Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 8-2-19

Back-To-School News
School District Announces Meal Guidelines
2019 – 2020 School Calendar
August 12 – First Day Of School
September 2 – Labor Day, School Closed
October 11 – End Of 1st Grading Period.
November 11 – Schools Closed.
November 25-29 – Thanksgiving Week. Schools Closed.
December 2 – Students Return To School. December 20 – End Of 1st Semester.
December 23-January 3, 2020 – Winter Break. Schools Closed.
January 6 – Schools Closed For Students. January 7 – Students Return To School.
January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Schools Closed.
February 7 – No School. Students are off for the Florida State Fair.
February 17 – Presidents’ Day. Schools Closed.
March 2 – No School. Students are off for the Strawberry Festival.
March 13 – End of 3rd Grading Period.
March 16-20 – Spring Break. Schools Closed.
March 23 – Students Return To School. April 10 – Schools Closed.
April 20 – Schools Closed.
May 25 – Memorial Day. Schools Closed.
May 29 – Last Day of School, End of 2nd Semester.
The Hillsborough County School District recently an- nounced their guidelines for free and reduced meals. Par- ents are required to submit a new application each school year.
Children from families whose income is at or below the levels shown are eligible for free or reduced price meals. The 2019-2020 household application for school meal benefits is avail- able online beginning July 1, 2019.
The information provided on the application is confi- dential and will be used for the purpose of determining eligibility. The information may also be used by the school system in determining whether the child is eligible for other educational pro- grams.
Parents may request an el- igibility letter to show eligi- bility for other programs by calling the Healthy Meals Ex- press Application Center at (813) 840-7066, or in person at The Center for Nutrition and Culinary Services at 9014
Brittany Way, Tampa, Florida, 33619.
Applications may be sub- mitted at any time during the year. If a child moves from one Hillsborough County public school to another in the same year, parents do not need to submit a new appli- cation.
To apply, go to the school district website at www.sdhc.k12.fl.us, type “Go SNS” in the search bar, and follow the instructions. Ap- plying online is simple, se- cure, and the fastest way to apply for free school meal benefits.
Free Breakfast Available For All Students
Hillsborough County Pub- lic Schools students are en- couraged to take advantage of the District’s free breakfast program. Breakfast is offered to every student regardless of the child’s household income. It is made possible by the Na- tional School Breakfast Pro- gram. All school children can receive a free, nutritious breakfast every school day.
Breakfast options include fruit and yogurt parfaits, whole grain muffins, and hot, fresh breakfast sandwiches. Every school breakfast served meets federal nutrition stan- dards, and is offered free of charge to all students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Early Release Days
The Early Release days for the 2019-2020 school year have recently been ap- proved. Early Release days exist to give teachers dedi- cated time each week to plan and collaborate on ways to make learning more engag- ing and effective for stu- dents.
For the first half of the upcoming school year, the Early Release days have been changed. There will not be an Early Release on the follow- ing dates: Oct. 14, 2019, Oct. 21, 2019, and Oct. 28, 2019, Nov. 4, 2019, Nov. 18, 2019, Dec. 2, 2019, Dec, 9, 2019, and Dec. 16, 2019.
The above listed eight dates will be full school days with normal dismissal times.
District To Host Back-To-School Health Clinics
The Hillsborough County Public School District and their health partners will host a series of health clinics. The clinics are designed to insure that students meet all health requirements needed to begin class next month.
The Health Fairs will offer students entering kindergarten through 12th grade, free physicals, immu- nizations, school supplies and more.
The Hillsborough C0unty School District, in partner- ship with the Back to School Coalition of Hillsborough County and Project LINK, are providing the heath fairs in different areas throughout the county.
Families must pre-register to attend the health fairs. Par- ents can register by visiting www.back2schoolfair.org.
The dates and locations of the Health Fairs are as fol- lows:
Saturday, Aug. 3,
9 a.m. until 1 p.m. East Tampa --- Middle- ton High School, 4801 N. 22nd Street, Tampa North Tampa --- Bowers Whitley Career Center, 13609 N. 22nd Street Saturday, Aug. 10, 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
West Tampa --- Blake High School, 1701 N. Blvd., Tampa.
On Saturday, Aug. 10,
from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., there will be a Health and Job Fair at Leto High School, 4409 W. Sligh Avenue, Tampa. No registration is re- quired for this health fair.
In addition, Hillsborough County Public Schools, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Bullard Family Founda- tion are hosting the Back to School Bash powered by Wal- mart and Advent Health on Saturday, August 3, from
8:01 a.m.-2:01 p.m., at Raymond James Stadium.
This FREE event is open to all Hillsborough County K- 12 students.
Parents and guardians can register their child on site to receive FREE physicals, eye exams, haircuts, school sup- plies and food (while supplies last). There will be fun activi- ties for the whole family throughout the day.
For sponsorship opportu- nities, contact: bullardfamily- foundation@gmail.com. For volunteer opportunities, visit: volunteersuncoast.org/back- toschoolbash.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019