The Foundation Behind Centennial's 25 Years of Soaring

Note: Please check out @centenwingspan on Instagram to see the full interviews.

As silver envelops St. Lucie West Centennial High School in its 25th anniversary, let's take a walk into the stories behind the people that made Centennial what is today- the faculty and staff. Though their fields differ, they share a common thing of equipping our eagles with the necessary skills and lessons before they venture into the real world. What makes this all more worthy of recognition is the fact that they have persevered for many years, with some going more than a decade.

With the help of Francesca Josma and the rest of the Wingspan staff, I asked members of the Faculty and Staff some questions that give us a dive into their experiences with working here in Centennial. Excerpts from each of my interviews are written below.

Photo from: eaglessaywhat on Instagram

What year did you start teaching here at Centennial and how did you hear about it?

Dr. Britton: 2010-2011, Mrs. Lewis teaches in the CTE Department and when I was in need of moving schools, I talked to her and said could you put in a good word in with Mr. Lynch (former principal)? I think she did and 14 years later, I'm still here!

Mr. Carannante: 2009-2010, I was coaching the freshman basketball team at Jensen Beach High School and I was looking forward to work there (JBHS) but they didn't have a job for me. The Athletic Director there knew the Athletic Director here at Centennial and so, I became [the] assistant basketball coach and [taught] Algebra 2 Honors and Precalculus Honors that first year.

Ms. Serynek: Year 2000. I heard about the school after teaching at Head Start. I was interested in being an art teacher here but was told the only available options were Early childhood or culinary arts. I first went into culinary arts, which I enjoyed but switched into early childhood. 

What attribute of SLWCHS made you stay here?

Mr. Carannante: I love it here. I'm lucky to have high-level classes I guess, plus my students are amazing every year. I love coaching the basketball team. I love the whole package of what's going on here. I bought a house right next door that second year and [I've] just been rolling ever since.

Ms. Serynek: Honestly, I really liked the staff that welcomed me to the school and made me feel positive about the whole teaching experience.  

Do you have a favorite/memorable experience here in Centennial?

Dr. Britton: The year I got Teacher of the Year for Centennial. When your peers vote you for something like that, that's kind of a deep feeling. So, it's nice to be appreciated.

Mr. Carannante: I don't know if I can narrow it down. Got some great successes on the basketball court which really mean a lot to me. [Also] got some successes in the classroom. So many graduations mean a lot me, valedictorian speeches and to see many students after they graduate and checking in with them. So it's one whole package but I don't have a specific one on top of the others.

Ms. Serynek: My favorite would be seeing or being involved in the student activities like the graduation ceremonies. But I don’t have just one favorite memory... I liked the holiday dinners too, that’s for the teachers.  

What changes have you seen that you like?

Dr. Britton: Definitely just how much technology is used. Back to 14 years ago, all my papers, quizzes, etc. were on paper. Now, everything is done on Canvas and [there's] access to good calculators with Desmos. I like that the FCAT turned into an EOC which was core-specific instead of the old way.

Mr. Carannante: Technology. In 2009 & 10, not everybody had a cellphone and now, everybody's submitting their homework online. [There's] been a lot of technological differences but in terms of everything else, it's really not that different. Kids are kids and some kids are gonna work really hard and go off to college and some kids are gonna do the opposite of that.

Ms. Serynek: Mrs. Popwell does a great job at ensuring teacher and student engagement. I also think we see more student activities than in the past. 

What do you want to improve?

Dr. Britton: Just wish I could get everybody to class on time. Maybe we need another minute or two in the bell schedule.

Mr. Carannante: We could always improve, right? We could always improve.

What advice would you give to eagles?

Dr. Britton: Soar high, man! Just keep going. Never give up, never surrender. Just keep working.

Mr. Carannante: Just keep working hard. Wherever your goals are, do what you can to achieve them and hopefully the staff is here to help you out.

Ms. Serynek: Take advantage of the resources offered to you and do your best while you’re here.

The Weighing Cause of Why We Don't Have a Boys Volleyball Team

The absence of a boys' volleyball team has been a topic that screeches the minds of students at St. Lucie West Centennial High School for a while now, especially for prospective members. This brings up the big question: why hasn’t the school created a team yet?

To initiate our search for an answer, I, with the help of Robert Emmanuel Dy, conducted an interview with the school's athletic director, Mr. Combs, and asked him a couple of questions regarding this matter, hoping to find a concrete answer to the question that many students have been asking themselves. 

A transcript of the said interview is provided below:

Q: [What is] the primary reason why there isn’t a boys' volleyball team? 

A: So [in] the state of Florida, the governing agency for sports is the Florida High Schools Athletic Association. They set up what sports are available. So, boys' volleyball is one of the sports that they've adopted so it's available for FHSAA. Once they [FHSAA] adopt that sport, the counties have to fund that stipend. St. Lucie County has never adopted boys' volleyball as a sport. So, we could, like one of the local schools, adopt boys' volleyball as a club sport but we wouldn't be a part of the state series- we wouldn't be part of the FHSAA [tournaments]. St. Lucie County doesn't fund the stipend for coaching, so whoever coaches would have to do it voluntarily, and I think that's been [one of] the biggest problems- finding someone that would be willing to coach on a voluntary basis. It's a pretty big-time commitment with practices and travel and all that.

Q: How likely is it that we will have a boys' volleyball team soon? 

A: I think pretty likely. I put out an email earlier and I’ve had a couple of teachers reach out and… [I’ve] seen interest and it’s just a matter of them hosting a meeting. I’ve [also] encouraged some of the boys that have asked me about it to [...] organize and get together. I think if we have the number of boys that we need for a team, I’m pretty optimistic that we could find someone to coach.

Q: Are there enough number of people who are interested?

A: That's tough to say. I don't think we really had a meeting but individually, kids have [come] to me and said they were interested. You play 6 people in a court at a time, you probably need at least 8-10 kids. So, how serious those 8-10 kids are, I'm not certain.

To truly see who would be interested, a meeting of interest could be held. Either way, the boys of Centennial have been wanting a volleyball team- even if that team is a club team.  

Treasure Coast High School and Tradition Prep HS Boys Volleyball Varsity Teams Photo from: tchvolleyball