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Students, teachers all smiles as AME wraps another school year

Students, teachers all smiles as AME wraps another school year

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Schools.

HOLMES BEACH – As parents waited in line to pick up their children on the last day at Anna Maria Elementary School, the graduating fifth-grade class made a lap around the school, getting a round of applause from fellow students, teachers and school staff.

The victory lap ended as every student gave Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer a high-five while parents and staff continued to clap in support of the children who will be moving on from the little school by the bay. 

“It has been an amazing school year,” said Alyson Larson, parent of fourth-grader Alba Rose Larson. “We got to participate in field day last week. Having the parents involved and back out there with the kids was super special.”

“It was great to see the kids all back together and see their parents get involved. It was just fantastic,” said David Larson, Alyson’s husband. 

Students and teachers were all smiles as AME wraps another school year
Fourth-grader Alba Rose Larson takes the lead in the potato sack race at AME Field Day on May 23. – Submitted

The 2021-22 school year that ended May 25 saw a return to normalcy after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic halted the parent-teacher involvement that AME students and parents are accustomed to. This year, in-person meetings with parents and teachers returned along with plays, field trips and other activities. 

“The beginning of the school year was a little tricky; we had to be flexible,” AME Principal Mike Masiello said. “It was around March when things began to feel normal and the kids seemed to be really engaged. We were able to have all of our field trips, plays and fifth-grade graduation. It ended up being a great year.” 

Students and teachers were all smiles as AME wraps another school year
AME kindergarteners and second-graders perform “Pajama Party” on May 17, the final school play of the 2021-22 school year. – Nick Reuter | Submitted

This was Principal Masiello’s first year at AME. At the beginning of the school year, he had no idea what COVID would bring when it came to the way his new school would operate. Fortunately, AME had one of Manatee County’s lowest COVID numbers throughout the year, with 27 student cases and two staff cases. Masiello, along with the teachers and staff at AME, hope next year will be even more “normal” than this year, allowing students and staff to foster creativity in and out of the classroom. 

Students and teachers were all smiles as AME wraps another school year
Lily Plummer says goodbye to AME with plenty of fanfare from her mother, Nicole, and brother, Luke, a first-grader at the school. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

“We love this school. Every single morning, we park the car and take our time walking our kids up the seashell path and get to give them a hug and a kiss,” said Kathi Reuter, who along with her husband, Nick, have two children attending AME.

“Last year we couldn’t do it; we just had to drop them off. The school plays are back again, which is awesome. It’s all just great,” Nick Reuter said. 

Due to recent events in Texas, school security is on everybody’s mind, and AME has established a good relationship with the local police. Holmes Beach Police Officer Christine Labranche is fully armed on school grounds when students and teachers are present, and teachers have security badges that allow them to alert police at the touch of a button should an emergency situation arise. Students and staff are also on a first-name basis with Police Chief Bill Tokajer, who was present for fifth-grade graduation, the last day of school and many other AME events. 

Principal Masiello said the security of students and staff is absolutely a top priority at AME.

“I feel pretty fortunate to be where I am,” he said.  

Class of 2021: AME friends stick together through high school

Class of 2021: AME friends stick together through high school

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

HOLMES BEACH – For decades, the “Little School by the Bay” has seen Island area students walk through the doors at the end of fifth grade to brave the world beyond Anna Maria Island, only to return with a fondness like no other.

The Class of 2021 high school graduates who attended Anna Maria Elementary School (AME) is no different.

As the fifth-graders, teachers and staff at AME felt the bittersweet emotions of the last day of school last week, the seniors at Manatee High School and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School, and the like, were feeling similar emotions.

In preschool, Tyler Brewer, Tuna McCracken and David Daigle prepared for AME and met new friends at the School for Constructive Play and Busy Bees.

While Tyler and Tuna were already tight buddies as they entered kindergarten, David joined the merry crew, which became an almost inseparable trio.

In second grade, Morgan Horesh arrived on the AME scene and was welcomed by the boys. The Anna Maria Island Community Center, now known as The Center, helped to gel the friendship with after-school programs and recreational sports.

Blake Balais joined in on the fun in the third grade at AME. Performing in the school plays and participating in school activities furthered the closeness of the friendships that would last after elementary school.

Like many AME Dolphins before them, their handprints can be found on the walls of the elementary school, keeping the long-standing tradition alive.

Despite going to different middle schools, the five boys remained close and always made room for new friends as they arrived on the Island.

Early in their AME days, the boys were introduced to Javier Rivera who moved with his family to the Island not speaking English. With the help of his new friends, Javier soon acclimated to his new home and made good friends.

Another newcomer was Cole Carter, who moved to the area at the start of his freshman year at Manatee High School. Through his interest in sports, Cole quickly found his place with the Island boys.

While David and Morgan made their way through the gauntlet at Saint Stephen’s, the other boys proudly walked the halls as Hurricanes. But after school and on the weekends, they were the same Island friends.

Blake’s love of baseball took him to the diamond, while Tuna’s passion for football put him on the gridiron. David hit the hardcourt playing a season of basketball for the Falcons, as well as a season of soccer in high school. Tyler also played soccer while at Manatee.

The Center sports brought them back together year after year. For these teenagers, community center flag football was always the most anticipated season. Each year, David, Morgan, Tuna and Tyler maneuvered to be on the same team, hoping to be able to pick up other friends like Blake, Cole and Connor Ludwig, who moved to the Island in middle school.

The Island’s community center was a second home for many of the AME class of 2021 graduates. Most of them went directly from AME to The Center five days a week and played sports on the fields past sundown. It is this love of the community center that keeps these young people coming back to play, volunteer, work and coach.

The love of the Island, AME and The Center made a graduation party at the community center the obvious setting. The celebration for five young men who have their roots deeply planted on the Island was a poetic ending to a chapter in their lives.

To start the next journey, two of the Island boys – Tuna and Tyler – will continue to give back to the community by working at The Center while attending school locally as the start of their new journey. David and Morgan will be attending Florida State University as roommates, while Blake and Connor will room together at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Congratulations to these boys of Anna Maria Island and all of the Class of 2021 graduates! The Island will always keep you connected.

Southeastern Guide Dogs Issac

Five guide dog teams graduate from training

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Entertainment, Events.

It was a happy day May 24 as five newly-trained guide dog teams received their diplomas and graduated from Southeastern Guide Dogs.

The ceremony took place at the T. Pepin Hospitality Center in Tampa and was the final step before the handlers, who received 20 days of immersive training on the Southeastern Guide Dogs Palmetto campus, and their guide dogs, who received two years of training, could go home to start their new lives together. Class #278 included Lisa Murphy and her guide dog Snoopy, Gloria Miller and her guide dog Dougie, Tommy Gagen and his guide dog Isaac, Ronda Shore and her guide dog Giovanni, and Arnold O’Neal and his guide dog Rizzo.

For Shore, Giovanni is her fourth guide dog and for O’Neal, Rizzo is his second guide dog. For Gagen, Murphy and Miller, this is their first time receiving a guide dog.

Prior to being matched with Snoopy, Murphy said she relied on a cane to get around and didn’t find it to be very effective as she still bumped into things.

Southeastern Guide Dogs Lisa Murphy
Lisa Murphy and her new guide dog Snoopy celebrate with Lisa’s family during the May 24 Southeastern Guide Dogs graduation festivities. – Kristin Swain | Sun

“She’s so playful,” Murphy said of Snoopy, who she called her “sidekick for life.”

“She’s a little bit of puppy and I’m a little bit immature so it’s a nice match,” she joked.

“It’s nice to have a sighted guide, like you can go walking with people and holding their elbow and everything like that but to do it on your own, I mean I know you have help from a guide dog but to do it on your own, it’s a lot different. When I was walking down there (with Snoopy) you feel like your head’s picked up, like you can see where you’re going. It’s like a self-esteem boost,” Murphy said of the training program.

For Murphy, the end of the three-week training session at Southeastern Guide Dogs and graduation marked the time for her and Snoopy to go home to Clearwater where Lisa’s family is happy to welcome the new addition.

“I’m excited to have a new member of the family,” Lisa’s daughter Kaylee said of Snoopy coming home. “She’s like my sister.”

Miller said the word “independence” sums up her whole experience with Southeastern Guide Dogs. With Dougie by her side, she said she feels like she’s regained her independence and ability to do daily activities without relying on friends and family. For Miller, she said it took 10 years to work up to getting a guide dog.

“I’m here, I’m at graduation and I’m still pinching myself because I’m actually taking a dog home. Thank you all so much,” she said during the commencement ceremony.

“Southeastern is an extraordinary place,” O’Neal said. “My family and I are just so grateful. It does allow someone to go from a less than ordinary to an extraordinary life when you have a guide dog. It opens up so many opportunities, so I really am just so grateful.”

Southeastern Guide Dogs trains and puts into service more than 150 dogs every year that help with everything from being eyes for people who can’t see to providing emotional support for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and comforting military families and children who have lost loved ones. All of the services at Southeastern Guide Dogs are provided to clients at no cost. The organization relies solely on private contributions and receives no government funding.

Five guide dog teams graduate from training
Southeastern Guide Dogs Chief Executive Officer Titus Herman congratulates class #278 on their graduation from training. – Kristin Swain | Sun

Chief Executive Officer Titus Herman said the nonprofit organization has more than 220 dogs in training on their Palmetto campus with around 150 staff members and more than 300 volunteers who help the dogs along from birth through their two years of training. Anna Maria Island residents are probably familiar with some of these volunteers, particularly the puppy raisers who bring guide dogs in training into their homes for a year to socialize the dogs, house train them and teach them everyday skills before the dogs return to the Southeastern Guide Dog campus for the remainder of their training. Each dog undergoes about two years of training before being matched with a handler.

The guide dogs of class #278 were sponsored by puppy naming sponsors IP Capital Partners LLC, Jet Mobile Home Park, LC Industries Foundation, Mastro Brothers Auto Group and Barbara Miller and her sons. Scholarship supporters include Interfaith Social Action Council Inc., Pinellas Optometric Association Inc., and the Raymond George and Ruth Bitner Fisher Foundation. Puppy raisers for this class were Rosemary and Mike Cliburn, Janet Daniels, Tom and Chris Limanni, Haley Smith, Trudy and Kevin Vetter, and Eileen “Annie” Westermann. The commencement ceremony was sponsored by the NLH Family Foundation.

For more information on Southeastern Guide Dogs, call 941-729-5665 or visit their website.