SEBRING — Were the Fourth Amendment rights of Hill-Gustat Middle School students violated during a Feb. 8 lockdown when 14 officers searched the school for drugs and weapons? Highlands County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted the search with help from officers from Sebring and Avon Park police departments. ...more

May 18, 2008

SEBRING — Even though he has maintained straight A's in school, Austin North jokingly says his favorite subject is "lunch." Austin, 14, is your typical run-of-the-mill seventh-grader. He likes video games, talking about cars and ice cream, and has a "great wit," as his mother, Candace North, of Lorida, will attest. But Austin is a little bit different compared to his schoolmates at Hill-Gustat Middle School. Austin was diagnosed with duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMS) when he was 3 years old. The disease, which affects Austin's muscles and his breathing, has left him unable to walk and in a wheelchair. ...more

February 11, 2008

SEBRING — Three law enforcement agencies teamed up to lockdown Hill Gustat Middle School in a routine sweep Friday morning to search for drugs and weapons. ...more

February 8, 2008

SEBRING — For about one-fifth of the students in Highlands County, next week is the start of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The FCAT Writing Plus test will be administered to fourth-, eighth- and 10th- graders starting Tuesday. Testing will continue on Wednesday followed by two make-up testing days – Thursday and Friday (Feb. 15). Hill-Gustat Middle School eighth-grader Laura Tenneson is calm and confident about the FCAT. ...more

February 8, 2008

SEBRING — Trotting through chutes in a cow pen, Hill-Gustat Middle School agriculture students got a close look Wednesday at the workings of a cattle ranch from the perspective of the cattle. Ranch Manager Bob Mayworth corralled teacher Rebekah Wills' students in the pens and separated the boys and girls for a weigh-in on a large livestock scale. Sliding the counter weights, Mayworth determined the boys weighed a total of 4,250 pounds. The lower number of girls, including two adults, weighed 2,870 pounds. Ranching has become a whole different business, he said. ...more

December 21, 2007

SEBRING — An International Baccalaureate course carries weight with its admissions committee, a letter from Harvard College states. "Because we often do not know the quality of honors and dual-enrollment courses due to variation at different high schools and colleges, success in IB courses would be generally more meaningful to our Admissions Committee," Harvard Dean of Admissions William Fitzsimmons stated. For Highlands County parents seeking challenging academics for their children, success means getting an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program started by August 2009. About 250 people attended Monday evening's IB parent information forum at Hill-Gustat Middle School where Ed Vetter, principal of the IB School at Bartow High School, presented an overview of the IB diploma program. ...more

December 12, 2007

SEBRING — Singing nursery rhymes in kindergarten is fun. But these days, about 30 students from Hill-Gustat Middle School are harnessing the power of nursery rhymes to improve their reading fluency. ...more

December 6, 2007

SEBRING — Singing nursery rhymes in kindergarten is fun. But these days, about 30 students from Hill-Gustat Middle School are harnessing the power of nursery rhymes to improve their reading fluency. ...more

December 6, 2007

SEBRING — A 12-year-old Hill Gustat Middle School student who had been arrested four times since May 2, was arrested Tuesday as a suspect in an October burglary. The boy was reportedly in the custody Wednesday of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, charged with burglary of a dwelling and grand theft more than $300 but less than $5,000. ...more

November 24, 2007

SEBRING — Could this year's advanced ninth-graders graduate high school with an International Baccalaureate Diploma? We'll have a better idea come March when the School Board of Highlands County decides whether to pursue the program. Then paperwork to start a feasibility study needs to completed by Sept. 1, 2008, said parent Diane Juve. The IB program is well known nationwide, and is a highly regarded college prep program, Juve added. Juve's child is in middle school and she played a big part in getting the Advanced Academics program to Highlands County. Parents curious about the program will have a chance to get some information. An informational parent forum on the IB program is scheduled at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 10 at Hill-Gustat Middle School. ...more

November 23, 2007