Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Sarah Whitman

Summer vacation is just around the corner. For some, it’s already started. Parents looking for something fun for their kids to do this summer may want to look into one of the vacation bible schools in their area. Local churches are busy planning and preparing for an exciting VBS season. Each school offers something unique at an affordable cost or free of charge.
Heritage Christian Center, 21418 Carson Dr. in Land O’ Lakes, will put on its first ever vacation bible school this year. Hero Headquarters, an event where kids join forces with God to become everyday heroes, is scheduled for June 21 to 25. Volunteers will work with kids to convey a valuable message.
“We’ll be learning about different less-known characters in the Bible who were heroic and teaching the children how they can step up and become heroes in their own lives,” said Deanna Porter, Heritage youth pastor.
The event is $5 per child and open to ages 5 to 11. The kids will learn through play and also have time just to cut loose.
“There will be fun, games and snacks,” said the pastor’s wife Natalie Bamberry. “It’s a great way for kids to see that learning about God is fun.”
More fun is just down the road. Myrtle Lake Baptist, 2017 Riegler Road in Land O’ Lakes, invites kids to saddle up for Saddle Ridge Ranch, a vacation bible school themed after the old west. The school runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon June 14 through 18 and is also open to children grades Kindergarten through 6. Kids will have Bible study, worship, playtime, crafts corner and music time.
According to Myrtle Lake event manager John Berti, the event will help kids answer questions like, “What is God’s plan for me?” and “How can I be like Jesus?” in a care-free environment.
First Baptist Church of Land O’ Lakes, 5105 School Road, will offer two summer programs. SeaQuest: Diving for God’s Treasure, an event for elementary school kids, is from 9 a.m. to noon June 21 through 25. The Truth Alive, an outdoor competition event for teens, will take place at the same time. Both events are free.
“We’ve been doing vacation bible school for more than 20 years,” said church secretary Sharon Booth. “What makes our program unique is that we offer something for older kids too.”
In Lutz, Van Dyke Church, 17030 Lakeshore Road, is offering a sports camp for kids June 20 through 24. The camp will be divided so there is a 4-year-olds program, a 5-year-olds program, an elementary program and a special needs program. Sports offered include football, soccer, softball, cheerleading, gymnastics, karate, baseball, hockey, basketball and volleyball. For kids less into sports, art, sewing and chess classes will be offered indoors. The cost to register is $50.
“It’s a high energy camp that teaches kids to give their best to God and give their best in everything they do,” said children’s minister Bryce Du Mont.

In Eastern Pasco, Victorious Life Church, 6224 Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel, is making costumes and getting ready for Toy Stories, a vacation bible school themed after the hit film “Toy Story.” This one-of-a-kind event is from 6 to 8:30 p.m. July 19 through 23. It is free, snacks and all.
“There are a lot of pre-packaged vacation bible schools out there but for the last couple years we’ve been writing our own,” said children’s pastor John Formby. “We’ll have skits with costumed characters Buzz, Woody and Mr. Potato Head. We’re also having a contest where the kid who brings the most visitors will win a family 4-pack to Disney.”
To finish the summer, Zephyrhills First Nazarene Church, 6151 12th St. in Zephyrhills, will host a late-season children’s bible camp August 2 through 6.
“Vacation Bible School gives kids something fun to do that’s different than their normal summer routine,” children’s pastor Laura Barker said. “It gives them a safe environment to go to.”
For information or to register, call Heritage Christian Center, (813) 909-4080; Myrtle Lake Baptist, (813) 949-5516; First Baptist Church of Land O’ Lakes, (813) 996-2651; Van Dyke Church, (813) 968-3983; Victorious Life Church (813) 973-2230 and Zephyrhills First Nazarene Church, (813) 782-7032.

By Sarah Whitman

Speech pathologist Jill Vought has a passion for helping children with speech and developmental delays. This summer, while school sponsored speech programs are no longer in session, Vought is accepting new clients at her office, More Than Words Speech Therapy, Inc. in Wesley Chapel.
“Without proper speech and communication skills a child can fall behind, develop learning disabilities and start showing behavioral problems,” Vought said. “It’s important to catch speech problems early on.”

Vought has a Masters degree in communication disorders from the University of Miami in Ohio. She began working as a speech pathologist in 1996 at The Children’s Hospital in Columbus and later worked at All Children’s Hospital in Ft. Myers. A move due to her husband’s job brought her to Florida and eventually to Tampa in 2006.  She opened her own business Talking Tots that year. The business grew and grew until she was able to open her Wesley Chapel office. It was then she decided to make a name change.
The name More Than Words came from her belief that communication affects a person’s overall life and happiness.
“I’ve always known I wanted to work with children and that I wanted to help families,” Vought said. “When I first started college, I sat in on a speech therapy session and I knew it was what I wanted to do. Speech therapy can make such a difference.”
Vought works with people of all ages but most of her clients are in the pediatric age range. She currently has 32 clients.
“I work with adults who have had a head injury or strokes, and with infants on feeding and swallowing,” she said. “Mostly I work with children who have a speech, language or reading disorder.”
When Vought first meets a client, she does an evaluation to determine the child’s level of functioning and what services are needed. The evaluation includes a verbal assessment and standardized testing.
“It depends on the disorder what we need to work on,” Vought said.
Clients meet with Vought once or twice a week for 30 minute or one hour sessions.
Land O’ Lakes resident Leslie Church- Robinson brings her son Lance to weekly appointments.  Lance is 4-years-old and struggles with a severe speech deficit. Robinson said he’s improved greatly since beginning therapy at More Than Words.
“Working with someone like Jill, who does a fantastic job every week, has made a world of difference,” Robinson said. “His personality is different. He communicates better and because of it, his behavioral issues are improving.”
Vought has two daughters, ages 6 and 4, so she can relate to worried mothers.
“I became a better therapist after becoming a mom,” she said. “Now, I really get it.”
Vought has open appointments available throughout the summer. She hopes anyone who suspects their child may have a problem will call. She said the key to success is to seek help as early as possible.
“If you can fix the problem at age 3 or 4 why wait until the child is 6 or 7,” she said.
More Than words is located 26908 Foggy Creek Road, building 23, suite 102. For appointments, call (813) 862-8692.

By Suzanne Schmidt

When Julian Reis of Odessa opened S & N West Indian Store a little more than a year ago, he found many people from the Caribbean living in the area.
He decided to open Calypso Bay Restaurant, 24832 SR 54 in Lutz, because he had so many people request it. Reis is originally from Guyana, a state in the Caribbean.

“Ever since I opened the market, people were asking for food,” Reis said. “We have the Caribbean spices and Indian spices because there was nowhere to go to find those products here in the area. We also have a selection of meat that is hard to find like goat, lamb, oxtail, pig tail and assorted fish from the Caribbean at the restaurant and at the market.”
Reis opened the restaurant with co-owner Eman Tanchoosing to cater to the local Caribbean community.
“We have a huge Caribbean community in the area,” Reis said. “We created the menu at the restaurant to cater to the majority which is the Jamaicans. The food is kind of like a Mardi Gras in your mouth with a mix of a lot of spices. It wows you. We make food fresh everyday. We don’t put food in the fridge to reuse the next day.”
Richard Trotz, cook at the restaurant, is originally from Guyana as well.
“A lot of people from Jamaica come here,” Trotz said. “The food has a lot of spices like garlic, curry, onions and hot peppers. We also have some more traditional foods like oxtail stew and jerk chicken and red snapper.”
He said there are a variety of dishes on the menu due to the variety of food available on the islands. There are a number of curry dishes, Guyana Chinese style dishes, and jerk dishes with sides like Dholl puri and roti which are two types of bread and peas and rice which is made with steamed rice, kidney beans, coconut milk and cinnamon.
“There are so many islands in the Caribbean,” Trotz said. “Everybody in the Caribbean cooks a little differently according to their region, but we try to cater to all the islands. We have food that is actually like back home”
Vladimir Larse of Land O’ Lakes eats at the restaurant once a week. His parents are from the Caribbean.
“I like to eat the beef patties,” Larse said. “I like that I don’t have to go all the way to Tampa anymore.”
Steve Boyle of Land O’ Lakes tried the Guyana Chinese style chicken with lo mein noodles.
“There was a lot of food and it was good,” Boyle said. “I have never had Jamaican food before. I like the spices and the chicken is actually sweet.”

Jimmie Keene of New Tampa also enjoyed his first time eating Jamaican food.
“I like that they use real chicken,” Keene said. “I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. It is really good food. I will definitely be back.”
For more information, visit (813) 406-4412.

By Chelsea Smith, Zephyrhills High senior
ZHS The Paw Print Editor in Chief

In the United States, every person has the right to receive an education. Sometimes, it seems that students take for granted this wonderful opportunity that is not available in other countries. In other places around the world, only the brightest students who truly have a desire to learn are allowed to move onto higher levels of learning.
Other countries apply somewhat of a Darwinism concept, only the strongest, or in their case the smartest survive. According to students from foreign countries attending Zephyrhills High School, few children in other nations take their educations for granted. They simply cannot afford to.

In Florida, students constantly complain about being forced to take the FCAT. They insist that it is not fair that students must pass this examination in order to graduate.  However, in many other countries, there is a test to enter high school.
German foreign exchange student Deborah Herlan provided information about these tests. In Germany, a test is administered to all 10th graders in order to be admitted into the 11th grade. The exam covers three subject areas, German, English and math as well as an essay. If a student fails this test, they will not be permitted to continue on to the next grade level. Instead they must either go straight into the work force or they can attend a technical school.
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, Germany boasts one of the best and most extensive school systems in the world.  All students are required to learn two languages in addition to their native tongue. Herlan far surpasses this requirement, she knows five: German, English, Italian, French and Norwegian.
According to Ashly Kuruvilla, schools in India are much more difficult than in this country.
“Here, if you mess up you can take summer school or night school,” Kuruvilla said. “In India there are no second chances.”
Kuruvilla attended boarding school in India from kindergarten up until the fifth grade when she moved to America.  Even her time spent in primary school was incredibly challenging academically. Starting in the first grade the children had to learn English. There was more homework than given to students here and teachers were able to practice corporal punishment.
“If you forget your homework, you can’t turn it in later and you’ll get beaten with a stick,” Kuruvilla said. “Teachers have the power to do basically whatever they want.”

Generally, students in other countries show nothing but respect for their teachers. This is most because they are not entitled to their education. In India, as well as Britain, children are required to attend school up until age 14, but a quality education is not free. Only those who can pay are able to continue on in school. The dropout rate for the poor is four times higher than that of the rich.
Despite the higher amount enrolled, a mere fifty percent of children between 6 and 14 actually attend school.  Children are sent to work in cottage industries, restaurants, agriculture as well as households.
Given her firsthand experience, Kuruvilla believes there are a lot more opportunities offered in the United States, but children do not understand how fortunate they are. She explained in India it is humiliating to not complete assignments. Most kids in India give 100 percent all the time even though the tests are much more challenging essay exams. Not multiple-choice tests.
Despite the fact that the courses are more rigorous, forget about teachers staying after school to help students learn subjects.  If a child in India needs extra help their parents must hire a private tutor.  Here, the vast majority of teachers are more than willing to help students after class, but once again many students do not take advantage of this opportunity.
Next year’s senior class president Rainas Wao attended school in Kenya from first grade up to the ninth grade. His experience in Africa vastly differed from that of an American student too. Like in India, teachers in Kenya are authorized to practice corporal punishment. In Wao’s experience, the punishment is very effective.
The education system in Kenya is an 8-4-4 — eight years of primary and four in both secondary and university level. Students attend school all year and learn to speak English in grade one. In order to be eligible to graduate into secondary or high school level, students must pass the KCPE exam.

Wao said he passed this test, but it was very hard. The exam covers everything students have learned and is incredibly confusing. He believes it is much more challenging than the FCAT. If a student fails to pass the exam, they are permitted to retake the eighth grade one time. A student’s failure to obtain a high enough score the second time ends their education.
In order to be accepted into a university, another test called the KCSE is administered. If a student’s score on this exam is not high enough, then they will not be permitted to continue their education. In the United States, even if students do not achieve high scores on the SAT or ACT, many community colleges still allow them to learn.
When asked what children in Kenya would do if they had the opportunities students in the United States have, Wao responded, “If they had this kind of education in Kenya, they would take it a lot more seriously.”
Compared to schools in Germany, India and Kenya, the experience the students receive is very different than the one offered here. The majority of students in those countries value the education they receive because they are required to pay for a quality education.
The rigor of the courses taken by students in foreign schools is much more strenuous than that of schools here because their school systems try to ensure only the brightest students attend college. Becoming more informed about the different educational systems from foreign countries should make American students better appreciate the education they receive.