About two years ago, Alexander Waldman ’10, Andrea Abtahi ’10, and Michael Kenton ’10 were celebrating a fellow alumnus’ birthday.

Brad Austin ’97 began his undergraduate career thinking he was going to be a veterinarian. “When I started at the University of Florida, they wanted you to declare a major right away,” said Brad. “I found Animal Sciences and thought, ‘I like animals, I like being outside,’ and it seemed cool.”

Pine Crest School Executive Director of Security and Support Services Joseph Markham has been named Campus Safety Director of the Year by Campus Safety magazine. Awardees were selected from a pool of national candidates representing pre-kindergarten through grade twelve schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals.

Summer is right around the corner, and it is the perfect time for teachers’ reflection, professional growth, and the chance to dive into a good book. Inspired by Pine Crest School’s 2019-24 Strategic Plan, “The Future is Here,” this year’s faculty summer reading supports themes that are reflected in the overarching, guiding question:

By Spencer Davimos ’22

Pine Crest School received three Anatomage Tables recently.

Anatomage Tables are virtual dissecting tables that are generally used by medical schools such as the Mayo Clinic to allow medical students the opportunity to perform virtual autopsies. One Table is located in an Upper School Huizenga Family Science Building classroom. The additional Tables are located in the Middle School life science classrooms — one on the Boca Raton campus and one on the Fort Lauderdale campus.

By Danielle Weisfisch ’20

Today’s pre-primary aged students are presented with a variety of different tech tools, many of which we use at Pine Crest School.

Previously published on May 6, 2016.

At Pine Crest School, student-athletes are supported by their coaches, whose college contacts are some of the best in South Florida. Our coaches work with our college counselors to ensure a prospective college has the full picture of each student-athlete.

With the resources to train the entire athlete as well as assistance with editing and preparing highlight videos that showcase each student’s strengths, Pine Crest works with students to find the best fit and opportunity.

Middle School at Pine Crest is home to new virtual reality (VR) equipment, which Pine Crest Computer Science and Technology faculty are using to teach students how to create their own virtual experiences and to influence others’ perspective.

“More content is being released and is increasingly available and accessible, and VR and augmented reality (AR) devices are becoming more effective,” said Mr. Sean Tibor, Pine Crest Computer Science and Technology Specialist. “By the time our Middle School students go to college, they will need to know how to use this equipment and feel comfortable using it.”

The terms “VR” and “AR” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.

“The difference is that AR takes information around you and fuses the world you are in with additional data or information  — think Pokemon Go,” said Mr. Tibor. “VR is about immersion and perspective. It overlays virtual items or instances on top of the real world. The benefit of VR technology is that it can change our perspective from a few different axes: distance, time, scale, and the forthcoming, human perspective."

Delving into these axes, Mr. Tibor shared how using VR technology is not limited to one course or subject.  

Pine Crest formed the School’s first-ever Lower and Middle School FIRSTⓇ LEGO LeagueⓇ (FLL) competitive teams four years ago, and since then, the Panthers have formed eight teams who have made their mark on the South Florida region.

Project based learning (PBL) initiatives are some of the ways faculty are approaching hands-on learning with students. A PBL assignment engages students in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. Students then demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a public product or presentation for a real audience.

By Vicki Spitalnick, Innovation Specialist

At Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Florida, Middle School is comprised of students in grades six, seven, and eight. Transitioning to Middle School from fifth grade is a significant step for students.

By Kelly Paredes, M.Ed., CIT
Computer Science and Educational Technology Specialist

Long-time Pine Crest School Dance Director, Brenda Gooden, retired in June 2017 after teaching at Pine Crest for 36 years.

By Sophia Lieuw-Kie-Song ’22

Researchers have found that students who prepare for exams in advance, study efficiently, and make healthy choices perform better on exams. Here are some important tips to consider:

At Pine Crest School innovation is part of the curriculum from day one. Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten students visit the Zimmerman Family iLab, or the Mintz Family iLab each month, and have computer science class twice a week.

Students are exposed to basic algorithmic thinking and logical reasoning through elementary coding classes. Students use applications on iPads, like Dash and Dot, Ozobot, Bee-Bot, and Codeable to learn to sequence and debug code. Students see their code come to life in the small robots that complement the applications they use.  

Digital portfolios are also part of their computer science and technology curriculum. Students upload samples of their assignments, or “artifacts,” to reflect on what they have learned. These portfolios will follow them throughout their academic careers at Pine Crest.

During their time in the iLabs, students are exposed to organic gardening and engineering challenges. They are exposed to the design thinking process showing students how to research, ideate, experiment, and reflect as to problem-solve and think creatively.  

Students are given design challenges exposing them to the engineering process and teaching them to manipulate materials and construction techniques appropriate for their age level. Additionally, students use Squishy Circuits to learn the basics of electricity and circuitry.

This innovative curriculum is designed for students to take risks and fail forward.