HILLSBOROUGH RESPONDS
An eLearning overview for families during the school closure
May 4 - May 8
A MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS
Dear Families,
I hope you are staying safe and healthy.
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and due to COVID-19, things are a bit different this year. I think many of our families have an even deeper appreciation for our teachers and all they do to educate, support and care for our learners. I cannot thank our teachers enough for all they’ve done all year, and especially during eLearning, to master new skills and ensure their students succeed from home.
I also want to thank our mothers, fathers, grandparents and guardians—many of whom have taken on the “teacher” role at home. This is not an easy job. Please know that I recognize this and appreciate all you’re doing to assist our teachers. We are all in this together, and that’s never been more true than now.
May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, and I want to make sure you are aware of all the resources out there to help our learners, their families and our staff. Many of you are working from home, teaching your children and parenting all at once. The stress and anxiety that comes from that can be wearing. Please take advantage of the resources our schools, and our community, have to offer.
Lastly, as you know, Governor DeSantis developed a taskforce to determine how Florida will begin reopening sections of our community and state. I am linking that information for your review. I want to make certain our families and our staff continue to follow CDC guidelines and are taking every proactive measure to protect yourself, family members and loved ones.
I look forward to meeting many of you soon and working together to make Hillsborough County Public Schools one of the premier districts in the nation.
Addison Davis
Superintendent of Schools
Great ways to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week virtually!
Our teachers have done so much over the past few weeks to make eLearning a success. They have been trained on new online applications, they have come up with creative ways to engage our students in eLearning, and most of all, they have continued to support and encourage our students through a computer screen.
We may not be sitting in their classrooms during Teacher Appreciation Week--but there are still some great ways for students to say "thank you":
- Have your student create a card or a video for their teacher talking about what they like most about them. Then email the video, or a picture of the card, to your teacher.
- Ask your child to write about their favorite memory from the past year. Your teacher will love having those memories during this unprecedented time.
- Have your child create a sign for their teacher and then place it in front of your house. Take a picture and send it to their teacher. The student can also create a sign using chalk on the sidewalk.
- Many stores will allow you to send gift cards via email.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR FAMILIES
School Choice application window opens Friday, May 8
Even though the School Choice window may have been pushed back due to COVID-19, Hillsborough Schools was working to ensure options for 2020-2021 were still moving forward.
The next application window opens Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m and closes on May 17 at 11:59 p.m.
Between now and then, our Magnet Schools are getting creative to find ways to share their program offerings with students and families. Stay tuned for a list of virtual Magnet School experiences including school tours, Q&A sessions and other events.
We will keep you updated at hillsboroughschools.org/magnet and @HCPSMagnet on Twitter.
Florida Prepaid Open Enrollment Period Extended due to COVID-19
Florida Prepaid is deferring payments for new and current Prepaid Plan customers--aiming to provide some financial flexibility for families as they deal with the impacts of the pandemic.
New customers who purchase Prepaid Plans during the remainder of the current Open Enrollment period will not have to make their first payment until July 20, 2020. The $50 application fee will also be waived by using promo code: Hills1920. Current customers can elect to defer their next payment until July as well.
Families can continue to make payments as previously scheduled if they choose. This would simply mean they may pay off their plans earlier than anticipated.
Hillsborough Responds in a big way by feeding our students during school closure
3.3 MILLION meals.
That's how many meals our district has served to students since the pandemic forced schools to close back in mid-March.
We cannot thank our Student Nutrition Services staff and bus drivers enough for the hard work they put in every day to make sure those weekly bags are packed and distributed to our families every Wednesday.
This past Wednesday, we celebrated School Lunch Hero Day. It was really amazing to see the signs and support from our families as they appreciated these heroes.
More information about our district's Grab-and-Go meal distribution.
AN EARLY START TO MAJOR REFERENDUM PROJECTS BECAUSE OF THE SCHOOL CLOSURE
With students and staff working remotely, it is giving contractors more time to complete referendum projects at schools. In fact, because of eLearning, contractors are getting a head start on 21 major referendum projects slated to take place over the summer.
Construction workers are hard at work at many of our schools, making these necessary improvements with referendum dollars. They have been trained by their companies to follow best practices and social distancing guidelines while on the job.
Since the referendum passed, our schools received more than $127.5 million and nearly $102 million have been put back into our schools. One of the big questions is how the pandemic will impact what we receive in the future. We just don’t know yet. The money spent in our community now doesn’t come back to our district for 3 to 4 months.
One of the many projects going on right now is a new air conditioning unit at Bellamy Elementary School. The school is also being remodeled and painted. Bellamy was once an open concept campus, making it too loud in classrooms. The school has been remodeled to make it more conducive to learning. The same renovations are being made at Dover Elementary, Mcdonald Elementary and soon, to Clark Elementary.
For a complete list of all ongoing referendum projects, visit hillsboroughschools.org/citizenoversight.
A SEASON GONE... BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
This week, our spring athletes turned in their uniforms...
It was an emotional week for athletes across the district, especially Seniors, like those at Plant City High School.
“It’s sad because it’s unfinished,” said senior Amanda Palanco.
Last year, PCHS won the baseball state championship for the first time in school history. The track team also had 8 students move on to the state championships.
While staff feels sad that seniors won’t get to finish their athletic season, they’re all proud of the hard work students put in.
RESOURCES FOR OUR FAMILIES DURING ELEARNING
Amazon supports free computer science during COVID-19. The growing list of resources includes Virtual Robotics, Computer Science fun & Celebrity Remix coding.
Wonderful father and child activities for when the children are at home!
Board Member Lynn Gray champions our district's Healthy Schools initiative and has created fitness videos to keep our families active during eLearning.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2020!
Jacey Feiler - Senior at Spoto High. Jacey played Varsity Golf for 3 years and set the school record for low net score for both 9 and 18 holes. She is also part of the National Honor Society, FFA and the Senior Class Council. Jacey will receive a certificate for Veterinary Assistant and will attend Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in the fall.
Blaise Oglesby - Senior at Brandon High. Blaise will graduate as an Honor Grad and member of the National Honor Society. He is an accomplished and dedicated band member playing many instruments, yet excelling with the French Horn. He has been recognized as a principle French Horn performer for Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and Tri-State Music Fest at FSU. Blaise will attend USF and major in Computer Engineering.
Madeline Houston - Senior at Armwood High. Maddie is an athlete and an academic. She lettered in soccer and volleyball and will graduate from the HCC Collegiate Academy with honors and a 6.2 GPA. She achieved all her high school goals while working three part-time jobs. She plans to attend USF and major in Criminology.
Xavier Willis - Senior at Durant High. Xavier maintained a 3.8 GPA while working two jobs. His family is so proud of all Xavier has accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the future. His mom writes, "I know this won't be the last time I will be bragging about him."
Kaytibrooke Mainville - Senior at Wharton High. Kayti has taken 2 years of dual enrollment classes at HCC. She obtained a 6.52 GPA and will be graduating with her AA degree. Kayti wants to become a dentist and has chosen to attend USF. She has been awarded the USF Directors Award Scholarship and 100% Bright Futures Scholarship due to her countless hours volunteering.
Ashley Aagard - Senior at East Bay High. Ashley is the Co-President of Student Government and Secretary of the National Honor Society. Ashley also participated in cheerleading and was Captain of the JV team her junior year. She is attending USF in the fall and will major in Biomedical Science. Ashley hopes to work in genetics.
Hillsborough County Public Schools
Email: newsletter@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Website: HillsboroughSchools.org
Location: 901 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-272-4000
Facebook: facebook.com/HillsboroughSch
Twitter: @HillsboroughSch