Cheerleaders get a taste of success at camp

By EILEEN SCHULTE

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 3, 2000

The East Lake High School varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders were honored with superior ribbons at a four-day National Cheerleaders Association camp last month at Florida State University.

The varsity squad is made up of Sarah Bunner, captain; Jenny Flavin, co-captain; Jessica Chambers, co-captain; Ashlee Eberhardt; Takara Fuller; Megan Hagler; Elizabeth Hermann; Allyson Jennings; Kim Rambaum; Alicia Roeding; Jen Santoro; Courtney Trebing; and Ashley Wayne.

The girls achieved a longtime goal by winning a bid to the prestigious national competition in December in Dallas. The girls also won awards for superior motion and spirit. Their team made the finals.

Seven of the cheerleaders, Bunner, Fuller, Flavin, Roeding, Santoro, Trebing and Hagler, were nominated for the All-American team. Fuller was named an All-American Cheerleader and awarded the Overall Outstanding All-American Cheerleader.

The squad is coached by Christine Klesius. Two varsity squad members, Tracey Mason and Krystle Stillman, were unable to attend the camp.

The junior varsity squad is made up of Rachael Lyon, captain; Brianne Adams; Jaclyn Fishman; Rachel Graham; Kelly Grant; Corey Hennessey; Natasha Irizarry; Laura Johnson; Caroline Keck; Lindsey Neilson; Lauren Novak; Jaclyn Cayavec; and Becca Warady.

That squad also won a bid to the national competition. The girls won awards for superior motion and spirit. They also brought home a top team trophy for the junior varsity division.

Three squad cheerleaders, Lyon, Graham and Cummings, were nominated for the All-American team. Cummings was named an All-American Cheerleader.

Reservations, donations sought for golf fundraiser

Reservations and hole sponsorship donations are being accepted for the Tarpon Springs High School Band Boosters annual golf tournament Sept. 24 at Lansbrook Golf Club in East Lake.

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

Tickets are $75 per person, and include 18 holes, cart use, drink tickets and dinner. All proceeds will benefit the school band program.

For more information, contact Gene Beiner at (727) 943-5430.

Annual park meeting is open to all

The annual meeting of the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve will take place Sept. 24 at John Chesnut Sr. Park, picnic shelter 9.

The day will begin at 9:30 a.m. with an informal hike along Peggy Park Nature Trail. Hikers should meet at the trail head.

At 11 a.m., a short meeting will take place during which Friends will elect board members and revise by-laws.

At 11:15 a.m., Craig Huegel, environmental lands manager, Carlos de la Rosa, environmental education coordinator, and Edward Hoffman, project architect, will offer a presentation on the new education facility.

At noon, the Friends will eat a picnic lunch.

Anyone who is interested in Brooker Creek Preserve or wants to join the Friends is invited. Call (727) 937-6592 to make your reservation.

Early start or no, schools get under way

A funny thing happened on the first day of classes at Cypress Woods Elementary School.

At least 80 parents and children arrived at school an hour early. They ended up standing in the lobby with the office staff until the rest of the students showed up and the classrooms were ready.

"Next year I'm going to offer coffee and doughnuts," joked Marianne Wayne, the school's community involvement assistant. "The lobby was packed."

Why did the parents misjudge their arrival time so badly?

They were going by last year's start time: 8:40 a.m.

This year, Cypress Woods Elementary is on the late schedule, which means the first bell rings at 9:40 a.m.

But nobody seemed angry or upset, Wayne said. There was such a buzz in the air, students and parents took it in stride.

"The kids were so excited. They were so polished and had new backpacks," Wayne said.

When the buses finally began to arrive, Wayne noticed many parents were standing on the sidewalk area videotaping their children as they disembarked.

Apparently, the mothers and fathers had loaded their children on school buses, then drove to school. Once the buses pulled up, the parents jumped out with their video cameras to capture the moment.

Wayne said despite the time mix-up on the first day, everything else went smoothly during the first week of school.

"It's been really calm," she said.

The first week of school also went smoothly at Brooker Creek Elementary School.

The two schools had traded schedules, so classes there started about 8:45 a.m. But there was no confusion because the school had published the new start time in several newsletters, school officials said.

To make sure all the kindergarten students got off at the right stops, Brooker Creek Elementary principal Nell Chapman spent an afternoon riding the purple bus, a regular school bus of a different color.

The purple bus winds its way throughout East Lake, dropping students off at various subdivisions.

"I live in Belleair," Chapman said. "I don't know all of the nooks and crannies (of East Lake). I like to see where they live."

At each stop, Chapman stepped off the bus and talked to parents there to collect their children.

"They were surprised," Chapman said. "They said, "Look, Mrs. Chapman is riding the bus today.' "

More children are riding the bus to Brooker Creek Elementary than ever before. Last year, the student body numbered 786; this year, that figure has jumped to 835. Seven buses transported students last year. This year, there are 13.

"We're crowded," Chapman said.

There was not enough classroom space to accommodate these new students, so four portable classrooms have been set up on the campus.

But they are not ready for the children yet. Steps and walkways must be installed, and they still need to be hooked up to electricity. Chapman predicts that the work will be completed by this week.

In the meantime, classes are being held in the multipurpose room, the art room and the media center.

- If you have news or photos about East Lake organizations, churches, schools, neighborhoods or residents, please contact Eileen Schulte at the North Pinellas Times. You may call her at (727) 445-4229, fax material to her at (727) 445-4206, e-mail information to schulte@sptimes.com (sorry, we cannot receive attachments) or mail it to the North Pinellas Times, 34342 U.S. 19 N, Palm Harbor, FL 34684.

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