Parents & Students, 

Welcome to my desk!  My name is Rebecca Kamlet and I am the Literacy Coach here at SHS.  This is my 5th year working for SHS, and I absolutely love working with teachers and students. I will be adding resources and information to this page as it arrives to me.  My goal is to share anything from student tips & strategies, to events, contests, study skills, etc., that are related to LITERACY.  Please email me, Email Rebecca Kamlet , with ANY suggestions or questions you or your student might have.  I look forward to working with you all again!  

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we encourage our students to participate in Florida’s art and essay contests based on this year’s theme: “Honoring Hispanic Contributions to Florida’s Success.” Students in grades K-3 are invited to participate in an art contest, while students in grades 4-12 are invited to participate in an essay contest. Additionally, students, parents, teachers, and principals are invited to nominate full-time educators of all student grades for the Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Education Award.

About the Student Essay Contest

The Hispanic Heritage Month essay contest is open to all students attending any Florida school in grades 4-12. Six winners will be selected: two elementary school students (grades 4-5), two middle school students (grades 6-8), and two high school students (grades 9-12). Each winner will receive a 2-year Florida College Plan scholarship provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation AND a $100 gift card for school supplies!!

Prompt: There are many examples throughout our state’s history of Hispanic Americans and their contributions to Florida’s success. Using your own words, write about a Hispanic-American who has had an impactful effect whose story should be shared. The subject of the essay should be a Floridian.

Some examples are:

• Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Florida’s First Hispanic Female Lt. Governor

• Manny Diaz, Jr., Commissioner of Education

• Juan Ponce De Leon, first Spanish explorer to reach Florida

• Madeline Pumariega, first female President of Miami Dade College

• Alex Rizo, Florida State Representative

• Esteban Bovo Jr., Mayor of Hialeah

About the Excellence in Education Award 

Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Education Award Contest is open to all full-time educators in an elementary, middle, or high school in Florida. Four winners will be selected, and nominations may be submitted by a principal, teacher, parent/guardian, or student. Excellence in Education award winners will receive $2,500 from Volunteer Florida.

Student contest forms and educator nomination forms must be mailed to Volunteer Florida or submitted online at www.FloridaHispanicHeritage.com.

Volunteer Florida 
Hispanic Heritage Month Committee
1545 Raymond Diehl Road, Suite 250
Tallahassee, Florida 32308

All entries must be received by 5 p.m. (ET) on Friday, September 13, 2024.  
(Via mail or online submission)* 

For the start of this school year, I would like to focus on the HOW and WHY of student note taking.  Note taking is like an art that needs to be practiced and explored to best fit the style of individual student learning styles and content.  Explore the importance of note taking below…

How do our brains work when it comes to learning new material?

The Curve of Forgetting

Tips for students:

7 Note-taking Secrets of the Top 1% of Students

How To Take Notes In Class (studyskills.com)