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Navy News  |
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Title : NJROTC Cadets Complete Florida's "Leadership Academy" |
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Five Gulf High NJROTC cadets were selected to participate in this years “Leadership Academy” hosted at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg. Each of the five (Robert Merker, Tania Gomez, Katelyn Hardy, Krystene Wills and Rebekah Wills) participated in grueling physical fitness training, academic studies, leadership and followership activities, etiquette training, orienteering, team building, sailing, and drill. All had practiced the physical training portion for a month prior to attending the academy, so did very well in that area, as well as, the rest. Each received the coveted silver “Leadership Aiguillette on Saturday at graduation. Congratulations to our cadets! Chief Rodriguez was one of the instructors who led the cadets during the week-long academy.
Posted by nesthus on Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:20 pm | (comments? | Score: 0)
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Title : School Year Ends - A Tidbit of History |
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NJROTC ROCKS!!! What a year!!! The Unit continues to improve almost daily. More awards, accolades, and accomplishments have been realized this year than any other in the past. If the year, and more particularly the last quarter are any indication of what’s to come, then come along for the ride or move aside!
Since the last newsletter, the Unit has been recognized by a number of Florida and Pasco County legislators, several newspapers and a number of fraternal and veteran organizations for its many achievements. Among them are “National Champion” Academic Team, “First Place Overall” at the Annual Brain Bowl State competition, “Third Place Overall” at the Florida Regional Championship in Academics, Athletics and Drill competition at Boca Raton, and “Fifth Place Overall” at the State Championship.
The biggest news of the year came in late March when the commander received word via email and phone call that Gulf's #1 academic team scored the highest of any of the 1615 teams that participated, and are the "2010 National Academic Champions" for the second consecutive year. Teams from the United States, Italy, Japan and Spain competed. Gulf High NJROTC is the only Florida team to have won the title. (The NJROTC program was approved by Congress in 1964 and its first Unit activation/participation in 1966.) Winning team members include Aaron Heusted, Matt Harmaz, Brandon Harvey, Cody Boyet, and Wade Scott. The test included a myriad of questions from material covered in the four-year curriculum of the Naval Science program, and more. Topics include, but are not limited to Social Studies/History, Science, Economics, Politics, Government, Health and Nutrition, Ceremonies and Drill, Leadership and Current Events.
Gulf’s much improved NJROTC competition team qualified for the State Championship in December! They did so at Boca Raton by defeating fifteen of the eighteen teams vying for the opportunity to head to “States.” Two of the opponents were ranked among the top five in the state. The cadets brought home trophies - placing in nine of the eleven events! Of significance is the Academic Team which placed first in each of the state-sanctioned field meets during the school year, also placed first at Regionals!
The Buccaneer cadets exceeded expectations on March 6th (in Orlando) by scoring higher than at any of the three previous showings at the State Championships in school history, 2007, 2008 and 2009. (The Unit has been in existence for 30 years.). They placed 5th of 20 teams. Last year, they placed 6th of 22 teams. Although the team performance in track, push-ups and drill was not at the level displayed at the Regional Championship hosted at Boca Raton, the cadets represented the school and community with amazing results. The Academic Team continued its winning style by placing "1st Overall" beating Flanagan and Boca Raton High Schools, both of whom placed in the Top Five in the 2009 National Academic, Athletic and Drill Championships. Aaron Heusted and Cody Boyet tied for 2nd place and were awarded silver medals. The Sit-Up Team placed "2nd Overall" despite incredible competition from the other schools. Pierce Pondi placed 5th in the men’s division with 309 and Krystene Wills placed 2nd in the female division with 251. The "Color Guard" placed a respectable "6th Overall." The Unit placed "4th Overall" in Personnel Inspection; another first for the Buccaneers in State competition.
Commander Dirk Hebert visited GHS NJROTC in April for its biennial Area Managers Off-Site Inspection. The commander inspected financial accounts and cadets' knowledge of operations throughout the entire Unit. The cadet staff provided him with a "State of the Unit" slide show presentation, a snapshot of Unit achievements and progress throughout the year, which left him with a very positive impression of the program and its cadets. The commander left stating that our Unit was among his “Magnificent SEVEN!” He projected the Unit would be among the three in Florida in very short order. The school, community organizations, and GHS NJROTC alumni also enjoyed a 30-Year Anniversary celebration of the NJROTC Unit with a “Pass-in-Review,” male and female exhibition routines, and a very inspiring presentation by the guest speaker (Commander Hebert).
After a wonderful military ball just one year ago, who would have thought it could get even better? This year, an even large number of cadets, guests, parents and the instructors experienced one of the most dynamic and fun events imaginable! The event took place at New Port Richey's "Spartan Manor" on Massachusetts Avenue. The food was great, the service exceptional, and the decorations (provided by our booster club) perfect. Everyone and we do mean everyone, danced to the music and participated in games provided by "Downtown DJ's" until 11:00 p.m., when - unfortunately - the event had to come to an end. The cadets looked so great in their (males) tuxedos, suits or uniforms, and (females) in formal gowns! We are so proud of these students and wish that all their parents would have had the opportunity to enjoy the event with us.
The GHS NJROTC really has made a HUGE difference in the school and community! There are numerous (before and after school) competitive programs, lots of weekend events, an Annual Ball, field trips, and so much more. If a student is enrolled in grades 9 – 12, is a U.S. citizen or national – or alien lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence, is physically qualified to participate in the physical education program, has a 2.0 or higher GPA (exceptions considered), is able to maintain acceptable standards of conduct, and can comply with grooming standards as set forth by the Unit Commander, then consider joining! All students planning to join or return must interview with the Unit Commander.
You cannot beat this!!!
If you complete two years of Naval Science, you may receive the following credit:
HOPE/LIFE SKILLS
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
PERFORMING/PRACTICAL FINE ARTS
If you complete three years of Naval Science, you may receive the following credit:
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
More Facts:
· #1 JROTC Academic Team in the Nation!! Two years in a row!!
· Absolutely NO MILITARY obligation!!!
o We push post-secondary education, not enlistment.
· Numerous opportunities for scholarships and grants
· Advanced Placement (if enlisting) = E-2 or E-3
· Awards and Recognition (Local, State, and National)
· Competition Teams – Travel to State and National Venues
o Academics, Athletics (Track & Field), Precision Drill
Posted by nesthus on Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:05 pm | (comments? | Score: 0)
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Title : 2nd Annual Buccaneer Challenge |
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Our 2nd Annual Buccaneer Challenge will take place at the school campus this Saturday, March 13th. Last year, the event was a HUGE success with twelve teams participating and roughly 800 cadets having a blast! There were fourteen events then, and sixteen scheduled for this year. This is a fun meet, not a grueling State-Sanctioned Field Meet where teams must place in order to qualify for the State Championship. Instead, the kids have a chance to simply act like kids while competing for team prizes. Events include those such as Obstacle Course, Basket-Ball Free Throw, Klacker-Board, Shot Put, Sled Pull, Tractor Tire Roll, Wheelbarrow Relay, Tug of War, and more. We've added Football Throw, and Field Goal Kick to this years event, so the entire experience should be quite fun - and challenging!
The event starts at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Our cadets will be required to be at the campus no later than 6:00 a.m. in order to set up. There will be ticket, concession and hospitality room locations run by the booster club. GHS cadets will have assigned positions and duties throughout the day. Everything should be concluded and the campus cleared and cleaned by 5:00 p.m.
There will also be SAT going on in the school on Saturday; however, it should be no conflict.
All those associated with our cadets, please feel free to come and watch the events of the day. You will laugh!
Posted by nesthus on Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:16 pm | (comments? | Score: 1)
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Title : NJROTC Places 5th Overall in the 2010 Florida "State Championship!" |
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“NJROTC Places 5th Overall in the 2010 Florida “NJROTC State Championship!
Congratulations to our NJROTC competition teams that performed so admirably on Saturday in Orlando! This is the best Gulf High School has done in the thirty year history of the program. Thirty-seven of our finest participated in eleven events organized in three categories (Academics, Athletics and Precision Drill). Our Academic Team made history by beating two of the nation’s best academic teams, Boca Raton Community High School (Boca Raton, FL) and Flanagan High School (Pembroke Pines, FL). We have never before beaten Boca Raton, and only once (at the Regional Championship) beaten Flanagan. The scores were impressive, with both Aaron Heusted and Cody Boyet receiving a Silver Medal for a second-place tie. They only missed 1st place by one point. The academic portion of the competition included Social Studies, Physical Science, Health and Nutrition, Leadership, ACT/SAT, current events, and much more.
The team placed 4th Overall in Personnel Inspection, a first for Gulf High School’s program. The Sit-Up team had four of the ten participants “finish the tape.” We were the only team at States to do this! Those four members are Krystene Wills, Pierce Pondi, Glenn Melching and Robert Merker. Sit-Ups are counted at cadence (50 per minute limit) and all four numbered in the 300 area. Krystene Wills and Pierce Pondi both received medals in this category.”
Also, the Color Guard and Armed Basic teams placed an admirable 6th and 8th, respectively.”
Great job to all!”
Posted by nesthus on Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:04 pm | (comments? | Score: 3.66)
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Title : GHS NJROTC - 2010 BRAIN BOWL WINNERS!! |
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“Gulf NJROTC Wins State Championship JROTC Brain Bowl!
Congratulations to our NJROTC Academic Team who competed in the “2010 State Championship NJROTC Brain Bowl” hosted at Titusville High School on Saturday. Gulf had two teams entered in the competition; fortunately at opposite ends of the bracket rounds. In the end, there were four teams competing for the coveted title – Gulf Team 1, Gulf Team 2, Freedom and Bayside. Two strong teams from Lake Howell, and another from Titusville were eliminated in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of competition, leaving the “Final Four.” Gulf Team 2 simply CRUSHED everyone, beating the second place team (Gulf Team 1) by nearly 300 points, and the other two teams by roughly 500 points! Team complement had to be one from each year of the Science Curriculum (a first, second, third and fourth year student). Team 1 consisted of Aaron Heusted, Matthew Harmaz, Robert Merker and Bianca Olmo. Team 2 consisted of Cody Boyet (aka “Gunslinger”), Brandon Harvey, Tania Gomez and Wade Scott. Please congratulate these students as this is the first time in Gulf NJROTC’s 30-year history that a team has won this event.”
Posted by nesthus on Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:20 pm | (comments? | Score: 0)
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