Saint Leo alumni celebrate homecoming
Hundreds of Saint Leo University alumni and their families gathered for the school’s 2018 homecoming weekend.
Alumni came from more than 20 states, Canada, and even as far as Nigeria, representing nearly 50 different graduating classes, dating as far back as 1947.
The three-day weekend was packed with activities, including the Hall of Fame dinner, award recognitions, a tailgate party with live music and fireworks, and a men’s basketball game.
Montre Hall, Class of 20189, and Nadia Crawford, Class of 2020, were crowned the 2018 Homecoming King and Queen.
National School Psychology week
Schools throughout the country recognized National School Psychology Awareness Week (Nov. 12 to Nov. 16) to highlight the work school psychologists and other educators do to help students thrive.
This year’s theme was “Unlock Potential. Find Your Password!”
A password is a personal key for unlocking any number of areas of potential in our lives. The goal is to connect with how modern youth and adults unlock things (such as gaming levels, phones, devices, codes) and to highlight how thinking about specific skills, assets or characteristics as “passwords” can lead to positive growth.
School psychologists are skilled at helping students and staff in unlocking resources, proactive and preventive skills, and positive connections that are necessary to opening up one’s potential.
The psychologists are trained to provide academic, mental health, and behavioral supports to children and adolescents, and can provide both direct and indirect services to students and schools.
Bulldogs Expo
Zephyrhills High School, 6335 12th St., will host a Bulldog Expo for incoming ninth-graders on Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m., in the Commons Area.
Participants can see what the school has to offer in career technical education courses, such as business, agriculture, criminal justice, health academy, building and construction, JROTC, and aviation; as well as clubs, including FFA, and, FBLA, National Honor Society, Special Olympics, Student Council and more.
For information, call (813) 794-6100.
Pasco Pathways Expo
The Pasco Pathways Expo will give participants a chance to learn about the new school choice application process and innovative programs available for students in Pasco County.
There are two dates and locations to choose from:
- Nov. 26 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at J.W. Mitchell High School, 2323 Little Road in New Port Richey. Register at WestSidePascoExpo.sched.com.
- Nov. 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Wesley Chapel High School, 30651 Wells Road. Register at EastSidePascoExpo.sched.com.
Curriculum Night
Quail Hollow Elementary, 7050 Quail Hollow Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Curriculum Night on Nov. 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Parents can learn about the content that is being taught to students, through curriculum presentations from the teachers.
For information, call (813) 794-1100.
Conference center dedicated
Pasco-Hernando State College honored District Board of Trustees member Dr. Rao Musunuru with the naming of the Rao Musunuru, M.D. Conference Center at an open house and dedication ceremony at its Spring Hill campus.
Community members, faculty, staff and students helped to recognize Dr. Musunuru’s service as a PHSC trustee since 1999, including four terms of service as board chair, as well as his contributions to the PHSC Foundation.
Tours of the Spring Hill campus, at 450 Beverly Court, were made available after the dedication ceremony.
Student studying abroad
Emily M. Gerber, of Odessa, is participating in a St. Lawrence University (Canton, New York) off-campus study abroad program at the University of Otago, New Zealand, during the fall semester.
Gerber is a member of the Class of 2020 and is majoring in conservation biology. She attended Cocalico High School.
School choice programs
Pasco County Schools has adopted a new approach for its school choice programs.
The district offers a variety of programs aimed at providing a variety of choices based on student interests and needs.
Such choices include magnet schools, and programs like STEM, STEAM, Cambridge, and International Baccalaureate.
It also offers educational options and programs such as AVID, AP Capstone, arts, career pathways, technical education, eSchool and more, according to a school district news release.
Those interested in applying for school choice now have new timelines for submitting all applications.
The application window for middle school and high school choice programs opens Dec. 3 and closes Dec. 14. Acceptances will be announced between Feb. 5 and Feb. 15.
Applications for elementary choice programs will be available from Jan. 8 through Jan. 19, with notifications between Feb. 20 and March 1.
Once the application windows open, parents and students will use a district software program called myStudent to complete the school choice applications.
To access or set up a myStudent account, parents must use tinyurl.com/ybe2cygj.
College and university rankings
The personal finance website, WalletHub, has released its 2019 Best College & University Rankings.
To help college-bound seniors make the most informed school choices, WalletHub compared nearly 1,000 higher-education institutions in the United States, based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing, and Career Outcomes.
The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.
The Top 10 colleges and universities in Florida ranked as follows:
- University of Florida
- Florida State University
- University of South Florida
- University of Miami
- University of Central Florida
- Ave Maria University
- Florida International University
- Florida Southern College
- University of North Florida
- Florida Institute of Technology
