Oakstead kindergarten open house
Oakstead Elementary School, 19925 Lake Patience Road in Land O’ Lakes, will host a Kindergarten Open House April 29 at 7 p.m., in the cafeteria.
Registration packets will be distributed. Students entering kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1, 2014. Completed packets will be accepted beginning May 5 and throughout the summer.
For information, call (813) 346-1500.
Double Branch kindergarten orientation
Double Branch Elementary School, 31500 Chancey Road in Wesley Chapel, will host a Kindergarten Orientation April 29 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the cafeteria.
Incoming kindergarten students must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1, 2014 to register for the 2014-2015 school year.
Packets picked up that evening must be completed and the school will begin to accept them beginning May 5 from 9 a.m. to noon in the media center.
For more information on documents needed, call (813) 346-0402.
PHSC names Academy leaders
Pasco-Hernando State College has named Charlie May director of public service programs, and Patricia Maxwell instructor coordinator of the Law Enforcement Academy.
May most recently served as forensic services chief for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, and is retired after 25 years of service to that office. He is a former police officer with the New York City Housing Authority.
Maxwell is an adjunct law enforcement instructor at Hillsborough Community College, and was most recently the assistant terminal manager at Murphy Oil Corp. She is a former officer with the Temple Terrace Police Department.
President’s List welcomes Smith
Robert Ellis Smith of Land O’ Lakes, was named to the President’s List at Pensacola Christian College for academic achievement during the fall semester.
Pensacola Christian College is a liberal arts college with an enrollment of 4,500 students.
Robert played baseball, basketball and football at Academy at the Lakes, is an advanced pianist, and obtained his Florida insurance license just shy of the age of 18.
He is the son of Robert and Sheri Ellis Smith of Land O’ Lakes.
HCC open houses
Hillsborough Community College will host an open house at its Brandon Campus, 10414 E. Columbus Drive, April 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Program, admissions and financial aid information will be available.
Freedom High shoe recycling
Freedom High School, 17410 Commerce Park Drive in New Tampa, is hosting a shoe recycling drive through April 25.
All footwear, except metal cleats, will be accepted in old grocery bags. Bags can be dropped off in the shoe recycling bin of the school’s front parking lot.
Hillel students winners in art
Five students at Hillel Academy, 2020 W. Fletcher Ave., in Tampa, were honored at the 19th Annual Rembrandt Youth Art Competition. More than 120 entries were part of the Hillsborough countywide show.
The student winners were:
• 5- to 6-year-olds: Sam Hyman, third place, “King of the Jungle”
• 9- to 10-year-olds: Malina Seldes, first place, “Under the Sea”; Albert Tawil Brown, honorable mention, “Bamboo”
• 11- to 12-year-olds: Arielle Solomon, first place, “Nantucket Dream”; Briana Miele, honorable mention, “Three Course Dinner”
Kervin makes Honor List
Audrey Kervin of Lutz was named to the Honor List of Oxford College, a two-year liberal arts division of Emory University in Oxford, Ga., for the fall semester.
Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher to receive the honor.
Lindo on Dean’s List
Michael Lindo Jr., of Lutz, was named to the Dean’s List at Berklee College of Music for the fall semester.
The Berklee curriculum focuses on practical career preparation for the music industry, and has campuses in Boston and Valencia, Spain.
PHSC faculty, staff garner excellence
Pasco-Hernando State College has announced its recipients of the annual National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development Excellence Awards.
The 2014 honorees include Rene Brioso, assistant professor of information technology programs; Shirley Cherry, associate professor of mathematics; Patricia Garcia, assistant professor of nursing; and Burt Harres, vice president of instruction and provost, West Campus.
NISOD’s Excellence Awards recognize men and women each year who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues.
PHSC’s NISOD Excellence Award recipients are invited to attend the 2014 International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence May 25-28 in Austin, Texas. They will be honored during a ceremony that has become the largest gathering that recognizes the contributions and achievements of community and technical college faculty, administrators and staff.
Clowning around at Wesley Creative
The Clown Unit of the Ladies Oriental Shrine Cairo Court 97 visited Wesley Creative School in Dade City. The ladies told jokes, performed skits, gave out stickers and small gifts, and entertained the children and their teachers. The students and their teachers collected aluminum can tabs and donated them to the Clown Unit in exchange for the performance. Taking part in the fun were, back row from left,Catherine Parker, Linda Sumner, Patty Thompson, Virginia Hale, Isabelle Collins, Director of Wesley Creative School JoAnn Wilks, Gayle Johnson, Carol Miller, and M.J. Price (sitting in middle). The VPK children are Brycelin Infantino, Julia Cotter, Chase Carvill, Alexis Perez, Zachary Morrow, Maddie Rodriguez, Kylie Simon, Sebastian Esqueda, Aniya Gant, Zechariah Johnson, Layla Miller, Autumn Bennett, Cagen Wood, Diego Valdo Vinos, De’Onna Miller, Jason Byrd, Keilah Holtzhower and Darion Mings.
Student Citizens recognized by chamber
The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce recognized Student Citizens for March. Each month, one student from 10 area schools is selected for exemplary effort, achievement and contribution to their school, family and community.
Students recognized were Anyla Jordan of Chester Taylor Elementary School, Kelli Waver of The Broach School, Natalee Mason of Raymond B. Stewart Middle School, Victory Tinney of Zephyrhills High School, Shalyn Carter of East Pasco Adventist Academy and Hannah Gouldborne of Heritage Academy.
‘Bee Bully-Free’ in Zephyrhills
Zephyrhills area schools are encouraging students, teachers and staff to wear black and yellow on the last Friday of each month as part of the “Bee Bully-Free Initiative.” The initiative provides stickers and coloring book pages for schools that request them, participates in the Great American Teach-in, and provides certificates and awards for students who transform from bullies into kinder versions of themselves.
Upcoming black and yellow Fridays are April 25 and May 30.
For information on the initiative, visit Facebook.com/beebullyfree.
