Although the sweltering Florida sun is still shining, the days of summer will slip away Tuesday, Aug. 20 — the first day of school in Hillsborough County.
Children throughout Plant City will say good-bye to Slip N’ Slides and late-night stargazing and trade the beach for the organized classroom.
And it’s not only students that are preparing for the 2013-14 school year. Teachers at Plant City’s schools have been busy shopping for school supplies and classroom decorations, devising lesson plans and dusting off computer screens and keyboards.
In addition to the typical preparations, the beginning of the school year also holds some pretty unique traditions — and some new additions.
From Parent University and the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s annual New Teacher Coffee to the Kiwanis Club’s Stuff the Bus campaign and Durant High’s freshman orientation, the community is alive with school spirit for the upcoming year.
PARENT UNIVERSITY
Parents are going back to school this year. But they won’t be re-learning algebra equations or mixing chemicals during lab time.
Instead, Hillsborough County Public Schools has adopted a new program called Parent University. Parents are encouraged to sign up for classes that cover popular topics, such as online bullying, STEM program overviews and planning for college.
Parent University will come to Plant City from 7:45 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 24, at Plant City High School.
“The goal is to have them at different parts of the county,” said Tracye Brown, general director of Federal Programs for Hillsborough County Public Schools.
So far, the program has been popular. The first one, held March 2, at Chamberlain High School, attracted about 250 parents. The second, held April 27, at Riverview High, attracted more than 300.
Parents can choose two classes from a list of 12. After a general introductory session, parents spend time in their individual hourlong sessions.
Many of the sessions also will be conducted in Spanish. They include, the Future of Reading — Elementary; STEM in Elementary Schools; STEM in Middle and High Schools; College Search and Applications (sixth to 10th grades); and College Search and Applications (11th to 12th grades).
“We’ve got a pretty diverse set of topics on what parents are interested based off of previous participation,” Brown said.
Child-care services also are provided at no cost and managed by HOST faculty. Most of the children accepted are elementary ages, but the faculty will take middle-schoolers and some younger children, as well.
Parent University will take place from 7:45 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 24, at Plant City High School, One Raider Place. For registration or more information, call (813) 272-4499 or visit hillsboroughparentu.org.
STUFF THE BUS
Although the Kiwanis Club calls its back-to-school campaign Stuff the Bus, the Plant City club won’t be filling up a yellow monster with children. Instead, club members will be logging backpacks full of school supplies in whatever trucks and cars they can commandeer.
The vehicles will be lined up Aug. 19, at Stingray Chevrolet, making the operation look more like a car-rider ramp than a well-oiled fundraiser.
The school supplies will be given to children in need at 23 Plant City-area schools. This year, Kiwanis was able to buy 712 backpacks. The charity has grown in the past six years. For 2008, the first year of the charity, Kiwanis purchased 100 backpacks.
Unity in the Community has donated $7,000 this year to the cause. Kiwanis also held its first Business Spelling Bee to raise money for Stuff the Bus and another program, Read Around the World. From ticket sales, Kiwanis earned $1,300.
“We have a lot of fun with it,” organizer Anna Reitz said. “It’s a lot of fun to help. That’s what Kiwanis is about — the children.”
Kiwanis isn’t alone in its quest to help children. Employees at South Florida Baptist Hospital and Plant City Hall, as well as Key Club members, donate their time to help packages the school supplies Aug. 15.
The community donated mounds of school supplies at two drop-off points — Stingray Chevrolet and Southside Farm and Pet Supply.
NEW TEACHER COFFEE
This coffee meet-up is more than just a couple of new employees sharing a quiet cup of joe. The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s annual New Teacher Coffee took place Aug. 15, at the Florida Strawberry Festival Expo Hall.
The coffee introduced more than 120 teachers new to Plant City Schools. Teachers from each school put on short skit, dressed in funky costumes and were even accompanied by school mascots, such as Durant High School’s Cougar or Tomlin Middle School’s Tiger.
“We want to salute our new teachers and welcome them to Plant City, so they know that the chamber and the community is committed to higher education and that we value them,” Marion Smith, chamber president, said.
Earlier this week, four new teachers at Plant City High School gathered for lunch in the cafeteria. Brittany Logan, Maggie Feix, Drew Martucci and Jon Thompson all were looking forward to the coffee.
Martucci, Thompson and Feix all will be coaches at the high school.
It is Martucci and Thompson’s first year teaching. They both have previous experience at other schools coaching.
“I’m teaching, because I love to coach, but now, I’m finding the kids in the classroom are just as important,” Martucci said.
Thompson will be an assistant football coach. He coached three years at Lincoln High School, in Tallahassee.
“I’ve always wanted to coach football,” Thompson said. “Through that, I have grown to have a love for teaching.”
Logan taught for six years in Pasco County before moving to Plant City.
“I talked with the faculty and administration, and they just all seemed great,” Logan said.
Feix, who taught for one year in Arizona, agrees.
“That’s pretty common (among) the new teachers,” Feix said. “What drew us in were the teachers and the administration.”
DURANT FRESHMAN ORIENTATION
There are a lot of nerve-wracking situations in life. One of the most anxious times nearly every American student goes through is the transition between middle school and high school.
Every year, Durant High School looks to lower the stress levels of its incoming freshmen students by offering a freshmen orientation, called GAP. This year, the orientation took place the first week of August.
GAP is run by upperclassmen such as Maddie Clifford, an upcoming senior. Clifford herself attended GAP with her younger sibling, when she was a sophomore. She had just moved to the area from Kentucky.
“I had no idea what Durant was about,” Clifford said. “I didn’t know about the clubs or events. I really made some lifelong friends.”
Clifford is part of the yearbook, Leo Club, student government, the swim team and National Honors Society among other activities. It was GAP that opened the door for her. She’s been sharing her knowledge with incoming students for two years.
College and Career Counselor Courtney Singletary believes the program works because it is run by students, unlike other area orientations, which are run primarily by teachers and faculty.
“They don’t really want to talk to me,” Singletary said. “They want to talk to someone who has been through it.”
Students participate in team-building games, which provide a way for new students to meet friends.
“The most valuable thing as a teacher and as a parent is to see them making friends,” Singletary said. “They’ve already made 100 friends before the first day of school.”
This year, 118 freshmen attended the orientation.