Savory networking for students
Chad Mallo, Angeline Academy of Innovation business instructor, wanted his Entrepreneurship Academy students to have the ability to augment what they have learned in the classroom about focus groups and surveys and be able to apply that knowledge by networking with local startup companies.
He took the opportunity to have a local business owner come to the school to simulate what they learned in their textbook and make it real-world.
Mallo was able to leverage the standards that his students learn in the classroom and provide the students with an authentic real-world experience by networking with Pasco Economic Development, Dan Mitchell with SMARTstart Incubator and local start-up Dre’s Island Food Services, when students taste-tested a brand new sauce from Dre’s.
Teen study session
The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12119 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host a Teen Time Study Session on Dec. 20 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., for grades eight to 12. Students can link up with a peer or simply make use of a quiet place to study. For information, call 727-815-7126.
Congressional Award bestowed
Alyssa Hayman, of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, has been awarded the Congressional Award Bronze Medal — Congress’ highest recognition for civilian youth. The medal honors youth for their commitment to voluntary public service, as well as personal development and physical fitness, according to a news release.
Hayman earned the medal by completing at least 100 hours of voluntary public service (sharing their time and talent for the betterment of the community), 50 hours of personal development (developing social and life skills as well as interests), and 50 hours of physical fitness (spent in any way to improve their health and quality of life). Additionally, participants must spend at least two days and one night exploring a new environment or culture.
Hayman has been working to achieve the award for more than seven months, the minimum time frame to earn the Bronze Medal.
Any interested motivated student, age 14 through 24, can participate in the award program by setting and achieving individual challenge goals as listed above. The award adapts to meet the needs of every participant as they set goals according to their own interests and level of abilities.
Congressional Awards are earned, not “won,” the release says.
For more information about the program, call 202-226-0130, or email .
Student enters National All-American Miss
Keelin Dailey, an eighth-grader at Pine View Middle School, represented Land O’ Lakes in the National All-American Miss pageant in Orlando, in the preteen age division. Dailey placed as third runner-up in the nation in the Photogenic category.
Dailey said she started entering pageants to boost her confidence, to learn important life skills like public speaking and interviewing, to have fun dressing up in fancy outfits, and to make new friends around the state and around the country.
Dailey noted the act of kindness she experienced from other pageant contestants inspired her to create Keelin’s Be Kind project — she visits the elementary school across the street from Pine View Middle and has been invited to elementary schools around Pasco County to read books to kindergarteners and first-graders.
The student said, “Pageants are an amazing way I can express myself for who I am!” in an essay she wrote for her yearbook advisor.
Dailey also loves to travel, shop, go mudding, and is a black belt in Taekwondo.
Cyberbullying doesn’t stop during holiday break
Students may go on holiday break, but cyberbullying won’t, according to a news release from Stand for the Silent, an organization on a mission to help eliminate bullying nationwide. Kirk and Laura Smalley founded the group after their child took his own life due to bullying.
Cyberbullying can kick into high gear over the holidays with most kids having access to platforms where the bullying can take place and others getting new electronic devices as gifts.
Kirk noted in the release that parents must know about cyberbullying to prevent it, and to put an end to it when it does occur.
“It is an issue that we all need to know about because we are just about all online at one point or another,” said Kirk.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six high school students report having been cyberbullied. Students in middle school tend to experience the highest amounts of cyberbullying, followed by those in high school. Elementary students do not experience it nearly as much, but the issues and concerns stretch across all academic years.
Parents are urged to know the dangers and realities of cyberbullying and to learn how to identify it taking place and what to do about it.
These are signs that may point to a child being cyberbullied, according to the release:
- Pulling away from using technology when they used to like it
- Being secretive about being online or on their phone
- Quickly turning off a screen when a parent enters the room
- Behaving nervously when using technology
- Begins avoiding usual behaviors that they typically enjoy
- Being upset or mad after using their phone
- Withdrawing from their family or friends
- Deleting their social media accounts or creating new ones
- Noticeable changes in their mood or having difficulty sleeping
Those interested in getting involved can start a chapter in their group, get free curriculum at StandForTheSilent.org/schools/bullyfreeclassrooms/, host a presentation at their school, or donate to help support the cause. For more information, visit StandForTheSilent.org.
