The Bear Pride
Cypress Creek High School Community Brief
CCHS Community Member,

On Tuesday at 6:00 PM we will be holding our monthly School Advisory Council (SAC) meeting in the media center. This month's meeting is face-to-face and we ask that everyone wear a face mask. We only hold a handful of SAC meetings during the school year, but they are so important to school operations. These meetings are an opportunity for us to get direct feedback from the Cypress Creek community on our school improvement efforts and funding approvals. Please, if you have a student attending CCHS this school year, consider investing 1 hour this month to attend Tuesday's meeting. We would greatly appreciate hearing your views.

In this issue we have spotlighted Cypress Creek staff members that have "worn the uniform" as Wednesday, November 11 is Veterans Day. We are extremely proud of their past military service plus to now have them as members of our school staff. Should you have contact with them this week whether it be on line or on campus, kindly to take a moment to thank them for their service. In fact, if you pass anyone in military uniform or know of a veteran yourself this week, take a second or two to thank them for their service. We are a great nation thanks in no small part to the wonderful efforts of our military veterans. Thank you very much.

In Bear Pride,

Dr. W. John McHale
Principal
Cypress Creek High School
Monday, Nov. 9, 2020
Useful Links 
Dates to Watch For
Nov. 9: LAST DAY for Seniors to be photographed for the Yearbook
Nov. 10: SAC meeting, 6PM
Nov. 11: Veterans Day
Connect with CCHS
1101 Bear Crossing Drive
Orlando, FL 32824
(407) 852-3400
TUESDAY: School Advisory Council
Face Mask Reminder
ALL students, faculty, staff, and visitors on campus are required to wear a mask on the CCHS campus. A copy of the full district policy can be found on the OCPS website. Please also remember that all social distancing guidelines are to also be followed when on the campus.
Minority Leadership Scholars
CCHS Thanks Our Veterans!
Dennis Cimmino - Social Studies Teacher
Thank you to Mr. Cimmino's father, Nick, who served in the U.S. Navy.
Eldgria D. Brock - NJROTC Instructor
  • U.S. Navy December 28, 1971 until December 31, 1997
  • Duties: Maintenance person, Command Career Counselor, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Counselor, Chief Petty Officer in Charge of Air Launch Weapons School/Instructor, and Command Master Chief.
  • Deployments: Deployed many times to different locations.
Gabriel Rodriguez - World Geography Teacher
  • U.S. Air Force
  • Member of the USAF Security Forces
  • Served from 2004-2011
  • Mr. Rodriguez is pictured to the right and in the 2 pictures just below
Kelli Stewart - Social Studies Teacher
  • U.S. Army
  • Served 2002-2006
  • Rank of Specialist
  • Duties: Air Defense Artillery; early warning (I told them when the bad guys were coming — from the sky)
Roger T. Mahar B.S., MHRM, M.B.A.
Major USMC (Ret.) - Senior Naval Science Instructor
  • U.S. Marine Corps
  • Served Oct 1987 - Oct 2012
  • Ranks: E1- E6 Staff Sergeant (12 years enlisted) and O1-O4 Major (13 years Officer)
  • Duties: Machine Gunner, Nuclear Facility Security Guard, Ammo Technician, Drill Instructor, Martial Arts Instructor, Aviation Maintenance Officer, Marine Officer Instructor, Series Commander, MARSOC
  • Experienced action and/or deployed: Djibouti, Italy, Kuwait, UAE, Peru, Dom. Republic, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Persian Gulf, Desert Storm/Shield
Abdel Hassan Camacho - Attendance Dean
  • U.S. Air Force
  • Served from 1985-1989
  • Rank: Sergeant
  • Duties: Aircraft Mechanic Crew Chief
  • Experience: Operation "Solid Shield" Honduras. 
  • Deployments: Istanbul, Turkey; Mojave Desert; and various states in the U.S.
Curriculum Highlight
English 1 with Ms. Bitere
Ms. Bitere's English 1 Face to Face class met outdoors to compare the Greek myth of Odysseus and Circe to a painting 'Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses' by John William Waterhouse. They were discussing what was emphasized in the painting that was absent in the myth.
Bear Talent #1 at the State Level!
Jeremy Weed
Jeremy Weed has won 1st place at the State Level of the Jim Harbin Film Festival for 2020 in the category of Animation, winner over 100's of other contestants. CONGRATULATIONS Jeremy!

You can view his short film “Slash and Burn” here: https://youtu.be/J0wf-CZZq58

* Two quick scenes from Jeremy's short film below ... worth a look!!
Food Service News
"This rooster is ready to crow on Monday Nov. 9!"
  • Time: 2:50 pm -4:20 pm or until we run out
  • Curbside meals
  • 7 breakfast/7 lunches
  • 5 Suppers/5 Snacks
  • Milk: Available upon request
  • OCPS employees are welcome to come and pick up for all children 18 & under conveniently at the bus loop

* Questions: sheila.brody@ocps.net, CCHS Food & Nutritional Manager
Congratulations FFA! #2 at State!
On Thursday, November 4th the Cypress Creek FFA team competed in the state preliminary competition for environmental science. The competition aims to give students an opportunity to practice career skills related to natural resource and environmental science concepts. The top 10 teams in the State qualify for the final competition held in late January.

Out of 35 teams, our CCHS team scored 2nd in the State. Only 6 students out of 100 in the State scored perfect scores, and 3 of them were on our Cypress Creek FFA team!!!!

Congratulations to Lesliet Moran, Dayna Becker, Nailea Cabrera, and Harinee Sekar (all pictured below) and to our Cypress Creek FFA program!
Engage 360
Registration closes Monday, Nov. 9

Engage 360: Learn Where You Live. Topics throughout the school year are pertinent to supporting student success, promoting well being, getting involved through leadership and advocacy and embracing multiculturalism. Engage 360 is virtual due to CDC guidelines until further notice - Register Here

Registration Virtual sessions will allow for two-way communication between the facilitators and the audience. All sessions will be presented in English however, families will be provided an option of Spanish or Haitian Creole translation, if needed. The session descriptions are available on the Parent and Family Engagement website. Below are the session titles and corresponding dates.

November 11- 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Effectively Communicating with Your Child's School / Digital Learning Tools for Monitoring for Success

November 18 - 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. The Benefits of Mentoring / Establishing a Positive Behavior System
Class of 2021
Seniors: It’s time to make your post-secondary plan.
Going to a university? Research in state schools at https://www.flbog.edu/
Starting at a two-year college? Learn more at https://valenciacollege.edu/ or https://www.seminolestate.edu/
Want to be competitive in the job market and develop a skill set? Look up career certificate programs at https://www.orangetechcollege.net/
Interested in the military? Visit https://www.usa.gov/join-military
Entering the workforce? Learn more about occupation options and salaries at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Dates and Deadlines:  
  • December 15 – Preferred FAFSA completion date
  • January 28 – Valencia Bridges to Success application closes
  • February 15 – Magnet Application closes

The Economics of an Education - Latest Figures
With so much attention on last week's election results, Friday's monthly jobs report might have been missed. Nevertheless, the latest employment situation numbers came out Friday morning at 8:30 AM for the month of October 2020. Once again, we see the recurring pattern. Unemployment rates in the USA are generally lower over time for those that acquire more education. (Read the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics report here - Table A-4)
Leadership Team
Administrators and Deans
1101 Bear Crossing Drive
Orlando, FL 32824
Phone 407-852-3400
Fax 407-850-5160 | EEO Statement
This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that OCPS utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone.
Copyright Notice
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and OCPS - Cypress Creek High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Cypress Creek High School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Dr. McHale at walton.mchale@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.