Seven people have volunteered over 1,100 hours combined throughout Marion County classrooms over the past year. Now, they’re in the spotlight for making the difference for kids.
Roger Langley is Marion County Public Schools’ 2012 recipient of the district’s highest volunteer honor, The Henry “The Dude” Duda Volunteer Award. Langley volunteers an average of 30 hours each week at Harbour View Elementary, supporting teachers, students, and others. With over 17 years of volunteer experience, Langley’s also a retired social studies teacher. He spends his time grading papers, recording grades, and helping students in the classroom. He gives monthly presentations with all fifth-grade classes, sharing facts and pictures from all around the world, enriching their experience by often dressing according to the region he is discussing.
Justin Urso is the Classroom Student Volunteer of the Year. He gives his time to fourth graders at Sparr Elementary (his former school), even coming in over his college spring break to help them brush up their math skills. Urso graduated from Vanguard and is currently enrolled at the University of Central Florida. To date, he’s spent over 300 hours volunteering in classrooms.
Danielle Prinz is the Schoolwide Student Volunteer of the Year. She started a mentoring program at Dunnellon Elementary, “Tiger to Cub,” matching high school students with fourth graders for the school year. This year, Prinz raised over $1,000 for a school literacy event and field trip. She’s logged over 129 volunteer hours at the school this year.
Sallyann White is the Classroom Adult Volunteer of the Year. She has spent the last three years in second grade classrooms at Dunnellon Elementary organizing the special centers work, tests, and take-home paperwork. She is also a part of the PTO and helps at school functions and with 4-H. She’s given more than 174 volunteer hours so far this school year.
<.b>Alison Clement, the Schoolwide Adult Volunteer of the Year, has been at South Ocala Elementary for over six years doing everything from field trips to redesigning the school’s website and yearbook. She most recently dedicated her time processing new resources and materials into the media center. She’s recorded over 126 volunteer hours this year alone at the school.
Robbins Leslie, the Classroom Senior Volunteer of the Year, has been at Lake Weir Middle for more than two years spending his days with sixth-grade students working one-on-one and in small groups as well as supervising school hallways. Leslie is a retired Marion County teacher with over 30 years of experience and more than 400 hours this year at Lake Weir Middle.
Carolyn Ruhe is the Schoolwide Senior Volunteer of the Year. She spends time at Belleview-Santos Elementary working one-on-one with students and small groups. Ruhe started a non-profit program, Tutors for Kids, which organizes retired professionals to volunteer their time tutoring struggling students. Already, she’s logged more than 109 hours at the school this year.
District-wide this school year, volunteers have logged over 143,305 hours. Adults volunteers lead the list with 3,681 hours followed by seniors (596 hours) and youth (371 hours).
CONGRATULATIONS to the Lake Weir High Envirothon team who took 8th place in the Central Florida Envirothon at Myakka River State Park near Sarasota earlier in the Spring. There were 30 teams represetning 28 counties in this competition.
The Hurricanes team of five includes seniors, Grace Avecilla and TJ Ellis; juniors, Alex Colling and Keith Knudsen; and freshman, Matthew Avecilla. They will move on to compete at the state level.
Scores for the individual topics included the following: tied for 5th place in the Orals; 6th place in Wildlife; 8th place in Current Issues; 9th place in Soils; 12th place in Aquatics; and 18th place in Forestry.
The Hurricanes were recognized by the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District on May 11th at the Appleton Museum for their accomplishments as representatives of Marion County.
Congratulate to these hard-working young people for a job well-done!
US News & World Report issued its latest "Best High School" rakings nationwide. Marion County has five "medal" winners:
GOLD - Vanguard ranked #23 in Florida, #328 nationally.
SILVER - Lake Weir ranked #89 in Florida, #1958 nationally.
BRONZE - Belleview, MTI, and West Port recognized nationally.
Total visits since 1/1/2012: 3,847,949
Total visits in 2011: 9,268,306
Total visits in 2010: 8,620,826
Total visits in 2009: 4,851,153
Total visits in 2008: 3,104,170
Marion County Public Schools
An Equal Opportunity School District
512 SE 3 Street, Ocala, Florida 34471 USA
