The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Education

Local student finds trip to China enlightening

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When Darin Kilfoyl found out about the possibility of traveling to China to learn more about its language and culture, he seized the chance.

The 15-year-old, who attends Academy at the Lakes, is deeply interested in expanding his knowledge about the country and its language.

Darin Kilfoyl poses with a young boy from China during Kilfoyl’s two-week trip to learn more about the country’s language, culture and history. It turns out that much of the clothing worn by the people he encountered is similar to the clothing that Americans wear, he says. (Courtesy of Darin Kilfoyl)
Darin Kilfoyl poses with a young boy from China during Kilfoyl’s two-week trip to learn more about the country’s language, culture and history. It turns out that much of the clothing worn by the people he encountered is similar to the clothing that Americans wear, he says.
(Courtesy of Darin Kilfoyl)

His teacher, Wei Wang, told him about the two-week program sponsored by the University of South Florida and the Confucius Institute. Wang said she knew Kilfoyl’s desire to learn more about China and believed he would benefit from the experience.

Kilfoyl said the two weeks he spent in China gave him new insights about the country, and made him want to make a return trip when he has a better command of the language.

The program provided an expenses-paid experience, aside from airfare, which was slightly more than $1,000, said Kilfoyl, who lives in Lake Padgett. The daily routine included morning language, culture and history classes, and day trips to learn more about the Chinese way of life.

The group spent the first couple of days in Beijing, then went to Hangzhou, which is a little bit west of Shanghai.

“If you want to see the true identity of China, don’t stay in Beijing, but go to a province where there’s a lake similar to Hangzhou,” Kilfoyl said. “Or go to the mountain regions where it’s all nature.”

Beijing is very polluted, he added.

“It’s very modernized, but there are so many people that it’s polluted,” Kilfoyl said. “It’s a little hard to breathe, and it’s really difficult to see.”

The traffic is insane.

“People there are masters of driving. They come within an inch of another car. It was surprising how fast and how close they drove,” Kilfoyl said, but added, “I didn’t see a single accident.”

Because it has such a large population, Beijing prohibits 20 percent of the people who own cars to drive them within the city limits on workdays, Kilfoyl said. The government controls that by monitoring a numbering system on license plates.

The students studied at the Hangzhou Foreign Language School.

“It was a private school, where kids in China or from out of the country would study different languages from around the world,” Kilfoyl said.

The students in his group stayed in a guesthouse, which he said was similar to a dorm, with upgrades.

“In the morning, we’d eat breakfast at the cafeteria, then we’d normally have a class, where we’d practice learning Chinese or about the culture or something about China’s history,” Kilfoyl said. “Then we would go on a trip, somewhere within the province. Normally, we went to two places during the day.”

They visited the Xi Xi Wetlands, a museum that described the role water has played in the development of Chinese life. They also visited pagodas around the lake and heard Chinese folk tales.

As they made their way about the country, Kilfoyl noticed that most of the people he encountered were wearing modern clothing, which was similar to American styles of dress. When he arrived in China, he wasn’t sure what the food was going to be like and he also wasn’t sure about proper etiquette, he said.

The Chinese food he ate was substantially different than the fare served at Chinese restaurants in America. For one thing, he said, “not much of it is fried.”

“They eat a lot of white rice and vegetables,” Kilfoyl said. “If they had meat, it was just a little bit, just for taste.”

There were far fewer choices on television, he said. There was the government television channel, a channel that showed a Chinese version of “The Voice” reality competition show, and a channel that aired dramatic programming.

Before making the trip, Kilfoyl wasn’t sure whether the people would be cordial.

It turns out he had nothing to worry about.

“When we were there, everybody was very friendly,” Kilfoyl said.

Published September 10, 2014

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Wiregrass, Pasco high schools chart big enrollment gains

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Hordes of Wiregrass Ranch High School students head to portable classrooms each morning, as the school copes with an enrollment of 2,255.

Students stream toward their classes at Wiregrass Ranch High School, which has 30 portable classrooms to accommodate its burgeoning enrollment. The school must have four lunch periods to feed its hungry masses. (Courtesy of Wiregrass Ranch High School)
Students stream toward their classes at Wiregrass Ranch High School, which has 30 portable classrooms to accommodate its burgeoning enrollment. The school must have four lunch periods to feed its hungry masses.
(Courtesy of Wiregrass Ranch High School)

The school now has 30 portable classrooms, and must have four lunch periods to accommodate its swelling enrollment, said its principal, Robyn White. The high school, at 2909 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, had 165 more students this year than last, as of the 10th day of classes, according to Pasco County school district figures.

Some of that growth was anticipated because of a larger freshman class, White said. But the school picked up about 70 more students than it expected.

She attributes that growth to an increase in the construction of new homes and apartments in the area.

The school added 10 portable classrooms this year, enabling it to reduce the number of teachers floating between classrooms, White said. Last year, there were 11 teachers who floated between classrooms. This year, there are four.

Pasco High School’s enrollment grew by 182 students — the biggest increase among the district schools within The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

As of the 10th day, Pasco’s enrollment was 1,575.

“We weren’t shocked,” said Pasco principal Karin Kadlub. “We were ready for those numbers.”

The school, at 36850 State Road 54 in Dade City, keeps a close pulse on enrollments at its feeder schools, Kadlub said. Because the number of eighth-graders was up at Pasco and Centennial middle schools last year, Kadlub knew there would be more freshmen at Pasco High this year.

She also knew that the school would pick up students from Academy at the Farm, a public charter school that doesn’t have a high school program.

Increased development in the area also is boosting Pasco High’s enrollment, Kadlub said.

John Long Middle School, at 2025 Mansfield Blvd., also experienced an uptick in its enrollment. Its 10th-day count was 1,659, up 116 students over last year at the same time.

Seven Oaks Elementary School, 27633 Mystic Oak Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, grew by 96 students, bringing its total to 1,009.

Most of the public schools within The Laker/Lutz News coverage area had enrollment fluctuations of fewer than 50 students, plus or minus. Some exceptions were Sand Pine Elementary School, down by 64; Centennial Middle School, down by 62; and Weightman Middle School, down by 87.

Pasco Middle School was up by 62, Watergrass Elementary School was up by 60; and Sunlake High School also was up by 60.

Published September 10, 2014

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New school building not ready yet

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Construction of a new school building at Saint Anthony School in San Antonio should be completed in November, with classes scheduled to move into the structure after the holiday break.

Construction continues on a new brick building at Saint Anthony School in San Antonio. Students are expected to move into the new school in January, after the holiday break. (Courtesy of Saint Anthony School)
Construction continues on a new brick building at Saint Anthony School in San Antonio. Students are expected to move into the new school in January, after the holiday break.
(Courtesy of Saint Anthony School)

Ground was broken on the new 17,905-square-foot brick structure last November, and initially the structure was supposed to be completed for the start of classes in the fall. However, the building was not ready when classes began on Aug. 18, so four portable classrooms remain on the campus, while construction continues for students in grades five through eight.

Those temporary classrooms are situated between Saint Anthony of Padua Church and the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Elizabeth.

Students in kindergarten through fourth grade, as well as the media center, computer lab, cafeteria, Spanish classroom and administrative offices, continue to operate in the school’s historic building, which was built in 1922, said Sister Alice Ottapurackal, the school’s principal.

The building that’s under construction represents a new chapter in the school’s history. Not only is Saint Anthony School the oldest parochial school in the diocese, it’s also one of the oldest Catholic schools in Florida.

San Antonio was founded in 1882 as a Catholic colony. A year later, a widowed woman named Cecilia Morse moved into the community with her six children.

When she inquired about a school for the children, she was told it could wait until there were more settlers. So she began teaching 14 children, including her children, in her kitchen.

In April 1884, the classes were moved into the church. Then that November, they moved into a frame building.

The new building is the fourth in the school’s history. Unlike previous structures constructed on the school campus, this one is an additional building, not a replacement.

The existing historic brick structure replaced a two-story structure built in 1899, which replaced the original frame structure built in 1884.

The historic brick building will remain and will be used for some school functions.

The school began the 2014-15 academic year with an enrollment of 210, with students coming from nearby places such as San Antonio and Dade City, and farther away, from Zephyrhills, Brooksville, Land O’ Lakes, New Tampa and other communities.

The school emphasizes academic excellence, while teaching the Catholic faith.

Published September 3, 2014

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Chalk Talk 09-03-14

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Denham Oaks open house
Denham Oaks Elementary School, 1422 Oak Grove Blvd., in Lutz, is hosting an open house Sept. 9 starting at 6 p.m.

Pre-kindergarten through second grade students can visit from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Third through fifth grade students can visit from 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Pizza will be served in the cafeteria from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PTA members and their children will receive a free slice of pizza and drink. The cost for non-members is $3.

For information, call (813) 794-1600.

Rigberg inducted into chefs society
Michael Rigberg, chef instructor and executive chef at Land O’ Lakes High School, was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs, the honor society of the American Culinary Federation, during a ceremony July 27 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Riberg has more than 40 years experience in the hospitality industry, and is president of the ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association.

Internship program graduates second class
On Aug. 1, PharmaWorks and CareerSource Pasco Hernando graduated its second summer internship class.

The curriculum is modeled after the 20th century style of German apprenticeships, and is comprised of classic German training and classroom studies, with a practical 21st century approach.

The internship program teaches not only tangible skills, but instills soft skills by educating interns on how to write resumes and conduct successful workplace etiquette.

Pharmaworks and CareerSource Pasco Hernando work in partnership providing on-the-job training and career opportunities.

For information on internships, on-the-job training or employer participation, visit CareerSourcePascoHernando.com, or call (727) 484-3400,  or (352) 200-3020.

(Courtesy of Jean Nathe)
(Courtesy of Jean Nathe)

Leadership seminar a plus for Bush
Brandon Bush, a senior at Zephyrhills High School, recently shared his experience attending S4TL-Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders with the Sunrise Rotary Club of Dade City, which sponsored his attendance. Bush wants to return next year as a ‘yellow shirt’ to assist in the weeklong events. He is the son of Randy Bush, funeral director at Hodges Family Funeral Home in Dade City. Brandon is shown with his father Randy, left, and Francis Crociata, co-president of Sunrise Rotary Club.

Rays Baseball Foundation awards grant to PHSC
Pasco-Hernando State College Foundation recently received a $5,000 grant from the Rays Baseball Foundation Community Fund Grant Program.

The funds will support PHSC’s Concept College outreach program that provides an opportunity for at-risk students to explore a variety of career paths.

Woodland Elementary moms collecting school supplies
Three local mothers — Shelly Brantman, Ailisa Starnes and M.J. Price — with children at Woodland Elementary School in Zephyrhills, are teaming up to collect school supplies at their workplaces.

The trio hopes to alleviate some of the financial strain on area families by collecting and distributing the supplies not only now, but throughout the year. All donations will be distributed to schools in Zephyrhills and Dade City.

The locations for drop-offs are:

• C1 Bank, 7435 Gall Blvd., Zephyrhills

• Goin’ Postal Dade City, 14247 Seventh St.

• Goin’ Postal, 38429 Fifth Ave., Zephyrhills

For information, call Shelly Brantman at C1 Bank at (813) 715-4700.

PHSC college night
Pasco-Hernando State College will host its annual college night Sept. 9-10 for prospective students in the Pasco County area.

The two-night event will be in the gym at the Dade City campus, 36727 Blanton Road, Sept. 9 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and at the New Port Richey campus, 10230 Ridge Road, Sept. 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There will be representatives from PHSC and numerous public and private colleges, universities and other education institutions, as well as military participants.

Information will be available on admissions, financial aid and programs for post-secondary study.

Admission is free.

For information, call (855) 669-7472.

New leader for charter schools
Jeffrey Yungmann from the Hernando County school district has been approved by the Pasco County School Board to serve as a new charter school supervisor.

Yungmann began his education career in 1989 as a math teacher.

He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of South Florida, and a master’s degree in education administration from Grand Canyon College in Arizona.

Three new charter schools — Learning Lodge Academy, Classical Preparatory Charter School and Pepin Academies-Pasco — join six existing charter schools.

Bishop McLaughlin open house
Bishop McLaughlin Catholic School, 13651 Hays Road in Spring Hill, will host an open house Nov. 2 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be family tours, and individuals can sign up for shadow dates.

Step-Up scholarships are accepted.

For information, call (727) 857-2600, or visit BMCHS.org.

Construction projects to yield big changes for Pasco students

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Pasco County Schools has taken on an ambitious construction schedule that will result in significant changes for thousands of students across Central and East Pasco County in the next few years.

Projects now underway will result in reopening Quail Hollow Elementary School in Wesley Chapel and Sanders Memorial Elementary School in Land O’ Lakes next year.

Construction crews have a long way to go to get Sanders Memorial Elementary School ready to become a magnet school for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. District officials say the school in Land O’ Lakes will be ready for the upcoming school year. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Construction crews have a long way to go to get Sanders Memorial Elementary School ready to become a magnet school for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. District officials say the school in Land O’ Lakes will be ready for the upcoming school year.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

Quail Hollow will have enclosed classrooms, updated building systems and new technology, said John Petrashek, director of construction services for Pasco County Schools. The technology will be the same as any new elementary school in the district.

Quail Hollow also will be larger.

The district is adding eight classrooms there to accommodate 160 additional students, increasing the total capacity to 800.

The additional space at Quail Hollow will result in a boundary change to bring more students there, said Chris Williams, director of planning for Pasco County Schools. Sanders will be a magnet school for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

The school will not have boundaries and it will enroll its students through the district’s School Choice program.

The district does want to reduce crowding at Oakstead and Connerton elementary schools, so students from those schools likely will be given a higher priority for admission to Sanders.

The district has been working for months on the design for High School GGG, which is slated to open in August 2017 on the west side of Old Pasco Road near Overpass Road. The school will have a capacity of 1,900 students.

“It’s going to be built as a high school,” Petrashek said, but it will open serving students beginning in sixth grade.

The new school will affect existing boundaries for Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Weightman and Long middle schools, Williams said.

“We don’t have the money to build the full middle school and the full high school. This will provide us relief,” he said. “Then, as the population continues to grow, and the demand is there, we’ll build a full-blown middle school next door to it.”

“We have it master planned and master designed for both,” Petrashek said.

The site is a couple hundred acres, so it can easily accommodate a high school and a middle school, Williams said. And the district also is planning to add some other district facilities there as well.

Middle School HH, which will eventually be built there, is not yet included on a district timetable because no funding is yet available, Petrashek said. The school is being designed with two large classroom buildings, with one to be used by middle school students, and the other to be used by high school students.

They’ll share the cafeteria and athletic facilities, but there will be separate locker rooms for the younger and older students, Petrashek said.

The school will operate much like a school within a school, with one principal overseeing assistant principals who specialize in high school and middle school students.

The district also is planning to add an elementary school, known as Elementary School B, on land within a new residential development, Bexley Ranch, now beginning to take shape near State Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway in Land O’ Lakes, Williams said.

“That’s going to be a huge reliever for Oakstead and Odessa elementary,” Williams said.

Unlike other district elementary schools, which have been designed for 762 students, Elementary School B could be built to accommodate nearly 1,000 students, he said, although that approach is still in the discussion phase.

The district is looking at opening that school in 2017.

Elementary W, another school planned to open in August 2016, would be built next to Long Middle not far from which is next to Wiregrass Ranch High, and Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. The school aims to reduce crowding at Double Branch and Sand Pine elementary schools, as well as provide some relief for Seven Oaks Elementary School, Williams said.

“Seven Oaks really popped this year,” he said.

The relief for Seven Oaks may involve sending some of those students to Sand Pine or shifting them to Elementary W, Williams said, noting its not yet clear what path officials will take.

“In the future we’ll have a school in the Northwood development,” he said. “That’s south of Seven Oaks. Ultimately, that’s going to provide the relief for Seven Oaks.”

While the district looks ahead to these projects, it also has completed work on a number of improvements in other schools.

The new gym at Stewart Middle School in Zephyrhills was finished at the end of last school year just in time for the eighth-grade graduation exercises, Petrashek said. But students are just now getting full use of the new facility.

“It’s still brand new,” Petrashek said.

The renovation of the weight room and locker rooms at Zephyrhills High School also is now complete, Petrashek said. Crews completed the renovation of the school clinic at Cox Elementary School in Dade City over the summer.

“It was simply outdated. It wasn’t functioning, so we redid that,” Petrashek said.

Now, the district is working on the design for a $5 million construction project at Cox that will add a new cafeteria and improve parking and the drop-off loop, Petrashek said, which could be completed by August 2016.

The district also is at the design stage of a campus renovation project at Pasco Elementary School in Dade City. The project, expected to be completed by August 2016, involves renovating classrooms, which will include infrastructure upgrades, new technology and fire sprinklers.

Portable classrooms will be brought in to enable construction work to be done while the campus is occupied.

Published September 3, 2014

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System update: Saint Leo unveils cybersecurity masters program

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Providing personal information on the Internet can save time and offer convenience, but it also carries well-known risks.

Hackers, identity thieves and malicious software can jeopardize someone’s financial and personal well-being with just a few clicks of a mouse.

Vyas Krishnan will oversee Saint Leo University’s new cybersecurity masters program, which was 18 months in the making. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
Vyas Krishnan will oversee Saint Leo University’s new cybersecurity masters program, which was 18 months in the making.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Even if you try not to share your information online, companies that have your data and store it on their computers can make you susceptible if they become a target of hackers.

As a result, cybersecurity — the efforts of organizations to thwart attacks on networks and sensitive data — has become an important focal point for information technology professionals.

At Saint Leo University, it’s about to be a masters degree program. And according to Vyas Krishnan, a professor with the department of computer science and information systems as well as the lead academic technologist, it couldn’t come at a better time.

“You hear in the news about so many data breaches, and hackers getting onto corporations’ networks and stealing either customers information or stealing their proprietary information,” Krishnan said. “This problem has been worsening over the past five years.”

Because of increased demand, the industry is seeing a shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals, he said, making the program valuable to prospective students.

Krishnan will oversee the new 36-credit hour program beginning this fall. The first offerings will be on-campus only, with online availability coming early next year.

A combination of five existing courses offered at the university and seven new courses make up the program, which attempts to cover the areas of vulnerability that exist in systems run by corporations or government agencies. And those systems, Krishnan said, are getting more complicated and more vulnerable as time goes on.

“A lot of the complexity of information technology infrastructure has resulted in multiple points of weakness,” he said.

As a result, a professional in that field needs to know the various areas where threats can manifest, how to defend against them, and how to maintain the integrity of the entire system.

Class subjects include database security, risk management, cloud computing security, systems security management, network security, strategic planning, and legal and compliance issues. The latter is important because different business sectors such as health and finance have different requirements, and a skilled cybersecurity professional needs to know the nuances of their particular industry, Krishnan said.

Graduation results in earning a master’s degree, but there’s more to it than that. Industry certifications are an important part of the information technology field, Krishnan said, and the program is designed to help graduates qualify for them.

The new program, which is open to students with some previous information technology education or work experience, was 18 months in the making. The university already is pleased with the initial interest, officials said. Around 20 students will take part when the degree is first offered, which exceeds Saint Leo’s original goals.

The online offering in 2015 will allow them to increase capacity as well.

Krishnan, who has been with the university for five years and played an integral role in getting this program off the ground, also is satisfied with the program’s development and course offerings.

“I feel very good about it,” he said. “I think we’ve done a great job in putting together a very sophisticated, technically advanced, state-of-the-art program.”

Protecting yourself from cyber threats
While no system is 100 percent safe, there are some common sense steps individuals can take to keep themselves better protected from threats, said Vyas Krishnan, who oversees the new cybersecurity masters program at Saint Leo University.

• Make sure your computer has an antivirus program and firewall installed. These tools help identify existing threats and prevent them from getting through to your computer.

• Keep your operating system up to date, and let it update automatically if possible. ‘It’s a complex piece of software, and when it’s initially released in the market, there could be some vulnerabilities that they may not be aware of,’ Krishnan said. Updates allow the company to close potential holes in the system, but they can’t fix the problems if the user doesn’t allow it to be updated.

• Make sure any website where you give personal information is secure. A website where you have to type in personal information should have ‘https://’ instead of ‘http://’ in the address bar. That extra ‘s’ means the information is encrypted and better protected.

• Be careful about responding to emails that look like they’re from companies you know. Legitimate correspondence from a company won’t ask you to provide sensitive information. If it does, it could be a scam designed to look like a real email from a known company.

Published August 27, 2014

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Enrollment increases at Wiregrass Ranch’s Porter Campus

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Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch began its fall semester this week, with an enrollment topping 2,100.

That’s an increase of nearly 300 students over its initial enrollment in January, when Pasco-Hernando State College opened the satellite campus in Wesley Chapel.

Stan Giannet, the provost at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, is looking forward to the campus’ first full academic year. The campus is a satellite of Pasco-Hernando State College. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Stan Giannet, the provost at Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, is looking forward to the campus’ first full academic year. The campus is a satellite of Pasco-Hernando State College.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“We continue to exceed the enrollment expectations. We’re very delighted with that,” said Stan Giannet, provost at the campus on Mansfield Boulevard, just south of State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel.

“Compared to the spring term, we added another 70 class sections that were necessary based on the projected enrollment,” Giannet said.

On the first day of the fall semester, Patti Rocco, administrative assistant to Giannet, was excited about the 2014-15 academic year. She loves working on the Wesley Chapel campus, even though it means driving over an hour a day from Weeki Wachee to get there.

“It’s just wonderful. It’s like one big family,” Rocco said, noting she can’t say that’s been her experience in all of the jobs she’s had throughout the years.

The campus is a phenomenal place to work, she said. “It’s warm. It’s wanting to do what’s best for the students.”

So far, the most popular courses are those leading to an associate’s degree, as well as programs in information technology, nursing and human services, Giannet said. Students also are expressing an interest in business courses.

Debuting this fall are the bachelor’s degree program in supervision and management, and the surgical technology and pharmacy technician certification programs.

There are tracks within the management and supervision program that gear people for general management, health care management and public service management, Giannet said. The degree provides coursework to enable people to develop and hone the skills necessary to handle the responsibilities that managers and supervisors face.

The surgical technology and pharmacy technician programs will prepare graduates for jobs that are in high demand and that offer good pay, Giannet said.

Figures are not yet available, but Giannet said Porter Campus is attracting students from Hillsborough County, and those numbers appear to be growing. The campus also has a sizable number of students enrolled in its evening programs.

Classes are offered Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9:40 p.m., and on Friday until 4:30 p.m. Registration for this semester ends Aug. 29, while registration for the spring semester begins in early November.

In addition to debuting new programs this fall, the college also will open a café in its library in September. It will offer salads, sandwiches and other light fare, Giannet said. The college always planned to have a café, it just took some time to go through the process to select a provider.

The campus is situated near many good restaurants in Wesley Chapel, so many students leave campus for meals, Giannet said. However, students carrying a full load do not have time to leave campus, so this café will provide a convenient way for them to grab a quick bite.

The campus continues to seek to create a sense of community among the students, faculty and staff, Giannet said. It also wants to play the role of an intellectual and cultural hub for the community at large.

“We want to be very open and inviting to our community,” he said.

One way that Giannet seeks to foster strong relationships with students is by hosting events such as Pizza with the Provost and Picnic with the Provost, where he has a chance to share campus news, to field questions from students, and to hear feedback about how things are going.

He also has a Provost Success Academy, which focuses on themes aimed at helping students succeed. As part of that academy, the college will host a domestic violence awareness symposium in October.

The overall goal of the campus is to engage students and provide assistance to help students succeed, Giannet said. He thinks students are taking advantage of opportunities available on campus.

“The amount of activity in our library — from the perspective of traffic utilizing library services — is comparable to our largest campus, which is the West Campus in New Port Richey,” Giannet said.

He describes the college’s personnel as being “very student-driven, student-focused, compassionate and caring.

“I think it’s clearly evident,” Giannet said. “We want to provide a meaningful experience for students when they’re on our campus.”

Published August 27, 2014

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Technology, band march to new fundraising beat

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Bake sales, car washes, spaghetti dinners. There’s so many traditional ways to raise money for a good cause.

But when the Wiregrass Ranch High School percussion program decided it was time to transform from a strong winter drum line to a premier one, they realized their efforts to raise $25,000 would have to be far from traditional.

The Wiregrass Ranch High School marching band’s drum line practices after school with players like, from left, Alex Dabrow, Robert Rodriguez, Ashleigh Hans and Sam Ryan. The line is raising $25,000, so that they can keep playing after marching season ends in November. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
The Wiregrass Ranch High School marching band’s drum line practices after school with players like, from left, Alex Dabrow, Robert Rodriguez, Ashleigh Hans and Sam Ryan. The line is raising $25,000, so that they can keep playing after marching season ends in November.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

“I had to recreate our fundraising strategy a little bit,” said second-year band director Patrick Duncan. “Our families were just selling to each other, and it didn’t do us any good when mom and dad were just looking for the same coworkers all the time, asking if they can buy this, or if they can buy that. At a certain point, they are not going to buy, and parents get really turned off from fundraising.”

A lot of money nowadays is being raised online, through crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Duncan and his team, however, chose GoFundMe, a site that has raised more than $400 million for various fundraisers since its launch.

Unlike Kickstarter, GoFundMe will fund a campaign, even if the financial goal is not met. And unlike Indiegogo, the band would not have to wait for a campaign to end before they can start withdrawing money.

That means once Wiregrass Ranch’s band raises $900, for example, it could buy a set of low-octave crotales. A little more than $5,000 would be just enough to pay for a studio vibraphone.

“They don’t penalize you for taking out money early,” Duncan said. “And if you don’t meet your goal, you can keep the money raised, and continue to try and raise more funds until you get what you need.”

The money will purchase 14 sets of instruments including three vibraphones, a marimba, two crotales, a snare drum, and four pairs of marching cymbals. These instruments will let the percussion line expand from its current 15 to 18 during marching season, to more than 30 in the wintertime as part of an indoor percussion line.

It would be the area’s second indoor percussion line, joining the existing one at Sunlake High School.

“Our percussionists basically don’t have a performance avenue after marching season ends” in November, Duncan said. “By doing this line, we have something that can join with our winter guard, and it’s very musically engaging. There are some really fast-moving lines, and it’s always based on some kind of concept, some kind of story. It’s like something you might see in a performing arts center.”

Duncan already has percussionists ready to join the line once the instruments are bought, and some of his other band members — even those in the wind instruments like trumpets and tubas — have expressed an interest in broadening their musical horizons.

The indoor drum line would perform at area events, including competitions in Plant City and Daytona Beach — the latter an event that typically draws more than 3,000 people.

Duncan wants the new line to start this school year, but to make it happen, he would have to have auditions right after the Thanksgiving break, with first rehearsals set for just after Christmas. While he could get the line together with just half the money he wants to raise, Duncan is really hoping the community will pull through and help put Wiregrass Ranch’s musical program on the map.

“We have too many percussionists right now, which is a good problem to have,” he said. “You have them going in and out during performances so that they can all get a chance to play, and sometimes you even double up parts so you can include more people. But that doesn’t always much musical sense, as that’s not the way the composer intended for it to be played.”

As of Monday, the band has raised a little more than $400 in the campaign. Most of the donations have been in the $25 range, although GoFundMe is capable of accepting larger contributions.

“We started this in hopes that we can find some people who are interested in giving back, and giving to a cause,” Duncan said. “This will give a lot of students the opportunity to get that performance time in their spring semester, and it’s something audiences will not want to miss.”

Donate right now to the Wiregrass Ranch High School percussion program. Visit GoFundMe.com/WiregrassPercussion.

Published August 27, 2014

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Innovation yields national award for Saint Leo University

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Two librarians at the Daniel A. Cannon Memorial Library at Saint Leo University have received national recognition for an innovative program they created.

Jackie Bryan and Elana Karshmer recently returned from the American Library Association’s national conference in Las Vegas where they received the inaugural award for innovation in instructional programming.

Jackie Bryan, left, and Elana Karshmer recently received a national award for their innovative approach for teaching university students how to use the resources available at the Daniel A. Cannon Memorial Library at Saint Leo University. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Jackie Bryan, left, and Elana Karshmer recently received a national award for their innovative approach for teaching university students how to use the resources available at the Daniel A. Cannon Memorial Library at Saint Leo University.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The award stems from a program the pair put together to help students effectively navigate the university’s library, learn about its resources, and meet its staff. They based it on the 1960s television series “Mission Impossible,” Karshmer said.

They called their project, “Mission Impossible: Free Fritz.”

“The whole point of this mission in the library was to go to different stations that we set up where they would actually practice information literacy skills, and then if they successfully completed those skills, they would get a letter,” Karshmer explained.

When they obtained enough letters to spell a particular word, it would free Fritz, Saint Leo’s mascot.

As students made their way through the stations, they completed challenges and had a chance to have fun, intended to reinforce the lesson they learned. In the upstairs stacks, for instance, students had to find a book. Once they found it, they hula-hooped, to reinforce the idea that the volume came from the library’s circulating collection.

The librarians conducted research and borrowed ideas from other places when they were creating their program, said Bryan, who is a reference and instructional services librarian as well as an associate professor.

“Gamification is a trend now in higher ed,” she said.

“A lot of these things are out of (kindergarten through 12th grade). They’ve been doing it forever,” said Karshmer, an instruction program and information literary librarian, as well as an associate professor.

It took several weeks to design the program, which included a number of games and a pair of videos. One video explained what the students would be doing in the library. The other covered the research process.

After watching the video about research, students visited the library and used the catalog, the databases and the library website.

The project reflects the university’s desire to help students get the best use of the university’s resources, Bryan said. Learning how to use the library when they start college helps give them a solid footing.

“It really sets the foundation for the rest of their academic career,” she said. “They may think they know how to find information, but there are so many skills that we can teach them to help find the correct information they need and how to evaluate it, as well.”

It can also help transfer skills to other subjects. Students who learn how to use a database for English, for instance, can apply those same skills for research in other disciplines.

Those skills are valuable beyond college, Bryan added.

“Say you’re doing a project for some company you’re working for, and you have access to the public library. These are still skills you can use,” Karshmer said. “And, you’ll want to use them because people are going to expect you to be able to find high-quality information no matter what you’re doing.”

Many students know how to conduct Internet searches, but haven’t learned how to do scholarly research, Bryan said.

“They’ll take the first results when they do a search, instead of drilling down,” Bryan said. It’s also important to know how to refine a search to obtain the information you need, instead of getting thousands of irrelevant results.

“You need to find credible resources,” Bryan said.

Brent Short, Saint Leo’s director of library services, said he knew Bryan and Karshmer were doing good work, but it was nice to see their efforts receive broader recognition.

“What we’re really trying to facilitate and encourage is the ability to read deeply and write deeply,” Short said. “One of the temptations for students now is they think they can get an instant answer.”

The library staff wants students to feel welcome, encouraged and supported, Short said.

“We do have some expertise to offer,” he said. “We can help guide them where they need to go, and really save them a lot of headache and wasted time.”

Published August 20, 2014

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‘Concept College’ helps make college dreams a reality in Pasco County

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In some Pasco County families, attending college after graduating high school is almost a given. There’s money, opportunity and plenty of options for a student to continue their education.

But in others, college seems like a far-fetched dream. Even before they graduate high school, those students know that the opportunity isn’t there, and that makes it hard to focus on good grades and pursuing whatever options might exist.

Lauren Rowold, a Sunlake High School graduate who is registered for classes at Pasco-Hernando State College later this month, credits the school’s Concept College program for answering questions and making the transition to college easier. (Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)
Lauren Rowold, a Sunlake High School graduate who is registered for classes at Pasco-Hernando State College later this month, credits the school’s Concept College program for answering questions and making the transition to college easier.
(Michael Murillo/Staff Photo)

“Their parents are like, ‘Well, we don’t have money for this,’ so they’re like OK, there’s no point,” said Lauren Rowold, who graduated from Sunlake High School earlier this year.

Rowold wasn’t one of the students who had given up hope. Unlike some of her peers, she made sure her senior year was spent getting her grades up and preparing for a college career. She also took part in Concept College, a program implemented by Pasco-Hernando State College, designed to help at-risk youth and disadvantaged high school students explore and obtain college opportunities.

Rowold was one of about 600 students per year who participate in the program, which takes them on campus, gives them a firsthand look at college life, answers questions, helps with applications, and explores scholarship opportunities.

Concept College provides some optimism for young people who think college is beyond their grasp, said Maria Hixon, PHSC’s director of development.

“This is really targeting students who need assistance to help make them believe that college is possible for them,” Hixon said. “Sometimes without that direct outreach and personal attention, they kind of fall through the cracks.”

Guidance counselors at the high school level identify juniors and seniors who might be in danger of falling through those cracks and could benefit from the program. Students who are disabled, pregnant, or have discipline problems or economic disadvantages, are among those who might qualify. An advisor from the college then visits the high school to provide confidence-building exercises, and those who join the program schedule a visit to either the Dade City or New Port Richey campus that normally lasts more than two hours.

On campus, students tour the school, ask questions and take assessment tests. They also learn about the admissions process, degree paths and financial aid.

Concept College also helps students take their first steps toward attending college, HIxon said. The program helps them with the application process, including paying their $25 application fee. It’s a small amount, but it can make a difference, she said.

That’s not the only financial assistance, however. Participants can apply for scholarships, which vary each year based on how many students enroll and apply, and how much financial support the program gets.

The dollar amount usually ranges between $500 and $1,000 per year, Hixon said. At a school where a 12-credit, full-time schedule costs around $1,100, it can make a transition into college smoother for those who see the cost as a significant obstacle.

Over the years, the program has reached every high school in Pasco County and a couple in Hernando County as well. And it’s all done on a budget of around $10,000 per year.

The program relies on private donations to keep going, Hixon said, with Wells Fargo and the Tampa Bay Rays standing out as major contributors this year. The baseball team presented the school with a $5,000 donation this summer as part of their Rays Baseball Foundation Community Grant Program.

“For what it costs, we do a lot with very little, and it yields a lot of impact for the students,” Hixon said. “It’s a wonderful program.”

And Rowold agrees. After participating in Concept College, she enrolled at PHSC, and will begin pursuit of her associate’s degree in just a couple of weeks. After graduation she plans to enter the medical field.

The program was helpful, Rowold said, and could impact even more students by reaching them earlier so they can be motivated to improve their grades and prepare for a chance they didn’t know they had.

And while she’s excited about starting college, she’s not really nervous. Rowold said she was prepared well by Concept College, and everything was explained to her before she enrolled.

“It answered all my questions,” Rowold said. “I always had questions about it, but I didn’t know who to ask. I felt like I learned a lot.”

Published August 20, 2014

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