Substitute teachers needed
Pasco County Schools currently is hiring substitute teachers. A high school diploma is required.
Apply at ESS Pasco County, Jobs.willsubplus.com/jobs?districtIds=1466.
Email Jenny Hacker at for additional questions.
COVID notices changed
Pasco County Schools has changed the way it notifies parents of positive cases being reported at the district’s middle and high schools.
As of Sept. 13, the district stopped sending daily notifications regarding a positive case being reported at its secondary schools.
“Given the nature of middle school and high school schedules, a handful of positive cases often resulted in notifications going school-wide, with some parents receiving multiple notifications of possible exposure,” according to the email the district sent to parents.
“This change pertains to middle school and high school only. Daily notifications will continue at the elementary school level,” the email added.
While the district stopped sending those daily notifications, anyone interested in finding out positive cases at any particular school can visit the school district’s COVID-19 Daily Report, which is listed on the district’s website, at Pasco.k12.fl.us.
The report lists each school alphabetically and provides the number of staff or student cases for that day.
Student attends space program
Rocco Pupello, of Lutz, attended the Advanced Space Academy at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.
The weeklong educational Space Camp program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and problem-solving.
Rocco spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the moon or mars.
Space Camp uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects.
Students also sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA.
Student achievements
• These local students, all from Lutz, were named to the summer President’s List at Southern New Hampshire University: Joel Gomez Ruiz, Felicia Shingles and Allie Ungerecht.
• Nathan Shane, of Lutz, was recognized for his academic achievements during the spring semester at The Citadel. Gold stars are awarded to cadets and students who achieve a 3.7 GPA or higher. The individuals who achieve gold-star recognition also are placed on The Citadel’s Dean’s List.
Course review
Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) is receiving excellent reviews of its college-readiness course called Journey to Success, according to a news release.
As part of the college’s reaccreditation effort with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, this Quality Enhancement Plan helps students with improving several key areas: Problem-solving, time management, intellectual openness, and persistence.
The planning and implementation of this student experience began in 2018.
Journey to Success is a first-year, first-semester experience currently open to all students, and in the future, will be a mandatory course in the Associate in Arts degree program.
The target student population includes part-time or full-time students who are attending PHSC for the first time, have earned six or fewer credit hours from an accredited institution of higher education, and are enrolled in coursework that leads to an Associate in Arts degree.
With Journey to Success, students have consistently indicated in three semesters of data that by the end of the semester, they feel better prepared than at the beginning of the semester in the four focus areas of college readiness.
To read the full, published article and learn more about Journey to Success, visit PHSC.edu, and click on the “In the News” section.
4-H program has begun
Pasco County Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program will run through Aug. 31, 2022. Children ages 5 to 18 can participate in county, district, state, regional and national level 4-H clubs, events and activities.
Members join community clubs where they work with fellow volunteers to complete projects, community service, camps and workshops. Project areas include: Leadership, environmental science, animal science, robotics, sewing, art, fishing and more.
The cost to join is $15 for ages 5 to 7 and $25 for ages 8 to 18.
For more information or to join a club, call 352-518-0156, or email .
For more information about the Florida 4-H program, visit Florida4H.ifas.ufl.edu.
Early release days
Pasco County Schools again will utilize a monthly, early release time to allow for staff to engage in professional development aligned with student needs, and district and school priorities.
Upcoming early release dates are: Oct. 6, Nov. 10, Dec. 8, Jan. 12, Feb. 2, March 9 and April 13.
On each of these days, students will be released two hours early.
The bell times, including the early release times for each school, can be found online at Pasco.k12.fl.us/site/pcs_bell_schedule.
