The Laker-Wesley Chapel/New Tampa-September 2, 2020

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Ringing in the 2020-2021 school year

This will be one for the history books By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

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Students streamed back to Pasco County school campuses last week to begin the 2020-2021 school year, while Hillsborough County students headed to that district’s campuses this week. The beginning of a new school year often is steeped in tradition, but this year is a year of new routines — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students are arriving on campuses wearing masks, and teachers standing near open classroom doors to greet them are wearing

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masks, too. Lunch tables have been moved outdoors, to reduce crowding in cafeterias and to accommodate outside classes. Signs remind people to keep their distance, and bottles of hand sanitizer are within easy reach to encourage everyone to keep their hands clean. And, there are protocols. Lots of protocols. They spell out what schools should do when there’s a confirmed case of COVID-19 and what to do when one is suspected. In Pasco County, a partnership has been forged between the school district and the Florida Department of Health’s Pasco office. Health department staff members are working in two portables on school district property, so they can respond quickly to COVID-19 cases.

The district also has spent substantial money, time and energy to prepare campuses for the arrival of students and staff; and, it has ramped up cleaning schedules to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Hillsborough County school district also has increased cleaning efforts, to reduce potential spread of the virus. Both districts also are using special care to disinfect school buses. Pasco County Schools activated its dashboard last week, and as of 11:30 p.m. Aug. 28, the district had reported three student cases, one each at Fivay High School, Gulf High School and Moon Lake Elementary; and one employee case, at Lake Myrtle Elementary. (For more recent information, visit Pasco.k12.fl.us/news. See SCHOOL, page 9A

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Students donning masks arrive at Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., at the break of dawn — and make their way to their classes. The school has more room this year because it added a new classroom wing.

Cypress Creek Middle has ‘first’ First Day By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

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When school bells rang in a new school year in Pasco County on Aug. 24, the day had special meaning at Cypress Creek Middle School, 8845 Old Pasco Road in Wesley Chapel. It wasn’t the first time middle school students had attended the Cypress Creek campus on Old Pasco Road, but it was the first time they were heading to classes in a school built specifically for them. Middle school students began attending classes at a shared campus for middle and high school students in 2017, because the district couldn’t afford to build both a high school and middle school — as it had originally intended. Construction began on the $43.5 million middle school building in 2019, and now the middle schoolers have a place that’s their own. The enthusiasm that typically accompanies a new school opening was muted this year, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The school is following strict safety protocols. They include: • Everyone on campus must wear a mask. • Parents drop off students at a specific place. • Students are directed to walk one-way down hallways, in the main classroom building. • Desks and chairs are spread out in classrooms. Other safety steps include encouraging social distancing between people, placing some lunch tables outdoors to prevent cafeteria crowding, and turning off the water fountains — except to fill water bottles. The district also kept parents off school campuses, because of concerns about COVID-19, and it kept media off, too, with the exception of allowing a special tour of Cypress Creek Middle on its opening day. Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd escorted representatives of The Laker/Lutz News and The Tampa Bay Times around the new school’s campus. Principal Tim Light shared a few thoughts, as he stood in front of a giant painting of a coyote, the school’s mascot.

COURTESY OF KELLY SINN

Kelly Sinn oversees Sunrise of Pasco County, a domestic and sexual violence center. It has seen an uptick in calls, in the midst of COVID-19.

B.C. MANION

Cypress Creek Middle School Principal Tim Light was eager to welcome students to the school he leads, on Old Pasco Road.

Domestic violence on rise during pandemic By Joey Johnston Special to The Laker/Lutz News

“I’m very excited,” Light said, noting he’d been planning for the school’s opening for months. “Honestly, I never thought this day was going to get here,” Light said. “I just want to see what the day is going to bring. Get these kids in here and get them going,” Light said. Gadd was clearly delighted, as he showed off the district’s newest school. “It’s really a beautiful school, the way it’s laid out,” the deputy superintendent said. Cypress Creek Middle has the capacity of 1,600 students. Its opening reduces crowding at John Long Middle School. It also provides relief to Wiregrass Ranch High School — as Cypress Creek Middle students previously on campus shift over to the new middle school, creating more capacity at Cypress Creek High. Beyond the normal features found at middle schools, this one has a black box theater and a suite of dance, chorus and orchestra rooms. “It’s a space like no other in Pasco County,” said Peter Nason, the school’s theater teacher. “It is a jewel in the crown of

Domestic violence in Pasco County has followed a worldwide trend of increased cases and incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly Sinn, chief executive officer with Sunrise of Pasco County, a domestic and sexual violence center that offers shelter and services for victims, said her agency saw a 22% increase in hotline calls during the pandemic’s first three months. However, during the same period, the Sunrise shelter occupancy numbers were actually down. “A lot of what we were hearing on our hotline, which is the gateway into shelter, was these individuals in abusive relationships were stuck at home but they felt they were better off there,’’ Sinn said.“It’s the evil they know versus the evil they don’t know. The increased risk of contracting coronavirus in a residential facility — instead of being around two to four people, they might be around up to 40 — wasn’t worth it.’’ The pandemic — and its accompanying quarantines, social isolation, travel restric-

See CYPRESS, page 9A

See VIOLENCE, page 9A


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