Monday, January 31

• Last chance to submit application for OCPS Top Talent
• Boys Basketball vs. West Orange, 4:30/6/7:30 - "Blackout" and Senior Knight

Tuesday, February 1

• Start of Black History Month
• TUTORING, 2:30-4:30
• District Soccer at Ocoee, 5:30/7:30
• Competition Cheer at State Tournament
• COVID vaccinations on campus, 4:00-8:00

Wednesday, February 2

• Groundhog Day
• Girls Basketball vs. Lake Brantley, 6:00 - "Districts"
• ECG event in the gym, 3-5pm

Thursday, February 3

• FAFSA Application Lab, 8:00-2:20 (Parents are welcome to attend! Please see below.)
• TUTORING, 2:30-4:30
• District Soccer at Ocoee, 6:30
• Boys Basketball at Olympia, 6/7:30

Friday, February 4

• School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day
• Boys Wrestling Metros at Winter Park

Saturday, February 5

• Boys Wrestling Metros at Winter Park

Congratulations to Natalie Nieves and Michal Vyskocil, Baptiste Orthodontics Athletes of the Month!

Permission slips due Monday, Jan. 31:

FLIP DAY! 

Some of our students flipped with their teacher for the day and taught their class. Pictured below are Maria Soto and Liyana Samson teaching for Ms. Zucker.

Differentiated small group writing rotations happening in English classes!

1) Face mask requirements:

OCPS families and employees,

After consultation, the Superintendent has extended the current face mask requirement for all adults in OCPS through February. Employees, volunteers, visitors, and vendors will continue to be required to wear a face mask while in OCPS buildings and vehicles. We still strongly encourage the use of face masks by students.

Thank you for your support.

2) Excused absences:

OCPS families,

This is an update regarding parents keeping students home during the increased COVID-19 cases. Beginning January 31, we will no longer be able to provide excused absences in such cases. The number of cases has continued to decline, and we continue to require face masks for adults and strongly encourage them for students. It is also an additional strain on our teachers as they continue to manage assignments for large numbers of absent students. Additionally, the State has not extended the quarantine code to be used in accommodation of absences in our attendance records, so students should be considered truant for non-attendance. We simply must discontinue the provision.

If a parent wishes to continue keeping their child out of school, they can still enroll in Home School Education. You can officially enroll in Home School Education by contacting the OCPS School Choice Office. The contact information can be found on ocps.net.

Remember, if your child is exhibiting illness or symptoms of COVID-19 please keep them home. You can review all health and safety procedures in our Health and Safety Procedures Manual posted on the front page of ocps.net.

Again beginning January 31, we can longer provide excused absences for those voluntarily keeping their children at home due to the pandemic. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Jenkins

3) OCPS Magnet Program applications due Feb. 15:

OCPS Magnet Programs brochure

Updates

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

Acceptances

Seniors – as your college acceptances begin to roll in, be sure to share the good news with Mrs. Wolfgramm and Mrs. Hendricks by emailing a screenshot of your acceptance letter or bringing it by the College and Career Center. We want to celebrate your success! 

Scoir

Knight Students and Parents – Scoir is a customized, secure website that supports postsecondary college & career planning and exploration. It’s designed to assist both students and parents in making informed decisions regarding colleges and career opportunities. Students can access Scoir through their Launchpad. Parents must be invited by their student to access Scoir. Please take advantage of this great resource!  

FAFSA Application Lab this Thursday, Feb. 3:

Students and/or parents are welcome to attend our FAFSA application labs happening February 3rd, and February 14th from 8:00am – 2:20pm in the College and Career Center. Parents, please check in with the front office on the day you choose to come in for assistance.

* Students use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form to apply for financial aid for college. 

Scholarships

Knights - apply to every scholarship opportunity you qualify for. Find a full list of scholarships from OCPS 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 1, 2022 – Society of Manufacturing Engineers - $10,000 scholarships. Must be enrolling in an accredited college or university, minimum 2.0 GPA. To apply click here: https://scholarships.smeef.org/applications/

* Due February 1, 2022 – Support Our Scholars - $10,000 scholarship. Must be female, first generation student. To apply click here: https://supportourscholars.org/scholar/

* Due February 7, 2022 – McDonald’s HACER Scholarship Program - $100,000 (30 awards). Must be a high school senior with a minimum 2.8 GPA, have at least one parent of Hispanic heritage. To apply click here: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/community/hacer.html

* Due February 7, 2022 – Oakland Presbyterian Scholarship - $30,000. Must demonstrate need, maintain a 2.5 unweighted GPA, demonstrate active participation in school, church, community, and volunteer activities. To apply click here: https://oaklandpres.breezechms.com/form/f15bdf

* Due February 11, 2022 – Florida Engineering Society Scholarship – awards vary – Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the US, have at least a 3.5 unweighted GPA, Enroll in an engineering program accredited by the ABET, include an official transcript and copy of official test scores. To apply click here: https://www.fleng.org/page/Scholarships 

* Due February 14^th – 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 15, 2022 – Future of STEM Scholars Initiative – award varies. To be eligible for the scholarship a student must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the US, minimum 3.0 unweighted GPA, demonstrate financial need, pursuing a degree in the STEM field, attending a HBCU for the entirety of their college education. To apply click here: https://futureofstemscholars.org/FOSSI/apply#panels-pane-custom-custom--4

* 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 February 28, 2022 – Addition Financial Scholarship - $10,000 scholarship. Must be an Addition Financial account holder or joint holder. Stop by the bank on campus to make an account. To apply click here: https://foundation.additionfi.com/scholarships/high-school?hsLang=en

* 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/ 

* Due March 15, 2022 - Southern Scholarship Foundation – Rent free housing if planning to attend Flagler, FAMU, FGCU, FSU, Santa Fe college, Tallahassee Community College, or UF. To apply, click here: www.southernscholarship.org

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.

OCPS College and Career YouTube Channel:

Free College 101 Webinars:

Vital Signs

US college enrollment since 2016 by type of school:

Source: AXIOS Read full article

OCPS vaccination locations:

FREE LIVE Tutoring from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Brainfuse offers free online tutoring through the Orange County Library System to ALL students in Orange County Public Schools. FREE live tutors are available every day from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Please click here for more details and how to access.

Using Brainfuse, students can connect with a qualified tutor for expert help in a variety of subjects:

9th Grade:

● English Language Arts

● Math

● Math: Algebra I

● Math: Geometry

● Science

● Science: Biology

● Social Studies

● Social Studies: Global History

● Writing

● Spanish

10th Grade:

● English Language Arts

● Math

● Math: Algebra I

● Math: Geometry

● Math: Algebra II

● Science

● Science: Biology

● Science: Chemistry

● Social Studies

● Social Studies: Global History

● Writing

● Spanish

11-12 Grades:

● English Language Arts

● Geometry

● Math

● Math: Trigonometry

● Math: Algebra I

● Math: Geometry

● Math: Algebra II

● Math: Pre-Calculus

● Math: Calculus

● Science

● Science: Biology

● Science: Chemistry

● Science: Physics

● Social Studies

● Social Studies: Global History

● Social Studies: U.S. History

● Writing

● Spanish

College Level (AP/Dual Enrollment):

● Algebra

● Biology

● Calculus I

● Chemistry

● Geometry

● History

● Physics

● Pre-Calculus

● Trigonometry

● Writing

● Spanish

ALL students can also access:

● Accuplacer (Math, Reading and Writing)

● FREE ACT Tutoring

● FREE ASVAB Tutoring

● FREE SAT Tutoring

● FREE FAFSA Assistance

Monday is already the last day of January 2022. We know that many of our Knights have set personal goals for the new year and hopefully with one month nearly gone, progress has been made!

To help our Knights keep on track, we are running IBD's 10 Secrets To Success as a reminder of those personal traits, that when combined, can turn dreams into reality. Their list was based upon research of successful persons from all walks of life including athletes, scientists, musicians, politicians, educators, military leaders, and others. 

10 Secrets To Success

1. How You Think Is Everything – Always be positive. Think success, not failure.

Beware of a negative environment.

2. Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals – Write down your specific goals

and develop a plan to reach them.

3. Take Action – Goals are nothing without action. Don’t be afraid to get started

now. Just do it.

4. Never Stop Learning – Go back to school or read books. Get training and

acquire skills.

5. Be Persistent and Work Hard – Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give

up.

6. Learn to Analyze Details – Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your

mistakes.

7. Focus on Your Time and Money – Don’t let other people or things distract you.

8. Don’t Be Afraid to Innovate; Be Different – Following the herd is a sure way to

mediocrity.

9. Deal and Communicate With People Effectively – No person is an island.

Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. Be Honest and Dependable; Take Responsibility – Otherwise, Numbers 1-9

won’t matter.

* IBD (Investor's Business Daily) is one of the largest U.S. daily business publications. 

Have a wonderful week Knights!

Dr. Karcinski, Principal

Ocoee High School,

Sunday, January 30, 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.