Orlando Science High School
ISSUE 5
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: September 11, 2020
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Principal's Corner
Dear Orca Families and Students,
Thank you for your support of Orlando Science Schools! I hope you all have another great week! I would like to thank all our parents and students for following instructions of School Health and Safety Procedures and Signages. I thank you for your support and contribution. Because of its importance, I would like to reemphasize the followings this week as well:
For those who have not have, please take some time, and review the OSS Health and Safety COVID-19 Procedures and COVID-19 Student Screening Scenarios Flow Chart below. Please have a conversation with your students about the health and safety measures that are in place and reach your school if you have any questions or updates about your children’s health. As we enter the flu season, the precautions become more important for all of us.
• Masks: Masks are mandatory. Refusal to wear a face mask will be considered insubordination and will be subject to progressive discipline as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct. Specific guidelines are also included in the OSS health and safety procedure below.
• Sanitation: Hand sanitizers, sanitizing wipes or a spray bottle with paper towels provided in every classroom and will be available to students and staff. Automatic hand sanitizer stations are installed in restrooms, cafeteria, and commonly used areas.
•Temperature Checks: Every staff and student temperature are checked before entering the campus.
• Social Distancing: Students should always attempt to maintain a social distance of 6 feet. Proper signage is posted in the classrooms, hallways, dismissal area and cafeteria.
• Class Changes: Students follow a cohort setting and remain in their homeroom classes. Students should walk directly to their next class and not congregate in the halls if they change any classes.
• Drop off/Pick -up: Parents/Guardians must stay in their vehicle when dropping off or picking up their students.
• Lunch: Students must be sitting on the socially distanced designated seats facing one direction in the cafeteria and follow the school staff directions.
• Visitors: All visitors must wear a face mask and must report directly to the front office.
• Sick-Not feeling well: If your student is sick or not feeling well, please keep them at home If your student or one of the household member shows COVID-19 symptoms, please follow the OSS COVID-19 Student Screening Scenarios Flow Chart below and inform your campus immediately.
Orcas keep challenging and prepare themselves for the Nation's best colleges and universities in their dedicated teachers’ classrooms and guidance at OSS! I am very proud to announce that the following eight seniors became the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists! This is the highest number of Orcas have ever become Semifinalist in any class! Kudos to C2021! They put the bar higher than ever this year. Nishi Anthireddy, Harvik Kesineni, Anthony Le, Minh Le, Noah Lowe, Siyona Mishra, Bansari Modi, Liam O’Connor. They still need to work hard in order to become 2021 National Merit Scholar. I believe that they will reach out that goal as well. I am very proud of each one of them and the faculty who educate these great students!
Today, OSS Orcas reflected on 9/11/01 and remembered the 2,977 patriots who lost their lives in the terror attack at WTC, Pentagon and Flight 93 with a moment of silence. We reflected on the heroic actions of 1st responders who selflessly helped their fellow citizens.
Orcas may apply the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program. Please see the details and application link below. Please act fast. The deadline for new applications, and the expiration of last year’s benefits, is September 23.
Orcas enrolled in Innovative e-Learning Program, Grab and Go meals are available to all OCPS students at their Zoned Schools. Details may be found below.
Seniors, this is your year, 2021! I encourage you to be on top of your courses as well as your college applications. Your first class meeting was held on Thursday, September 10th at 9:00 a.m. If you missed this meeting, please visit your class page on Teams, and get the meeting minutes and important reminders. Please continue meeting with Mrs. Bolat to check your progress, get the most up to date information and upcoming important deadlines. CCC will be hosting series of senior class meetings throughout the school year. Please stay tuned to our College Center Corner and Senior Class page in your Microsoft Teams accounts.
Please stay safe and connected.
It is great to be proud Orca!
Sincerely,
Abdulaziz Yalcin, M.Ed.
Principal
Orlando Science Schools – Middle/High
2021 National Merit Scholarship Program Semi-Finalists
We are proud to share that the OSS Class of 2021 made OSS history with 8 qualifying students! Congratulations to this group of hardworking students, we wish them the best of luck as they move forward in their National Merit Scholarship process.
Patriot Day, September 11th 2020
In honor of Patriot Day, OSS Orcas will take time to reflect and remember the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We will honor the 2,977 patriots who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on U.A. Flight 93 with a moment of silence. We will also reflect on the heroic actions of the first responders who braved the deadly circumstances to help their fellow citizens.
Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs)
9th and 10th grade families: there are new procedures in place for this Parent Teacher Conference, please be sure to READ the sign up completely and sign up according to the instructions.
** Please note, for PTCs (or any conferences) we will be using your child’s Microsoft Teams account. Your student’s account will be invited to the Parent Teacher Conference.
Celebrate freedom week
OSS student access to the NY Times
Fall Picture Day 2020
America's Safe Schools Week & Unity Day October 21, 2020
Orlando Science High School is participating in this year's America's Safe Schools Week. Activities conducted during America’s Safe Schools Week draw attention to the continuing problem of school violence and educate everyone about how schools can be made safer and more secure. America’s Safe Schools Week offers an opportunity to address this very important issue and to take steps to ensure that schools offer students and teachers an environment which they can perform to the best of their abilities. There will be several activities throughout this week and more details will be provided!
At this time we would like to announce that on Wednesday, October 21st, students are welcome to Wear Orange for Unity Day and dress down. All dress down day guidelines apply.
OSS Unity Day shirts are available for purchase online, use the link below to order before October 2, 2020. Wear and share orange to show that we are together against bullying, and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Make it ORANGE and make it end! What are your true colors when it comes to showing that you believe that all youth should be safe from bullying? Come together in one giant ORANGE message of hope and support, WEAR AND SHARE ORANGE to color our nation, and even the world, visibly showing that our society believes that no child should ever experience bullying.
OSS Middle High School Parent Volunteer Organization-pvo
HS PVO president Mrs. lisa proto
Orca families, please join us in congratulating and welcoming Mrs. Lisa Proto to her new role as the High School Campus PVO President! We at Orlando Science Schools are thrilled to be working alongside her on future campus events, activities, and community projects.
Before becoming a stay at home mom, Mrs. Proto was in the Hospitality industry and then moved into Corporate Training for all areas of Hospitality. Prior to her move to Florida, she lived in Vancouver Canada, she became a stay-at-home Mom and joined the team of the parents at her son’s school. She not only gained incredible friendships but lots of knowledge on fundraising and building communities in the school. She is a proud parent of a freshman son, attends at Orlando Science High.
We appreciate Mrs. Proto for coming on board as one of the valuable members of our school and we look forward to organizing campus events and community projects.
To contact Mrs. Proto, please email PVO.HSCampus@OrlandoScience.org.
PVO Registration & Dues
Dear Orlando Science Lynx Lane and Technology High School Families,
It is time to join the Parent Volunteer Organization (PVO)! Membership is $25 per family for returning families and $30 for new families. Your membership dues go directly back into the school to provide items and supplies for our teachers. We are also asking that PVO members work with specific committees (School Improvement, Fundraising, Volunteer Work, Teacher Appreciation, Events, Etc.) See the registration form below for opportunities to get involved.
If you have questions, comments, or requests, you may email Orlando Science PVO at PVO.HSCampus@orlandoscience.org (for the High School) or PVO.LynxCampus@orlandoscience.org (for the Lynx Campus). The PVO will hold meetings once every two months that will inform parents of progress, agendas, and upcoming events. **Due to the Pandemic, the PVO will host Zoom Meetings until further notice.**
We are so excited to connect with our families and create a wonderful environment on and off campus!
Additions volunteers
HEALTH AND SAFETY COVID-19 PROCEDURES for students on campus
Free reduced lunch application-updated for 2020-21
grab and go meals available to all ocps students at their zoned ocps schools
Beginning Monday, August 10, Orange County Public Schools’ Food and Nutrition Services Department will provide meals for students utilizing the LaunchEd@Home instructional model with a Curbside Meals Program. This ensures those students who rely on nutritious meals to be able to continue doing so, even when they are not in the building for their lessons.
become familiar with the 30/30 Rule for bad weather dismissal procedures
What is the 30/30 Rule?
The “30/30 Rule" is a Delayed Dismissal Weather procedure that the nationally recognized. It is required that the “30/30 Rule” be enacted by the school if thunder is heard within 30 seconds of a lightning strike. Orlando Science Middle/High follows this rule.
When 30/30 Rule is implemented, students will not be dismissed until 30 minutes has passed from the last sound of thunder. However, parents/guardians who wish to pick up their child/children during delayed dismissal, will be allowed to sign out their child/children at the cafeteria or front office.
In order to pick up your student(s) from the cafeteria or front office during this procedure, parents/guardians must bring their dismissal sign to the front door of the school to sign their child/children out. If you do not have a dismissal sign, you will need to provide a picture ID and be on the school pick-up list to pick-up the child/children. Bus riders will be delivered home when conditions are all safe for dismissal.
An automated telephone and/or email message will be used to notify parents/guardians about delayed dismissals. Always be sure to update the school when your phone or email information changes. Thank you for your cooperation on our students’ safety.
OSS High School 2020-2021 Handbook
OSS TECHNICAL ISSUES?
- request OSS Connect credentials
- request technology
- reset passwords
- request login credentials
- any other issue related to technology
September 11th
Hello Friends and Welcome Back to Counseling Corner!
This week we’ll be discussing mindfulness, its benefits, and activities you can try at home. A few benefits from the start, research has shown that mindfulness can, mitigate the effects of bullying (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2016); enhance focus in children with ADHD (Zhang et al., 2016); reduce attention problems (Crescentini, Capurso, Furlan, & Fabbro, 2016); improve mental health and well-being; and improve social skills when well taught and practiced with children and adolescents.
Asking your children to try mindfulness is awesome, but will be more effective if you’re willing to try it with them, or even modeling what mindfulness looks like (an excellent call-back for those of you who read the article on modeling resting and compassionate behavior I wrote a few weeks ago). It may also help you to plan an activity you know they enjoy for the time following your mindfulness activity so you can create a positive association with the practice. In addition, when planning to try this, pay attention to their energy! If they’re in the mindset to be calm and focus, then great, but if they are full of energy and just want to play a sport or run around it may not be the best time to practice mindfulness with them.
Here are a few activities you can use to practice mindfulness, either for yourself or with your kids:
- Mindful Coloring: Using one of those adult coloring books or mindful coloring sheets printed from online are best. Regular coloring pages may not achieve the same effect. Remind them that if they make a mistake, they should just breathe and move on. Mindfulness is about just letting the experiences pass us by without making judgments about them.
- Connecting with Nature: Go on a 10-15 minute walk with your kid, without headphones or distractions. Encourage them to notice the nature around them and get specific, the colors, the types of trees, the sounds, the smells, the animals around, the type of ground you’re walking on, etc.
- Yoga: This one is kind of self-explanatory, but you can find great and free videos online of small 10-15 minute yoga practices and you can do these with your child in the comfort of your own living room.
- Affirmations: Take the time to create a list of positive affirmations with your student. Come up with a few that are specific to your child and what they need to hear, such as, “I am strong,” “I can overcome my stressful days,” I give myself compassion in this moment,” or “I am doing my best. That is all I can expect of myself.” To practice mindfulness with this list, take 5 minutes with your student and allow them the space to recite these affirmations to themselves, asking them to repeat them as many times they need to until they feel more at peace.
- Guided Meditations: You can find these online as well or with apps like “Calm” or “My Life (Stop, Breathe, and Think.” My personal favorite is the app called “My Life” because the app encourages you to take 10 seconds to breathe and calm yourself and then you can select up to 5 different emotions or feelings you’re having in the moment and then the app generates 2-5 guided meditations based on the emotions you just entered in. To give you an example, sometimes if I’m having trouble falling asleep, I will enter that into the app and I will receive about 3 progressive muscle relaxations, grounding exercises, or breathing activities to facilitate falling asleep. (I normally don’t even finish the meditation before I’ve drifted off 😊)
- Breathing Visualizations: These are also ones that are kind of self-explanatory so I will include a link here with a few of the different types of breathing tricks you can visualize with your student (use the ones on the first line of examples, those are some of the best). The benefits of deep breathing and breathing visualizations are that it is a built in way that our body allows us to calm ourselves and change our reaction to stress, frustration, and anxiety before it becomes problematic and exaggerated. This can also help de-escalate a “freak out!”
For more mindfulness activities or resources, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I highly recommend these techniques if you find that emotions and tensions seem to run high during the school day 😊
And as always, if you need anything, I’m here to help!
All the best,
Ms. Perez
Ms. Perez quote of the week
9TH-12TH GRADE 2020-2021 BELL SCHEDULES
oss connect parent access
All OSS Middle High parents can create an OSS Connect account to view their students' academic progress, attendance, discipline, upcoming events and more. Multiple students can be added under one parent account for an easy access. Each student has a unique "Parent Access Code". Please use this code to add each of your students.
- Go to the following URL https://ossconnect.orlandoscience.org/radix/portal/signup/index.php
- Enter the parent access code, birth date of the student this code belongs to, Student ID (if asked) and your relationship to the student.
- If the information is correct, you will be redirected to a page where you can see your student's name. If this is your student, click continue, if not, click cancel and contact the school.
- After the verification is completed, you will be redirected to registration page. On this page, you will create a new parent account by providing the information requested and selecting a password for your account. Click on "Create my new account" when done.
- You will receive a confirmation email that contains a link to click to complete account creation. Once you click on the link in confirmation email, you will be directed to the site and your account will be ready to use.
- Once you logged in to the site, you can add another student by clicking on the "Add new student" link located on your dashboard.
college and career corner
Volunteer opportunities and forms
Volunteer Environmental Clean Up opportunity
OSS APP available for download
Orlando Science Middle/High has a new mobile app! It is currently available in the App Store® and in Google Play®. You can download the app for free, for access to our school's news, calendars, volunteer opportunities, push notifications and much more!
Download for Free - visit your tablet or smartphone's storefront and search for "Orlando Science Schools"
- For Android, visit Google Play
- For Apple iOS, visit the and App Store or iTunes
If you have any questions or feedback please email info@orlandoscience.org.
SEE THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE BELOW REGARDING FORTIFY FLORIDA:
Any student, educator, parent or member of the public can report school safety concerns directly to law enforcement and school administrators anonymously and easily through the FortifyFL app or www.getfortifyfl.com. The Florida Legislature directed this tool’s development in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
The app, which is available for download on Apple and Android mobile devices, is critical to ensuring all Florida schools are safe environments where students and educators can experience and share the joy of learning without fear.
We hope that you will become familiar with this tool and help us spread the word about it with your students and their families. Please note that the official app’s logo will look exactly as it does in the graphic above.
easy ways to give back to oss middle high
Box Tops 2020
Amazon Smile
AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Orlando Science Schools via Discovery Education Services, Inc. whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
Office Depot
Office Depot provides the school with 5% back in credits for FREE supplies when you make a purchase of qualifying school supplies. Simply provide the school ID at checkout.
OSES School Code: 70228302
OSS School Code: 70218341
OSS report card and Parent TEacher Conference (PTC) schedule
Orange County 2020-2021 School Calendar
OSS Newsletters
ORLANDO SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS
Website: http://orlandoscience.org/highschool/
Location: 2600 Technology Drive, Orlando, FL, USA
Phone: (407)299-6595
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orlandoscience/
Twitter: @OrlandoSciMH