Apps parents should know
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO) recommends parents and guardians talk with students about safe and appropriate behavior online, and stay aware of what apps students are using.
According to the PSO Facebook page, here is a list of apps (updated August 2022) that parents should look out for:
- ASK.FM is known for cyberbullying. The app encourages users to allow anonymous people to ask them questions.
- BADOO is a dating and social networking app where users can chat, share photos and videos, and connect based on location. The app is for adults, but teens are known to create profiles.
- BUMBLE is similar to the popular dating app Tinder. Kids have been known to create fake accounts and falsify their age.
- CALCULATOR% is only one of several secret apps used to hide photos, videos, files and browser history.
- DISCORD allows users to talk to friends or strangers in real-time via voice, text or video chat, while playing video games. Users have reported being confronted with racial slurs, explicit content and cyberbullying.
- GRINDR is a dating app geared toward LGBTQ+ people, and gives users options to chat, share photos and meet up based on a smartphone’s GPS location.
- HOLLA is a video chat app that allows users to meet people all over the world in just seconds. Users have reported being confronted with racial slurs, explicit content and cyberbullying.
- HOT OR NOT encourages users to rate your profile, check out people in their area, and chat with strangers. The app’s goal is to ‘hook up.’
- KIK allows anyone to contact your child directly, bypassing traditional text messaging features and giving users unlimited access to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
- LIVE.ME is a live-streaming video app that uses geolocation to share videos; users can earn “coins” as a way to “pay” minors for photos.
- MEETME is a dating social media app that allows users to connect with people based on geographic proximity, and users are encouraged to meet each other in person.
- OMEGLE is a chat app connecting users with strangers. Criminals may use the app to exploit children, often recording the video chat and using it for blackmail.
- REDDIT is a chat/discussion board app. Users can post whatever they want, with no identity verification. Users have reported being confronted with racial slurs, explicit content and cyberbullying.
- SKOUT is a location-based dating app and website. Users younger than the age of 17 cannot share private photos, but kids can create an account using a different age.
- SNAPCHAT in recent years has been one of the most popular apps. Users can take a photo/video and are promised it will disappear, but features allow users to view content for up to 24 hours.
- TIKTOK, the mobile device app, is popular with kids for creating and sharing short videos. It has very limited privacy controls, and users can be vulnerable to cyberbullying and explicit content.
- WHATSAPP, a popular messaging app allows users to send texts, photos, voicemail, make calls and video chat worldwide. The app uses an internet connection on smartphones and computers.
- WHISPER is an anonymous social network that promotes sharing secrets with strangers. It also reveals a user’s location so people can meet up.
Scholarship benefit
BCMF Calstrong in Trinity/Odessa and LiveFit in Hudson are partnering to host their first Walk-A-Thon on Sept. 10, at 11539 Pyramid Drive in Odessa.
The event will benefit The Ashley Morrison Heart Scholarship for Pasco County high school athletes. Any remainding funds will be donated to meningitis research.
For more information, call 727-842-7000.
Classroom grant program
The Pasco Education Foundation helps to leverage money from the community to support local schools, to fund projects that improve student learning and make a positive, long-term impact in the classroom.
The grant program serves to provide schools and educators with an opportunity for financial support for innovative and creative curriculum, special activities, and classroom or school projects.
Innovative Classroom Project applications for 2022 are now open.
Every teacher has ideas to help their students engage in learning, and the foundation is looking to bring these to fruition in the classroom.
The grant program provides teachers across Pasco County the financial resources they need to inspire learning. (Individual projects have a limit of up to $1,000. Group projects may vary.)
To read all the guidelines and complete an application, visit PascoEducationFoundation.org/departmentsschool/. Applications are due on Sept. 12.
School Fishing Club
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) 2022-2023 School Fishing Club Program offers school fishing clubs or teams the opportunity to apply for the Florida R3 Fishing Grant.
The grant program is focused on engaging youth anglers to ensure the future of fishing in Florida.
The Florida Sport Fish Restoration R3 Grant will award up to 40 high school fishing clubs or teams $500 to assist with club expenses, the purchase of fishing licenses or gear for the participants.
The grant program is open to new or existing freshwater and/or saltwater fishing clubs or teams in public, private and charter schools throughout Florida.
To be considered for the grant, the clubs or teams must have a minimum of five members and be represented by a school faculty member or parent who will follow the provided instructor’s manual.
Applications can be found online at MyFWC.com/SFC — scroll down to “Florida’s R3 Fishing Grant Program.”
The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m., on Sept. 16.
Anniversary plans
Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) will celebrate 50 years of service to the district with free community celebrations, a speaker series, and other events and initiatives. The school’s golden anniversary year officially began in July and will conclude on June 30, 2023.
The first of five campus-based community celebrations will be presented at the East Campus, 36727 Blanton Road in Dade City, on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event, taking place during Hispanic Heritage Month, will feature the flavors and sounds of Latin culture, and guest speakers will explore local history and Hispanic culture.
Free entertainment, family activities, food, campus tours and demonstrations will be included, and application fees to PHSC will be waived for prospective students attending the event.
Other campus celebrations will be hosted at the Brooksville, New Port Richey, Spring Hill locations, and the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel throughout the anniversary year.
Details on events and activities will be posted and announced online at PHSC.edu/history.
