BIG CYPRESS — Ahfachkee School students packed bleachers at the Herman L. Osceola Gymnasium to cheer, pound their feet and wave signs heralding peers as the best. But there was no athletic game on the morning of Jan. 31. It was the school’s Second Quarter Awards celebration for children who are

BIG CYPRESS — Tylor Tigertail said he was told too many times to count that he would not amount to much. The Ahfachkee School senior is proving those people wrong. "To anyone who said I was not smart enough or tough enough to be among the few, the proud, the elite

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Very few people received an invitation to the Jan. 21 inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. But one former Jr. Miss Florida Seminole from the Big Cypress Reservation was invited through a coveted spot among high school scholars worldwide at the High School Presidential Inaugural Conference. And when

BIG CYPRESS — A teacher’s desire to use visual aids in the classroom has evolved into an awe-inspiring student art project. "There was no intention of becoming big," said Jarrid Smith, Ahfachkee School’s Seminole Government and Leadership teacher. "When it all began, I told the students that I had no way

By Emma Johns BRIGHTON — It is no secret that individuals do not choose the field of teaching for the salary. There is an inherent passion that drives a person to say, "I want to be a teacher." Effective teaching practices that promote the well-being of students are not written somewhere in

D. Preston Steele wants to help improve the Tribe through education – an appropriate goal for the newly appointed director of Education. He believes by motivating students to go further in their studies, the ultimate beneficiary will be the Seminole Tribe. Other items on his radar include bringing culture into the

BIG CYPRESS — Liberty Robbins, 9, said she couldn’t imagine if a hurricane swept through her school and destroyed everything in sight, but she knows how she’d feel if someone came to help. "I’d feel very grateful," said Robbins, a fourth-grader at Ahfachkee. From November through mid-December, the entire fourth-grade class led

MICCOSUKEE — A firefighter in full gear signifies help has arrived to an emergency. But to small children, that same firefighter with unfamiliar clothing, an oversized hard hat, a tank and a face mask making loud breathing noises can be very frightening. As a way to allay fears and prepare them

TALLAHASSEE — Television has been described as a vast wasteland, but Jessica Osceola would be quick to disagree. The Florida State University freshman found her future career path through a popular TV show about FBI behavior analysts. Osceola is pursuing a double major in psychology and criminology with the intent of