Jahnette Marti has found caring for a cadre of 2-year-old and 3-year-old toddlers at Trinity Christian Academy right up her alley.

“It’s fun, because I am always busy,” Marti said. “It’s quite similar to taking care of my nieces.”

The senior plays and completes projects with the children and helps they with lunch. Stacie Wilson, director of the preschool, added that Marti “fits right in and has been doing great.

Workforce Advantage Academy is now a registered participant in the Coke Rewards program. Through this program, consumers can enter a code found on select Coca Cola products, and earn rewards based on the number of points they collect through the codes. Participants can also donate points to their favorite school, and help the school earn needed supplies. To begin donating points to WAA, please go to this web page:http://www.mycokerewards.com/schools.

Students came together in fellowship and to challenge each other to the best dance moves during The Happening, the spring dance held at Dubsdread Golf Club in College Park. Students, faculty and guests feasted on chicken wings, meatballs and assorted snacks during the fun event.

Workforce Advantage Academy CEO Kenneth Hartsaw Jr. presented the school’s championship-winning Phoenix basketball team a magnificent trophy. The team won the Florida Basketball Volleyball Association’s Junior Magic league, age 16-18 years, championship game in February.

“Every game, you got stronger,” Hartsaw told the team members at a celebratory luncheon. “As a group, you are impressive. Everyone brought something to the table.”

Coach Micah Rounds praised the young men for working hard five days a week and for coming together as a team. “You let go of ego for the betterment of the team and showed character. Basketball can pull kids together.”

Workforce Academy board members Hugh De Beaubien and Elizabeth Hughes attended the luncheon, as did school supporter Nancy Fly.

The Workforce Advantage Academy Phoenix won the Florida Basketball Volleyball Association’s Junior Magic, age 16-18 years, championship game, beating the Holiday Hoops 75 to 43. The team ran up a 20-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

The young men worked together as a team to prevent the other team from scoring, to snag rebounds and run them to the other end for a score and to shoot three pointers to victory.

While distributing the trophies to each player, the referee said that he felt the Phoenix were one of the best-coached teams for the age bracket that he had ever seen.

CEO Ken Hartsaw, Principal Belinda Jones, COO Carl Merrell, faculty and staff cheered the team to victory.

Jen Robertson, Mercedes Farfan and Donnie Hindson root for the team.

CEO Ken Hartsaw, pictured with senior Bryan Blair, plans to present a trophy to the team at a sports banquet.

The entire WAA family salutes Coach Micah Rounds, Assistant Coach Randy Bracy and the Phoenix.

The Workforce Academy Phoenix continued its winning streak and finished the regular season undefeated, after beating the Holiday Hoops 71 to 61 at Orlando Christian Prep.

Watch up comng emails for the playoff schedule.

With graduation fast approaching, Workforce Advantage Academy is stepping up its presentation of career options with a series of special days. The programs kicked off last week with Military Day. Recruiters from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines met with students and answered their questions about serving in the armed forces.

Stay tuned for the next event in preparing students to wake up on the day after graduation and know what they are going to do.

Brianna Core spent most of her junior year in the transition class, soaking up all the knowledge offered her about how to apply for a job, wow an employer at an interview and handle the responsibilities of a working. She has put that to good use at Best Cleaners, entering data and completing other computer tasks at the company, and enjoying her internship.

“She’s doing a fantastic job,” said Mike Pastor at Best Cleaners. “She’s doing a lot of tasks in my area and doing a great job.”

Core, a senior, scored 26 on the ACT and plans to study psychology after graduation.

Junior Enrique Resendiz is a student with varied interests. He works at Rosen Hotels. He wrestles with the Amateur Athletic Union of the USA and has traveled around he country to different tournaments and earned scholarships for college. He recently placed third in a national tournament. He finds wrestling helps relieve stress and could open the door for him to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, where he would like to study physical therapy.

Resendiz also has creative skills. He received third place honors at a local poetry competition in Orlando. He hopes to compete in the national Brave New Voices Festival, which brings together young poets from across the globe, so that they can create new pathways toward artistic growth, civic engagement and youth development. Resendiz said he writes about life and his thoughts. He shared this poem with us:

By my side

I would travel to the end of the earth

forget the pain and the hurt your more than its

worth I’ll put in the work just to keep you by

my side till the end of my life till I’m taken

away and no longer fight whether I’m wrong or I’m

right. I want you beside me at night and I’ll do

anything for you. That’s true I love you and that will never

change. I want things to be the same 20 years down

the road. You’ve taken more than my heart, you’ve

taken my soul. I hope that you and I can grow

old.

Dozens of students and staff donated blood in January. The drives help raise money for scholarships.