Acceleration East High School
Community Brief
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
   
With OCPS Chief of Police Holmes who dropped by for a visit last week. While we remain vigilant every school day with respect to campus cleanliness and social distancing, campus security also remains of the highest priority!
I am now serving  in my 15th year as a principal. However, this was the first year I was simply unsure what to expect when I came to school last Friday as our "Face-to-Face" students returned. That day it was a little darker driving in. I wore pants instead of shorts. I drove in silence instead of listening to the radio. The kids were great though. The teachers were ready to go, and it was all about safety.  
 
I'm grateful for the kids that came to school appropriately masked and prepared to learn. We had our scheduling blips, our directional hiccups and reminders about social distancing. But, everyone has responded responsibly and maturely to our guidelines and reminders. I am committed to the safety of students and our teachers above my own. And pivoting from an instructional leader to an operational leader is simply a need at this point. But because we have the teachers we do at Acceleration East, I know instruction continues at a high level, while we manage the health and safety of our students, both here and at home.

I missed the kids who are back on campus and I continue to miss the kids who are still learning through LaunchEd@Home.**

If nothing else, we are now well underway to becoming a whole school again!
 
Doug Loftus

** These pictures were taken only this morning as Mrs. Medina was teaching her World History students:
If you look closely, Mrs. Medina has written the learning goals and strategies from the lesson directly behind her so that those students who are not physically in class and viewing from home can continuously see. Notice how they are broken down by content area: World Religions, World History, and U.S. History.
Snapshot of one of Mrs. Medina's slides from this morning's class. The class discussion was about the fall of the Roman Empire and Justinian taking over as ruler of the Empire.
 
Pictured at the very top: Acceleration East loves our bus drivers!! Beyond making sure that our Phoenixes get to and from school safely, our bus drivers are also often the very first and the very last representative from OCPS to make contact with students. This means they can have a positive effect on the students' outlook at the beginning and at the end of the school day. Thank you for all you do!
 
"Face-to-Face" students returned to campus last Friday with a very smooth opening. Thank you everyone!!
Mrs Naffziger's math class has been learning about polynomials (Friday, Aug. 21)
Erica Irizarry and Stephanie Carballea are practicing social distancing in the main hallway
Above: Students observing social distancing while lining up for lunch. Right: Students eating lunch outdoors this past Friday. Please note how they are spaced apart at the tables.
Yelian Jimenez and Gabriela Cotrino are seen here working on an English project while practicing social distancing (Friday, Aug. 21)
Classroom marked as clean with a green sign posted on the glass. Each classroom is carefully cleaned daily and once completed, properly posted as clean and ready to go.
This is a classroom marked as dirty with a red sign on the door's glass and will not receive students until finished. (Note: our custodial team has worked at warp speed this summer leading up to day #1 of the face-to-face students' return and has done a simply splendid job!)
Class of 2021: Senior Pictures
Senior pictures will need to be taken at Dean Stewart Photography (2434 West Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809).
  • Schedule an appointment by visiting www.dsp-photo.com
  • There is a $25 (refundable) scheduling fee for the basic session (this will be only your yearbook photo).  If you want additional poses and outfits, there are additional fees.
  • You are under no obligation to purchase and you can view your proofs before you make a purchase.
  • Yearbook photos must be taken in the studio before January 4, 2021.
  • There is not an on campus photo day scheduled at this time.
  • If you have any questions, please contact our Yearbook adviser, Mr. Barry Hall at [email protected] or 407-992-0917 x6322254.
Community Resources
Food For Thought . . .
1. The current recession and the Covid-19 lockdown has often proven more challenging for American families with children.
We encourage our families to take advantage of the programs listed just above as they might apply to your household. As the nearby chart from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York illustrates, recent months have been especially difficult for many families with children.

Source: NY Fed Liberty Street Economics; Read full article

2. Many kids across the USA struggled this summer with getting something to eat.
However, at OCPS we have meals ready to go for our LaunchED students studying from home every Monday afternoon after the last bell for the week (or on Tuesday afternoon if a holiday like the upcoming Labor Day lands on a Monday) and of course at school for our Face-to-Face students - OCPS Curbside Meal program.

Source: The Wall Street Journal; Read full article

3. Like the K-12 schools, the business world has also had to rely more heavily upon communications like video conferencing and emails since the Covid-19 lockdown.
The number of business online meetings and those involved in the meetings has jumped while the average length of group meetings has fallen off.

Source: The Economist: Read full article  
This Week's Motivational Moment!
TO MAKE RAINBOWS YOU NEED SUN AND RAIN.
Thinking about a rainbow can give you motivation on days when you're presented with challenges. We need to have some bad times to really appreciate the good times. And, on those days when life is good, remember to be grateful. Practice looking for the good in everything as when you do, life becomes easier. Sometimes in the worst of situations it is very hard to find any good, but if you search for it you will find it. Each time you do this, you will find your attitude changes from one of being upset to one of blessings!


Douglas K. Loftus, Principal
Acceleration East High School
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
 
 
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 - 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 [email protected] (principal) with any questions or for further information.