When do we start? – School Year Calendar
July 2016
July 4 Holiday
July 11-15 FTE Survey Week
TBD EOC Exams
TBD Summer EOCs
August 2016
August 8-12 Teacher Planning Days
August 9 Secondary Orientation
August 11 Elementary Orientation
August 15 STUDENTS’ FIRST DAY
August 23/25 Adult Ed Graduation
September 2016
September 5 NO SCHOOL-Labor Day
September 16 Progress Reports
October 2016
TBD Fall EOCs
October10-14 FTE Survey Week
October 14 End of 1st Quarter
October 17 Teacher Planning Day
October 24 Report Cards
November 2016
November 11 Veterans Day
November 18 Progress Reports
November 19-27 NO SCHOOL-Thanksgiving Break
November 21-22 Possible Hurricane Makeup Days
TBD Winter EOCs
December 2016
TBD Winter EOCs
December 22 End of 2nd Quarter and Semester
December 23 Teacher Planning Day
December 24-31 NO SCHOOL-Winter Break
January 2017
January 1-8 NO SCHOOL-Winter Break
January 16 NO SCHOOL- M. L. King Day
January 17 Report Cards
January 24/26 Adult Ed Graduation
February 2017
February 6-10 FTE Week
February 10 Progress Reports
TBD FSA ELA Writing Component
March 2017
TBD FSA ELA Writing Component
March 16 End of 3rd Quarter
March 17 Teacher Planning Day
March 18-26 NO SCHOOL-Spring Break
TBD Spring FSAs
April 2017
TBD Spring FSAs
April 3 Report Cards
TBD Spring EOCs
April 28 Progress Reports
May 2017
TBD Spring FSAs
TBS Spring EOCs
May 25-28 Graduation
May 26 STUDENTS’ LAST DAY
May 29 NO SCHOOL-Memorial Day
May 30-31 Teacher Planning Days
June 2017
TBD Report Cards
June 12-16 FTE Survey Week
Save The Date – Important dates, early release dates, holidays
You can download printable PDF version of the calendar here.
Staying healthy – Immunizations
Check the latest immunization requirements for your Pinellas student here.
PLEASE NOTE: If your child has a medical or religious exemption and didn’t get all the required vaccinations, you need to read this Vaccine Communication Letter from the Florida Department of Health (The Letter in Spanish)
The district also lists the HPV, meningitis and flu vaccines as recommended on their website.
A physical for the school year in Pasco doesn’t need to be on a specific form but does need to be signed by a licensed health professional and must be within a year prior to enrollment.
How to get there – Transportation
This year all buses will be equipped with GPS. In addition, a new channel (Systems Universal) is being utilized on the 800Mhz radios that are installed on school buses and in the district’s transit centers. This will empower drivers and dispatchers to communicate directly via radio with the Pasco County 911 center and expedite the response of first responders in the event of an emergency.
Pasco school buses are managed through five different compounds across the county. You can the information about each compound and how to contact them directly here.
The school district’s transportation department has links to the school bus rules and safety here.
What to wear – Dress code
You can find the detailed description of the current Pasco County school dress code here. Please keep in mind that if your student violated the dress code he or she will have to change into appropriate clothing before being allowed back to class. The parent will have to provide the appropriate attire if the student doesn’t have it.
What’s for Lunch? – Nutritional Program
To qualify for free or reduced-price meal parents need to submit only one application per household for all students. You will receive a letter in the mail that will have the information on your student or students eligibility after you fill out the form. You can find the online form here.
What’s new? – New schools, new magnet schools
The district is opening a new elementary school in Wesley Chapel (Wiregrass Elementary, with Steve Williams as principal) and launching two STEM middle magnet schools. One is at Bayonet Point Middle School, which was closed for renovations for about 15 months and is reopening with the STEM theme. The other is at Centennial Middle School. We are adding portable classrooms there to accommodate the additional students.
Anclote Elementary School, which was closed for more than a year for total renovations, is re-opening. AES is one of the Kelley Schools built in the 70s that are undergoing major renovations as part of the most recently-passed Penny for Pasco sales tax.
The district will be opening a “thrift store” on a quarterly basis to sell surplus property to the public before sending items to auction.
Using $95,000 in grant funds from Duke Energy and the Pasco Education Foundation, we will add two new elementary STEM labs at West Zephyrhills and Sunray elementary schools. A classroom at each school will be retrofitted as a STEM lab. Last year, we opened the first elementary STEM labs funded by Duke and the Foundation at Cypress and Moon Lake elementary schools.
A $32,970 grant from the International Academy of Science and Discover Card will fund the implementation of the Acellus video learning platform for Personal Finance at Land O Lakes High School, Wesley Chapel High School and Wiregrass Ranch High School.
Three high schools – Hudson, Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel – will launch Embry-Riddle’s Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Applications in Agriculture honors program. In coordination with industry partners and subject matter experts, this new UAS curriculum through Embry-Riddle and the Florida Farm Bureau will prepare students for employment. This program will prepare Florida agriculture teachers to obtain industry certifications and acquire unmanned aircraft qualifications. In turn, they will provide experience and background to educate tomorrow’s workforce.
Seven high schools will be offering the Business and Entrepreneurial Principles course, (Ridgewood, Sunlake, River Ridge, Zephyrhills, Pasco, Land O’ Lakes, JW Mitchell). The goal of this program is to create a unique event where students throughout the district will participate in a “Business Pitch Event” in which local business partners will serve as mentors and judges.
AdvancED schools accreditation service will visit in September for the district’s re-accreditation
The district is starting a STEM – Aviation Academy at Oakstead Elementary School.Gulf High School
3rd Year of Gaming, Simulation and Application Academy and use of 3D motion sensor capture system. (This school will host a Back to School community event on registration day (August 9) offering school supplies and physicals)
Senior Registration Day is August 3.River Ridge High School
River Ridge is starting a Teaching Academy to start training high school students how to be teachers. The academy teacher is a recent district Teacher of the Year who transferred to RRHS from Hudson High School just to start this academy.Zephyrhills High School
Dual Enrollment Math will now be offered on ZHS campus, so students can earn college math credit without leaving the high school. General Aviation Mechanics program has been added to the Aeronautics Academy. Lacrosse – Selected to receive support to begin lacrosse program. Recruiting of both girls and boys will begin soon
Going high-tech – Online/Mobile resources
The district is updating all crisis/emergency plans and will have a web-based crisis flip chart that employees can save on their smart phones to use in the event that they have to respond to a crisis and can’t access their physical flip chart.
The district is also getting a high-tech-equipped sprinter van for the Aeronautics Academy students to use to fly drones. The students in the academy will use the van to assist law enforcement and emergency managers in certain situations.
