Knight News


ocps 100th day large banner.jpg

Ocoee High School

Be Kind – Be Brave – Be You

lisa karcinski principal.jpg

Hello Mark,


Should you be opening this edition over the Presidents' Day holiday weekend I hope you are enjoying your time. Classes will resume as usual on Tuesday, February 22. 


If you have a student at OHS this year, this weekend might be a good time to invest a few minutes and complete our 2022 Family Survey - please click here or also below in this issue. Our leadership team works hard towards customizing the high school's priorities around the specific needs of our Ocoee families and students. To do this, one of the most important things we depend upon (the others being our monthly PTSA and School Advisory Council or 'SAC' meetings) is this annual survey. While we never see the individual parent responses because the survey is kept anonymous, we do get to see the overall combined feedback and use that for our continuing school improvement efforts. Therefore, if this applies to your household, please help us by completing the survey today as able. Thank you very much for your help. 


Thank you for reading about some of our recent successes and please don't forget about our Knight spring sports. We have some excellent home games coming up this week and these are always fun outings for the whole family!


In Knight Pride,


Dr. Karcinski


Pictured very top and just below: Ocoee High School Class of 2022 Top Ten Seniors. Congratulations to Presten Le, Jacqueline Tran, Anne Huynh, Maria Soto, Ryan Spurgeon, Ashton Moulton, Coby Yang, Tina Tong, Laurel Johnston, Emma Mactavish.

Monday, Feb. 21, 2022

Presidents day 2014 sized.jpg

OCPS Website

Skyward

Knight Athletics

OHS Counselors

OHS Website

Connect With OHS

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

1925 Ocoee Crown Pkwy.

Ocoee, FL 34761

(407) 905-3000

ocoee_hs@ocps.net


Dates to Watch For

Monday, Feb. 21:

  • Presidents' Day - No School


Tuesday, Feb. 22:

  • TUTORING, 2:30-4:30
  • Boys Lacrosse vs. East River, 6:00
  • Girls Lacrosse at Evans, 6:00
  • Tennis at Boone, 3:30


Wednesday, Feb. 23

  • Baseball vs. Winter Springs, 6:30


Thursday, Feb. 24

  • TUTORING, 2:30-4:30
  • Tennis vs. Oak Ridge, 3:30
  • Baseball vs. East Ridge, 4:00/7:00
  • Boys Lacrosse vs. Windermere, 6:00


Friday, Feb. 25

  • Softball vs. West Orange, 7:00
  • Girls Lacrosse vs. Santa Fe, 6:30
  • Baseball at Legacy, 6:00


Saturday, Feb. 26

  • Track at Windermere, Meet of Champions! 8:00 AM


Monday, Feb. 28

  • OCPS TOP TALENT - Last chance to submit application (student art)

Knight Super Scholar!

Glorietta Arthoro, Vanderbilt University:

vanderbilt university .jpg

Vanderbilt University where Glorietta has been accepted, is ranked #14 among National Universities according to U.S. News & World Report's 2022 rankings. Pictured above in the fall season, Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Knight Athletics

Softball at home Friday evening vs. West Orange's Warriors:

Girls 2022 Lacrosse schedule (home match this Friday evening):

Teacher Appreciation at Valentine's Day!

Our staff was surprised by the administrative team with hand delivered biscuits and OJ for being “udderly” amazing on Valentine’s Day! Pictured above is Dr. Karcinski at Ms. Cooper's classroom last Monday.

The Valentine's card reads: Happy Valentine's Day. You are UDDERLY amazing! Thank you for all you do. (Breakfast from Chick-fil-A)

College and Career

Orange Technical College Dual Enrollment

Below: Ocoee students interested in OTC Dual Enrollment had the opportunity to visit the OTC Westside campus to learn more about some of the programs they offer.

FAFSA Reminders:

Seniors – if you haven’t completed your FAFSA application, the time is now! Completing the FAFSA is the first step toward getting federal financial aid for college or technical college. In addition, many colleges use your FAFSA data to determine your eligibility for state and school based aid. Here is what you’ll need:


· FSA ID and password

· SSN and/or Alien Registration Number

· 2020 Tax Return, W-2, and any other records of money earned (parents and student – if the student worked)


Feel free to utilize this Step-by-Step FAFSA Video: https://youtu.be/RUP8WLY1I1I


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.

Stay Connected

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!


College and Career YouTube Channel

OCPS has a College and Career YouTube Channel where you can browse through videos that will help walk you through the college admissions process and help you discover your postsecondary plan: Access the channel here: https://bit.ly/OCPSCollegeandCareer

Scholarships

Knights - apply to every scholarship opportunity your qualify for. Find a full list of scholarships from OCPS here.

 

Upcoming Scholarship Opportunities


* Due February 25 - Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund

Must be of Hispanic Heritage / 3.0 GPA unweighted minimum / Plan on attending UCF, VCC, Seminole State, Lake-Sumter State College, Rollins or AdventHealth University / US Citizen, Permanent Legal Resident, DACA or Eligible Non-Citizen / Must have completed FAFSA

https://lumin.formstack.com/forms/2022_hhs_scholarship_application


* Due February 23, 2022Dream 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 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 April 1, 2022 - Southern Scholarship Foundation - One of the most expensive things about going away to college is the cost of housing. The Southern Scholarship Foundation is a WONDERFUL way to offset these costs.


Through rent-free housing and cooperative living, Southern Scholarship Foundation supports students who lack financial resources, demonstrate excellent academic merit, and exemplify good character attend institutions of higher education.

https://webportalapp.com/sp/login/southern_scholar

Parents

OCPS BIG IDEA _1_.png

The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) department is excited to host its annual Big IDEA Conference for the 2021-2022 school year March 26, 2022. The Big IDEA Conference is for families of students with exceptionalities. Below are the event overview details:


  • Event: Big IDEA Conference
  • Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
  • Location: WebEx
  • Event Time: 9:00 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.
  • Audience: Families of students with exceptionalities
  • The purpose of the conference is to help the families of exceptional students Celebrate their abilities of today, while preparing for tomorrow’s possibilities.
  • All families of students with exceptionalities are invited to attend this virtual event.
  • Participants will have the opportunity to select breakout sessions to attend based on their interests and needs.
  • To register for the conference, please visit https://www.ocps.net/cms/one.aspx?pageId=93220

REMINDER: 2022 OCPS Parent Survey

Continuing Reminder: After School Tutoring

Food for Thought

1) The labor market for recent college graduates by major ranked by the median annual wage earned early on in their career: 

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Feb. 9, 2022) - Read full article

  • Reminder for our Knights: While important, the choice of college majors should not be chosen by income alone. For example, students should consider their passion, which schools offer the major they want, how much it will cost, and what the work load will be like. Mrs. Hendricks and Mrs. Wolfgramm and in our College and Career Center can be of help here before leaving Ocoee High School.

2) QR codes, often used by Orange County Public Schools, have soared in popularity:

Source: Chart r, Google

* QR codes are actually almost 28 years old, invented by Japanese automotive company Denso Wave back in 1994 to streamline their manufacturing process.

3) Ocoee HS Black History Month spotlight - Success of Black-owned businesses leading up to the pandemic:

Source: Wells Fargo Bank Securities - Read full article

  • Community footnote: Although the number of Black-owned businesses equates to just over 2% of all businesses in the United States, Black-owned firms had experienced rapid growth in the years leading up to the pandemic. The share of Black-owned firms grew nearly 11% between 2016 and 2019, about three-and-a-half times as fast as total businesses in the U.S. economy over the same period. Business formation is also not the only area where Black business owners outpaced the nation; employment at Black-owned businesses outpaced those of all firms as did average revenues received over the period, emphasizing that these businesses have been generally successful.


  • Black History Month is observed in February in the United States and Canada, while the United Kingdom and Ireland designate October as their month of observance.

4) Monday's Motivational Moment at Presidents' Day 2022:


Abraham Lincoln Didn’t Quit

A great example of persistence for our Knights at this Presidents' Day holiday was set by Abraham Lincoln. If you want to learn about somebody who didn’t quit, look no further.

lincoln memorial sized.jpg

1816: His family was forced out of their home. He worked hard to help support them.

1818: His mother died when he was only nine years old. This was especially tough on a struggling farm family.

1831: Lost his job in a general store when his boss ran it into the ground financially.

1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.

1832: Wanted to go to law school but circumstances were such that he had to learn law on his own by reading law books and observing court sessions.

1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next several years of his life paying off this debt and that of his partner.

1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.

1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.

1836: Experienced great sadness after his fiancé's death and struggled for a while.

1837: Illinois Supreme Court licenses Lincoln to practice law after studying for years on his own.

1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.

1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.

1843: Failed to win his party's nomination at the Whig district convention.

1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.

1848: Wanted to run for Congress again, but told to sit out one term and wait.

1849: Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.

1854: Ran for Senate of the U.S. – lost as he did not have the requisite majority.

1856: Received Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.

1858: Republicans' choice for U.S. Senate – lost.

1860: Elected president of the United States.

1864: Re-elected president of the United States.

Enjoy your Presidents' Day holiday and have a wonderful week!

Dr. Karcinski, Principal

Ocoee High School,

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Leadership Team

Contact Us

OCPS-footer-light image
Twitter  Instagram  Facebook


1925 Ocoee Crown Point Parkway

Ocoee, FL 34761-5060

Phone 407-905-3000 

ocoee_hs@ocps.net

ocps logo 2019 small sized.jpg

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.