Three reappointed to district board
Gov. Rick Scott announced the reappointment of Al Hernandez, Lee Maggard and Robin Schneider to the District Board of Trustees for Pasco-Hernando State College. All three have been reappointed for a term ending May 31, 2022.
Alvaro “Al” Hernandez, of Odessa, is vice president of marketing at Humana, and received his bachelor and master degrees from Nova Southeastern University.
Lee Maggard, of Zephyrhills, is the assistant vice president and commercial relationship manager for CenterState Bank in Dade City. Maggard received his associate degree from PHSC in 2007 and a bachelor degree from the University of Florida in 2009.
Robin Schneider, of Spring Hill, is marketing coordinator at Medical Center of Trinity. Schneider currently serves as the PHSC District Board of Trustees vice chair.
“We are very pleased with the reappointments of our board members and look forward to their continued leadership and commitment to higher education in our communities,” said Timothy Beard, PHSC president, in a release.
Backpack blessing
Keystone Community Church, 21010 State Road 54 in Lutz, will host a Back to School Dedication Aug. 19 at 10:30 a.m., with a special service in support of and to pray for children and teachers as they begin another school year.
Children are asked to bring their backpacks for a special blessing.
Following the dedication, there will be a festival, including lunch, bounce houses, a dunk tank for a teacher, and more.
For information, call (813) 948-4522.
Childhood center course
Pasco-Hernando State College will offer a course for child care directors to become credentialed.
The new course, Operation of an Early Childhood Center, meets Florida Department of Children and Families requirements for the director credential.
Interested child care workers can enroll for the course, which runs Aug. 20 to Oct. 10 at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.
The class will meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
A second course will be offered on Oct. 16 to Dec. 6, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road in New Port Richey.
For information or to enroll, visit PHSC.edu/academics/continuing-education.
Saint Leo ready for students
Saint Leo University will welcome close to 700 first-year students, as they officially move into their residence halls Aug. 16. Classes will start Aug. 21.
Move-in day for those first-year students will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at University Campus, 33701 State Road 52 in St. Leo.
The new Lions, and parents, can take part in a reception Aug. 16 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., in the Marion Bowman Activities Center gym. For students, there will be a mini pep rally at 4 p.m.
Orientation for international and Honors Program students, as well as Emerging Mathematics and Computer Science scholars will be Aug. 14 to Aug. 16.
Incoming biology students can take part in Bio Boot Camp. The camp is a pre-semester primer, and students can get familiarized with the laboratories, attend lectures and learn study skills.
All students can join in a sing-along with the movie, “The Greatest Showman,” Aug. 20 at 7 p.m., in Selby Auditorium in Lewis Hall, hosted by the Department of Language Studies and the Arts.
On the first day of classes, Aug. 21, Student Activities will host a welcome back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., near the Student Community Center. Students can get shirts spray painted, take first-day-of-school photos, and have smoothies and ice pops.
Throughout the first week of school, various campus groups will host events.
For more information, visit SaintLeo.edu.
Free college workshop
Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts will offer “College Bound: Figuring It Out, Part 2” Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
The free workshop is for students interested in musical theater, music, theater and dance programs, at the college and university level.
Students and parents will be provided with the tools and knowledge to navigate the performing arts programs, submit a solid application, and prepare for prescreen and entrance auditions.
For information, call (813) 222-1040, or visit PatelConservatory.org.
Back 2 School campaign
Eckerd Connects, which helps vulnerable and troubled children, is hosting a “Back 2 School” campaign in an effort to support local programs: Project Bridge, Raising Hope, E-Nini-Hassee, Challenge Youth Academy, and foster children in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
To support the campaign, school supply donations can be made at any drop-off center. Locations can be found at Eckerd.org/Back2School.
Monetary donations can be made on Eckerd.org. A $25 donation can support a child with either one school uniform or one backpack full of supplies.
The campaign runs until the end of August.
Pasco Schools’ Citizens Academy
Pasco County Schools is launching a Citizens’ Academy to educate the public on the operation of the public school system.
The academy will consist of seven monthly meetings: three during the day and four in the evening.
The mornings will be school visits around the county, while evenings will be classroom lessons on budget, school choice, planning, construction and maintenance, transportation, school safety and more.
Each academy class will have 30 to 50 members from the community.
For information, visit PascoSchools.org, and click on the Citizens’ Academy banner at the top.
