Monday, Jan. 17

• Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, No school

Tuesday, Jan. 18

• Tutoring, 2:30-4:30PM
• FAFSA Knight, 6PM in the media center (please see below)
• Tennis tryouts
• Girls Soccer - Senior Knight vs. Liberty, 6PM
• Girls Basketball at Deland

Wednesday, Jan. 19

• First day of new parent drop-off & pick-up tags for car riders (please see below)
• Wrestling - Senior Knight, 6PM
• Boys Soccer vs. West Orange, 6/7:30PM
• Boys Basketball at Masters

Thursday, Jan. 20

• Tutoring, 2:30-4:30PM
• Girls Basketball vs. CFCA, 5:30/7PM
• Girls Soccer vs. West Orange, 6/7:30PM

Friday, Jan. 21

• Girls Basketball vs. Boone, 6/7:30PM
• Boys Basketball at Jones

Saturday, Jan. 22

• Comp. Cheer Regionals at Bishop Moore

Knight families,

This message is for parents/guardians who drop-off and/or pick-up their child from school each day:

We will be implementing some new safety measures to help keep everyone safer at arrival and dismissal. We will be implementing a new car decal system for car riders. If you drop-off or pick-up a student at Ocoee High School you will need to register your vehicle and pick-up a rearview mirror hang tag. 

A link to the registration form is on the front page of our website as well as posted as an announcement to the top of your child’s Canvas page. The registration will be linked to your child’s student number at school. Once the form is completely filled out and submitted, your child can pick up the rearview mirror hang tag at lunch starting on January 18th. You can access the form by going to https://tinyurl.com/OcoeeHSParentDecal. 

Please complete the form no later than Tuesday, January 18th. We will begin checking tags starting on Wednesday, January 19th. If you do not have a hang tag on your rearview mirror by Tuesday, January 25th you will not be authorized to come through the drop-off or pick-up line.  

Please know that the safety of students and staff is our top priority which is why we are implementing this new procedure. Thank you for your continued support of Ocoee High School. 

ASVAB Test (Feb. 15)

Students if you are in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and want to sit for the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)exam please use the link below to sign up. The first 75 that sign up can take it. The test is on 2/15 at 7:30am in the cafeteria. 

https://forms.gle/orqD3bkZhgaPEicR9

Water Polo players needed for the 2022 season:

Boys & Girls Tennis clearance meeting Tuesday:

Flag Football conditioning begins Tuesday:

OCPS Top Talent Application is OPEN!

The OCPS Top Talent event is accepting applications for performance auditions between January 5 - 31, 2022. Names of finalists will be posted on the website March 4 and finalists will perform in the Virtual "LIVE" event on Friday, May 6, 2022. If you are a selected as a finalist, you will be required to film your performance on Saturday, April 23, 2022. Please note there are no alternate dates for filming. Details of time and location will be shared with you if you are a finalist.  

For questions or additional information please contact the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools at 407-317-3261 or email us at: Toptalent@ocps.net.

For more information and to apply, visit: OCPS Foundation Top Talent 2022

Follow College and Career Instagram’s page to get updates about what’s going on in college admissions, financial aid, Bright Futures, scholarships, and more! Follow @ocoee_ccc

FAFSA Knight this Tuesday!

Another example of why attending FAFSA Knight tomorrow evening is helpful to your student — Skipping meals while in college:

Source: Intelligent.com Read full article  

Infinite Scholars Program - FREE College Scholarship Fair (Jan. 19)

Infinite Schools Program is a non-profit that was founded in 2003. For more than 2 decades it has served more than 200,000 students facilitating over 2 billion dollars in scholarship and financial aid.

This year the event will be held January 19 at Evans High School from 4-7:30 PM. Students interested in attending should dress for success and bring multiple copies of the documents listed on the flier.

Juniors and Seniors – Bank of America Student Leaders Program

Don’t forget Knights… Bank of America has a great opportunity available for current Juniors and Seniors – the Bank of America Student Leaders Program. This program recognizes outstanding people who lead and serve in their school, community, and beyond. Through the Student Leaders Program, Bank of America will connect Student Leaders to tools and resources to help make communities better.

If selected, Bank of America Student Leaders will:

• Participate in an eight-week, hands-on, experiential summer internship* with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, a non-profit organization www.bgccf.org (June – August 2022)
• Attend a week-long, all-expenses-paid Student Leadership Summit* in Washington, D.C. (July 2022)
• Develop valuable civic, social, and business leadership skills
• Connect with like-minded students in your community and across the country.

* The Bank of America Student Leader program is intended to be an in-person/hands-on experience. Due to the unknown health and safety requirements of 2022, there is a chance the program could be a virtual experience. 

High School Juniors & Seniors: Deadline to apply is January 28th, 2022

Interested students can find more details here: www.bankofamerica.com/studentleaders

APPLY HERE

Scholarships

Knights - apply to every scholarship opportunity your qualify for. Find a full list of scholarships from OCPS here.

Upcoming Scholarship Opportunities 

● Due January 22, 2022 – Central Florida Women’s League Scholarship - $3,000. Eligibility is based on academic achievement and promise, financial need and community involvement. Applicants must be female. To apply click here: https://cfwl.org/

● Due January 27, 2022 at 6pm – Valencia Bridges to Success Scholarship Program – 2 years tuition to Valencia College. This scholarship program can be life changing, especially to those who don’t have the funds to pay for college as it covers 2 years tuition at Valencia as long as you are able to commit to the program requirements. Valencia Bridges is looking for students who have at least a 2.75 GPA however, if you are close to that or you believe you would be a good fit for the program, please consider applying. In addition to the GPA, Bridges is looking for students who are PELL eligible (determined through FAFSA), and would benefit from the post-secondary support offered through the program. If that is you, APPLY!! Even if you aren’t sure if you will attend Valencia … have this as an option to attend college for two years FREE! You can always turn down the program offer if you decide to attend another school. Read more about the Bridges Program and requirements here.

● Due January 31, 2022 – onePULSE Foundation Legacy Scholarship - $10,000. Any person is welcome to apply. To apply click here: https://onepulse.communityforce.com/Login.aspx

● Due February 14th – Atkins Pathway to Success Scholarship – award varies. To be eligible for the scholarship a student must be: first generation, female student, a Florida resident applying to a 4 year public, in-state university, submit the FAFSA and Florida Financial Aid Application, and have applied to two other external scholarships. To apply click here: https://www.atkinsef.org/application

● Due February 23, 2022 – Dream U.S. – Up to $16,500 for an associate degree and up to $33,000 for a bachelor’s degree at a partner college. Some scholars may be eligible for an additional stipend of up to $4,000 for books, supplies, and transportation. To apply click here: https://www.thedream.us/scholarships/national-scholarship/

● Due March 1, 2022 - EEqual Scholarship Awards Program - $8,000 - Student must be experiencing poverty or homelessness and be on track for graduation. Undocumented students CAN apply! Go to: https://eequal.org/scholarships/ 

FAFSA

Seniors – if you haven’t completed your FAFSA application, the time is now! Completing the FAFSA is the first step toward getting federal financial aid for college or technical college. In addition, many colleges use your FAFSA data to determine your eligibility for state and school based aid. Here is what you’ll need:

● FSA ID and password

● SSN and/or Alien Registration Number

● 2020 Tax Return, W-2, and any other records of money earned (parents and student – if the student worked)

Feel free to utilize this Step-by-Step FAFSA Video: https://youtu.be/RUP8WLY1I1I

Florida Financial Aid Application

The Florida Financial Aid Application is open and available for you to complete the application. Please take a moment to follow these instructions (line by line) to ensure you complete the application correctly: https://tinyurl.com/FloridaFinancialAidApp.  

As you know, the Bright Futures Scholarship and several other grants and scholarships are tied to the Florida Financial Aid Application. It is important that every student has this application submitted.

Vital Signs

U.S. four-year college undergraduate enrollment by major in 2021:

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center; Read full report

Ocoee High School celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. gauged greatness by level of service.

Throughout Martin Luther King's career, he provided many lessons about leadership and success that have broad applicability. Among them:

• Set goals and make a detailed plan of action to reach them — for yourself and your organization.

• Understand your adversary's point of view to recognize the weaknesses of your own positions.

• Never seek to humiliate your opponent; search for common ground.

• Conduct a postmortem analysis of every action to learn from your mistakes.

• When speaking, relate stories of individual acts of courage and sacrifice to help make your cause relevant to the daily lives of those affected.

• Practice what you preach.

• Stay awake to new ideas and have the courage to change.

• Keep fellow leaders focused on priorities.

• Keep followers well-informed.

• Constantly look for alliances, if only on one issue.

• Listen to your critics carefully.

Enjoy the MLK, Jr. holiday and please remember FAFSA Knight Tuesday if you have a student headed to college later this year!

Dr. Karcinski, Principal

Ocoee High School,

Monday, January 17, 2022

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.

OCPS EEO Non-Discrimination Statement

The School Board of Orange County, Florida, does not discriminate in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities, on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other reason prohibited by law. The following individuals at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, 445 West Amelia Street, Orlando, Florida 32801, attend to compliance matters: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer & Title IX Coordinator: Keshara Cowans; ADA Coordinator; ADA Coordinator: Jay Cardinali; Section 504 Coordinator: Tajuana Lee-Wenze. (407.317.3200)

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 Ocoee High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Ocoee High School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Mr. Thomas O'Brien at thomas.obrien@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.