MacDill Happenings

For free school help, stop by your local library! Use your local library to help you writing a school paper or study for an upcoming test or research on any college. The library will provide you access to live assistance from Tutor.com and NetLibrary. Those online services provide professional tutors in math, science, English and social studies. Help is available 7 days a week from 2pm to midnight in English and Spanish. Studying can be challenging at times, so why not use every resource available to help you succeed! Reserach habits learned at a young age at the library will help a student be prepared for future academic success. Use the Hillsborough County Public Library website at www.hcplc.org to fing archived newspaper articles, current events, online encyclopedias or research tools with information on science, literature and art. The library’s periodical databases are designed to help elementary, middle and high school students. There is help to work on the FCAT, SAT and AP tests. Check out the website or stop by your local library and ask the librarian about the resources available to help your child.

Celebrate National Car Care Month during April at the MacDill AFB Auto Shop.  Keep your vehicle running in top condition by having regular check-ups on all its vital parts.  The Auto Shop personnel can perform a variety of services including oil changes, filter replacements, checking belts & hoses, replacing brakes and more!  Prices are much lower than you would find out in town.  To make an appointment, call 828-4553. If you want to do your own car work, then stalls and lifts are available Tue-Fri from 11am-7pm and Sat from 9am-7pm. Stalls and lifts are on a first come, first serve basis. Stalls cost $2.50 an hour and lifts cost $2.50 per half hour. On 23 April from 4:30pm to 6pm, the Auto Shop will hold a free class on tire rotations.  Unevenly worn tires can put your vehicle in danger.  Auto Shop technicians will show you how to recognize tire wear, how to use a wheels-free lift and how to remove and replace tires.  There is also a 24/7 car wash right next to the Auto Shop so you can keep your car looking good.

The Brandon Broncos Youth Football team in Brandon are getting ready for Fall football.  The Brandon Broncos is the oldest youth football and cheerleading organization in Brandon with hundreds of children participating.  Registration takes place the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 10am to 2pm JC Handley Field at 3104 Kings Ave in Brandon.  Teams fill up fast so sign up as soon as you can.  Football registration fees are $200 and cheerleader fees are $175.  Football teams are divided into 5 age/weight divisions so that similiar sized children are playing against each other. Brandon is an affordable housing alternative from many people who work at MacDill AFB. Brandon is about a 30 minute drive from MacDill AFB. The LeRoy Selmon Expressway runs from Brandon to Tampa and can cut 10 to 15 minutes off your commute during rush hour. Make sure you buy a SunPass transponder it’ll save you .25 cents at each toll booth. Also, instead of waiting to pay at the toll booth with a SunPass transponder, you can go through the automated pay lane and save yourself some time. Brandon has all the amenities that anyone would need. The Westfield Shoppingtown is one of the largest malls in the Tampa area. It not only a shopping destination but also a great place for dinner with the Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and Sam Selzer’s Steakhouse along with a host of other restaurants. A great local jazz club is Dela’s After Dark with its initimate setting and delicious food for dinner. There is a large variety of housing available. From single family homes to condos to townhouses, there something for every budget. The local community is very supportive of military families with many establishments offering military discounts. In Brandon there is the MacDill AFB Branch Medical Clinic across the street from the AMC 20 Brandon Regency movie theater so that military families don’t have to drive onto MacDill AFB for medical appointments. Make sure ask to go to the branch clinic in Brandon when you register at Tricare. A great source of information about Brandon can be found at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce website. There are some great neighborhoods in the Brandon area: FishHawk Ranch, Bloomingdale, Providence Lakes, and Brentwood Hills. Towns near Brandon include Seffner, Riverview, Lithia and Apollo Beach.

The Blue Wave Swim Team at the The Brandon Sports and Aquatic Center (BSAC) will host team tryouts on 14 Mar starting at 10:30am. All ages and skill levels are welcome. BSAC is the premier swim center in central Florida home to several U.S. Olympic team members and collegiate swimmers who have won 4 Olympic titles, 3 World Championships and 27 NCAA Championships. The Blue Wave team trains year-around, competing in approximately 15 meets per year. Swimmers train in groups based on age and level of proficieny. BSAC is a community-based non-profit organization that has been serving the Brandon area for more than 40 years. They provide not only athletic training but they also work on character development, physical and mental wellness. If you’re just looking for swim lessons, then The Peter Banks Gold Medal Swim School at the Brandon Sports and Aquatics Center offers a fully comprehensive learn-to-swim program beginning with students as young as 18-months old. An all encompassing mom-and-tot program for infants and toddlers is also available.

If you want to learn how to make your own frames, then sign up for the 2 day Framing Class at the MacDill AFB Arts and Craft Center. If you have gone out recently to get a price estimate for framing, you know that parts are not too expensive. What is expensive is the labor cost of putting together the frame. Learn how to put together a frame yourself to save some money. Learn the basics such as chopping and glass cutting while assembling your own masterpiece. Class dates are 18 & 20 Nov from 10 am - 3 pm. The is cost $35 plus materials. This will be the last frame class until January, so plan to attend now. Call the Arts and Craft Center at 828-4413 for more information.

The Hillsborough County Public School District is sponsoring Career & College Fest on 8 & 9 Oct.  The location on 8 Oct is Jefferson High School in Tampa from 4:30pm to 8:30pm. The location on 9 Oct is Bloomingdale High School in Brandon from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.  Career & College FEST is a great opportunity for students and parents to speak one-on-one with corporate and college/postsecondary school representatives about training, certification, and potential income available through employment in the various industries represented. Come find out what your future could look like! This is for middle school and high school students.

InSight Studio is offering weekly summer camps for children group from ages 9-12 and 13-17. InSight Studio is a small fine art studio dedicated to the traditional medium of photography. This camp is a perfect opportunity for a new budding photographer or to build upon skills for the experienced photographer. This camp allows kids to explore personal growth and artistry. Emphasis will be placed on how to use a camera, composition, natural lighting, and how to create interesting images via the gift of seeing. There will be field trips, work in the darkroom and artistic critiques, all in a real artist’s studio. New experiences each week for returning participants. Class size limited to 6 participants per week. Weekly fee of $160 includes all needed supplies. The camp is held weekly from Mon-Fri from 9am to 1pm. Call InSight Studio at 813-390-3422 or email insight305@yahoo.com. The studio location, 1906 N. Armenia Ave, in Tampa is easily accessible off of I-275 and about 20 minutes from MacDill AFB.

If you want to learn more about your education benefits and educational opportunities on MacDill AFB, stop by the MacDill AFB Education and Training Center. There is a Lunch and Learn class on VA Education Benefits on 21 Feb from 1130-1300. But you can stop in any time to learn about on base schools, tuition assistance and tests like the ACT and the SAT. For any questions, call 828-3115 or e-mail at education@macdill.af.mil.

Every Wednesday from 10am to noon, the New Mom’s Support Group gives new moms the chance to discuss issues about being a new mom.  The support group meets in Old Hyde Park Village at Tampa General Hospital’s Community Health Education Center, upper level, 740 S. Village Circle, Tampa.

Sign up the Career by Design workshop at the MacDill Family Resource Center in Brandon.  The workshop will help assess and define career interests, values, motivation skills, and career goals.  It can be a great help in determining long term goals and career fulfillment.  The workshop will be held on 11 Feb from 1pm to 4:30 pm.  Call 655-9281 for reservations.