DeLand High School student Jacobo Quinones is one of three Volusia County students to earn two Seals of Biliteracy. He gained a gold seal in French and a silver seal in Spanish.
The others to receive two seals are Molly Grace Li Wagner and Lauren Grace Rivera, both of Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange. Lauren gained golds in French and Spanish, while Molly has a gold in French and a silver in Mandarin Chinese.
More than 300 graduates in the Volusia County Schools Class of 2021 earned the Florida Seal of Biliteracy distinction by achieving proficiency in another language in addition to English. The purpose of the state award is to prepare students with the language and culture skills that will benefit them in the marketplace.
The program encourages students to study world languages and cultures, and provides employers and colleges a formal method for identifying applicants who have achieved language diversity.
Two levels — gold and silver — are awarded based on world-language course credits earned and test scores, in addition to a student’s reading and writing test scores for English. The Seal of Biliteracy is placed on the graduate’s diploma and is added to the graduate’s official transcript.
The VCS Class of 2021 earned 237 gold seals and 73 silver seals. Another 47 are pending, awaiting results from the AP, IB or Cambridge AICE exams. The students earned the distinction for a variety of languages, including American Sign Language, Arabic, Bengali, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Urdu.
Last week, this column listed middle-school students who received Turn Around Awards, presented by FUTURES Foundation for Volusia County Schools. This week, I’m listing the high-school students who received Turn Around Awards: DeLand High – Tyler Nill, Skyler King, Trentin Phillips and Cor’Njhia Dunn; Deltona High – Jeremie Cuevas, Damian Torres-Millares, Carlos Rivera and Rebecca Vega; Pine Ridge High in Deltona – Bianca Victoria Rosario Quintanilla, Leighana Bardwell, Mario Jose Cuadrado Diaz and Robert Lane Foster; Taylor Middle-High in Pierson – Adalis Acevedo; and University High in Orange City – David Alexander Toledo-Veguilla, Donovan Knight Accardi and Alexis Wildamier Marrero Ayala.
Food Brings Hope selected School Way Cafe as Business Partner of the Month. School Way Cafe expanded its support to Food Brings Hope by helping the organization provide snacks and even some dinners to additional children in the KidsZone and TeenZone after-school programs this year.
Many Volusia County public schools will soon be displaying a school-supply list. This is the list of items a student should have to be able to perform different tasks during the school year.
A school’s supply list can be found on that school’s website.
Pine Ridge High School
Pine Ridge High School in Deltona has named the new members of the school’s Hall of Fame: Asia Olude and Tyler Schoenweiss for citizenship, Kenna Best and Julio Blanco for leadership, Austin Dunlap and Justine St. Louis for athletics, and Tanner D’Errico and Samuel McCullen for scholarship.
The 2021-22 Miss and Mr. Pine Ridge are Elizabeth Rodriguez and Joey Nadeau.
Senior Kenna Best earned her Safe Boating License through her marine-science class at Pine Ridge.
Student Jeremiah Matos was named the April Pine Ridge Student Panther of the Month.
Pine Ridge named freshman Julia Trapani, sophomore Daniel Coursen, junior Kaycia Aguilar and senior Eddian Javier Cabezudo Ayar as the May Student Panthers of the Month.
Pine Ridge’s Volunteers of the Year are Julio Blanco for the Youth Division, Carey Davis for the Adult Division, and Marie Wilson as Mentor of the Year.
Stetson University
Scott Boore, Stetson University Class of 1976, has been selected to serve as the president-elect of the Stetson University Alumni Association Board of Representatives. He has served on the board since 2014 and has held various roles with the board.
Stetson has announced the planned departure of Lua Hancock, vice president for campus life and student success. She has decided to step down from her position after more than a decade at the university. President Christopher F. Roellke has announced that Larry Correll-Hughes, Ph.D., currently assistant vice president for campus life and student success and executive director of residential living and learning, and Lynn Schoenberg, Ed.S., Stetson’s dean of students, will serve as co-interim vice presidents of campus life and student success effective July 1. The two will serve in this position while a national search is launched.
Stetson University athletics
Those wishing to make a deposit of $50 toward season tickets for Stetson University football should call the ticket office at 386-738-4287.
The Stetson women’s basketball squad has added three players: Portland State graduate transfer Tatiana Streun, Syracuse freshman Khamya McNeal, and incoming freshman Landyn Owens of Ada, Oklahoma.
Stetson volleyball’s outside hitter Elena Djokovic has been named to the Academic All-District Women’s Volleyball Team, selected by the CoSIDA organization.
The Stetson football program set an all-time record by placing 70 student-athletes on the spring 2021 Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll.
The Stetson softball program is presenting three summer camps. One camp has been completed, while the other two Elite Hats Camps are Tuesday, July 6, and Tuesday, July 27. For additional information and registration, go to www.GoHatters.com/SoftballCamp. All Stetson camps and clinics are open to any and all entrants, limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender.
College honors
Krystal Carter, of DeLand, has received a diploma of occupational proficiency, practical nursing, from Central Lakes College in Minnesota.
Anastasia Goelzer, of Deltona, a sophomore at Wisconsin Lutheran College, has been named to the college’s dean’s list for the spring 2021 semester. Goelzer is a graduate of Luther Preparatory School.
Ashley Fuell, of Deltona, has earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
