Several weeks ago, the Florida Department of Education released its statewide district and school grades for the 2022-23 school year, and Volusia County School District’s grade was a B. It was also reported that the number of schools earning an A or B had gone up.
The schools on the west side of the county earning an A include Osteen Elementary, Timbercrest Elementary in Deltona, DeBary Elementary and Citrus Grove Elementary in DeLand, while those earning a B were Deltona Lakes Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, George Marks Elementary in DeLand, Volusia Pines Elementary in Lake Helen, Forest Lake Elementary in Deltona, Freedom Elementary in DeLand, Pride Elementary in Deltona and Deltona High School.
A night of family fun will be presented by Volusia County Schools during the Choice Fairs. There will be two fairs, one on the east side of the county and the other on the west side.
The Choice Fairs will offer the opportunity to learn about the many academic and extracurricular activities each school has to offer, school performances, art exhibits and chances to win prizes. Those in attendance receive priority for the 2024-25 school year.
The event is aimed at elementary-school students going on to middle school and middle-school students going on to high school.
The Westside Choice Fair will be 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, at The Center at Deltona, 1640 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. The Eastside Choice Fair will be 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, at the DSC News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St. in Daytona Beach. For more information, call 386-734-7190, ext. 20645.
Also in January, there will be an extension of the High School Showcase that took place in December. Each of the high schools will be hosting its own rising-ninth-grader events, which will allow parents and students to meet faculty and administration while experiencing the campus. This will highlight opportunities and programs, including Cambridge/AICD, IB, AP, Career Academies, Career & Technical Education courses, JROTC, extracurricular clubs and activities, and fine and performing arts.
The following is the information for the high schools on the west side of the county: DeLand High – BulldogPalooza, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23; Deltona High – Ninth-Grade Showcase, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17; Pine Ridge High in Deltona – Future Panther Night, 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19; Taylor Middle-High in Pierson, email Dr. Jose Colon at jacolon@volusia.k12.fl.us; University High in Orange City – Sneak Peek, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18; and Volusia Online – email Renee Scarborough at rmscarbo@volusia.k12.fl.us.
An event that might be interesting to some is the DeLand Comics and Collectibles Show 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7, at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 E. New York Ave. (State Road 44) in DeLand.
Admission costs $5 at the door, with children age 12 and younger admitted free with an adult. For more information, visit www.delandcollectiblesshow.com.
The Teen Winter Reading Challenge offered by the Volusia County Public Libraries came to an end Monday, Jan. 1. Visit www.volusialibrary.org/teens for more information.
The third grading period for Volusia County schools started Wednesday, Jan. 3. There will be no school for students and staff Monday, Jan. 15, so that all can observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Holiday.
Volusia/Flagler All-Area honorees
The Daytona Beach News-Journal has announced the nominees for several All-Area Teams for different high-school sports. Those named are the nominees for Most Valuable Player in the different sports, whose winner will be announced in late spring.
In the area of girls swimming, DeLand High School sophomore Piper Jemison was nominated. Boys swimming nominees from DeLand High are junior Massimo Brunacci, sophomore Timothy Dobyns, senior Carlos Mize, sophomore Gavin Thomas and junior Toma Vedder. The boys cross-country athlete nominated from DeLand High is freshman Connor York, and from Deltona High is senior Carlos Cerrud.
Girls cross-country athletes nominated from University High in Orange City are senior Morgan Harvill and junior Hannah Judge. For volleyball, the DeLand High nominees are junior Erin Gotsch, junior Ella Pringle and senior Emma Van Deusen. Senior Aly Rosa of Pine Ridge High in Deltona was nominated.
From the defensive side of football, DeLand nominees were senior Caleb Oliver and senior MJ Smokes, with senior Jaeden Franco being nominated from University High.
Two area coaches were selected as the top coach for their individual sport. DeLand High’s Kate Kaye was selected by The Daytona Beach News-Journal as the top coach for boys swimming, and Ruthie King of Pine Ridge was selected as the top coach for volleyball.
Citrus Grove Elementary School
The next meeting of the PTA for Citrus Grove Elementary School in DeLand will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, in the media center.
DeLand High School
The next meeting of the School Advisory Council at DeLand High School will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, in the media center.
Deltona High School
The next meeting of the School Advisory Council at Deltona High School will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, in the Learning Commons.
DeLand High School Athletics
The DeLand High School Bulldog boys basketball team was stopped prior to Christmas by Lake Brantley, 42-32. They had their Gibbs Holiday Tournament Dec. 28-30.
The DeLand High football team closed out their 2023 season in the semifinals of the state tournament. The Bulldog football program listed the following seniors on the roster: Dante Mascio, Justin Brown, TJ Moore, MJ Smokes, Rameir Gordon, Vic Satler, Javon Ross, Caleb Oliver, Wyatt Darlington, BJ Campbell, Zyon McRae, Vince Chen, Kai Harkness, Kane Sandoval and Emarion Galloway.
Now that the Winter Holiday is over, the DHS sports calendar rapidly becomes very active. On Friday, Jan. 5, the boys basketball team greets Lake Mary at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and the girls soccer team plays host to The Master’s Academy at 6 p.m. that same day.
On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5 and 6, the wrestling team hosts the DeLand Duals in the Bulldog gym, with Olympia, New Smyrna Beach, Ocoee, Viera, Seabreeze, West Port, Apopka and Pine Ridge joining the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, Jan. 6, the JV girls soccer team competes in a JV Tournament at Spruce Creek High School, while the JV boys basketball team is at the Spruce Creek JV ShootOut. The competitive cheer team is at the Flagler Palm Coast Battle of the Bone.
Monday, Jan. 8, sends the girls basketball teams to Forest Lake Academy at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the girls soccer team and the boys soccer team greeting Forest Lake at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the boys basketball team welcomes Pine Ridge in the Bulldog gym at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The JV wrestling squad plays host for the JV Quad Wednesday, Jan. 10, with Ocoee, Winter Springs and Mainland at 5 p.m. The girls basketball team plays at Spruce Creek at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The girls weightlifting team travels to University High at 4:30 p.m. The boys soccer team competes at Flagler Palm Coast at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The girls soccer team greets Lake Howell at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 11, has the boys basketball team at home against University at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, Jan. 12, the Bulldog basketball team plays Lafayette at 6:30 p.m., while the girls soccer team competes at Taylor at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The girl wrestlers are at the Oviedo Girls O-Town Tournament at noon.
The boy wrestlers travel to the Space Coast Viper Open Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12 and 13.
Stetson University Athletics
The Stetson University Hatter basketball team downed FIU, 80-68, with Jalen Blackmon scoring 28 points, Alec Oglesby getting 22 points and Aubin Gateretse adding 16 points, along with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.
The Hats lost to Nebraska- Omaha, 88-80, with Blackmon scoring 28 points again, with three steals. Stephan Swenson made 23 points and six rebounds, and Oglesby added 18 points.
The team also lost to Cincinnati, 83-75, with Blackmon scoring 32 points. Treyton Thompson made 13 points with six rebounds, Oglesby scored 12 points, and Swenson added 11 points with eight assists and four steals.
The Stetson women’s basketball team defeated Valparaiso, 78-62, with Khamya McNeal scoring 17 points. Jordan Peete scored 12 points, Quentarra Mitchell shot 11 points with seven rebounds, Jamiya Turner made 10 points and eight rebounds, and Jaelyn Talley added 10 points with six rebounds.
The team also topped Morgan State, 56-48, with Peete scoring 11 points and Talley getting 14 rebounds.
The Lady Hats lost to North Carolina A&T, 57-54, after leading for three periods of play. Anna Kunzwiler scored 14 points, and McNeal added 11 points. Talley also was named the ASUN Player of the Week.
Stetson has announced that Jamie Souza will be returning to Stetson as the women’s head soccer coach. Several years ago, he served as the director of operations for the men’s team.
The Stetson calendar shows nothing but basketball — the men are at home today, Thursday, Jan. 4, against North Florida at 7 p.m., while the ladies travel to North Florida, also at 7 p.m.
The men play host to JU at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, while the women compete at JU at 2 p.m., followed on Wednesday, Jan. 10, by the men at Kennesaw State at 7 p.m., and then the men at Queens University at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12.
College honors
Eric Hartless, of DeLand, an undergraduate with a finance/accounting major at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, has made the dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester.
— Send school news to Tony Tussing via email: at flacoach43@hotmail.com.
