PTSA News
The holidays are coming up and PDQ gift cards would make the perfect stocking stuffer. We will have a representative in front of Plant on Himes on December 19th from 3 to 4 pm for pickup. Cards have a $10 face value and can be purchased with cash or check only (1 for $8, 2 for $15 or 3 for $20 -- you get one free!). If you can't pick them up, we will be happy to deliver. Contact Beth Garcia if you are interested in purchasing. Thanks for supporting PTSA.

If you haven't already joined or donated, please go to our website today and become a member. We need your memberships and your donations to fund our programs for the rest of the year. We are trying to reach 1000 members this year (which would be a new record) and we need you to get this accomplished.

Academic Foundation
That was certainly an informative meeting yesterday! Thank you to Michael Smith, the district's Secondary Math Supervisor, for educating parents on the Springboard math curriculum. Thanks also to Ms. Cozzi, Ms. Clark and Ms. Kale for detailing changes in math and English classrooms as schools transition to Florida Standards and the FSA. A suggested resource for parents and students is the FLDOE training portal that includes sample FSA questions. Mr. Smith also recommends students check out Khan Academy and TenMarks Math for extra help with math practice and instruction. All of these resources are available free of charge.

Panther Bowl
The Plant Athletic Foundation and the Panther Bowl Committee would like to thank all parents, coaches, faculty and the Plant community for supporting the 5th Annual Panther Bowl on November 7th at Splitsville. This event is the major fundraiser for athletics at Plant and benefits all of our 22 interscholastic sports.

We would like to thank our generous Panther Bowl Sponsors:

Premier Panther: Triad Foundation

Golden Panther: Raymond James Financial

Black Panther: USAmeriBank

Panther Partners: Friedrich Watkins of Tampa LLC, Press Box and Sally and Lewis Hill III

Panther Friends: Barr Hameroff Insurance, College Hunks Hauling Junk and Smith Fence Company

Panther Paw: Hartley Purdy Architecture Inc., Poston Accounting, Shells Seafood and Winters and Yonker 

Course Selection Timeline for the 2015-2016 School Year
December 9-12: Counselors visit classes and provide information and instructions for choosing courses. December 18: Students must turn in their programming sheets with parent signatures to their English teachers. Starting in late January and continuing through February, students will have individual conferences with their counselors to review their course selections. By early March, counselors must input all student course requests. In April, a copy of the course selections will be printed for students to review and make final corrections.

Counselors in Classrooms

Sophomores
Before the Thanksgiving break, the counselors conducted hands-on seminars with all of the sophomores using Guidmii and the ACT World of Work map. The students used Guidmii to see their academic status and explore some college options. The World of Work map helped the students explore possible careers and find out what type of training or college major is appropriate for the careers they chose. We encourage students and parents to explore these websites further as you discuss your goals and make plans for college.

Juniors

Coming soon, counselors will work with juniors to lay the groundwork for college applications next fall. Start your test prep now! Students need to prioritize preparation for SAT and/or ACT tests. Encourage your student to utilize the online resources available on the guidance page of Plant's website. Click the ACT/SAT link for test prep options. All juniors will be taking a free SAT at school on February 25th. They can get started with SAT online prep today by entering our school code 101700 for access.

Unique Student Opportunities

Click here to read about unique opportunities for high school students of all ages, including the MIT THINK Scholars program, the Girls State program, the Bank of America Student Leaders program and more.

PHS Twitter Account
Link here:

Click here for a list of

Plant Twitter Accounts. 

• 12/17        PEERS breakfast during PAW homeroom, cafeteria 
• 12/19        Winter Wonderland 
• 12/22-1/2  Winter Break
• 1/5            Students Return
• 1/13-16     Semester Exams
• 1/16          End of 2nd Grading Period
• 1/19          Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
• 1/20          Non-Student Day 
• 2/25          Free SAT administered at Plant for all junior students

• The Winter Concert at First Baptist Church is on December 16th at 7 pm. It is a wonderful evening, combined with the Orchestra, to celebrate the holidays.

• Attention Chorus Students: Rick's Auditions are scheduled for January 15th and 16th so start planning your musical acts today.

Band

• 12/10    All County auditions @ King
• 12/11    Winter Concert, 7 pm, auditorium, free admission featuring the jazz band, symphonic band, and wind ensemble.
• 12/13    Ybor Holiday Parade
• 1/15-17 Florida All-State Band, Tampa Convention Center

Congrats to the Golden Panther Regiment for their performance at the FMBC State Semi Finals held here at Plant. There were 20 bands present for Class 3A. The Percussion came in 3rd place and the Pantherettes came in 7th place.

Congratulations to Gillian Minnehan, Clarinet, and Ethan Kramer, Percussion, on their selection to the Orchestra Winds section of the Florida All-State Band!

Drama 

• Open auditions for Cabaret will take place on January 26th and 27th. Interested students should prepare 16-32 bars of a musical theatre song and will be asked to learn and perform a dance. Please contact Dan Franke between January 12-20, in the auditorium office, for a participation contract and to sign up for an audition time. Students must bring the contract signed by a parent/guardian to the audition.
• Save the date for Plant's First Annual Faculty Idol on February 5 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium. Come out to hear your faculty members sing and dance for your votes.

National Honor Society

Click here for the NHS student procedures for the 2014-15 school year.

Remember, the first 20 students get in free to home games!

Varsity:

• 12/11        Plant vs. Bloomingdale, 6:30 pm (Jersey Mikes drawings)
• 12/16        Plant @ Wharton, 8:00 pm
• 12/18        Plant @ Durant, 8:00 pm
• 12/19-22   City of Tampa Championship Games @ Tampa Prep, TBD
• 1/6            Plant vs. Strawberry Crest, 8:00 pm (Jersey Mikes drawings)
• 1/7            Plant vs. Newsome, 8:00 pm (Chick-fil-A drawings)
• 1/9            Plant @ Riverview, 8:00 pm 

JV:

• 12/13   Plant vs. Gaither @ Steinbrenner, 10:30 am

• 12/13   Plant @ Steinbrenner, 12:00 noon

• 12/20   Plant vs. Plant City, 9:00 am

• 12/20   Plant vs. Durant, 12:00 noon

• 1/10     Plant vs. Newsome @ Strawberry Crest, 10:30 am

• 1/10     Plant @ Strawberry Crest, 12:00 noon

Girls Soccer 

• 12/11  Plant vs. Alonso, 6pm
• 12/12  Plant @ Countryside, 6 pm
• 12/17  Plant vs. King, 6pm
• 1/8      Plant vs. Bloomingdale, 6 pm (Senior Night) 

Hockey 

• 12/12 Plant vs. Countryside @ ISF in Brandon, 7:30 pm

The Second Annual Plant Hockey Alumni game is being held on December 27th from 10:00 am until noon at Xtra Ice. Please contact Team Manager Mike Bell for all the details.

Boys Lacrosse 

The boys lacrosse team will have tryouts from January 20th through January 22nd. On January 5th through January 16th, pre-tryout conditioning and informational practices will be held each evening. For more information and for specific times, please check our website and plan to attend our parents meeting on January 6th at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria.

Thank you girls lacrosse supporters for a very successful Panther Bowl! 

Boys Tennis

There will be a mandatory boys tennis meeting on Monday, December 15th at 2:10 pm in Room 127. All boys planning on playing must attend. If you cannot attend, you must see Mr. Quinn in Room 127 at some point before winter break.