Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The high school will stage the musical Feb. 14-16.
Come dressed in your favorite '50s costume and enjoy a special discount on tickets Feb. 14 when the Durant High School Theatre Department opens its production of the musical, Grease. For the Valentine's Day opening at 7 p.m., the cost to attend is $5 and those dressing in poodle skirts and saddle shoes will have a chance to win a costume contest. Prizes will be awarded during intermission. Appropriate for all ages, the production will continue Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16 at 7 p.m. in the Durant High School auditorium. The 14th longest-running show on Broadway, Grease is set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School and follows 10 working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love. The musical score recreates the sounds…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Florida Highway Patrol wants to teach students how to share the road with big trucks.
Bloomingdale and Durant high school driver education students are getting a lesson in sharing today. Florida Highway Patrol troopers along with professional truck drivers are visiting 13 Hillsborough County schools Thursday, Jan. 24, to educate more than 1,000 high school driver education students on how they, as new drivers on Florida’s highways, can safely share the road with tractor trailers. “Sharing the road safely with large trucks can be a challenge for anyone, but it is especially challenging to new drivers,” said Mary Lou Rajchel, president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association. “To ease this apprehension and educate young, new drivers, we provide education on the operating characteristics of full-size tractor trailers, as …
Friday, November 23, 2012
The undefeated Durant Cougars vie for their second prep playoff win, facing the Newsome Wolves at home in Plant City at the Ron Frost Stadium. The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) regional semifinal games kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
The undefeated, Class 7A-District 8 champs, the Durant High School Cougars, continue their march for a state crown tonight, Nov. 23, with the second game of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) playoff season. The Class 7A-Region 2 semifinal game, at the Ron Frost Stadium in Plant City, kicks off 7:30 p.m. against crosstown rivals the Newsome Wolves. Durant faces the Wolves (7-4 overall, 4-1 in league play), ranked nationally and in the state at 1,322 and 104, respectively, according to MaxPreps.com. The Cougars (11-0 overall, 5-0 in league play) are ranked 262 in the nation and 17 in the state, up 200 and 18 spots, respectively, according to MaxPreps.com. En route to tonight's playoff game, the Cougars this season beat …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Aug. 31 games for Bloomingdale, Riverview, Newsome, Durant and all Hillsborough County schools are being moved to Saturday, Sept. 1 because of security issues and the Republican National Convention.
The Friday night lights will have to move to Saturday for a weekend in August thanks to the Republican National Convention. All high school football games in Hillsborough County scheduled for Friday, Aug. 31 will be pushed back a day when the RNC comes to Tampa, the school district announced. That means the following games will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1: The RNC will be in town from Aug. 27-30, and the district announced in June it would not hold any sporting events that week. "Concerns were raised about security for Friday night football games, because local law enforcement officers likely still would be on RNC-related assignments, and would not be available to serve as off-duty security," district spokesperson Linda …
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Students prepare to don caps and gowns in pursuit of diplomas.
Local seniors are preparing to walk down the aisle to accept their diplomas. At Bloomingdale High School, an anticipated 580 students will graduate June 4 at 4:30 p.m. at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. The class valedictorian is Noah Stebbins with an 8.03 grade point average. The salutatorian is Grant Sprow with a 7.36 grade point average. The class president is Robert Rivers. Commencement speakers will be Principal Mark West, Stebbins and Sprow. At Durant High School, 490 students will accept diplomas June 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. The valedictorian of the class is Kellen Fisher with a 6.7 grade point average and the salutatorian is Krysta Tate with a 6.6 grade point average. The class president …
Friday, March 9, 2012
Hometown supporters of Valrico's Jeremy Rosado talked about the teen singer's bright future March 8 at the Brandon Ale House watch party.
In the end, there were tears and nothing but praise for Jeremy Rosado, whose family and friends stood by the "American Idol” hopeful, a Valrico resident and 2009 Durant High grad. At the Brandon Ale House on March 8, a modest-sized group of well-wishers clasped their hands and held their collective breath as “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez announced on behalf of her peers that Rosado’s televised journey had come to an end. “I wish I was here, I wish I was just there to hold him,” said his mother, Wendy Ocasio, who added that she had a brief talk with her son earlier in the day. “He said he will accept whatever God’s will is and he was at peace,” she said. "I totally believe great things are coming his way.” Chris Bates, the general …
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Durant High's Darrien Kelly took fourth place and teammate Chase Haley finished sixth at the state wrestling finals Saturday in Lakeland.
LAKELAND — Durant High placed two wrestlers on the medal stand Saturday at the state finals at The Lakeland Center. Junior Darrien Kelly (38-12) lost his opening match of the finals but rallied to finish 4-2 and claim the fourth-place medal at 120 pounds in Class 3A. Senior Chase Haley (41-9) won his first two matches before tumbling to the consolation bracket. He would drop the fifth-place match to Bryan Betancourt of South Broward (39-4) yet still keep his place (sixth) on the stand. Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch caught up with Kelly after his match. Patch: What is it like wrestling for Durant? Kelly: We have some good kids, good energy in there. We feel like when we compete, we have to do well. Patch: What is going through your head …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Hillsborough County high schools earned higher marks than ever before; Newsome High earns an A and Bloomingdale, Durant and Riverview high schools all get Bs.
When the Florida Department of Education released grades for high schools Wednesday, Hillsborough County found reason to celebrate. Twenty-five of the district’s 27 schools earned A or B grades for the 2010-11 school year — a record, according to Hillsborough school district spokesman Stephen P. Hegarty. Spoto High in Riverview was one of five county schools to earn its first A, joining Brandon, Chamberlain, Plant City and Steinbrenner high schools. Spoto received a D grade the year prior. "There has been an attempt to change our culture at the school over the last year and really focus on academics and challenging our students more," Spoto Principal Phillip Carr said of his school's turnaround. "Our teachers came back three days early …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Durant Cougars blew past the Class 7A-District 8 favorites in Newsome and Plant City en route to a district title and the beginnings of a playoff run.
The Durant High football team (7-3) will host the Gaither Cowboys (7-3) on Friday night in regional quarterfinal action with a shot at school history. The Cougars' previous best finish was a 2003 push to the state semifinals. It will not be an easy road. The Cowboys defense only gives up 15.5 points per game, and an injury to junior fullback Jarmarlon Hamilton might make getting past the quarterfinals tough. Two very good teams await them in the other bracket in Tampa Bay Tech and Brandon. "This is a resilient group; they find ways to win," said Cougars head coach Mike Gottman. This is also a highly-charged offense. The Cougars are ferocious on the ground. They finished the regular season second in the district in both rushing yards per …
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Cougars clinched a 2011 playoff spot by beating Bloomingdale in the district playoffs. They face Plant in the district championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bloomingdale High School.
High school volleyball's Class 8A-District 7 has been a three-horse race all year long. Plant, Bloomingdale and Wharton have topped the district all season and even finished in the three-way tie that had to be decided by a coin toss. No one told Durant High it was between those three teams. The Cougars knocked off Alonso in round one of the district playoffs on Tuesday and jumped out to a two-game lead on Bloomingdale in the district semifinal 25-13, 26-24. The Bulls came back and took game three 16-25, but Durant closed it out 25-17 to advance to the 2011 playoffs and Thursday's district final. Durant just improves to a winning record with the win over Bloomingdale and will be heavy underdogs in the final against Plant, but if this …
Jason Bartolone
5:07 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Our reporter, Andy Warrener, will be at the game tonight ... if you can't make it, follow @jawarrener on Twitter for live updates. more ›