The cadets traveled to Tampa Bay Tech High School on Saturday, January 16th for their Annual State Sanctioned Field Meet.  Gulf had already qualified for the State Championship by placing 3rd at Regionals in December.  As such, a number of less experienced cadets were "put to the test" in this major field meet competition.  They did JUST GREAT!!  At the end of the day, Gulf placed "5th Overall" out of twenty-four teams from around the state.  The Academic Team continued it's winning ways by placing 1st Overall again.  This [academic] team has placed first in every one of the state-sanctioned meets in which we've participated this school year!  Great Job!

Final plans are being made for the trip to Boca Raton for our second "State Sanctioned" field meet of the year.  The commander has secured reservations for cadet/instructor/parent accommodations at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, 3400 Airport Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 (561-417-8585/561-417-5355 Fax).  Eighteen rooms have been reserved at a price of $69.00 for a double (two double beds).  Chaperons must pay for their own rooms.  Most of the rooms have already been taken, so send the commander an email to reserve one of those remaning.  Cadets will be required to pay approximately $20.00 each for accommodations, $5.00 each for Saturday lunch, and should bring $10 for food to/from Boca Raton.  Dinner for the cadets will be provided by the instructors on Friday evening, and a very nice continental breakfast will be provided early by the hotel on Saturday morning.

The charter bus will leave at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, with approximately fifty cadets, two instructors, and three chaperons.  Parents are encouraged to car-pool.  Boca Raton Community High School is located at 1501 N.W. 15th Court, Boca Raton, FL 33486, very close to the hotel.

Our first event (Personnel Inspection) starts at 9:15 a.m. and our last should be close to 3:45 p.m.  The award ceremony is scheduled for 5:00 p.m., but could vary depending on how things go throughout the day.  We hope to be home (GHS) by 10:00 p.m. (and, placing in the Top Three!).

While the commander was with the wrestling team at a tournament at Springstead High School, Chief Rodriguez and our senior cadet staff supervised another great event where a large part of our Unit participated.  Once again, all cadets finished the entire fitness test.  While not all passed, we have once again increased our numbers (percentage) of cadets who did surpass the minimum standard.  This is AWESOME!  Everyone had a great time at the family BBQ/Picnic that follwed the fitness test.  Our next PFT/Family Picnic is scheduled for February.

As has been advertized since August, we will hold our semi-annual Physical Fitness Test & Family Picnic this Saturday at Green Key park.  This venue has served us very well in the past two years, and the kids (and parents) have had a blast.  Staff will report by 7:00 a.m. to prepare for the arrival (at 7:30) of the other cadets.  All participants will warm up with various stretching and exercise prior to starting the actual test.  The plan is to start the PFT at 8:00 a.m. and be done by 9:00.  Parents are MOST WELCOME to come and watch their child perform in this mandatory program requirement.  Remember, the PFT plays a large part in the "participation" grade in the curriculum.  It is a test that measures physical fitness levels (improvement) of the student. 

The grill will start around 10:00 and go until well after noon.  The event will last until approximately 2:00 p.m. The booster club will provide hamburgers, hot dogs and water.  Mr. Pondi will provide all the buns (THANKS Brian!).  Cadets must bring their own soda if they choose to drink that, as well as, a dish-to-pass (e.g., salad, fruit, desert, etc.).

For those unable to make it on Saturday, the Commander will hold a makeup PFT (as scheduled) on Monday during Physical Training (PT) during his classes and the Chief on Friday for his.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Many of the cadets were rewarded Saturday with a trip to Busch Gardens. While not an official function, the cadets, parents and instructors traveled to the mid-morning and returned early evening.  The kids were paired into groups of no less than five, which would bother some, but all worked well together for a really fun day.  A few of the cadets made the comment "This was the best day of my life!"  Ha! Simple pleasures...  We'll try to organize another fun trip before the end of the school year.  Thanks to the Booster Club who came in early to make sandwiches for the cadets, and those that drove and chaperoned.

Our competition team, who recently placed "3rd Overall" in the first state-sanctioned field meet in which we've participated this school year (at Mitchell HS), heads to Boca Raton on Friday, December 11th for competition on the 12th.  We'll depart via chartered bus at 10:00 a.m.  We expect to take approximately 35 competitors and 15 who are backups or helpers.  In addition, there will be three school board members and three parents (only a total of five necessary) as instructors and chaperons.  We'll be staying in a hotel either in Boca Raton or Deerfield Beach; more information on this by Monday. (Look for the update on this article.)  A specified number of rooms will be reserved at the group rate, so (parents) if you would like to be included in this, you must let me know by Tuesday, November 17th.

If we place in the TOP THREE at Boca, we could qualify for the State Championship which is scheduled for March 6th, 2010 at Oviedo High School near Winter Park.  Come on out to support our cadets!

Cadets have been invited to join others in a fun day at Busch Gardens on Saturday, November 14th.  This is not a formally organized trip; rather, an event for cadets (and family members) to get together and meet at the park to have fun.  While the instructors and some parents have offered to drive cadets that have no means of transportation, others must find their own way.  We will leave the school at 8:00 a.m. so cadets must be here by 7:30 a.m.  We have asked the booster club parents to make sandwiches and bring along water and gatorade for the cadets' lunch.  One parent will park his/her vehicle at a predetermined location in the parking lot.  The lunches will be provided there between a specified time period.  Cadets will be advised of that location and time.  Those who drive the cadets without transportation will return them (same cadets) to the school between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.

Our cadets performed well again at the 6th Annual Iron Bear Challenge hosted by the Central High School NJROTC in Brooksville.  In fact, the team placed 2nd Overall for the fourth consecutive year!  The difference this year is that they scored much better in total points than previously, as is reflected by the ten trophies brought home as opposed to the three from last year.  There were fourteen total events, three of which our cadets placed 1st, three 2nd, and one 3rd.  Some of the fourteen events included truck pull, basket-ball free throw, obstacle course, agility course, fireman's hose carry, and more.  The kids had a blast!  So did the adults!