Believe it or not, school in Volusia County for the 2023-24 school year begins in less than three weeks. Classes begin Monday, Aug. 14. If your child is new to the county or is changing schools due to a move, visit the new school as soon as possible so that your child has a schedule on the first day of class.
Most of the elementary schools in Volusia County will have a Meet the Teacher Day. Check with your school as to when this will be.
Also, many schools publish a needed-supplies list, which varies on the grade level of your child. It is also time to check where bus stops will be located, as well as the bus schedule. Check on this prior to the start of school.
All schools rely on volunteers for many different tasks. And they are looking for dedicated individuals to join in the Volusia County mission to make a positive impact for students.
Volunteer-application approvals from last year are valid for only one school year and expired June 30. Go online to vcsedu.org and click on Community/Volunteers for an application form.
The DeLand Pop Warner Football program has athletes starting practice Tuesday, Aug. 1. You must be fully registered to play or practice. This also holds true for the cheerleaders in the program.
Football practice is at DeLand Middle School, while cheerleading practice is at the DeLand PAL gym. Go to www.delandpopwarner.com for more information.
Citrus Grove Elementary School
Citrus Grove Elementary School in DeLand will have kindergarten Meet the Teacher 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10. On Friday, Aug. 11, grades one through five will have Meet the Teacher 9-11 a.m.
Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts
Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts in Lake Helen will have Meet the Teacher and Open House at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.
Sunrise Elementary School
Sunrise Elementary School in Deltona will have Kindergarten Screening Day 8-11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 7, in the media center. On Thursday, Aug. 10, the school will have Meet the Teacher for VPK through fifth grade in the classrooms 9-11 a.m. At the same time, there will be a fundraiser 9-10 a.m. in the bus loop with Kona Ice.
Timbercrest Elementary School
Timbercrest Elementary School in Deltona will have Meet the Teacher Friday, Aug. 11, with three sessions as follows: pre-K, kindergarten and first grade with Dan Stevens’ class 9-10 a.m.; grades two and three, 10-11 a.m.; and finally grades four and five, 11 a.m.-noon.
DeLand High School
On Saturday, Aug. 12, DeLand High School will present Bulldog Rising for the Class of 2027. This will be 9 a.m.-noon in the new gym. This program is for incoming freshmen to learn the Bulldog Way and to have their pictures taken for their school ID, to tour the campus, find their classes, meet peer mentors, and have a pep rally to open the 2023-24 school year.
DeLand High laptop distribution will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 1 and 2. Aug. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon, will be for seniors, and ninth-graders will meet 1-4 p.m. that day.
On Wednesday, Aug. 2, 10th-graders meet 9 a.m.-noon, and 11th-graders 1-4 p.m.
Only 11th- and 12th-graders can drive on campus and can purchase a lunch pass. To drive on campus, all proper documents and a signed form must be submitted, and a $50 payment must be made.
To obtain a lunch pass, a student must have a 2.0 GPA and a signed form, and must pay $25.
All forms can be obtained online at delandhs.org.
Especially for seniors, but for all students and parents of DeLand High, there are four ways through social media to keep track of what is going on at DeLand High: Instagram – delandbulldogs; Facebook – DeLand High School; Twitter – @delandbulldogs; and Website – www.delandhs.org.
DeLand High grad Ethan Tussing, Class of 2001, has just returned from Finland, where he served as an honorary coach for one of his athletes from Iceland. The athlete has earned the right to represent Iceland in the European Track and Field Championships. Tussing is the throws coach at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Taylor Middle-High School
Taylor Middle-High School in Pierson will have its schedule pickup on the following days:
Tuesday, Aug. 1, for six-graders 9 a.m.-noon, and for seventh- and eighth-graders 2-5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 3, 11th- and 12th-graders 9 a.m.-noon, and ninth- and 10th-graders 2-5 p.m.
Special forms may be obtained on the Taylor Middle-High website. These include parental consent for parking, permission for off-campus lunch for 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders, and an application for parking on campus.
Stetson University Athletics
The Stetson University Lady Hatter tennis team has been named an All-Academic Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the 2023 season. Eight members of the team earned individual ITA Scholar-Athletes awards: Pilar Astigarraga Harper, Laetitia Rizk, Nadejda Maslova, Alanna DiFrancesco, Elodie Foster, Tess Menten, Daliyah Hammoud and Magdalena Hedrzak.
The Stetson men’s tennis team also was named a 2023 All-Academic Team by ITA, with six members receiving individual ITA Scholar-Athlete honors: Bendix Schroeder, Sami Ozzor, Sven Thiergard, Alexandre Hillhouse, Ervin Haris Eminefendic and Lucas Olivier.
Stetson baseball had two players drafted by major-league-baseball teams. These are Austin Amaral, who played high-school ball at Orange City University and served as a pitcher and center fielder, who was drafted by the Washington Nationals, and Christian Pregent, who played high-school ball at Father Lopez and Atlantic high schools, who was drafted by the New York Mets. Pregent was a catcher who served as a Hatter captain for four years.
Stetson has also extended head baseball coach Steve Trimper’s employment agreement. The new agreement includes a provision for automatic extension when the team wins an ASUN championship and/or receives an “at-large” bid to the NCAA tournament.
College honors
Tristan Himes, of DeBary, has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2023 semester at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.
Hailey Echevarria, of Deltona, has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2023 semester at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The daughter of Robert Echevarria and Lisa Echevarria, Hailey is majoring in chemistry.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email, at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
