HCPS NEWS DESK

Who:
The Golf Academy at the Boys and Girls Preparatory Academies

What:
5th Annual Golf Tournament

When:
Sunday, May 19, 2013
1 p.m. shotgun start

Where:
Tampa Palms Golf &Country Club
5811 Tampa Palms Blvd., Tampa

Why:
To raise funds to benefit the Golf Academy at the Boys and Girls Preparatory Academies, which are affiliated with First Tee of Tampa Bay.

How:
The Annual Golf Tournament, made possible through partnerships with Ameriprise Financial and The First Tee Tampa Bay, is an 18-hole, best ball scramble with a shotgun start.  Participants will receive a box lunch, have the opportunity to win door prizes, and bid on auction items.  Interested participants may register the day of the tournament or contact Sam Brown at 813-744-8108 ext. 403.

The Golf Academy serves as an enrichment opportunity for students enrolled at both the Boys and Girls Preparatory Academies.  In conjunction with the First Tee Tampa Bay, the Golf Academy provides an opportunity for students to learn about basic golf rules, club usage, golf procedures, and golf course management.  The First Tee curriculum incorporates nine core values that are infused throughout the education component.  The First Tee nine core values are: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, courtesy, perseverance, and judgment.

Contact:
Terrie Dodson-Caldevilla
Office of Communications
 813-272-4048

Fourth grade students and teachers from the Rampello Downtown Partnership K-8 School will be treated to a special advanced screening of the Discovery Channel’s new series North America on Tuesday, May 14.

The special screening, which will take place in the auditorium of the Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center (where School Board meetings are held), will provide an exclusive showing of Episode 1 of the landmark seven-part series. The series, which has been three years in the making, features intimate stories of animal life and wilderness, and footage that has never been seen before.

The screening with begin at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

“This is great example of our partnership with the Discovery Channel and our shared commitment to bring innovative learning opportunities to students,” said MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS). “This is the sort of educational experience that engages students and inspires their imaginations.”

Though the Rampello fourth graders will see Episode 1 on Tuesday, the seven-part series narrated by actor Tom Selleck premieres on Sunday, May 19, at 9 p.m. The series features amazing footage from the frigid Yukon Territory, the lush forests of Belize, the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and barren deserts of the American Southwest.

The North America screening grew out of the partnership between Discovery Education and HCPS as they collaborate to integrate digital media and technology into classrooms to increase student engagement and achievement. Using content and concepts from this epic series, Discovery Education will provide teachers and students across the country with customized digital learning experiences that help to reinforce the science and natural history curriculum explored in North America. After the screening, HCPS students and educators will also receive interactive content offerings that they can use in their classrooms, including video from all seven episodes of North America and interactive lesson plans.

For more information contact Heidi May with Discovery Education at 240-662-2661 or heidi_may@discovery.com.

More than 800 fourth and fifth grade art and music students from public schools across the county will showcase their talents at the 24th Annual Elementary Fine Arts Festival at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, May 15.

The Morsani Hall lobby will open at 6:30 p.m. for the student artwork gallery. At 7 p.m., music students from around the county will participate in a variety of performances including all-county choruses, festival orchestra, handbell ensemble, Orff ensemble and world drumming.

The Straz Center is located at 1010 N. MacInnes Pl., Tampa. For more information contact Melanie Faulkner, supervisor of elementary music education, at 813-272-4461.