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Charter school delayed until 2017 By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Several families in the Lutz and Land O’ Lakes area were anticipating Sunlake Academy of Math and Science to open in time for the 2016-2017 school year, but that isn’t going to happen. Instead, the public charter school, which is being built at 18711 North Dale Mabry Highway in Lutz, is set to open in August 2017. The school, operated by Charter School Associates (CSA), scheduled a Parent Information Session on April 11, expecting to open for the 2016-2017 school year. But See CHARTER, page 11A
COURTESY OF CHARTER SCHOOL ASSOCIATES
A prototype of what Sunlake Academy will look like once it’s complete. The 40,000-square-foot facility expects to accommodate 1,150 students, from kindergarten through eighth grade.
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This trio of girls placed second in The Bright Schools Competition, an academic contest that included students from across the United States and Canada. From left, are Sophia Nobles, Catie Tomasello and Grace Nobles.
Dim those lights — and sleep better at night By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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Imagine creating a device that would help people sleep better at night. A trio of local girls came up with a prototype for an invention that would do just that. Their idea – and the entry it generated — garnered a second place prize in the the Bright Schools Competition, a national contest co-sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation and the National Science Teachers Association. The team of middle schoolers, made up of Catie Tomasello, of Land O’ Lakes and Grace and Sophia Nobles, of New Tampa, called themselves Team iLUMENate and submitted a project called “The iLUMENate Prototype.” In essence, the prototype uses a light tracker, a cell phone app and a Smart Home
COURTESY OF HEATHER TOMASELLO
Sarah Szymanski, a teacher at Pine View Middle School, left, coached Grace Nobles, Catie Tomasello and Sophia Nobles in the Bright Schools Competition. The team finished second in a competition that included students from across the U.S. and Canada.
system to monitor the amount of light a user receives throughout the day.The device adjusts the user’s environment to provide the proper amount of blue light exposure, for optimum light and sleep. Besides creating the prototype, the team wrote a brief research paper and created a video for their prototype. “Blue light is essential for regulating your circadian rhythm.You get too much of it at night, it prevents the body’s producing of melatonin. It makes it hard to sleep,” 14-year-
old Grace Nobles explained. “They say an hour or two before bed to stop using your devices.Teenagers, especially, have an issue with getting enough sleep,” she added. Twelve-year-old Sophia Nobles designed the virtual floor plan that was used to demonstrate the concept in the project. Catie Tomasello created a video to show how their prototype would work. It shows See SLEEP, page 11A
He offers a ‘hypnotic’ form of entertainment By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Hypnotized Live!
Hypnotist Michael C.Anthony shares the stage with 30 or so people who don’t mind a bit of suggestive fun. They might fall asleep. Or forget their names. Or break into dance. Or, they might even be convinced that a belt is a wriggling snake. They might even find true love, of a most unusual kind. “I made a guy fall in love with a broom,” said Anthony, who will bring his Hypnotized Live! Show to Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts on May 20 and May 21. He invites audience members to leave their seats and become part of his show. But, they have a choice. They can “SEE the show or BE the show. “I don’t pressure anybody to come on the stage,”Anthony said. There is never a problem of getting peo-
WHERE: Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, in downtown Tampa WHEN: May 20 and May 21 at 7:30 p.m. COST: Tickets are $39.99 and $49.99 INFORMATION: Contact the ticket office at (813) 229-7827 or 1-800-955-1045
ple to join in the act. Anthony, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, starts his performances with a few minutes of stand up comedy so the audience knows “this is going to be fun. At the end of the show, you’ll be glad you did this.” The full-time hypnotist has been performing for about 20 years displaying his skills in theaters, at corporate events and at colleges. He’s been to every state except See HYPNOTIC, page 11A
COURTESY OF MICHAEL C. ANTHONY
Hypnotist Michael C. Anthony will perform at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.