Today is the students’ last day of school before winter break. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. 

This special time of year offers the perfect opportunity to show appreciation and gratitude. In my first year here at Oak Ridge, I want you to know how much I have enjoyed serving as your principal since this past summer and throughout this first semester. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to get to know and work alongside our wonderful faculty & staff and I am so proud of our Pioneers and the work they have done through the mid point of 2021-2022. We will continue forward with good momentum turning into the top of the new year in January.  

I hope you will enjoy a restful and rejuvenating holiday break with an opportunity to enjoy some quality time with family and friends. Thank you for reading this final edition of the Pioneer Express for 2021 and Season's Greetings to you and your family!

Mr. Alvarado

Principal

Oak Ridge High School

Pictured above: ORHS Chorus led by Ms. Cara Lee

Way to go Ms. Lee and our chorale students who performed at the "Light up the World with Love" event at ICON park. It was so exciting to hear the cheers in support of our school and to see many alumni out at the event to show support!

ALL of our friends and families can ride The Wheel at a major discount!! Please use the link and promo code below to get your $10 ticket to ride The Wheel. 50% of all Friends and Family tickets used during JA Spirit Week will be donated to the JA Academy! Please share this promo code with your co-workers, community partners, friends, and family to help us raise money for the JA Academy. Tickets must be purchased and used 12/18/21-12/22/21.

Purchase Tickets Dec.18th-22nd at www.iconparkorlando.com and use the promo code: JACF21.

Each year Mr. Richard West collaborates with Sally Ride Elementary School and has the younger students take a field trip to ORHS campus to participate in Rocket Day. The entire Sally Ride School Community thanks Mr. West for organizing this event and being a “Big Brother."

They collaborated with Commissioner Uribe and Bishop Moore High School in collecting winter coats, canned goods and more for those in need. It was quite a sight to see our students work hand in hand with the students from Bishop Moore, to serve our community.

The students participated in some meditation as they reflect on their 1st semester. We have completed the final week of the semester and students are ready for a restful break. They will be back in January with energy and grit to carry them through the rest of the school year!

Mr. Abia is the recipient of a Teacher Impact Grant combined with the Lockheed Martin STEM grant! This is a great opportunity to gain access to extra learning resources and is a great experience for our students.

Thank you to all of our alumni who came out this week to talk to our students about life after high school. Great questions were asked of our alumni on college, financial aid, jobs, and technical school. It was a huge success.

Members of our NHS and their sponsor, Ms. Michelle Gomez participated in the Greg Warmouth Reindeer Run at Sea World. A great time was had by all!

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:

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

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

Tardy passes during the day are no longer written. Students need to report directly to class where their teacher will mark them tardy in Skyward.

Congratulations to the Senior Class of 2022 for 141 college acceptances and $1,710,364 in scholarships to date. We are off to a great start! Stay tuned for updates… #proudtobeapioneer

This list was compiled on Sunday, December 12.

The College & Career Specialists have scheduled FAFSA Nights to better serve our students. The proposed dates are listed below. Time for each event will be 5:00-8:00PM and will take place in the cafeteria. Dates are subject to change and events will also be announced monthly. We hope to see you there!

So far, the number of Oak Ridge seniors having completed their FAFSA paperwork is up +41.5% from the same time 1 year ago:

Source: Florida College Access Network - All Florida schools' data through Dec. 3

SAT Test Date- March 12, 2022

ACT Test Date- February 12, 2022

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.

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:

Topics include:

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