Acceleration East High School
Community Brief
Monday, December 23, 2019
   
With Mr. Hall (on left) sporting our ugly sweaters for the holidays! 
Today is our first day of the winter break. Last Friday was the end of both the 2nd quarter and the 1st semester of the 2019-2020 school year. All Orange County Public Schools are closed from Monday, December 23, 2019 through Friday, January 3, 2020. The teachers will return on Monday, January 6, 2020 (teacher workday/student holiday). However, classes will not resume for students until Tuesday, January 7, 2020.

With this last issue of our Community Brief for 2019, we take a moment to celebrate several of our special holiday season events and share highlights of our dedicated educators and students that kept up the academic momentum right up to winter break, but with a festive spirit in play!

On behalf of the Loftus family and the administration of Acceleration East High School, the very best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful holiday season. I will see everyone back on campus Tuesday, January 7, 2020 for a successful on-time start to the 3rd quarter!  
       
With Phoenix Pride,
 
Mr. Doug Loftus
Pictured very top and just below: Themed to the Polar Express, SGA students wearing their pajamas as part of our festivities leading up to winter break.


2019-2020 Calendar
Dates to Watch For:

* Jan. 7: First school day of 2020 (start of Quarter 3 and Semester 2)

* Jan. 25: OCPS Parent Academy - "Together Towards Tomorrow" (will be at Edgewater High School)

* May 28: Class of 2020 Graduation Ceremony at the UCF Volleyball Arena, 6:00 pm


SPECIAL HIGHLIGHT: ART STUDENT RECEIVES LOCAL RECOGNITION!

Lee Ann Maldonado's artwork was chosen by the Orange County Utilities as part of their new annual calendar. She is pictured with AEHS art teacher, Mrs. Ker. Congratulations Lee Ann!
Academics - World Languages
Portuguese with Ms. Vieira
During the final school days of 2019, Ms. Vieira was sharing insights about popular Portuguese songs with the students. Rather than just listen about the songs' history and meaning, she really got them engaged! One of the songs pictured below dealt with picking up clam shells with baskets for the holiday dinner.




College Financial Planning
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Over 1/3 of Acceleration East's seniors have now completed their FAFSA materials. This milestone was celebrated thanks to the organization of Ms. Roca (Guidance) and with the support of business partner Chick-fil-A. We are very pleased that so many students have gotten this step taken care of before year-end.



Ms. Roca made sure to recognize our seniors that have completed their FAFSA paperwork!

It's always nice to see one of our Partners in Education like Chick-fil-A receive positive press. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is produced in part by the University of Michigan and is followed closely by both Wall Street and the business community. Among restaurant chains in Chick-fil-A's class they ranked number 1 in customer service delivery - read 2019 report.

chic fil a
Holiday Spirit!
Highlights from this year's ugly sweater contest . . .







And this year's ugly sweater contest winner is . . . Isabel Restrepo!
Academics - Mathematics
Intensive Math with Ms. Melton
Partially using the colors of the Season (red and green) plus their knowledge of linear algebra, Ms.  Melton's students were spelling out their names graphically last Thursday.



Professional Development Continued Up To Year-End . . .
Principal Loftus joined other OCPS principals in a training session as part of the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) program just prior to the onset of the winter break. Continuing professional development has been one of our school's top priorities all year long.


The Brag Wall Made it Another Year!
A simple, but visual way to share stories of support and assistance to one another by the staff, our Brag Wall was kept updated all year. Thank you to everyone that posted their experiences in 2019!


Monday's Motivational Moment!
APOLLO 8 CHRISTMAS EVE BROADCAST

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. Frank Borman added this to their message that evening:

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."


Picture taken from aboard Apollo 8 looking towards Earth while in orbit around the Moon, December 24, 1968

 
 
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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 - Acceleration East High School is forbidden without written consent.  Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Acceleration East High School. Please contact douglas.loftus@ocps.net (principal) with any questions or for further information.