Pine Crest School

Infobox School
name = Pine Crest School
imagesize = 98px
caption = deletable image-caption
motto = Education. Character. Leadership.
established = 1934
type = Private
head = Dr. Lourdes M. Cowgill, PresidentMr. Dale Smith, Head of School
city = Boca Raton &
Fort Lauderdale
state = Florida
country = USA
students = 2,600 (2 campus)
faculty = 111
campus = Suburban, 78 acres, Ft. Lauderdale campus. 20 acres, Boca Raton campus
mascot = Panthers
free_label = Tuition 2008-2009
free_text = $20,600. (Grades 9-12) $19,240. (Grades 6-8) $17,870. (Grades 1-5) $16,840.(Grade PK-K)
colors = Green & White
homepage = http://www.pinecrest.edu

Pine Crest School is a college preparatory school with campuses in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in 1934 by Mae McMillan who was a tutor to children of families spending the winter in South Florida, USA. It is now one of the most elite private schools in Florida, regularly sending dozens of students to Ivy League universities, prestigious liberal arts colleges, and the University of Florida every year. Years later, Dr. Lourdes Cowgill became the President of Pine Crest School, succeeding Bill McMillan, the son of Dr. Mae McMillan.

Pine Crest is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, The Southern Association of Independent Schools, the Florida Council of Independent Schools, and the Florida Kindergarten Council. Pine Crest has also been named a "Blue Ribbon School" by the United States Department of Education.

Over the past several sears, approximately 15 percent of the senior class each year has been named "National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists" placing Pine Crest in the top of the list of all schools in Florida and among the leaders nationally. Approximately another 20 percent are "Commended National Merit Scholars".

Pine Crest School has two campuses, one in Boca Raton, Florida, and one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. The Boca Raton campus, originally Boca Raton Academy, hosts grades PK-8, and the Ft. Lauderdale campus hosts grades PK-12.

ignificant Achievements

In the 2004-2005 school year, three students, Kyle Mahowald, Andrew Malcolm, and Caitlin McAuliffe, were named Presidential Scholars by the US Department of Education. This achievement marked the first time more than two students in Florida were given the award; usually two students per state are awarded (six total were awarded to Florida students in 2005). In October 2006, Pine Crest School announced that 21 members of the current Class of 2007 were named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. With 22 qualifying students, Pine Crest has the second most semifinalists at any school in Florida and is among the top 25 private schools in the nation for its performance in the competition. The students will now go on to compete in the finalist portion of the National Merit Scholarship competition. [ [http://www.pinecrest.edu/news/default.asp?newsid=314441# Pine Crest ] ] Additionally, Pine Crest Boca frequently sends the highest number of student musicians to the All State chorus and band each year.

Facilities (Boca Raton campus)

Pine Crest at Boca Raton's most recent renovations include a new middle school building and dining hall extensions. Also, the Parents Association Building (the auditorium) has been rebuilt after the roof collapsed in the summer of 2004, causing children attending the camp to miss the next day. The new auditorium was completed during the 2005-2006 school year, with a higher capacity and new color scheme.

Currently Pine Crest is enhancing its Boca Raton Campus, the planned work includes:

* A Lower School replacement building - 55,800 sq. ft – and 60,000 square feet with loggias. * A new main administration campus support building at 7,980 sq. ft. * A new athletic building at 4,500 sq. ft. * A new maintenance building at 6,000 sq. ft.

Pine Crest School - Boca Raton Campus: 2700 Saint Andrews Blvd. Boca Raton, Fl 33434 Main Reception Telephone [phone]

Performing and Visual Arts

Pine Crest's arts program is extensive, covering both visual and performing arts. Facilities include the Palmer Dance Studio and the Stacy Auditorium, which hosts the annual ballet, musical, and several jazz and music performances. Practice facilities for music also exist, along with art studios and facilities for photography. Art is encouraged at an early age, and students can opt out of physical fitness classes for formal ballet training as early as elementary school.

Notable alumni and students

Notable alumni and students of Pine Crest School include:

* Wayne Huizenga '55, Fort Lauderdale businessman, owner of Miami Dolphins, Dolphin Stadium, and founder of Blockbuster Video, Republic Industries and Waste Management, Inc. [ [http://www.corporations.org/wmi/huizenga.html H. Wayne Huizenga ] ] [http://pinecrest.edu/ftpimages/112/download/download_group1672_id122152.pdf] [ [http://www.newtimesbpb.com/issues/2003-10-02/news.html Broward-Palm Beach - News - Mary Does California ] ]
* David L Cook '81, Christian Recording Star and Comedian
* Stephanie McMillan '83, Cartoonist of Minimum Security
* Kelsey Grammer '73, of the show Cheers and Frasier, speaker [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001288/bio Kelsey Grammer - Biography ] ]
* Jeff Marx '89, (writer of Broadway hit "Avenue Q") [ [http://www.pinecrest.edu/news/publication_archive.asp?newsid=102086&groupid=3558&L1=4&L2=4&L3=1 Pine Crest ] ]
* John Medeski '83 (Fusion jazz keyboardist for band Medeski Martin and Wood) [ [http://bestof.browardpalmbeach.com/bestof/section.php?section=oid:12228&year=1999 Broward-Palm Beach - Best Of - Arts & Entertainment (1999) ] ]
* Ethan Skolnick '90, sports columnist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. [ [http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_seasonticket/about.html Season Ticket | Sun-Sentinel Blogs: About Ethan J. Skolnick ] ]
* Mary Carey '98, (born Mary Ellen Cook) porn star. [ [http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2003-10-02/news/mary-does-california/ Broward-Palm Beach - News - Mary Does California ] ]
*Jeff Hwang '99, investment writer/analyst covering the gaming industry for The Motley Fool; semi-professional poker player, columnist for Card Player magazine, and author of "Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy" (ISBN 0818407263)
* Andy Litinsky '00, contestant on NBC's The Apprentice. [ [http://www.pinecrest.edu/support/alumni/fort.asp?newsid=289081 Pine Crest ] ]
* Kevin Boothe '01, professional football player with the New York Giants. [ [http://cornellbigred.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/boothe_kevin00.html CSTV.com: #1 in College Sports ] ] [ [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/draft/prospect?contentId=5528148 FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - Prospect ] ]
* Farris Hassan '07, student known for taking an unaccompanied trip to Kuwait and Iraq. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/30/teen.iraq/index.html CNN.com - Florida teen heads home from Iraq - Dec 30, 2005 ] ]
* Frederic Wakeman '55, eminent scholar of Chinese history. Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies. Professor Emeritus of Chinese History at UC Berkeley
* Stephen F. Cohen '56, Professor of Russian Studies & History, at NYU. Professor Emeritus of Politics, at Princeton University.
* Matt Rubel '75, CEO of Payless ShoeSource, former Chairman and CEO of Cole Haan.
* Barbara Bridge First female Circuit Court judge in Broward County, FL.
* Diana Nyad
* Ann Serrano Lopez Wife of comedian George Lopez
* Aaron Harberts '91, Television Writer/Producer

tudent life

Pine Crest middle and high schoolers also use laptops in their daily studies. The laptops are purchased by the students, who keep them after middle school. Pine Crest students wear a uniform in all grades Pre-K through 12, but the high school uniform is called a "wardrobe" because of the variety of options offered to the older students. Pine Crest offers many different skirts, skorts, pants, shorts, and polos in a variety of colors. (Any color is available in polos, including hot pink). As of the 2008-2009 school year, incoming high school females are no longer able to wear skirts.The total enrollment for Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton is 2,577 students with a 23.6% diversity enrollment.

Debate

Members of the Pine Crest debate team were the 1976 National Forensics Champions and 2004 Florida Novice State Champions. At the 2007 Tournament of Champions, members David Christopher Mainiero (Dartmouth College) and Scott Daniel Kasten (University of Miami) of the program made it into the quarter-final round. In addition members of the team took second at the 2007 Florida States.

Publications

Pine Crest School produces many student-run publications including "Type-One," "The Scribbler," "The ICI Newsletter," and "The Crestian." "Type-One" is the school newspaper that features articles on current events, entertainment, the fine arts, and campus happenings. It is published on a semi-regular basis. "Take-One" is the recent parody of the school newspaper; it is written, edited, and printed anonymously by an unknown group of student contributors. "The Scribbler" is the school's literary magazine and is published annually. Entries in "The Scribbler" include short stories, poems, and excerpts from larger works. Alongside these literary works many student photographs and much student artwork is displayed. "The ICI Newsletter" is a summary of events happening at the Institute for Civic Involvement at Pine Crest School and is published on a semi-regular basis. "The Crestian" is the school yearbook and is published annually and distributed for free to all students.

In addition to the student-run publications, Pine Crest also has the "Columns Newsletter" and "Pine Crest-The Magazine." Both publications are published periodically and showcase the achievements of students, teachers, clubs, and sports teams. Additionally, both publications highlight campus events and significant achievements.

Athletics

Pine Crest has many varsity and junior-varsity (JV) sports teams including football (1998 Division 15-3A champions), cheerleading, lacrosse, crew, cross-country, track, soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, and weightlifting. Athletics are divided by trimester into fall, winter, and spring, with some sports holding practices all three trimesters. The Pine Crest swimming team is known to be one of the best in the area, with several Olympian alumni winning Gold medals and an internationally-known swim camp. Additionally, the Pine Crest lacrosse team was the state champion in 2002 and ranked 44th nationally that year according to laxpower.com. There are a variety of areas in which these teams practice from the field with a surrounding synthetic track to the Kelley Boathouse for the crew team. The cross-country team used to run off campus until recently, they now run around the school. In Basketball, the current rival is Westminster Academy, located down the street, and Pompano Beach High School, after last year's district defeat. The crew team goes to regattas almost every weekend starting in February, and sends over 20 rowers each year to the preliminaries for the CRASH-B Sprints. In basketball, Brandon Knight, a potential star, leads the team. On February 29, 2008, Brandon lead the Panthers to their first ever state championship, defeating P.K. Yonge School located in Gainesville, Florida by the score of 69-50. In 2008, former lacrosse coach Kevin Roszkowski resigned, and Doug Shanahan replaced him as the head of the lacrosse program.

chool Song

"Pine Crest, Pine Crest, school so dear. Pine Crest we give you a cheer. Green and white, our colors true; fondly we remember you, like our tower so tall and white. Our minds expand, ideas take flight. Onward, upward we will soar. As years go by we'll love you more!"

chool Pledge

"As a student of Pine Crest School, I will always strive to do my best. I will respect myself and others, and use my individual talents to bring honor to my family, my school, and my community."

Honor Code

"I will not lie, cheat, or steal;""I will respect myself and others."

Honor Pledge:

"I have neither given nor received help on this work."

The above pledge is intended to be written and signed on tests, quizzes, and submitted work in grades 4-12.

The Honor Code and Honor Pledge were installed after several high school students were caught cheating on a grammar exam in the early 1990s.

References

External links

* [http://www.pinecrest.edu/ Pine Crest School website]
* [http://www.presidentialscholars.org/ Presidential Scholarship Award]
* [http://www.pinecrestdaycamp.com/ Pine Crest Day Camp]
* [http://www.pinecrestswimming.com/ Pine Crest Swimming]
* [http://pp.boca.pinecrest.edu/ Pine Crest School Facilities Operations]
* [http://security.boca.pinecrest.edu/ Pine Crest Security - Boca Raton Campus]
* [http://www.pinecresttheater.org/ Pine Crest School, Parents Association Performing Arts - Boca Raton Campus]
* [http://www.pinecrestpa.com/ Parent's Association, Boca Raton Campus]