The Bear Pride
Cypress Creek High School Community Brief
CCHS Community Member,

This is only a four-day school week in recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 18. I hope all of our Bears and their families will enjoy the holiday before classes resume as usual Tuesday morning.

We have seen the news reports showing how 2021 opened with some tension and conflict at the national level. What many people may not be aware of is the many lessons in leadership that Dr. King offered during his time that could be very helpful today and might prove useful to our Bears as they move forward in high school, college, in their careers, and in life. Among them are:

  • 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.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday whether it be physically on campus or online via LaunchED. Make it a great week Bears!

In Bear Pride,

Dr. W. John McHale
Principal
Cypress Creek High School
Monday, Jan. 18, 2021
Useful Links 
Dates to Watch For
Jan. 18: MLK, Jr. Day - No School
Jan. 19: CCHS IB Open House
Jan. 27: OCPS Stellar Awards (virtual this year)
Feb. 15: Last day for 2021-2022 Magnet Choice
Connect with CCHS
1101 Bear Crossing Drive
Orlando, FL 32824
(407) 852-3400
Cypress Creek HS Remembers Coach D.
The Lady Bears basketball game vs. Boone High School was played in loving memory of our beloved Coach D. Demetrius. He was a coach at CCHS and then at Boone, where his coaching career ended too soon due to his passing.

Coach D. made an enormous impact on the lives of the young ladies he coached and everyone he met along the way. The only thing bigger than his smile was his heart. Always loved and never forgotten.

Rest in Paradise, Coach D.
REMINDER: Curbside Meal Pickup Date Change for this Week . . .
Due to the Dr. MLK, Jr. school holiday on January 18th (federal holiday - all schools closed), the regularly scheduled Monday Curbside Meal distribution will be shifted to Tuesday, January 19th. As usual, this will be done 1/2 hour after the school day has ended in the bus loop. Available for all children 18 & under.
Student Spotlight
Payton Vogel (Class of 2022) - All Area Bowling Team

Bears, please congratulate girls bowler Payton Vogel, (11th grade) for making the All-Area Team. All of her hard work is finally paying off!

Payton's bowling team achievements:
  • 2nd in Districts last year.
  • 1st place in Districts this year. (611 in 3 game series)
  • Finishing 14 in the state out of all the girls in Florida. (777 series)
  • 1st place in the Junior Division High School Tournament.
Staff Spotlight
Mr. Marin wins International Award in Art!

Mr. Marin, CCHS' acclaimed 3D art instructor, recently won another major award, this time the International Award in Art. This is how he described his piece which given the extraordinary times we have all been experiencing, offers much to ponder. Congratulations Mr. Marin on your continued success and for the wonderful job you have done with your students this year!

"My abstract piece represents our planet split by problems: hate, unbalance, sadness, illness, differences but we have the power to keep it together, the copper pipes represent our strength as people to keep us together with love, respect, positive attitude, and actions!! One side is black & white, symbol of the troubles, with a dark side versus the other side with color stain glass representing beauty and happiness."
~Jesus Marin, 3D Art Instructor, Cypress Creek High School
(Jan. 14, 2021)
*The lower picture shows both the front and the back of Mr. Marin's abstract art piece.
Featured Scholarship of the Week
College Board Opportunity Scholarship
Now open for Class of 2022! Complete six college planning steps for six separate chances at $500. Complete all six steps and be entered into a drawing for $40,000. Opt in to the scholarship here - https://opportunity.collegeboard.org/?excmpid=vt-00248

Seniors- be sure to complete your remaining steps to have a chance to earn scholarships! Log on to your College Board account, click Opportunity Scholarship under the Big Futures tab. Our Seniors chance to become eligible for a scholarship for completing the FAFSA ends on February 28.

  • Please click here for the FAQs related to Opportunity Scholarships.
2021 District Parent Survey
Please take time to fill out the OCPS 2021 Parent Climate Survey. The survey has all NEW questions and is much shorter than it used to be. There are no open ended questions and you can easily take it on your phone.

  • Survey Link - Bit.ly/ocpsfamily
  • If you have multiple students in OCPS, you will be able to select the school for each child using a drop down menu.
  • The survey is available in multiple languages- English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole
OTC Dual Enrollment
Email Christopher Canone, Cypress Creek's career specialist, at christopher.canone@ocps.net for application information. If OTC Dual Enrollment is of interest, please explore this opportunity today while we are still early in the new year. OTC has a wide variety of programs to choose from!
Next Tuesday! IB Open House
Jan. 19: CCHS IB Programme Open House (please check CCHS website for link just prior to the event)

Feb. 15: 2021-2022 School Choice Magnet deadline more info. at www.ocps.net/departments/school_choice

Club Feature
Virtual Learning Opportunities
Wednesday, January 20th, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
(Two sessions to choose from)

Benefits and Dangers of Social Media
OCPS Curriculum and Digital Learning department will provide parents with the pros and cons of students using social media. Click here to register or visit http://www.parentacademy.ocps.net

Creating Healthy Social Emotional Environments at Home
The OCPS Student Services department will inform parents how they can assist students from home and where to go for additional helpful resources. Click here to register or visit http://www.parentacademy.ocps.net
Save the Date! Annual Stellar Awards (Jan. 27)
Leadership Team
Administrators and Deans
1101 Bear Crossing Drive
Orlando, FL 32824
Phone 407-852-3400
Fax 407-850-5160 | EEO Statement
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 - Cypress Creek High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Cypress Creek High School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Dr. McHale at walton.mchale@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.