MAST AP Scores 5 Year Trend Data

Click here to review a full copy of the report!

2011 Summer Anchor Boat Races

Summer Anchor 2011 - Team Builders Video

Here's the Class of 2015 working on team building during the 

2011 Summer Anchor program!

MAST Gets a New Mako - Can You Guess Who?

Introducing our new mascot costume!  Can anyone guess who donned the suit shortly after it arrived?

Summer Update

Where to begin?  Graduation was great, we closed the year with much activity, and the Summer Anchor was absolutely terrific.  This has been our first week without MAST students in the building.  Even so we have our summer swim camp, the YMCA Marine Biology camp, and the district Math & Science teachers in the auditorium with professional development.  Definitely not a summer break!

I have many pictures and video to edit to be able to put together a Summer Anchor piece to show to everyone.  A little patience and I promise something that everyone will enjoy!

Finally, and as I prepare to post and sign out, MAST has received national rankings on both the Washington Post and Newsweek lists.  On the Washington Post rankings we are #92. On the Newsweek list we moved up to # 46 in the nation!  Congratulations to the whole MAST community for the recognition.

Silver Knight Celebration

MAST Academy Silver Knight Nominees:

Ryan Leibowitz - Business
Kamilah Acebal - New Media
Alexander Gonzalez - Journalism
Paige Owens - Gen Scholarship
Ana Gil - Mathematics
Eduardo Rizo - Science
Alli Katzen - English

-- Post From My iPhone

2011 Final Exam Schedule

The MAST 2011 Final Exam Schedule, as seen below, can also be found in the page tabs above and soon on our MAST Academy homepage at http://www.gomakos.com/.  Good luck, Makos!  Prepare well!!!

Recycling Decor - Nice Tree!

After the Recycling Wars and with Earth Day 2011 pending, some students came up with a great design that fits right in with our tropical environment!





-- Post From My iPhone

Floating Stage Projects - MAST Engineering

Click on the video below to see video of the student projects on a floating stage design for the Marine Stadium next door to MAST Academy.  Congratulations to Ms. Fernandez's classes for some really great work!

To see each of the teams' individual projects, and leave comments please visit the MAST Floating Stage Project blog.

District Water Polo Tournament Update

Congratulations to both MAST water polo teams for their victories and advancing to the district finals! The girls beat Miami Beach 7-6 and the beat Columbus 11-10. The students showed tremendous heart and persistence. Be proud!

More to come as we head to the MAST-MCDS finals beginning in under an hour!


-- Post From My iPhone

At the Ususal Clip!

Our voyage is progressing about as fast as anyone can possibly imagine.  Thank you to everyone involved in FCAT testing as we closed Friday with over 97% of students having tested and an incredibly small number of make ups to complete this week.  With no time to waste, we are headed right into AP testing and finally EOC testing.

This past weekend Ms. Reboredo ran an amazingly successful Model United Nations event at MAST.  Schools from around the county came to MAST and, according to Ms. Reboredo, they very much enjoyed what MAST was able to provide in terms of facilities and organizations.  Special thanks to everyone who, and especially Ms. Reboredo, made this such a success not only for our students but for all who came to the Model UN.

Finally, water polo districts are upon us!  This Wednesday both the boys' and girls' teams face some tough competition as MAST hosts the District 10 tournament.  Please check the Makos ABC flyer for the game times that the Makos are playing and come out to support our players as they make a run for states!

Smooth sailing until the next ...

Humboldt Squid Dissection via Skype!

Here is a brief video of the Humboldt squid dissection that Mr. Tohulka arranged for our students to participate in via Skype with Newburyport High school in Massachusetts.

MAST Lady Makos Soccer Standouts!

Congratulations to the Lady Makso for an outstanding season and their nominations to the All-Dade team.

2011 AP Exam Schedule

Here's a copy of the 2011 Advanced Placement Exam schedule. Copies are also available online at http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ap/about/dates




-- Post From My iPhone

Pool Shark Reappears!

After an unexpected travel delay, the Pool Shark was back in full force for FCAT 2011 Day 2! The elusive creature is seen here with pool cue and magic FCAT dust.


Good luck, Makos! Take a bite out of that FCAT!


-- Post From My iPhone

FCAT Day 1 Done, FCAT Day 2 is Here!

Congratulations and thank you to everyone for making the first day of FCAT this year go so well.  We had 97% or better attendance in all three tested grade levels for yesterday's first round.  Today the 9th and 10th graders have reading for a short period in the morning while 11th and 12th graders have normal class.  Tomorrow is the first day of computer-based Math testing.  Good luck, Makos! Make us proud!

Tonight is also busy at MAST with our PTSA meeting at which Boston University admissions director, Mr. Jon Korhone, will speak about the college admissions process and related information and concerns.  The meeting and presentation begin this evening at 7PM in the MAST Auditorium.

Between FCAT and PTSA, we have our EESAC meeting this afternoon, too.  Sounds like another busy day on Virginia Key.  Pleasant day to all.  See you for the presentation!

MAST Water Polo - Miami Herald Article

MAST and Palmetto capture GMAC titles

BY ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ
A1FERNANDEZ@MIAMIHERALD.COM

MAST Academy’s boys’ water polo team has watched other schools win GMAC championships in their pool in recent years.

On Saturday afternoon, it was the Makos’ turn to celebrate.

Led by a solid defensive effort from goalkeeper Charles Hickey and a balanced scoring attack, MAST defeated last year’s state runner-up Columbus 14-11 in the Title-GMAC boys’ water polo championship.

The Makos (12-2) snapped Columbus’ four-year reign as GMAC champions with the victory, and won their first GMAC crown since 1997.

“This all started two years ago with a young team that has been getting better over time,” MAST coach Yuniel Usin said.

On the girls’ side, Palmetto won its second GMAC championship in a row with a 13-6 victory over Miami Beach. The Panthers (12-3) took control of the match early in the second half, as Julianna Matos converted several of her shots.

Matos, a San Diego State signee, scored a game-high nine goals and had three steals. Samantha Shaffer also had three goals, two assists and two steals.

Goalkeeper Tori Wick paced Palmetto’s defense with three blocks. She also had 10 blocks in Palmetto’s 13-7 semifinal win against Krop.

“It’s all thanks to great senior leadership,” Wick said. “We really wanted that gold medal.”

MAST had great goaltender play as well as Hickey stopped several Columbus shots throughout the boys’ final. With the game tied at nine heading into the fourth quarter, the Makos took an 11-9 lead. Columbus cut it to one and nearly tied it, but a shot by Luis Carrodeguas hit the post. MAST answered with two goals by Nicolas Sellar to pull away. Sellar finished with three goals as did Gabriel Garcia and Alberto Regalado. Sam Gregorio and Joseph Trutie each had two goals and Ryan Reifenberg had one.

Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/09/2160061/mast-and-palmetto-capture-gmac.html

Breaking News from the MAST Water Front!

This just in - The Makos Men's water polo team defeated the Columbus Explorers by a score of 13-11 to win the GMAC Championship!  Congratulations to the Makos for a tremendous victory!

FCAT: Who Will Be Testing? - Information for Next Week

Please see below and know when you will be testing and which part of the FCAT will be given on each day over the course of the FCAT testing window.

MAST's Electric Comsumption Drops Again!

Below is the latest report I received from the district regarding our electric consumption for the 2010-2011 school year.  My thanks to everyone for being cognizant of wasteful habits and correcting them.  Along with our physical plant projects, the extra care you have been taking to make sure no lights are left on or other electrical appliances left on are having a huge impact.  Congratulations to everyone!

BU College Admissions Director Coming to MAST

A reminder from Ms. Cosgrove in the CAP Office:

Jon Korhone, Admissions Director at Boston University, will be at MAST for an informational session on the college application process.

Mark your calendar ...

April 12, 7:00 pm in the MAST auditorium.

It's time to begin organizing for the college application process and this is a great way to receive valuable information and have your questions answered. I hope to see all the rising seniors at this presentation.


-- Post From My iPhone

Mecha Makos at Practice

Here is a video I shot a few weeks back showing one of our Mecha Makos teams practicing with their robot on our field in the Inidian Atrium.



This and other MAST videos can be found on YouTube on the MASTCapt channel.

Solar Pond Looking Sharp!

Although it was a cloudy day yesterday, the studnets' work on the solar pond shone through!  It is cleaned up and looking very sharp.  Thank you to Dr. Khalil and her kids for putting in the work to make the pond look so good.

-- Post From My iPhone

"The Last Text"

This is a link to a video that a former MAST parent sent to us yesterday about texting and driving. It is very powerful and definately something to see.  Please share it.

http://www.minnetonka.k12.mn.us/newsroom/mtkatoday/Pages/TextingVideo.aspx

Junior Ring Ceremony - Class of 2012

Congratulations to the Class of 2012!  This year's ring ceremony was great.  It was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.  Thanks to Mr. Lutz, the class officers, and all the faculty, staff, parents and family members that took their time to come out and share this special event with our students!


-- Post From My iPhone

Makos Sprucing Up the Solar Pond at MAST

Thank you for your hard work!

USCG Video of the MAST Academy USCG JROTC Visit to the USCG Cutter Valiant

Putting Out to Sail - Our Return from Spring Break!

I hope everyone had a magnificent Spring Break!  I, for sure, enjoyed every moment and soaked up as much family time as possible!  The highlight of my break was the "Behind the Seeds" tour at Epcot's The Land.  We spent about an hour and a half on a guided tour of Disney's agricultural work that mist of us see only from the boat tour.  Getting to see everything up close and to hear of how you can easily do a lot of what you see at home was absolutely fascinating.  If anyone is planning a trip to Disney in the near future I highly recommend it!  You can sign up right next to the desk by the entrance to Soarin'.  Here s a link to a post at Simply Hydroponics.com related to Epcot's tour.

This week we start back to what, I'm sure, will be whirlwind of activity.  Water polo practices, pending testing both in terms of FCAT and AP's are just around the corner and student registration continues.  Also, being as invitations for the coming school year went out before break, there will be many a phone call and email to return regarding next year's entries.  Just to get a jump on every one's calendar, Freshman Orientation has been scheduled for Saturday, May 7 from 9 AM to 12 noon.  There is always more to come!  Please check http://www.gomakos.com/ for more details of upcoming MAST events.

So Long to February and into March

Today we end February and head on into March!  Many things are happening at MAST this coming week including the FCAT Writing Exam for tenth graders on Tuesday, the Makos Water Polo teams have more matches, and Thursday is our final early release day of the year!

First, tomorrow is the FCAT Writing Exam.  Please make sure and check to know for sure you should be reporting. A list of the testing rooms and  relocation signs have been posted on the doors of the cabins around the Arctic Atrium and shared by teachers so you can be sure to be in the right place on time!

Tuesday the Makos also take on Coral Reef Senior in the pool.  Please come out and cheer on our teams just like last week!  I would love to see the bleachers full again as the 1-0 Lady Makos and the 2-1 Makos take a bite out of the Barracudas.

Finally, MAST Blast is right around the corner!  Next Friday is the day we go ahead and prepare ourselves for spring break and have a good time at the school wide carnival.  This year promises to be as active and enjoyable as ever! Get ready to get wet!

Mr. Mako is On!

Second Annual

And "the" question...





Great program at MAST tonight! The kids are great and the judges are amazing. Everyone is having a super time!

Mr. Mako 2011 was absolutely amazing.  Thank you to all who put in so much work and thanks to the judges for adding to the fun.  Particular kudos to all the young men who participated in the show.  You make us very proud and have demonstrated another facet of what it means to be at MAST! 

And Mr. Mako and Mr. Mini-Mako for 2011 are:

                                         Caelen                                                         Harry

-- Post From My iPhone

MAST Water Polo - Season Openers 2011

The MAST water polo teams opened their seasons with convincing wins against Hialeah Gardens this afternoon. It was a great afternoon with a lot of MAST spirit!

-- Post From My iPhone

Catching Up and Sailing on Strong

As February is drawing to a close, there is much in the wings at MAST.  In a few short days, we will have the FCAT Writing exam for 10th graders, our PTSA will be hosting our 5th gala event (please see prior post for RSVP information), water polo season is about to begin, and student registration for the 2011-2012 school year begins next week.  That's a lot to look forward to!

This afternoon our water polo teams kick off their seasons with their first meets at home against Hialeah Gardens Senior.  The girls play at 4 pm and the boys at 5 pm.  Tomorrow night we celebrate our Teacher and Rookie Teacher of the Year.  Ms. Avendano and Ms. Fernandez are our MAST nominees respectively.  Wednesday evening we will join all the district nominees for see who will be the recipient of this year's award.  We will wind up the week with a second visit from a group of British teachers.  Earlier in the year we had a small group of about six educators come by for the day and experience MAST.  This time around, the group will shadow teachers and spend a day and a half with us.

Good luck to all and I hope you enjoy a shorter but extremely busy week.

Miami National College Fair

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Miami National College Fair. It was a nice afternoon with quite a few MAST families in attendance. There was a lot of information available from schools across the country and the Caribbean.

-- Post From My iPhone

20 Years of Excellence - MAST PTSA Gala

Please save the date and reserve your spot at this year's MAST PTSA Gala celebrating 20 Years of Excellence! If you haven't already, here is the link to make your reservations: http://www.gomakos.com/2011-gala/
Please reserve ASAP! See you there and thank you for supporting our amazing school!


-- Post From My iPhone

CAP Update from Ms. Cosgrove

Just a reminder to any junior that would like a SAT/ACT waiver to come up to the CAP Office. There are two test dates remaining for SAT and ACT. Also, you should consider registering to take the Subject area tests.

She will be in the CAP Office Feb. 16th 7-3 and Feb. 17th 7-12.


-- Post From My iPhone

Ending of the First Semester

This week bring to a close the first semester already.  It is amazing just how fast the year is cruising by.  Midterms began last Friday and will continue through this Thursday.  Friday is a teacher work day with second quarter and midterm exam grades due.  Good luck to all and study hard in final preparation.

Friday will be a very busy day!  First off, we will be celebrating all the Teacher of the Year nominees from Region III  the Teacher of the Year Recognition Breakfast.  A group of people will be going to celebrate Ms. Avendano's nomination and being a regional finalist.  After the celebration, Mr. Tohulka and a group of students are planning on beginning work on restarting our aquaria.  We hope to have at least the tanks filled and circulating fresh water as we check for leaks and begin our march back to the beautiful tanks we used to have on display.  The goal is to set up three tanks - the main tank in Mr. Tohulka's classroom, the tank in Ms. Jones-Robert's classroom, and the tank in Dr. Ochatt's classroom.  I also wanted to thank MAST alum, Michael Ronzetti, for his help and ideas on the monitoring systems we are looking at for the tanks. It is really exciting to be moving forward to their restoration.

In another arena, this year's gala invitations are done and out!  We finished printing them this past Friday and Ms. Harrington and Ms. Leibowitz were finishing the labels and stuffing the envelopes for a weekend mailing.  They should soon be arriving in the mail.  Save March 4th as the date and please come out to the Links at Crandon to celebrate with us.

I wish all a great beginning to a short but extremely full week.

Bright Futures Information & Guidance Sheet

Ms. Cosgrove has a copy of this document in her office or you can click on the picture below to download your own copy.  Please review it carefully and register.  If you have any questions, please be sure to stop in and visit Ms. Cosgrove in her office or drop her an email!

 For more MAST CAP information, click on the post title to go to the MAST CAP site!

Rally Before Tally - MDC PTSA

School is about Learning - New Year's Resolution

The title of this post says a lot. School is about learning. It's about the learning of an entire community - students, teachers, support staff, and parents. In particular this learning focuses on students and the community helping them go from one level of knowledge and action to a new higher and deeper level of understanding and action. For this year, that is what I am going to spend the majority of my time focusing on with my time at and my time beyond MAST.

As noted a few posts earlier, I have four new titles to read from this weekend alone. The first two are well on their way and I have enjoyed each moment. The other two, and several on my Kindle, are patiently waiting for me to turn to them.

A final reminder, we have our first PTSA meeting of the year at 7 PM tomorrow night, January 3rd, in the MAST auditorium. Please plan on attending!

So, as I make final preparations for the return to school in the morning, I say goodnight and Happy 2011!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone/iPad

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011 to the entire MAST community and thanks for a great 2010. I am very much looking forward to what our voyage holds for us in the coming year!

This weekend I picked up four new titles, two of which, The New Marine Aquarium and Build a Website for Free, I have already begun reading. They are both interesting and I am enjoying them although they're very different. The aquarium book is necessary because we need to rebuild our MAST aquaria. I have a personal experience with tropical freshwater fish but none with saltwater or reef tanks. From my earlier post requesting help from student recruits, I have two responses already and am planning a meeting with a friend who is very experienced for the first week we get back so he can help us lay the plan moving forward. The other title, Build a Website for Free was an impulse buy as it contained information on Wordpress, Google sites, and some other technologies (most of them free) that could possibly be things we can use to keep up our technology focus.

As I read on, I will check in and share some more of my thoughts. Please feel free to comment. Feedback is appreciated and all new ideas are welcome.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone/iPad

Update from Ms. Cosgrove - MAST CAP Office

This is a reminder that you may apply January 1 for Financial Aid. The website is www.fafsa.gov. Remember applying for financial aid is free. I will be in the classrooms beginning January 19th so you may apply for Bright Futures and FAFSA at that time if you prefer. If you have any questions please email me. I will be in school Wednesday , January 5th, from 7-3. I hope you all had a restful winter break. Those applying for the Gates Millennium Scholarship remember the online application must be submitted by January 10,2011 11.59 pm EST. You are eligible if you are African American , American Indian/Alask Native, Asian Pacific Islander American or Hispanic American. Check out the website for more information.


-- Post From My iPhone