Mary Rathman

Student musicians raise money for Joshua House
Crossing the Tangent, a band that just started up this past October, rented the clubhouse at Seven Oaks for a fundraiser for Joshua House on Dec. 20. The youth band put on two shows, charged a $5 entry fee, and played a variety of songs, including holiday music. The $543 raised was given directly to Joshua House, a safe haven for children in need.

Members of the band are Cody Somoano, Alyssa Somoano, Alexa Jewel and Genesis Castro-Garcia, Wiregrass Ranch High School; Ben Sajen, Freedom High; Josh Brett, Land O’ Lakes High; Kelly Mason, Benito Middle School; Arianna Toro, Steinbrenner High; and Sage Pope, New Port Richey Montessori.

Magnet school offers tour
Sanders Memorial Elementary STEAM Magnet School, 5126 School Road in Land O’ Lakes, will offer a school tour on Jan. 8, to show parents and prospective students the programs and facilities.

Principal Jason Petry and staff will lead parents through each grade level area, the collaboration center, outdoor classroom areas, boardwalk, and athletic facilities. Sanders is Pasco County’s first magnet school and was designed to focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

For information, call Kristie Newsome at (813) 794-1500.

STEM magnet school info meetings
Centennial Middle STEM Magnet School, scheduled to open in August, will host parent information sessions at 6 p.m., as follows:

• Jan. 11 at Raymond B. Stewart Middle School, 38505 10th Ave., Zephyrhills
• Jan. 12 at Pasco Middle School, 13925 14th St., Dade City
• Jan. 13 at Thomas E. Weightman Middle School, 30649 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel
• Jan. 19 at Dr. John Long Middle School, 2025 Mansfield Blvd., Wesley Chapel
• Jan. 20 at Centennial Middle School, 38505 Centennial Road in Dade City
• Jan. 21 at Chester W. Taylor Elementary School, 3638 Morris Bridge Road in Zephyrhills

Parents of sixth- and seventh-graders at the host schools, as well as those of current fifth-graders in the elementary schools that feed into them, are encouraged to attend.

The superintendent, the magnet school principal, and district staff will discuss the STEM magnet theme and programs that will be offered at the school. Parents also will hear about magnet school application timelines and options for transportation.

Thursday Musicale offers scholarships
The Thursday Musicale, a women’s choral group formed to promote music in Pasco and Hernando counties, offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors in Pasco and Hernando counties who plan to study music in college and make it a career.

The deadline to apply for a scholarship is Jan. 22. Auditions will be Feb. 2 and Feb. 9 at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs in New Port Richey.

For applications, contact your high school career counselor and/or music director.

For information, email .

Take Stock in Children applications
Take Stock in Children scholarship applications are now being accepted online through Jan. 24 for Pasco County Schools’ students on free/reduced lunch in grades eight to 10.

The organization, a program with the Pasco Education Foundation and partnered with Pasco County Schools, has provided scholarships, mentors and hope since 1995.

For information and an application, visit PascoEducationFoundation.org.

School photographer celebrates with fundraiser
Paul Gigante, a professional school photographer since 1991 in Tampa Bay, has seen the need to help less fortunate homeless high school seniors, as they transition after graduation to start college careers. His goal is to raise $50,000 at a benefit to help as many students from the Class of 2016 in Pasco and Hillsborough counties as possible.

Gigante will host a “H4 Benefit” (Helping Our Homeless High Schoolers Achieve Higher Education) at Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road in Tampa, on Jan. 24 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Entertainment will include the USF “HOT” Pep Band, The Butch Ryan Band, local disc jockeys, and others.

There also will be silent auctions, sports memorabilia, gift baskets, a 50/50 raffle, corn hole tournament, photo booth and more.

The cover charge is a birthday card for Paul with a donation payable to “H4 Benefit.”

Corporate/local business partnerships/personal and family sponsorships are available.

For information, contact Paul Gigante at (813) 340-4080.

Virtual tours available for Saint Leo
The Office of Admissions at Saint Leo University has begun using the latest trend in social media to reach prospective students from around the world. Student tour guides conduct a live video tour of university campus every Wednesday afternoon.

The office uses the Periscope program, which allows for real-time video sharing with student followers. It is interactive, as participants may submit questions, and the video hosts or tour guides can respond immediately. The tour’s content can be customized based on the users’ interaction and requests. The video tours are available for replay for 24 hours following the live broadcast.

To date, more than 1,000 prospective students have participated in the live Periscope broadcasts.

Viewers must follow Saint Leo’s Twitter account to access the video tour, and will receive additional enrollment messages after the tour has concluded for as long as they continue to follow the feed.

The live video tours are marketed to prospective students through email invitation, a Facebook campaign, Twitter advertising, and a website presence.

Potential future uses will include live interviews with faculty, live visits to classrooms, and other on-campus events.