Congratulations to Coach Owens and the entire varsity football team on another great victory last night as they won 40-0 vs. Tohopekaliga. Orlando Sentinel (Sept. 17) - "High school scores and top performers for Thursday, Sept. 16 - Buzz: The Pioneers (2-2) won their second straight game on the strength of quarterback Christopher Tooley, running back Jamison Jones and defensive back Darvey Robertson."

If you did not see Thursday night's home game, please don't miss next Thursday's home game as the Pioneers will face the Jones High School Tigers. With back-to-back wins, we want our community to turn out in full support as Jones always fields a very competitive team. Go Pioneers!

First quarter progress reports are now available online in Skyward. If you have a student at Oak Ridge, please take the time to review this progress report with them. Please remember that we only issue progress reports 4X per year ahead of report cards. These can help to encourage our Pioneers who are on track academically to continue their momentum and for those students not quite where they should be, to seek extra help through tutoring or to submit any missing assignments & projects to bring their grades up. We want all of our Pioneers to earn the grades they are capable of this year.

I hope you enjoy this Friday edition and have a wonderful weekend!

Mr. Alvarado

Principal

Oak Ridge High School

Pictured very top: 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year and Support Person of the Year. Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year, Mr. Carlos Chinea-Bonet! Thank you for ALL that you do for the students here at ORHS! We appreciate you! Science rocks! (Pictured on the far left above with Principal Benjamin Alvarado)

A huge congratulations to our “Support Person of the Year”, Mr. Andre Petersen! Thank you for ALL that you do for us here at ORHS! We’re lucky to have you! (Pictured with Principal Benjamin Alvarado and acting Assistant Principal Melania Perez Cedeno)

It was a close game but Oak Ridge took the win in overtime last Friday night vs. University on their field! Congratulations on a game well played! Pioneer Pride!

Our community goal is 1,000 new library card sign-ups from students between September 7 – October 12.

Students should use this link to sign up for their own card! Link for public library card (This information was also posted in a Canvas global announcement for everyone.)

Cards will be issued and mailed directly to student’s home address.

We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success.

First Lady Casey DeSantis announced that the theme for Hispanic Heritage Month will be “Celebrating Hispanic-American Community Leaders and Champions” and released information regarding the student art and essay contests and Excellence in Education awards. Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized and celebrated in the United States from September 15 to October 15.

First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest is now open to all 4-12 grade students in Florida. Each student will submit one essay no longer than 500 words based on this year’s theme. Three winners will be selected: one elementary school student (grades 4-5), one middle school student (grades 6-8) and one high school student (grades 9-12). Each winner will receive a 4-Year Florida College Plan scholarship provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

Students who arrive AFTER 7:45AM will need to go through Ms. Echevarria in the attendance office to receive a pass to class.

The two discipline clerk’s offices: 6-102 (Mrs. Forsberg) and 5-111 (Ms. Wider) will write tardy passes throughout the day.

Students that wish to participate can get an application from Ms. Householder in Office 101FF in the Administration Building, or Ms. Chandersingh after school in the Media Center.

Transportation is not available. We hope to provide transportation this month. Program is free of charge. Hot meal is provided daily. Year-long commitment is expected.

The dress and grooming of Orange County Public Schools’ students shall contribute to the health and safety of the individual, promote a positive educational environment, and not disrupt the educational activities and processes of the school. These standards of dress and grooming apply to all students in the public schools of Orange County, unless a specific exemption is granted by the principal. Any request for an exemption shall be made to the principal.

1. Clothes shall be worn as they are designed. For example, suspenders should be over the shoulders, pants secured at the waist, belts buckled, no underwear as outerwear, no underwear exposed.

2. Clothing must cover the body from one armpit across to the other armpit and down to approximately mid-thigh. Tops must have straps. Undergarments must not be viewable. Rips, holes, or tears in clothing must be below mid-thigh.

3. Shoes shall be worn at all times and should be safe for the school environment. The following shoes are not acceptable for any OCPS student: cleated shoes or shoes with wheels.

4. Headgear shall not be worn on campus during the school day, unless the headgear is approved by the principal.

5. Specialized courses may require specialized attire, such as sports uniforms, or safety gear and must be approved by the principal before being worn during the school day.

6. See-through, revealing, or mesh garments must not be worn without appropriate coverage underneath that meet the minimum requirements of this dress code.

7. Gang paraphernalia, garments and/or jewelry, tattoos, or other insignias, which display or suggest sexual, vulgar, drug, alcohol, or tobacco-related wording/graphics or may tend to provoke violence or disruption in school shall not be worn.

8. Clothing must not state, imply, or depict hate speech or imagery targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or any other protected class.

9. Clothing and accessories that endanger students or staff shall not be worn.

10. Students shall wear a face mask/face covering/face shield if required by the Board, OCPS, Principal, or other official with authority to mandate the wearing of this protective gear. This requirement may be waived with approval from the principal only if a student is medically unable to wear a face mask/face covering/face shield.

Air Force JROTC – "Commander's Call"

Cadets participated in the “Commander’s Call” assembly. Commander’s Call is a military term for getting everyone together. During the assembly they discussed the ROTC program, field trips, volunteer opportunities and extracurricular activities to get involved with such as Drill & Fitness Teams, Model Rocketry and Cyber Security.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

There are infinite ways to show our gratitude to others, and even to ourselves. However, it can be tough to get started without practical ideas. These gratitude murals are a proven way to practice and enhance your gratitude. Ms. Mayra Blackburn’s business education students created gratitude murals that have been displayed for all to see.

Dr. Julio Ortiz has decorated his classroom as a natural ecosystem, with the intention to enhance his student's learning process and to help them feel welcomed at school. Part of recreating this natural environment involves playing nature sounds and having living pets, such as tortoises, inside the classroom.

The Oak Ridge High School College and Career Resource Center is hosting a Virtual Common App Info/Help Session on September 21, 2021 at 6:00 pm. This event is for any senior and their parent that has questions or needs assistance with completing the Common Application. You can register for this event at https://tinyurl.com/orcommonapp

Registration closes at 2:00 pm on day of event.

Please contact our College and Career Specialist gena.evans@ocps.net or mercedes.gittens@ocps.net if you have any questions.

To register, follow the links above and create a account on each site. 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.

The QuestBridge scholarship application is open for eligible students. The deadline for the scholarship is September 28, 2021. This scholarship is for students that are in the top 5% of their class and demonstrate financial need. Students must be Pell grant eligible. (Family’s income must be below $65,000 annually.)

Here is the link for information about the scholarship. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match

Oak Ridge High School hosted an HBCU Panel for all students. The students engaged in learning about the rich culture and heritage that the colleges and universities have to offer. Thank you to all the panelists and the amazing team that put it together!

Black College Expo – October 1

Source: US Dept. of Labor and Visual Capitalist - Larger view of chart

Making sense of the chart for our Pioneers: If you look closely, this chart based upon the latest US Labor Dept. data, has a lot information included as it tells you how many jobs are being created (#), how fast the field is growing or decreasing (%), what the annual pay range is ($), and what occupational group the job falls in (color coded circles).

As an example, if you look to the upper right there is a large light blue bubble titled "Nurse practitioners." Based on the scale shown to the upper left this circle is large enough to suggest that over 100,000 jobs will be created between 2020 and 2030 in this health related field - a large 45% to 60% jump (see the left axis for the percentages). In terms of pay you will notice a black bar running along the middle of the chart showing "Median annual wage" and for Nurse practitioners these are jobs that run in about the $110,000 per year range. As for jobs projected to decrease in demand this decade, look at those in circles below the black "Median annual wage" bar.

** When it comes to college or career planning we always recommend that our Pioneers visit the ORHS College and Career Resource Center for guidance. The CCRC has a lot of useful information to support students and their professional staff is always ready to help!

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:

OUR Florida is a program of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Funding is provided by the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Should applicants have questions regarding their eligibility, the application process or concerns about the program, the compiled Frequently Asked Questions is a great place to start.

For questions about the program, call 833.493.0594, 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Making sense of the chart for our Pioneers not taking economics this year: With the rent eviction moratorium ending, experts generally agree that starting shortly rents will be rising much faster (dark blue line and right scale) than the average inflation rate for rent over the past few years (light blue line and left scale) in the USA. The government's lowball ‘owner’s equivalent rent’ component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is 40% of CPI’s weighting, is still sitting at around +2.25%, well below pre-Covid levels of around +3.5%. Meanwhile, the actual rent increases being seen by people moving apartments is over 10% and may hit +12% or higher next year. This is because landlords will try and recoup the losses they’ve experienced this past year-and-a-half.

** Any Oak Ridge families needing help with rent might want to consider visiting the Our Florida website and the Orange County website as starting points.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics; Nordea

Tony Dungy On Setbacks

Everything's not going to go perfect. You're going to have some losses that you're going to have to bounce back from and some things that are a little unforeseen that you're going to have to deal with.

Dwayne Johnson On Individuality

The single most powerful thing I can be is to be myself.

Herbert Swope On Leadership

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.

Vidal Sassoon On Effort

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

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