The Pioneer Express
Oak Ridge High School
Monday, March 28, 2022
ORHS Community Member,

I hope everyone had a restful spring break as we are now already one full week into the last quarter of the 2021-2022 school year. Our students completed their progress monitoring activities just before spring break and our teachers utilize this information to target areas of strength and areas we may need to revisit as we prepare for end of the year exams. April is one of the busiest and most critical months of the entire school year as we prepare to administer both district & state assessments, make sure our seniors have everything in order ahead of graduation day plus the hosting of multiple special springtime events. Therefore, we need our Pioneers present and engaged every day. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading about some of our latest Pioneer happenings. Have a wonderful week!

In Pioneer Pride,

Mr. Alvarado
Principal
Oak Ridge High School

Pictured very top: Oak Ridge Class of 2022 Super Scholars!
Dates to Watch For
Monday, March 28
  • Tennis vs Freedom – Home – 3:30PM

Tuesday, March 29
  • Quarter 3 report cards
  • Tennis vs Windermere – Windermere HS – 3:30PM
  • Boys Volleyball vs Ocoee – Ocoee HS – 6:00PM

Wednesday, March 30
  • Softball vs Edgewater – Home – 6:00PM
  • Flag Football vs Lake Buena Vista – Home – 6:00PM

Thursday, March 31
  • Piano Recital – Auditorium – 7:00PM – Free Admission

Friday, April 1

Tuesday, April 5
  • Prom ticket price rises to $80
  • Flag Football vs Colonial – Home – 5:00PM

Wednesday, April 6
  • Extended Wednesday, no early release due to FSA grade 3 reading (last extended Wednesday of the school year)
  • Tennis vs Colonial – Colonial HS – 3:30PM

Thursday, April 7
  • Tennis vs Timber Creek – Home - 3:30PM
  • Boys Volleyball vs West Orange – Home – 6:00PM
  • Flag Football vs Winter Park – Home – 6:00PM

Friday, April 8
  • Registration deadline for the May 7 SAT
  • Track & Field vs Carl Friedland Memorial – Bishop Moore HS – 5:00PM
2022 Parent Survey closes next Friday, April 1
World Heart Day
March 24, 2022 was #worldheartday and our pioneers are CPR trained. Thanks to @ocfirerescue station 51 for helping make a difference in our students lives.
Pioneer Performing Arts Department
Coming Soon!
Earth Week celebration
Collecting Snacks
We are NOW collecting snacks! There will be bins in the cafeteria and on campus. If you grabbed food you will not finish, please leave them in the bins and it will go to those in need!!

❌ DO NOT DONATE ❌
• Juice
• Hot foods
• Fruits

*** DO DONATE ***
• Chips
• Graham Crackers
• Goldfish
• Cereal Bars
• Anything packaged, room temperature, and that will not expire within the next few months!
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
Our students were invited to show at the 63rd Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. Lizette N won the High School Award of Merit. Elizabeth N was recognized as Honorable Mention in the School Exhibit. Our community is proud of Mr. Godwin, our art instructor, and all the work shown this past week from all our art students!
Lizette N, Award of Merit
Elizabeth N, Honorable Mention
OCPS Community Forums
The search for a new OCPS Superintendent of Schools
You are personally invited to participate in an important and significant process that will be taking place near you. As you know, your Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Barbara Jenkins, is retiring after ten years of very successful experience leading your "A" rated school district. The School Board of Orange County Public Schools, working with the Florida School Boards Association, have created an inclusive selection process where all stakeholders can have meaningful input in this decision.

You are invited to attend a Community Forum where participants can provide input as follows:
  • The strengths of Orange County Public Schools
  • The critical needs and challenges facing Orange County Public Schools
  • The personal qualities and professional experience needed by the next Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools

Superintendent Search Community Forums will be held as follows:
  • Freedom High School Media Center March 28, 6 - 7 p.m.
  • West Orange High School Media Center March 29, 6 - 7 p.m. 
  • Jones High School Media Center March 30, 6 - 7 p.m.
  • Apopka High School Media Center March 31, 6 - 7 p.m.
  • Lake Nona High School Media Center April 5, 6 - 7 p.m.

You are welcome to attend any scheduled meeting. If you are unable to attend in person, the Forums will be live streamed. The link is on the front page of ocps.net under the Superintendent Search graphic. Thank you in advance for your time and involvement.
Prom
Junior & Senior 2022 PROM – Tickets are on sale - Buy early & save - Prices go up to $75.00 on Thursday, March 31.
Teacher Appreciation Contest!
Show our teachers and staff at ORHS some love by nominating them for AdventHealth’s Teacher Appreciation Contest for a chance to receive a celebration for all teachers and staff at our school.
 
Use the link below to submit your nomination. The contest nomination period will run from March 21st through April 15th. The school with the most votes in each county will win a celebration for teachers and staff at their school, provided by AdventHealth! 

2022 Week of the Family Essay and Art Contests
College and Career
Seniors 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓
  • Make sure that you have applied to as many scholarships as possible. 
  • Let your counselors know when you've received scholarship money. 💲 We want to generate as much scholarship money as possible. 
  • Inform your counselors when you receive acceptance letters from the many colleges and universities that want you. We know that many of you are wanted!

Juniors 🎓
  • If you have not met with your counselor an appointment may be necessary to make sure you are ready for graduation next year. 
  • Begin applying for scholarships on search engines like fastweb.com, unigo.com 💰
  • Set up visits to colleges for the summer.
Oak Ridge FAFSA Nights
The College & Career Specialists have scheduled to have a monthly FAFSA Night to better serve our students. The proposed dates are listed below. Time for each event will be 5:00-8:00PM and take place in the cafeteria. Dates are subject to change - events will be announced monthly as well. We hope to see you there!

  • April 14, 2022
  • May 12, 2022

* Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Scholarships with application deadlines very near:

Due 04/01/2022

Due 04/04/2022

Due 04/04/2022

Due 04/04/2022

Due 04/05/2022

Due 04/28/2022

Due 05/06/2022

Due 04/29/2022 (Priority deadline) or 06/09/2022 (Final deadline)
OCPS College and Career Videos:
ACT and SAT:


May 7 SAT:
  • Registration deadline - April 8
  • Late registration - April 26

To register, follow the links above and create a account on the website. From there you will be able to select a test date, submit payment*, and print your admission ticket.

* Students on free/reduced lunch are eligible to receive two fee waivers for each test at no charge. Please see your guidance counselor to obtain a waiver.
Vital Signs
Favorable "mobility rate" from attending HBCUs for Black Americans:
The mobility rate is the multiple of students who have parents in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution but later reach the top 20 percent of the income distribution on their own after graduating from an HBCU. 
Source: McKinsey and Company Read full report 

Community footnote: The nation’s 101 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been one of the most effective drivers of upward mobility. A mix of private and public institutions, they represent 3 percent of all US universities but confer 17 percent of the bachelor’s degrees (and a quarter of the STEM degrees) earned by Black Americans. This is an outsized role for a small set of institutions—and they have vaulted many Black low-income students into the top quintile of income earners. Over 85 percent of institutions had a higher “mobility score” than the average across all institutions in the country (chart above).
Continuing Reminder - After School Tutoring
School Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, April 14th
All are welcome!
Our School Advisory Council meetings are held at 5:30 PM, on the second Thursday of each month in the school’s Media Center.

Dates for the upcoming meetings are:
  • April 14 and May 12

The School Advisory Council supports the principal in developing the school’s budget as well as providing input on the annual School Improvement Plan.

We invite parents, students, faculty, staff and community members to join us and be a part of SAC.
Schoolwide Tardy Policy - UPDATE
All students who are late to class need to be marked tardy in Skyward. This includes students arriving to 1st period after 7:20am.

The discipline team will pull reports that calculate the repeated number of tardy infractions and apply consequences, where applicable

Teachers — We are no longer providing students late passes, please allow them into class, but it is critical that the teacher maintain accurate records in Skyward in order for the discipline team to be able to pull reports to assign consequences.
Sign up for the The Pioneer Express - Community News Brief
If you know any families or community members that would like to read about the happenings at ORHS please let them know how to sign up using the link:
Florida flag
Remember Pioneers:
No matter how you feel, 
get up, dress up, and show up, 
but never give up.

Have a great week!
Mr. Alvarez, Principal
Oak Ridge High School
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Oak Ridge High School Senior Leadership Team
Principal: Benjamin Alvarado Benjamin.Alvarado@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Michele Browne michele.brown@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Luz Gonzalez Cartagena luz.gonzalezcartagena@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Johndrell Jones johndrell.jones@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Nora Pachnik Nora.Pachnik@ocps.net
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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 - Oak Ridge High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Oak Ridge High School. Please contact Mrs. Laurene Householder at laurene.householder@ocps.net with any questions related to the program.
Oak Ridge High School | Mr. Alvarado, Principal | 407.852.3200 | ORHS Website