.
Harvey has devoted his talent, time and resources to protect oceans, fish populations and reef systems through the development of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University and the GHOF. Those institutions have made numerous contributions to protecting fish resources and biodiversity in the world’s oceans.
Harvey is also an internationally known artist, and his artwork is regularly featured in galleries, on his hugely successful line of apparel and many other products. He holds a degree in marine biology from Aberdeen University in Scotland and a doctorate in fisheries management from the University of West Indies.
“This is really a template, we’re just getting started on a very long journey of educating kids about the value of marine science and the value of conserving our marine environments,” Harvey said. “I’m not a tree hugger, I love to fish and I eat fish. I’m a normal human being, but I do see the devastation that people have caused in not only Florida, but the Caribbean where I live and other countries and I know that we can do better.”
The collaboration happened quickly after School Superintendent Cynthia Saunders met representatives from GHOF at a conference. The school’s waterfront location on Anna Maria Island made AME the perfect place to launch the academy, and it didn’t take long before both parties agreed to move forward with the project, which began at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
“Today is an exciting day for Anna Maria Elementary School and the School District of Manatee County to be able to formalize the establishment of the first-ever Guy Harvey Academy of Arts & Science at Anna Maria Elementary School,” AME Principal Mike Masiello said. “Having this innovative program in Manatee County in partnership with such a well-respected name as Dr. Guy Harvey is an amazing opportunity. Students will be able to participate in lessons that support a true STEAM approach, learning math and science through an art lens. The lessons also take learning about our marine environment and conservation to a deeper level.”
The program will benefit students from other schools as well with field trips and summer camps and will eventually expand to all elementary schools in the district as well as to complementary programs at King Middle and Manatee High, he said.
“I would like to acknowledge our teachers, staff, parents and the community here at Anna Maria Elementary for embracing this new initiative. Thank you to Superintendent Saunders, school district staff and The Guy Harvey Foundation for all of their hard work in creating a program which will have a positive impact on our students and our community for generations to come.”
After a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony with school officials, Harvey toured the school and the grounds before meeting several students participating in the program who showed him some of the projects they had completed in the academy.
“I love how excited they are about this, it’s incredible, and they’ve done some really good work,” Harvey said. “I really enjoyed getting to speak with them.”
AME student’s art on patrol with HBPD officer
HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Elementary School fifth grader Charlee Maize has her artwork displayed in an unconventional place – in the window of Holmes Beach Police Officer Christine LaBranche’s patrol vehicle.
As the school’s resource officer, LaBranche is a daily presence at AME and a friend of students and staff alike.
LaBranche presented school Principal Mike Masiello with the idea to create a contest for fifth graders to create artwork honoring police officers and their work in the community.
The winner’s artwork would be turned into a decal to be placed on the officer’s patrol vehicle. With Maisello’s support, the contest was held with the theme of “police protecting our community.” After reviewing all of the submitted artwork, HBPD Chief Bill Tokajer chose Maize as the winner.
“The idea was brought to me by Officer LaBranche, and I loved it,” Masiello said. “She said she had seen it somewhere else, and it would be great for community relations and I agreed.”
Tokajer presented Maize with the chief’s challenge coin. Her art will remain displayed on the school resource officer’s police vehicle until after next year’s competition.
“Every student did a great job,” Tokajer said. “I really liked the way Charlee made the “o” in police as a donut, it was a great touch, and we’re happy her work will be seen by many in Holmes Beach. We hope to continue this with the fifth graders every year.”
He said he hopes to make this a yearly tradition honoring the artwork of AME students and to continue the long-time positive relationship between the community and the police department.
AME is one of only a few elementary schools in the county with a full-time police officer stationed on campus. Tokajer says while it is common to have a police presence at high schools, AME is fortunate to have the service of a full-time school resource officer. While he said most elementary and schools do have on-site security, they are generally private, often retired police officers and bonded civilian agents.
AME celebrates Peace Day
HOLMES BEACH – Each year, the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on Sept. 21, and each year, students at Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) hold a celebration of peace at the school known as Peace Day.
The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN). Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Each year the UN designates a specific theme for the day, and this year’s theme was “End racism, build peace.”
Students spent the day putting on performances, flying international flags and enjoying presentations from guest speakers such as Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island President Jim McDaniel. During his presentation to the students, he used three different kinds of apples to explain how – just like the apples – people may look different on the outside, but are the same on the inside, regardless of race.
The Manatee High School Drum Line was also on hand to perform.
“Every grade level got up and sang a song for Peace Day,” AME principal Mike Masiello said. “Every class also did a different craft project, some did shirts, some did Peace Day plates, and they all did bulletin boards with themes like what does Peace Day mean to you. It’s a lot of fun and the kids learned a lot about diversity while having a great time.”
Masiello also said his staff and students are thrilled to be able to once again have events like Peace Day where students, parents and staff can all get together in person after two years of no activities or restricted activities due to COVID-19. He said as long as there are no drastic changes regarding COVID, all the plays and gatherings this year are back to the way they were pre-COVID.
“Racism continues to poison institutions, social structures, and everyday life in every society. It continues to be a driver of persistent inequality. And it continues to deny people their fundamental human rights,” according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “It destabilizes societies, undermines democracies, erodes the legitimacy of governments, and the linkages between racism and gender inequality are unmistakable.”