February 18, 2022
PRESIDENTS’ DAY HOLIDAY
We hope you are already enjoying your long weekend! Please be reminded that OCSA is closed today, Friday, February 18, and will also be closed this coming Monday, February 21, in observance of Presidents' Day. We look forward to seeing you back in the classroom on Tuesday, February 22.
INDOOR MASKING POLICY
Thank you to everyone for helping to keep our school environment safe and healthy! As you may be aware, earlier this week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reaffirmed that all individuals will continue to be required to wear masks at K-12 schools. The indoor mask mandate in schools will be reevaluated by the CDPH on Monday, February 28

Please be reminded that OCSA is legally required to follow public health directives set forth by the governor, the CDPH, and the Orange County Health Care Agency. Any actions to the contrary put the school at risk of closure. We will continue to keep the OCSA community informed on any updates regarding the school mask mandate and the impact on OCSA as we receive more information from the state. Thank you for your continued support!
MORNING TEMPERATURE SCREENING
Due to the recent decline in COVID-19 cases on campus and in the community, beginning this coming Tuesday, February 22, students will no longer be required to complete a temperature screening before entering school buildings each morning. OCSA will continue to monitor case numbers on campus for the remainder of the semester and make adjustments to our morning arrival procedures if necessary.
PROGRESS REPORTS NOW AVAILABLE
The first progress reports of the spring semester will be available for review in Aeries this coming Tuesday, February 22, beginning at 12 p.m. To view the progress report, please log in to Aeries, click on the "Grades" tab, and select "Grades" from the pull-down menu.

Points to remember about progress reports:
  • Progress reports provide a snapshot of a student’s achievement at a specific point in the semester.
  • Plus and minus marks are used on progress reports to encourage students to continue a strong effort; they are not included with semester grades.
  • Progress report grades are not included on high school transcripts; your child’s prospective college will not see these marks unless you provide them a copy of the progress report.
  • As a policy, grade changes are not made for progress reports unless there has been a clerical error on the part of the teacher.

OCSA does not mail home paper copies of progress reports, so please be sure to download and print a copy for your records. If you or your child have questions or concerns regarding your child’s grades, please do not hesitate to contact the teacher directly using their school email.

The Aeries portal provides parents and students 24/7 access to report cards, unofficial transcripts, immunization records, test scores, and other important information and documentation. Please note that if you have never accessed the Aeries portal, you may need to contact OCSA Tech Support for your verification code information. They can be reached at techsupport@csarts.net.

The next six-week progress report period will end on Friday, April 1.
ELECTIVE SHOWCASE
Attention all parents/guardians: Mark your calendars for our annual Elective Showcase, which will be held at the Margaret A. Webb Theatre on Thursday, March 24 during Blocks 4, 5, and 6 and on Friday, March 25 during Blocks 1, 2, and 3. Free online tickets must be reserved in order to attend. Please click here to reserve your seat. See the flyer below for specific performance times. We hope to see you there!
SYMPHONY OF DREAMS TICKETS ON SALE
We are pleased to announce that tickets are now available for Symphony of Dreams, a one-of-a-kind concert to commemorate OCSA’s 35th anniversary! This innovative cross-conservatory showcase will be held on Saturday, March 26 in the beautiful Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University. Click here to purchase tickets and prepare to be wowed as our students, both past and present, transform the stage into one of the greatest opera houses of all time!
WINTER FORMAL TICKET SALES
High school students: Don’t forget that the last day to purchase your Winter Formal tickets on MySchoolBucks is this Monday, February 21! Winter Formal will be held next Saturday, February 26 from 7-11 p.m. at SteelCraft, an outdoor venue. Click here to see more information regarding this event. If you have any questions, please email ocsa.leadership@ocsarts.net.

Please note: OCSA will continue to monitor the situation regarding COVID-19 as the event approaches to ensure that students are able to gather safely and we are abiding by the most updated CDC guidelines. If it is not possible for the event to be held safely, tickets will be refunded.
SPRING DODGEBALL APPLICATIONS
Get ready for some intense competition! OCSA's Spring 2022 Dodgeball Tournament is coming up on Friday, March 25 and will be held from 3-5 p.m. in The Callero Family Foundation Plaza (DMS Quad). If you would like to set up a team, please click here to print an application or pick one up in the Student Information Rack outside of Student Services. Applications should be submitted to Leadership Advisor Chris Dion by the end of Office Hours next Friday, February 25. Please note that applications should only be submitted during Office Hours. The tournament will be capped at 16 teams on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Returning players: There have been two big improvements to the tournament this semester! Each team will have eight players on the field with two possible alternates that can be swapped in or out between games (no swaps can be made during a game). The tournament has also been simplified to a double-elimination format. Each team will remain eligible to win the tournament until they lose two games. This will make it easier to track for players and fans alike!
 
Don't leave early, because in the end “There can be only one!”
SUBMIT YOUR APPAREL DESIGN TODAY
Take advantage of the long weekend to create and submit a t-shirt design for our next online apparel sale! Students in all conservatories and grade levels are encouraged to design a new and creative look for an apparel item that all your friends and classmates can proudly wear around campus, including our newest group of OCSA students being admitted this spring. Be sure to submit through the Google form before the deadline on Monday, February 28 at 11:59 p.m.

Final designs will be voted on through the @WeAreOCSA Instagram account - stay tuned for more information on casting your vote for the winning design. If you have any questions, please email communications@ocsarts.net. Submit your design today before time runs out!
COURSE SELECTION
Course selection presentations for the 2022-2023 school year are in progress! Presentations will continue to be held by grade level in Social Studies or Health classes with school counselors. Students will select courses in Aeries during the presentations; however, hard copies of the forms must also be turned in to the Student Services Office in Room 101 of the Humanities Tower with a parent signature by the grade-specific deadline below. Forms received after the deadline will be dated and receive less priority for classes, especially for electives. Please do not request to meet with school counselors regarding course selection prior to the presentation where questions will most likely be answered. 

Parents/guardians of high school students are invited and encouraged to attend Course Selection Parent Meetings via Zoom. For parents who are unable to attend, meetings are also recorded and uploaded to the Google Classroom for each class (Class of 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026) following the meeting. Please have your student help you access the recording.

Please see the following schedule for more information.

Rising Seniors
Parent Meeting: Link to the recorded presentation can be found in your student’s grade level-specific Google Classroom. 
Form Deadline: Friday, February 25

Rising Juniors
Presentation: Tuesday, February 22 - Tuesday, March 1
Parent Meeting: Friday, March 4 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Zoom link)
Form Deadline: Friday, March 11

Rising Sophomores
Presentation: Monday, March 7 - Monday, March 14 
Parent Meeting: Friday, March 18 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Zoom link)
Form Deadline: Friday, March 25

Rising Freshmen
Presentation: Monday, March 21 - Thursday, March 24
Parent Meeting: Friday, March 25 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. (Zoom link)
Form Deadline: Thursday, March 31

Rising 8th Grade Students
Presentation: Monday, March 28 - Friday, April 1 
Form Deadline: Friday, April 29
SAVE NOW ON CSARTS ACADEMY CLASSES
Today, Friday, February 18, is the last day to take advantage of special early bird discounts on CSArts Academy spring courses! Don’t miss out; register for your next great art adventure today before early bird pricing ends. This spring, CSArts Academy is presenting extracurricular courses each Saturday designed for students ages 8-15 of various skill levels, in a variety of artistic disciplines. Please click here to browse all of the courses offered both virtually and in person on the OCSA campus.
 
Be sure to spread the word to family and friends who may be interested in this unique and educational arts experience!
SEAL OF BILITERACY DEADLINE
Applications are currently available for seniors for the California State Seal of Biliteracy. Seniors who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing in one or more world languages (in addition to English) have the opportunity to have the Seal of Biliteracy affixed to their diploma. Please click here to see the requirements and complete the application by next Friday, February 25 at 11:59 p.m. in order to be considered for this recognition. No late applications will be accepted. Please direct any questions to student.services@ocsarts.net.
BECOME A SPOTLIGHT SPONSOR
Would you like your business to be featured at one of our school’s upcoming performances? Do you know a business that values the importance of arts education and wants to support our school? Consider becoming a Spotlight Sponsor at one of OCSA’s performances to hear your company name announced from the stage, receive complimentary tickets, and have your brand represented in the performance program and on the OCSA Donor Wall. Your donation will directly help underwrite the production costs of conservatory performances and will go to the conservatory of your choice!
 
To view a list of upcoming performances, please visit www.ocsarts.net/BoxOffice, and contact Director of Development Chivan Wang at chivan.wang@ocsarts.net to secure your Spotlight Sponsorship today. Thank you in advance for your support!
HELP KEEP OCSA HEALTHY & SAFE
The following are a few reminders to keep our school community safe and informed:

  • Do not come to school if you are sick or experiencing flu or COVID-19 symptoms.
  • If you have received a positive COVID-19 test, have a possible exposure to COVID-19, or experience COVID-19 symptoms, please report it to the school through the COVID-19 Reporting Form as soon as you can.
  • Continue to wear masks at school while indoors, as well as outdoors whenever physical distancing is not feasible. With the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant, the CDC is recommending that everyone wear surgical-grade (3-ply) masks of non-woven material that are well-fitted to the face.
  • Please remember that free weekly COVID-19 testing is offered every Monday in the Symphony Hall lobby from 12-4:30 p.m. to all students, families, faculty, and staff as an extra health and safety resource. Please note that we have recently changed vendors for this service. As a result, all members of the OCSA community will need to re-register for testing if they have not done so already. Please visit our COVID-19 Dashboard for information on how to register with our new vendor.

All of OCSA’s most recent COVID-19 information, including policies, procedures, and important health and safety resources, can be found on our COVID-19 Dashboard. Thank you for helping to keep our school environment safe for all students and staff!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Presidents Day (School Closed): Friday, February 18 - Monday, February 21

Winter Formal, Grades 9-12: Saturday, February 26

Recovered Instructional Day: Monday, March 21

Recovered Instructional Day: Friday, April 1

Spring Break (School Closed): Monday, April 4 - Friday, April 8
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS
For more information, please visit www.ocsarts.net/BoxOffice.