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Volusia County Schools is seeking talented, certified teachers for the 2020-21 school year. To this end, administrators will be planning a virtual, invitation-only fall Virtual Instructional Job Fair throughout the month of November.
To be considered for an invitation to the fair, an applicant needs to complete the online employment application and complete the Job Fair Survey. These are found at www.vcsedu.org. Applicants should then watch their email for a follow-up message within 48 to 72 hours.
Interested candidates must currently hold or be eligible for a Florida Department of Education certification. All certifications are welcome to apply, with the priority certifications being Elementary Education, English Language Arts, Exceptional Student Education, Math, PreK-Primary, Science and Technology Education.
More information can be obtained on the Office of Recruitment and Retention’s website (www.vcsedu.org/recruitment-and-retention) or by calling 386-734-7190, ext. 20115 or 20168.
FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools has elected business leader Michelle Lee of DeLand to its board of directors. Lee, a public-relations assistant on the state’s President’s Team for Duke Energy, is responsible for supporting the government and community-relations manager covering Volusia and Seminole counties.
She also serves on the board of the MainStreet DeLand Association, is a member of the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce & Orange City Alliance and the Volusia Hispanic Chamber, and is a sustainer of the Junior Service League of DeLand.
Food Brings Hope has launched a Virtual Homework Helpline, which is one of many initiatives conceptualized by Food Brings Hope’s founder and Chair Forough B. Hosseini. The purpose is to provide the Food Brings Hope program students with access to the tools and resources needed to excel academically, even during COVID.
FBH TeenZone students can log in to the standing Zoom meeting, where they work in small assigned breakout groups with a teacher or with peers.
The Virtual Homework Helpline operates exclusively for FBH TeenZone students in Volusia County middle schools 5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Sharon Brown, a teacher at Heritage Middle School, manages the Helpline lobby. When a student signs on, she assigns the student to a teacher in a breakout room.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, is a Teacher Duty Day, which means it is a student holiday. It also marks the end of the first grading period.
Grades will appear on the Parent Portal on Monday, Nov. 9, and report-card distribution will be Friday, Nov. 13.
George Marks Elementary School
George Marks Elementary School in DeLand has celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with displays and a parade throughout the school hallways by ESOL students and staff members. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) students created projects inspired by landmarks in various Latin American countries.
The ESOL teachers at George Marks are Martha Beard and Juan Neira, with the ESOL paraprofessional being Janli Contreras-Martinez. The countries represented at the school are Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Argentina, and the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico is also represented.
Manatee Cove Elementary School
Backpack Buddies at Manatee Cove Elementary School in Orange City are presenting a Trick-or-Treat Trail for Manatee Cove students 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Everyone will stay in their cars during the trip on the trail. The event is free, and students are asked to wear their costumes.
Volusia Pines Elementary School
Volusia Pines Elementary School in Lake Helen recently celebrated its annual Unity Day, a schoolwide program designed for elementary students that is focused on bullying-prevention education. The students signed and displayed a pledge promising to be respectful and kind, and to include others in their activities.
Students were reintroduced to “Spookley, the Pumpkin,” a storybook character who faces the challenge of being the only square pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. Students empathize with Spookley, who is used as a conversation-starter for how to stand up to bullying and embrace differences.
Students also had the opportunity to enter a poem, essay and poster contest, while having a socially distanced Spookley Scavenger Hunt around campus.
Volusia Pines will continue to enforce the lessons learned during the Anti-Bullying Week throughout the school year. Students collected $150 in kindness donations for the United Way.
DeLand High School Athletics
The DeLand High School Bulldogs football team will play host to St. Thomas Aquinas High School out of Fort Lauderdale at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in Spec Martin Memorial Stadium in DeLand.
The DeLand High swimmers competed in the Five Star Championships, with the Bulldog boys taking second and the Bulldog girls finishing third. The only individual victories were recorded by Anna Monette in the 100-yard butterfly with a clocking of 59.64, and by Zack Frierson in the 100-yard freestyle at 53.34.
The DeLand boys’ 200-yard freestyle relay also took first place with a time of 1:37.19, with Frierson, Eric Florea, Chance Hart and Kai Vedder swimming. Also scoring in the top three were Monette in second in the 100 freestyle, Vedder third in the 50 freestyle, and Isabella Brunacci third in the 100 breaststroke.
The Lady Bulldogs volleyball team topped Orange City University for the FHSAA District Title, 3-0, with game scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-12. The squad then gained a forfeit in the semifinals of the regional tournament from Lake Mary. The team was slated to face nationally ranked Lyman Oct. 28.
The Bulldog sports calendar thins out with fall sports teams competing in district and regional tournaments, working toward the FHSAA state championships.
The regularly scheduled events for the upcoming week find the junior-varsity football team playing Seabreeze at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. The varsity football team will host Seabreeze at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in Spec Martin. This is the school’s last regular-season game.
Pine Ridge High School
The Friends of the Deltona Library donated more than 50 plants to the ag-science program at Pine Ridge High School in Deltona. Plants had been raised by library volunteers and were sold to benefit the Deltona Food Pantry. Those plants that were not sold were donated to the FFA program at Pine Ridge.
Students can propagate plants, learn about their cultural needs, use them for another fundraiser or plant some garden areas around the school. The FFA instructor at Pine Ridge is Joe Siegmeister.
The School Advisory Council at Pine Ridge will meet Monday, Nov. 9.
There will be Community Service Training for reporting students’ volunteer hours during lunchtime Thursday, Nov. 5, in Room 01-028.
The Pine Ridge volleyball team defeated Lake Minneola in the district tournament, and is slated to face Vanguard in the semifinals of the regional FHSAA tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 28. If they were victorious, they will advance to the regional finals to gain a spot in the state championship.
West Volusia high-school football
Originally five football games featuring West Volusia high-school teams were scheduled for last Friday night; only two were played. The Deltona and Pine Ridge football teams are currently in quarantine, while DeLand and Orange City University had a change in their schedules. Therefore, there was only one winning team for West Volusia: Deltona Trinity Christian, which defeated St. Francis, 34-12.
Pierson Taylor traveled to Keystone Heights and came away with a 35-9 loss.
This week, the schedule for Friday night, Oct. 30, has DeLand playing host to St. Thomas Aquinas in Spec Martin Memorial Stadium, while Orange City University plays host to Sanford Seminole. Orlando Orangewood Christian comes to Deltona to face Deltona Trinity Christian at Dewey O. Boster Sports Complex, while Umatilla comes to face Taylor in Pierson.
All games are at 7 p.m., except that Taylor’s game is at 7:30 p.m.
Stetson University
Stetson University is having a Virtual Homecoming this year, with events taking place Nov. 6-8. Visit stetson.edu/homecoming for more information and to register.
Commencement, which was canceled because of COVID-19, has been set for Dec. 12-13 on the Stetson Green. Five undergraduate ceremonies are planned, and one ceremony will be held for master’s-degree recipients. Undergraduates will receive two guest tickets for family members or friends, while graduate students will receive four guest tickets.
No receptions or other gatherings will be hosted on campus during the weekend, and no eating or drinking will be allowed during the event.
Stetson University Athletics
On Oct. 20, the Stetson University Hatters football team started fall camp, which will run for four weeks. On Saturday, Nov. 14, the fall football camp will end with a “Turkey Bowl” game in Spec Martin Memorial Stadium.
College honors
Lizette Bloodworth, of Deltona, and Daniel Nicolaus, of DeLand, have been named to the dean’s list at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange.
Lori Mears and Alexa Ransom, both of Deltona, have been accepted for enrollment for the fall quarter at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
WEEKLY EDITION October 29-November 4, 2020
beacononlinenews.com 5B
PHOTOS COURTESY KELLY LONG
REPRESENTING PUERTO RICO — Janli Contreras-Martinez, an ESOL paraprofessional at George Marks Elementary School in DeLand, stands with student Victor Hernandez in front of the display for Puerto Rico, which they represented during their parade and dress-up day celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
REPRESENTING MEXICO — Third-, fourth- and fifth-graders parade down a hall at George Marks Elementary School in DeLand representing their Hispanic heritage with the traditional dress and flags of Mexico. This was during the school’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
