Earlier this year three students from the Miami Springs Middle School chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) participated in proficiency competitions held at the J.A. Ferguson High school. Two eight graders and a seventh grader earned the top awards in their respective proficiency divisions which automatically qualified them to represent Miami-Dade County at the state level. Amanda Cid and Mirita Maestre both received gold medals in Housing Design and Fashion Construction respectively. Natalie Correa received a silver medal for Impromptu speaking.

From April 13 to 16, 2005 two of these students, Amanda and Natalie participated in the four-day State Leadership Conference (SLC) of the FCCLA held at the Orlando Airport Marriot in Orlando, Florida. They fared well, earning a silver medal for Housing Design and bronze for Impromptu speaking. The girls got a chance to participate in workshops, business meetings and excursions and other fun activities. They represented their school and county well, and returned brimming with ideas and enthusiasm to encourage other students to share in these experiences.

Earlier this year the FCCLA participated in two community projects. Just before Thanksgiving the students worked tirelessly to make Christmas stockings from camouflage fabric for our troops in Iraq. This was the second year we shared in this project. The Red Cross provided the fabric and the blank Christmas cards. The club members wrote messages on the cards and had them included in each stocking sent to the troops. Then for Valentines day, the students made baskets, and filled each with a little stuffed red hearts on which they wrote messages of cheer. Finally they filled the baskets with candy and delivered them to Fair Havens Center for distribution to its residents. These students also entered the annual Youth Fair and three students earned special awards.

The students worked to reach the goals of the club and should be commended for their enthusiasm and hard work as they soar off to a bright future with ‘warm courage and high hope’.