If Nickelodeon’s Victorious is on a constant loop on your family room TV, you may be interested to know that Ariana Grande’s house in Boca is for sale.

The 19-year-old actress, who plays Cat on the show, was born and raised here and went to school at North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek. Her parents bought the house in 2004, according to a press release from Coldwell Banker, whose agent Lisa Byrne has the listing.

Grande and her family have moved to California, as Ariana begins work on a Victorious spinoff, Cat & Sam. (Yes, that would be the Sam from iCarly).

The 7,590-square-foot house is listed at $2.49 million. It’s in the gated Les Jardins neighborhood near Yamato and Jog roads. Notable features: a theater room, recording studio and astronomical observatory, complete with telescope.

See photos here.

- CHARLENE PACENTI

Amanda Nickerson, executive director of the International Breast Milk Project, with her two daughters.

An international charity that collects donated breast milk for sick infants in Africa and in NICUs across the United States is based right here in Boca Raton.

Executive Director Amanda Nickerson, a mom of two with a third on the way, runs the International Breast Milk Project, which delivered 11,000 ounces (2,375 bottles) of donor breast milk to South Africa just last month.

Moms all over the country – many of them champion pumpers whose babies cannot consume all the milk they have stowed in the freezer – are donating it, rather than pouring it down the drain.

For sick babies, it can be a life saver.

Twenty-five percent of the milk donated through the IBMP is earmarked for organizations in South Africa, where HIV is rampant – an orphanage in Durban and neonatal intensive care units in Cape Town hospitals.

Many babies who need donor breast milk are born preterm.

The region’s high HIV rate causes many complications for breastfeeding, chief among them that the virus can be transmitted through breast milk. Babies can be born preterm, before the mom’s milk comes in. Mothers may die of HIV/AIDS, soon after giving birth, or abandon a baby who has the virus. They end up on the Durban orphanage’s doorstep.

In Cape Town NICUs,  preterm babies born at 3 to 5 pounds, can be provided donor breast milk via a doctor’s prescription. For them, an exclusive diet of human milk, which is easier to digest, is their best chance of survival.

“These babies wouldn’t live without it,” Nickerson said. “It’s that extreme.”

The International Breast Milk Project started in 2006 with Jill Youse, a mom in Missouri who realized her daughter would never consume the freezer full of frozen breast milk she had pumped when she returned to work.

Tossing it seemed a waste, so she searched for a way to donate it.

She found the Durban orphanage, which was pleading for milk donations.

Youse formed a partnership with Prolacta Bioscience, a for-profit company, to process the milk for donation.

Once the project was featured on Oprah and the national news, Youse became overwhelmed and started looking for help. Nickerson, who was consulting for nonprofits after the birth of her second child, got involved as a milk donor, then as a volunteer. (She has worked with the Red Cross and the American Cancer Society in Miami). She took over as executive director of IBMP two years ago.

The IBMP’s partnership with Prolacta continues: After the 25 percent of the first 400,000 ounces of donated breast milk is processed for infants in South Africa and other countries in need, Prolacta uses the remaining 75 percent to make its fortifier for critically ill and premature infants, which it sells to in NICUs in the United States.

Prolacta donates a dollar to IBMP for every ounce of milk that remains in the United States, Nickerson said.  That money is used to support local milk banks in Africa, among other projects.

So far, IBMP has donated 288,682 ounces of milk to Africa, according to its website. The shipping company Quick International donates its service to keep the milk frozen and transported there.

As a for-profit company, Prolacta’s involvement with milk donations has its critics. But it’s a way for IBMP to  get its milk processed safely for transport, an expensive process.

“They do everything to ensure that it’s as safe as it could possibly be,” Nickerson said.

There are nonprofit milk banks around the country, but none in South Florida. One is under development in Orlando.

IBMP can take donations from anywhere. The rigorous application process starts online. All materials, storing and shipping supplies are sent to the donor’s door. FedEx picks it up.

In between, donors need doctor’s notes, a blood test – IBMP also sends a technician to the donor to do it – and more to be sure they qualify.

For Nickerson, it’s a way to do something good with the excess milk. And it doesn’t cost you a thing.

TO LEARN MORE

Get the details on milk donation and read more about IBMP’s work at its website

Follow IMP on Twitter @GiveMilk

- CHARLENE PACENTI

Christy Raines, 15, has been educated at home since age 5.

In the midst of FCAT season in public school classrooms, angst against “the system” goes into high gear.  Parents are looking for solutions – and more in Palm Beach County are opting out of schools altogether.

The number of local students who were home-schooled jumped 8 percent – to more than 4,800 students in Palm Beach County – for the 2010-11 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

“With home schooling, you don’t have to teach to any test,” said Sharon Raines of Boca Raton, who has home-schooled her 15-year-old daughter, Christy, for 10 years. “You can teach the things you believe are important.”

People who choose to home-school have many reasons for doing it, beyond avoiding  Florida’s “teach-to-the-test” public school culture and finding pricey private schools out of reach.

Some are motivated by religion. Others worry about safety in schools.

Raines, who has led the Boca Home Schoolers support group for the past eight years, said she wanted the freedom to instill specific character qualities in her daughter and have the family’s Christian convictions be the foundation of her learning.

It’s also a lifestyle choice. Home-schoolers are not bound by specific attendance requirements. School can be conducted during the day, at night or on the weekends. Your vacations need not be ruled by the county school calendar.

But it is a big commitment, and a lot of work for parents

Raines,  a stay-at-home mom, figures she spends more than 30 hours a week on her daughter’s education, including preparing lessons, grading papers, organizing field trips, projects, sports and other activities. She believes it is worth it.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity that we have as parents to teach our children,” Raines said. “It’s the single best thing our family has ever done. We love it.”

Finding curriculum

When Christy was 5, Raines started the “Five in A Row” curriculum, which offers rich lessons through an assortment of children’s books. She recommends this approach for younger children because it is fun, easy to implement, and affordable, since most of the books can be found at the library.

Over the past 10 years, the Raineses have experimented with several programs. Sharon Raines now selects course materials designed for her daughter’s kinesthetic, hands-on, learning style. Home educating allows her the flexibility to try different techniques to get her daughter to retain certain concepts.

“You can tailor the curriculum to your child’s learning style,” Sharon said. “Schools can’t do that.”

With a degree in finance, Raines said she is comfortable teaching her daughter math and English. For some of the other subjects, like science, Christy receives supplemental instruction weekly at Home Education Enrichment Day.

HEED is a Boca Raton-based home school co-op that hires teachers who are experts in their fields to tutor students in a variety of subjects, including chemistry, biology, algebra, literature,  public speaking and critical thinking. The classes are offered weekly and cost up to $450 a class for the school year. Raines said it is worth the cost.

HEED serves about  150 families.

“We wouldn’t have the resources to do a science lab, but when you come together with a large group, you can get a teacher who can offer a lab,” Raines said.

Three virtual education programs are also available, for free, to Florida students:

• Florida Virtual School serves sixth- through 12th-grade students
• Connections Academy serves kindergarten through eighth-grade students
• K-12 serves kindergarten through 12th-grade students

Home-schooled children do not receive an official diploma from the Department of Education but they can still attend college. Some parents create transcripts and diplomas to submit directly to college admissions departments, while others choose to have their child get a GED. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, colleges are mainly concerned with SAT or ACT scores and having an accurate transcript that outlines all of the courses the student has completed.

Socialization

Many people think home-schooled children don’t get to interact with other kids. But home-schoolers in Boca Raton have plenty of opportunities to participate in sports and other activities – even at public schools.

Christy spends her Friday afternoons with 72 other children preparing for an upcoming production of Tom Sawyer that is being produced by the home-school drama company Stars in the Universe. The production will include elementary, middle and high school-age students.

In addition to violin and vocal lessons, Christy also plays volleyball for the Christian Home School Athletic Association of Florida. The association, commonly referred to as SAINTS, offers physical education for kids age 5-17. Students are exposed to a variety of sports, including baseball, archery, volleyball, golf and track and field.

Support

Raines recommends finding a local support group – for guidance and encouragement for you, and social activities for the kids.  Besides her group, the Palm Beach County Homeschooling Cooperative supports home educators with kids age 3 to 12.

How to get started

Find all the requirements at the state Department of Education website.

Resources

• The Florida Parent-Educators Association provides home educators with support, guidance and information.  It is dedicated to protecting the rights of home educators and act as an ambassador to the home school community.
• LIFE of Florida is a state support and networking group for home educators.
• The Home School Legal Defense Association is an advocacy organization dedicated to defending the constitutional rights that parents have to teach their children.
• The School District of Palm Beach County has more information on rules and guidelines.

- MERCEDES COPPIN

We are thrilled to announce that BocaParent.com is a media partner for the upcoming SheStreams conference in Fort Lauderdale in March.

BocaParent Editor  & Publisher Charlene Pacenti will be speaking.

The conference brings two full days of sessions on social technology.

Do you blog? Facebook? Twitter? Have your own YouTube channel?

Do all your mom friends turn to you for advice on everything from products to kids’ activities?

You will want to be there to connect with the latest services to help you find your voice and put that influence to good use. This is also a great opportunity for women who own their own businesses.

Learn more and register at  SheStreamsconference.com and follow @SheStreams on Twitter.

Hope to see you there!

BocaParent is pleased to introduce a new byline: Mercedes Coppin.

A mom of two, she will be contributing to the blog for the next few months. She had her first piece Sunday – your handy guide to VPK registration.

Mercedes, 29, is a student at Florida Atlantic University majoring in multimedia journalism. She aspires to be a broadcast journalist or to work in public relations. She grew up in central Florida and currently lives in Lake Worth.

She is the proud mother of two little girls (Arielle, 2, and Aaliyah, 8 weeks). She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, writing, cooking, going to concerts and traveling.

We are thrilled to have her aboard.

- CHARLENE PACENTI