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Large And In Charge

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2008

CITRUS PARK - When you're the school president, the county's largest senior class doesn't feel quite as big.

Student government is behind many Sickles High School traditions, such as pep rallies and prom. President Alexa Lampasona said her three years in government were her favorite part of high school. Now the 18-year-old is preparing to start over at Florida State.

She posed for pictures with her friends last week during the seniors' final day on campus, mugging with friends who are graduating but staying in Tampa for college or who have another year of high school. They vowed to keep in touch, no matter what.

"They're coming to visit me," Lampasona said.

Seniors across Hillsborough County readied themselves for graduation last week, saying goodbye to teachers and younger classmates, signing yearbooks and decorating cars with well-wishes or the names of the colleges they would attend. Commencements for local schools start Thursday with Alonso's ceremony at the University of South Florida and continue into next week with Leto and Sickles graduating on Tuesday.

Sickles seniors let loose at a field day where they could soak teachers in a dunk tank, model for caricatures and bounce, slide and joust on inflatable platforms. They started the morning at an assembly, where they serenaded Principal Jake Russell and donned dog tags commemorating the day. They sighed, giggled and cheered over a slide show set to music that highlighted the year, from fall football games to the prom.

Chelsey Strawbridge, Meghan Dwyer, Courtney Cobaugh and Kaylee Geralds were planning a large graduation party for 150 people so they could have one last bash before separating. Dwyer and Geralds are going to the University of South Florida. Strawbridge is attending Florida State. Cobaugh will enroll at the University of Central Florida.

"We're best friends, and we're all splitting up," Strawbridge said.

They pledged to hang out as much as possible during the summer - before reality sets in, Strawbridge said.

They went from happiness to sadness, excitement and nervousness.

"It's like a new chapter in our lives," Dwyer said.

The district lists Sickles as having 692 "anticipated graduates," though that number changes until test scores, debts and grades are finalized. Russell estimates the actual number at about 670. With either number, the senior class surpasses all other Hillsborough County public schools in size. The next closest is Durant with 600 expected graduates.

Sickles also has a 96.5 percent graduation rate, second in the county after Bloomingdale High.

"They're a great group," Russell said of his seniors. "We're very fortunate. We get very good products from our middle schools."

Teachers push students into harder courses that the students might think they can handle. The senior class was so large that Russell had to request additional honors textbooks.

Forty percent are graduating with weighted grade-point averages of 4.0 or higher, and 63 percent have a 3.0 or higher, Russell said.

Russell took over as principal the summer of 2005, right before the current graduates started their sophomore years. Teachers told him the class was huge.

The class ballooned from a combination of growth in the area and school choice. Once the school became too crowded, it stopped accepting students through the choice program. But those already enrolled stayed.

Sickles had more than 2,600 students this year and operated at 132 percent of its capacity. It will remain crowded for another year until Steinbrenner High School opens in Lutz in August 2009. The district has not set boundaries for that school, but it will draw from Sickles and Gaither.

Students, however, became comfortable with the size.

"At first, it was overwhelming," Lampasona said. "But now you know people better."

Brad Tanner, a senior, said he preferred when Sickles offered one lunch period so the entire school could eat together. Matt Shields, who also is graduating, said he was glad he had attended the school, and he hadn't noticed problems with the senior class being so large.

He knew he would be in for it at commencement. There would be a lot of names to announce. That would be when the class felt huge. "When graduation comes, and I'm walking, almost dead last because of my last name," Shields said.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

Hillsborough County public high schools will hold commencements this week and next.

Alonso

Graduation: Noon Thursday, USF Sun Dome

Anticipated graduates: 564

Principal: Louis Diaz

Valedictorian: David James Shields, 6.018 grade-point average

Salutatorian: Ekaterina Makovskaya, 5.989 grade-point average

Class president: Robert Hessemer

Leto

Graduation: 3 p.m. Tuesday, USF Sun Dome

Anticipated graduates: 420

Principal: David Brown

Valedictorian: Anabel Fernandez, 6.13 grade-point average

Salutatorian: Shanna Marie Lindemeyer, 5.98 grade-point average

Class president: Jonathan Green

Sickles

Graduation: 7 p.m. Tuesday, USF Sun Dome

Anticipated graduates: 692

Principal: Jake Russell
Valedictorian: Melissa Kerster, 6.16 grade-point average

Salutatorian: Everett Millman, 6.06 grade-point average

Class president: Ciprian Mejia

Source: Hillsborough County school district

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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