The lottery for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools free Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten is open for the 2023-2024 school year.       Packets became available from participating schools on Feb. 1; the lottery drawing will be held Feb. 24.         Parents will need to have the following documents in order to register for the VPK lottery:       --Proof of...

     Victoria Spadafora’s classroom has gone to the dogs, the cats and even the guinea pigs.       Spadafora is the history department chair and head swimming coach at Monsignor Edward Pace High School.       For 18 years, she has also overseen the Miami Gardens school’s P.A.W.S. Club (Pace Animal Welfare Society).       Colleagues nominated...

     The Knight Foundation named Christopher Norwood one of its 26 Arts Champions in 2022, an award that came with a $10,000 prize.      Norwood, 50, a consultant and founder and curator at Hampton Art Lovers Gallery in Overtown and a longtime Miami Lakes resident, chuckled about being designated one of the elites of the South Florida arts scene.      “It’s good for other...

The Miami-Dade County Library branch in Miami Lakes is offering these in-person classes.       Space is limited and registration may be required. Rev + Flow: Functional Fitness Thurs., Jan.19, 26 11 a.m. - Noon. Strengthen and sculpt your muscles with this fitness method. Develop strength and balance with low impact exercises during this four-week series for all fitness levels. Led by a certified fitness...

     The 2023 Miami National College Fair is set for March 5.      Students can preregister for the fair, at https://bit.ly/3CI0fZW.        Registered attendees can print out a confirmation with a bar code to use at the fair as an electronic ID, and to request information from schools that will be at the fair.      Representatives from nearly 200 colleges and...