Mary Rathman

Promoting a love for reading
Members of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club donated and assembled ‘Snuggle Bunnies,’ which included a storybook, a little flashlight, and a warm, snuggly fleece blanket. The woman’s club delivered 91 bundles to Lutz Elementary School to be distributed to each first-grader. The purpose of these gifts is to encourage the kids, at a very young age, to develop a love of reading, which will hopefully last a lifetime. From left: Renate Mastandrea, Lucy Albury, Ellen Brayton, Sabrina Scott, Cheryl Winegar and Faith Sincich (not pictured) delivered the Snuggle Bunnies to the school. For more information on this volunteer service organization, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org, or its Facebook page.

One Book, One School
The Rotary Clubs of Zephyrhills Daybreak and Port Richey made a donation of $4,674.80 to Chasco Middle School’s Literacy Program called One Book, One School.

The program is designed to create a shared reading experience across an entire school.

Students listen to the teacher read a chapter from a book they are currently reading and then take part in answering questions, with the opportunity to win prizes.

Cory Sommers, a Zephyrhills Daybreak Rotarian and an assistant principal at Chasco Middle School, made the request for the donation to support the literacy program.

The donation was made possible by a Rotary District Matching Grant along with a club fundraiser.

Employees of the Year
Pasco County Schools’ employees of the year were surprised with their honors by Superintendent Kurt Browning, school board members, and Pasco Education Foundation Executive Director Stacey Capogrosso.

The annual awards recognize outstanding employees who go above and beyond to serve Pasco County students, and strive to better the lives of others at their schools, worksites, and in their communities.

This year’s winners are:

• Melissa Caruso – Assistant Principal of the Year
• Melissa Musselwhite – District Administrator of the Year
• Aimee Starkey – Non-bargaining Employee of the Year
• Dee Dee Johnson – Principal of the Year
• Joann Ortiz Ramos – School Related Personnel of the Year
• Ryan Bintz – Teacher of the Year

“Congratulations to this year’s remarkable group of winners,” said Browning, in a news release. “I am extremely proud to know that we have exemplary staff members like this working in our district. It has been an honor to visit them and let them know that they are truly making a difference in the lives of everyone around them.”

Photos and videos of the surprises can be found on the district’s social media channels, Twitter and Facebook.

Student news
Payton VanNort, of Lutz, recently was a crew member for Marietta College’s (Ohio) performances of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” in the Friederich Theater. VanNort, who is majoring in theater, served as an assistant stage manager in the production.

Breakfast with Santa
The Cypress Creek High School girls’ lacrosse team will host an inaugural Pancake Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 18 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., in the school’s cafeteria, 8701 Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel.

Those attending will be served a pancake breakfast catered by Mind Over Matter Meals.

Santa will be on site for family photos, and there will be Christmas movies on a big screen, cookie decorating, and holiday music.

Tickets are $10, and $5 for children younger than age 10.

To purchase tickets, visit tinyurl.com/4pmc5yxv.

‘Top Dog’ students recognized
Students from Stewart Middle School recently were recognized as Top Dogs, through a program that was started more than 30 years ago to honor students for academics and their leadership  roles in the school. Each honoree received a goody bag and a Tog Dog key chain. Shown are the students honored for the first quarter: Andrea Zayas Santiago, Kingston McCollough, Lily Mahon Garcia, Ja’nae Jenrette, Adriana Mendoza, Nathaniel Webb and Jeszaya Conner. Addysen Reynolds was also recognized, but is not pictured.

Provisions for a hearty meal
Members of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club delivered shopping carts filled with Thanksgiving dinner ingredients to Lutz Elementary School’s ‘The Den.’ The food donations were sufficient to help 15 families in need. Club members Barbara Booth, Mary Anne Lykins and Linda Mitchell stand alongside a Lutz Elementary staff member with the donations. For more information on this community service organization, visit the group’s Facebook page or GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Wesley Chapel student receives top senior award
Lana Guzman, a student at Wesley Chapel High School has been named the 2021-2022 Outstanding Senior in Pasco County Schools.

The award is based on academic record, service, leadership, citizenship and commitment to school and community, according to a news release.

Each Pasco County high school selects an Outstanding Senior, who is then interviewed by a panel which selects a senior to represent the school district.

Guzman has been involved in Future Farmers of America and has volunteered at the Glazer’s Children’s Museum, the local library, and at her church.

Here are the other students, within The Laker/Lutz News coverage area that were selected as the Outstanding Senior at their school:

• Cypress Creek: Camila Amaya
• Land O’ Lakes: Ella Knouse
• Pasco eSchool (virtual school): Iman Bhyat
• Pasco High: Ashlee Cummings
• Sunlake High: Emma Cohen
• Wendell Krinn Technical High (magnet): Liliana Gonzalez
• Wiregrass Ranch High: Aisia Walden
• Zephyrhills High: Kamil Mehrab

These are the outstanding seniors in Pasco high schools outside the newspaper’s coverage area:

Joselyn Pena (Anclote); Sadie Campbell (Fivay); Louis Carr (Gulf High); Morgan Casel (Hudson) Isabela Viera (J.W. Mitchell); and, Aimee Sullivan (River Ridge)

Great American Teach-In
Employees across the City of Tampa connected with students and faculty, both online and in person, during the Great American Teach-In, which took place on Nov. 18.

The City of Tampa has more than 4,000 employees with diverse skill sets, backgrounds and interests, and it received more than 400 requests to speak with students and educators for the teach-in.

Teachers from more than 60 schools throughout Hillsborough’s school district, as well as Pasco County, registered to join live virtual presentations, which included:

• Tampa Police Department Mounted Unit
• Tampa Police Department K9 Units
• “A Walk Through the Park” with Parks & Recreation Director Sherisha Hills
• “Discovering Robots and Drones” presented by senior applications programmer Jonathan Girwar-Nath
• Careers in Tampa City Government featuring employment manager Mike Swain and the city HR team
• “Hospitality and Venue Management” presented by Tampa Convention Center sales and marketing manager Juan Lopez

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also hosted two virtual sessions, one geared toward elementary school students who were able to learn facts about the city, and another designed for middle and high school students that focused on Mayor Castor’s “Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow” vision.

The mayor also made an in-person visit to Gorrie Elementary to speak to the students about the importance of staying in school and doing what they can to help others in the community.

Odessa native named to leadership society
Elizabeth Szabo, a native of Odessa, was recently initiated into the High Point University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society. The Society welcomed 350 new initiates from 17 universities during October 2021, according to a news release.

Fewer than 5% of the students on campus are invited to join each year.

The society’s mission is to honor and develop leaders; encourage collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and alumni; and promote collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, scholarship, and service on college and university campuses throughout North America.

Fish art contest
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in partnership with Wildlife Forever, again will host the Florida State Fish Art Contest.

The program is to inspire creativity while developing the next generation of anglers and conservationists.

Students in kindergarten through 12th grade can compete in this free contest for a chance to win state and national honors, and prizes.

Florida winners will be selected by the FWC in four grade categories: kindergarten through third grade; fourth through sixth grade; seventh through ninth grade; and 10th through 12th grade.

State winners will advance to the national competition, to be judged for top prizes including Best of Show.

Entries should be submitted online at tinyurl.com/yaw9afj5. The deadline to enter is March 31.

Submissions must include:

• An original horizontal 9-inch by 12-inch piece of artwork featuring any fish from the official fish list (found at tinyurl.com/5bujmn32)
• A piece of creative writing, no longer than one page, about the chosen species (required for grades four to 12)
• A Florida State Fish Art Contest entry form

Early release days
Pasco County Schools again will utilize a monthly, early release time to allow for staff to engage in professional development aligned with student needs, and district and school priorities.

Upcoming early release dates are: Dec. 8, Jan. 12, Feb. 2, March 9 and April 13.

On each of these days, students will be released two hours early.

The bell times, including the early release times for each school, can be found online at Pasco.k12.fl.us/site/pcs_bell_schedule.

Honor Society hosts fundraiser
The Martinez Middle School National Junior Honor Society will host a donation drive to benefit Hope Children’s Home, on Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Stonebrier basketball gazebo, 3741 W. County Line Road in Lutz.

Guests can bring a blanket or lawn chair, and eat, relax and listen to live music with local metal band, Actual Purgatory. The Bacon Boss food truck will be on site from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Kona Ice will be on site from noon to 2 p.m.

Accepted donations include: Nonperishable items (such as canned veggies, box/bag cereal, canned soup); household items (such as paper plates/bowls, aluminum foil, dryer sheets); school supplies (such as white board cleaner, binders, post-its); and, gently used clothes/shoes for boys and girls ages newborn to 18 years old.

For questions and a more detailed list of acceptable donations, email Annie Hayman at .