September

Welcome Back To School Spartans!

Welcome to the 23-24 School year, many exciting things are happening this year! As well as many new changes, so make sure you are all up to date. This August we had a great start to the school year and now we are all settled in its time to get serious. Some upcoming events we have coming up are our first ever Senior Sunrise, numerous testing dates, and Yearbooks are now for Sale. Also we have some clubs and sports starting up like Performing Arts Club, Positive Mental Health Awareness, & Volleyball. More information will be provided throughout the newsletter, so make sure you stay tuned. Let's have a great year Spartans!!

Olivia Hayes

Testing Dates

UPCOMING TESTS!!! In September and October if you missed a test or need to retake it from last year now's your time to do so. PM1 & Alg retakes will be held on Tuesday 9/12 - Thursday 9/14. Please ask your focus teacher where you will be located and make sure to be there. BIO & US EOC’s for Scholar Designation will be held on Monday 9/18. Please ask your focus teacher where you will be located if it's not held in your focus class. Please make sure you're here that day. It's the only day available to take this test. FSA Retakes will be held on Tuesday 9/19 - Thursday 9/21. FSA EOC Alg Retakes & GEO scholar will be held on Tuesday 9/26 - Wednesday 9/27. Please ask your Focus teacher where you will be located if this applies to you. Make sure you're here on either of those days so you're able to make up the test. It may affect your future and you might not be able to graduate or do certain things.

College Board National Recognition Program Awardees

There’s so much that makes students like Yasmeen Hafer unique. That’s an asset to colleges and programs. The National Recognition Programs help students like Yasmeen find ways to celebrate that. Eligible students apply on BigFuture. They have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. They’re the top 10% of PSAT/NMSQT® or PSAT™ 10 assessment takers in each state for each program or have earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP® Exams. They either attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Indigenous/Native. They’re invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year. Students who are awarded recognition will be notified at the beginning of the next school year.

Congratulations, Yasmeen Hafer!

-Olivia Hayes

Senior Portraits Information:

Attention seniors!!! If you have not already booked your senior portraits with Leonards they will be on campus on October 17th for retakes and for those who by that time have not made an appointment. The Leonards Lakeland studio will be open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-6pm, appointments are required. If not available to go to the Lakeland studio there are other studios available at Tampa, Orlando, St. Augustine, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, and Savannah. These pictures are going to be in the yearbook in the beginning as the formal pictures and at the end the cap and gown pictures. Leonard’s is excited to help capture this special time in your student’s life! If you or your senior have any questions, please reach out to the Leonard’s Customer Service team at (800) 215-4852 or customerservice@leonards.com.

Jasmin Acosta

September Calendar

Yearbook/Newsletter Feature

Want to be feature in the Yearbook or Newsletter next year?

Add photos of your Summer Adventures HERE

Discovery high school’s first Senior sunrise. Is on September 1st at 6:40 AM, on the Discovery High School track.This free senior only event will have donuts and water given out during the duration of the event.

Interview Feature

With the start of this school year I wanted to talk about our amazing dean, Ms.Bulson. This is Ms.Bulson’s fourth year here at Discovery High School. She's not only our dean but our athletic director. I got an opportunity to talk to Ms.Bulson. I asked how she felt about the start of this school year. She replied “The start of this year has been going very good and smooth”. I also asked what she liked that we have this year that we didn’t have last year, she replied “I like that you guys are more focused in class now that y'all don’t have phones during class time”. I wanted to see how she felt about being part of the DHS staff. She said, “ I really do enjoy being here, I think the staff is great and we work together very well and it’s always very positive”. I want to thank Ms.Bulson for letting me interview her and share her intake about the start of the year. Let's make this school year a great one!

~Aileen Diaz

Biology & Physical Science

How do you feel about your first year back teaching here?

“I like it because I get a break from my family and the student maturity level is better here. The students at the other school were smart but their maturity level was low.”

What are some things that you’re excited about this school year?

“I'm excited about growing a good balance between classroom management and student relationship.”

What labs are you planning to do this year?

“At Least a lab for every unit and dissections. Such as cats and sharks.’

How do you plan on teaching this year? Such as more hands on or straight from the textbook teaching.

“A mix between lecture and practice. I like to tell, show, help, and watch. In Fact if you watch me I tell, show, help, and watch.”

Is there anything you want your students to know about you or this class?

“I just want them to know that I actually do care about them more as people then just as grades or numbers.”

For the start of the school year I got to talk to Mr. Stover. This is his first year back here teaching at Discovery High School as a Biology and Physical Science teacher. I asked him how he felt about his first year back at DHS and he said, “I like it because I get a break from my family and the student maturity level is better here. The students at the other school were smart but their maturity level was low.” He seemed to be happy about returning and enjoying the new school year so I asked him what he was excited about this school year. He replied with, “I'm excited about growing a good balance between classroom management and student relationship.” Mr. Stover wants to have a good relationship with his students but also keep everything in order. Going off of the relationship with classroom management and students the question of how he was planning on teaching this school year came up. “A mix between lecture and practice. I like to tell, show, help, and watch. In Fact if you watch me I tell, show, help, and watch.” He explained. He explains the lesson, shows how to do it, gives a problem, and then he watches after helping. I also asked what labs he was planning on doing and he responded with, “At Least a lab for every unit and dissections. Such as cats and sharks.” Dead animal dissections are on the list of things to look forward to this school year. To end off, I asked Mr. Stover if there was anything he wanted his students to know about him or his class for the students who were unsure about taking his class. He replied, “I just want them to know that I actually do care about them more as people then just as grades or numbers.” Mr. Stover wants his students to know that he actually cares and wants to build a good relationship with his students for this new school year.

Valerie Alejandre

Spanish 1 & 2

I got a chance to speak to Mrs. Aponte, our wonderful Spanish 1 and 2 teacher. This is her second year teaching here at Discovery High School. Before teaching here she was a teacher at the middle school. I wanted to talk to her about how she was feeling about the start of this school year. She replied, “I feel very positive about this school and hope to build relationships with students and just make everyone feel welcome in my classroom”. I wanted to get to know more about her so I asked how long have you been teaching. She said, “I’ve been teaching for 16 years before coming to DHS. I taught English as a second language in Puerto Rico. When I moved to Florida, I started teaching ESOL”. I also asked her what she was doing differently than she did last year. She said “I am giving students the option to choose how they want assignments to be done and now open to new ideas for assignments”. I lastly asked how she felt about being part of the DHS staff. She said, “I feel very happy where I am. I felt very welcomed coming into this job and I hope to retire from Discovery High School”. I want to thank Mrs. Aponte for giving me the opportunity to talk to her.

~Alanys Santana

Digital Design

Mrs.Ocasio, a digital design teacher, loves what she does. She believes that one day her students will use the information they learn now in the future. I asked Mrs.Ocasio what she likes about digital design and she said, “I like how the students can be creative and show their creativity through their assignments”. Mrs.Ocasio likes doing digital design to show students that you can be creative in many different ways. In Mrs.Ocasio’s 5th period class they were working on creating a food menu to attract more customers (This is shown in the photos). The students in her class were so well concentrated and so creative with their assignment. Mrs.Ocasio is a great digital design teacher and one day she will inspire her students to always be creative.

—Naelee Ortiz-Rosario

Student Life Calendar

September

Volleyball

Girls volleyball is having a great start to the new school year by picking up their first varsity victory against Seven Rivers Christian on August 25. Coach Marshall states “This team has a lot of talent and energy. I am excited to see how they grow and succeed together as the season progresses!” Everyone is ready for this season! Coach Marshall has been coaching volleyball for 5 years, 3 of which are with Discovery High school. If anyone can push these girls to success, it’s the coaches.

On the picture to your left, it’s Discoveries 2 blockers shutting down Mulberry, taking a point (Sep.7) and right below that is JV cheering them on! Next is, Jv is preparing for Santa Fe Catholics (sep5) serve. JV start up was very strong so the other team was caught off guard.

-Emma Quintero

Bowling

With several athletic changes and mysteries coming to discovery this year the existence of a bowling team is no different. As bowling is no other sport, neither is the team. This team is made up of a varying level of skilled players ranging from those who have played for over a decade and competed before within tournaments to amateur bowlers who picked it up this year and fell in love with the concept. The coach of this team is Mr. McCord, Mr. McCord had previously bowled in a semi professional and competitive environment when he was younger so he is the best man for the job without a doubt. According to him, “The turnout for the bowling interest meeting was very surprising with well over 20 kids”; however, only 14 would make the team's roster. While previously mentioned that the players' skills vary tremendously, we would like to give the spotlight to one specific athlete with more than impressive numbers, Kaleb Harrell (11th grade). At a meet on the 7th of September Kaleb played 3 fairly high scoring games with a 1st game score of 186 pins, 2nd game score of 159 pins and ended the 3rd game with 176 pins including 6 strikes equalling a staggering 521 pins, out-scoring all his teammates pins-wise. This month the team meets September 14th at orange lanes in lakeland as well as the 21st at Bowlero in lakeland.

- Yahir Hernadez

Cross Country

New Year Same Goal Discovery cross country are still aiming for the regional spot they made it previous years and will continue to be as competitive to secure this year's regional spot. The cross country team had a meet on Wednesday at Ridge Community High School. After the race, I caught up with some of the players to hear their thoughts. Almani Santana expressed that he feels like he could have done better and experienced some difficulties during the race. When asked how he can improve, he mentioned drinking more water. Camarorn, a 10th-grade student, also felt good before the race but mentioned feeling tired afterward. He believes he can do better next time and plans to focus on improving his performance by drinking more water. Leander Suazo, also known as "Le" by his friends, didn't feel satisfied with his performance in this race but believed he did better than in previous races. When asked how he can improve, he mentioned the importance of drinking more water. John Sewnarine was the MVP of Wednesday's race as he came in first place out of the discovery team. Overall, the cross country team is dedicated to improving their performance and learning from each race. Good luck to them in their future competitions! -Wood Clermont

Cheer

This year the cheer team has a fresh start with new cheerleaders, a new captain in Yeitza Reyes and a new co-captain in Mariah Fuller. The cheer team rallies to make preparations for the upcoming year with weekly clinics. At these clinics cheerleaders this year were taught the cheers and dances used by the girls to prepare the new cheerleaders for tryouts. The cheer team are holding their tryouts on September 6th and it will take place in Mrs. Ocasio’s room at 3pm after school. It is best to be there by 2:45. Being a cheerleader since her freshman year. A now senior, Yeitza Reyes is taking the cheer team in a new direction as Captain. Yeitza says, “I'm excited for this year and I hope we can be more than just cheerleaders, I hope we can be a family and bond more as a team”. Yeitza along with Mariah are going to work with the team to make sure all things run smoothly and we can't wait for you to see them at the basketball games in December.

-Zach Craig

Music Tours By: Trista

Upcoming Concerts

Greyday Tour 8.29 - 8.30 - $uicideboy$, Ghostmane, City Morgue, Freddie Dredd, Semetary, and Ramirez will be in Tampa on the 29th and in Orlando on the 30th. These artists' music are described to be in the genre of ‘hip-hop pierced with punk intensity’. Even though prices definitely shot up this year the lineup is pretty good for this year and many fans are excited to see their favorite artists.

Godsmack 9.5, 9.6, & 9.9 - This band has 23 top ten rock radio hits, including 17 songs in the top five. This American Rock Band has been making music since 1995. With their most popular song being ‘I Stand Alone’, Sully Erna being the lead singer still making amazing music for nearly 30 years.

3 Doors Down 9.13 & 9.15 - This band will be performing with Candlebox in Jacksonville as well as Tampa. Three Doors Down is a post-Grunge influenced Alternative rock group from Escatawpa, Mississippi, forming in 1996. Candlebox was formed in 1990 from Seattle, Washington, also being an American Rock band.

National Chicken Month By: Kevin

Everyday thousands of chicken products are produced and sold. From farm to your table. Most famously Chick-Fil-A has millions eating chicken everyday. The impact chicken has had on American life is so drastic that September has been named National Chicken Month.Chicken is a food universally liked by many of all ages.

The food has a lot more than just the taste having rich vitamins including b3-b6. Chicken has become a big factor in many diets that the United states founded the National Chicken Council. Formed to create surveys, guideline recommendations, and lobbying for poultry corporations.

By: Kevin Thomas, 9th, junior editor

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