Orlando Science Schools Lynx Campus
Issue 1
Weekly Newsletter: August 13th, 2021
Principal's Corner
Welcome back! It has been wonderful seeing so many of our students and staff back on campus this school year. We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we settle into new routines and procedures. We will continue to monitor and improve wherever possible to make this a pleasant and successful school year.
Please make sure to review the contents of these Weekly Newsletters as they contain lots of important updates, student and staff spotlights, reminders, and more.
In this week’s issue you will find our Picture Day dates and reminders about our current Mask Mandate/Opt-Out policy and Moment of Silence.
Parents, you will also find descriptions and links to resources for the school year such as OSS Connect access, ADDitions volunteer registration, and more.
Again, it has been a positive first week back and I am excited for what the 2021-2022 school year has in store for us.
I hope you all have a nice weekend and look forward to updating you on our students’ continued success next week.
Dr. Yalcin Akin
Executive Director/Principal
Orlando Science School – Middle/High
BEST HIGH SCHOOL IN ORANGE COUNTY
Thursday, August 26th is Picture Day!
the Picture Day ID shared below is specific only to Lynx Campus students. Please visit mylifetouch.com for more information.
An Important Message from LifeTouch
A Note from Lifetouch,
In addition to providing quality school photography and world class yearbook products, Lifetouch is one of the largest providers of student identification cards in the state of Florida and across the United States. This letter is to alert you to a change in Florida law, State Bill 590, affecting student identification cards, effective July 1, 2021. The new law states beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, any student identification card issued by a public school to students in grades 6 through 12 must include the telephone numbers for national or statewide crisis and suicide hotlines and text lines.
Lifetouch has taken the steps necessary to assist our Florida schools to create student identification cards that include required identification card information. However, it is the school’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the information and to verify it follows state and local regulations. For more information on the specific requirements brought about by this new law, please contact your school’s district office. To understand the capabilities now available with Lifetouch student identification products, to meet the requirements of the new legislation in Florida, please contact your local Lifetouch representative.
Moment of Silence
Dear Parent/Guardian,
In accordance with Section 1003.45, Florida Statutes, Orlando Science School will observe a moment of silence each school day this year. This moment of silence will occur during first period or at the beginning of the day.
In accordance with the statute, the school will not make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection in which a student may engage during the moment of silence. Families are encouraged to discuss the moment of silence with their child(ren) and to make suggestions as to the best use of this time.
Please contact your child’s school with any questions about the moment of silence. We thank you for being our partner in education.
Sincerely,
Dr. Akin
Executive Director/Principal
Orlando Science Middle/High Charter School
Mask Mandate and Opt-Out Option
To opt-out of the mask mandate for your student, simply send a note with your student on the first day of school such as: "I am opting out of the face mask requirement for (Child's Name)" and sign the note. Please send a separate note for each student if you have more than one attending Orlando Science School. The student may give the note to their homeroom teacher. Parents may opt back in at any time by sending their student to school with a mask.
We will continue to keep you updated as we and OCPS monitor the situation over the next 30 days.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Sources:
Superintendent Barbara Jenkins Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/SuptJenkins/status/1423764799524163590
OCPS Back-to-School FAQs (COVID-19 Safety): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSKu1N1jICuAqu9aly38tS1uSeUhZgXkw0WUlraNBE1vRa6o-CRGkPKQ0tzanqR-qsnKvOvYHp5GGQq/pub
Department of Health Notice of Emergency Rule: https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8.6.21-DOH-Rule.pdf
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
- The names and incomes of every member of your household
- The school, grade, birthdate of every student in your household
- Your social security number and electronic signature
- (Optional) A valid email address or phone number for district communication about the status of the application.
August Lunch Menu
ORBIT'S CHARACTER CORNER
OPTIMISM
OPTIMISM is believing things will turn out successfully or for the best.
"Optimism is essential to achievement, and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress." - Nicholas Murray Butler
robotics informational meeting
FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)
Teams of about 10 students build small 18-inch robots to play heads on sports-like games against other teams. Volunteers & parents are needed to form teams and run meetings (at least 2 volunteers per team). Teams meet afterschool or on Saturdays from 4 to 10 hours a week (schedule TBD). A parent meeting with more details and team sign-ups will be on Saturday, August 21st @ 10:30AM, in the OSHS Cafeteria.
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
A team of about 10 to 30 students build a 120 lb. robot in about 6 weeks to play a competitive sports-style game. The team meets from 10 to 20 hours a week after school and on Saturdays (schedule TBD). A parent meeting with more details and team sign-ups will be on Saturday, August 21st @ 1:00 PM, in the OSHS Cafeteria.
A MESSAGE FROM MS. PEREZ
Hello and Welcome to Counseling Corner!
My name is Ms. Perez and I am the School Mental Health Counselor for Orlando Science Middle/High School. I serve all students in grades 6-12 and this is the start of my 4th year with Orlando Science in this role. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and share all the things you’d need to know about how I support our students and your families.
My first and main priority is our students’ mental health. I meet with students to help them with issues ranging from anxiety, depression, anger management, and interpersonal conflicts, to time management, mindfulness practice, coping skills, and stress management.
I meet with students during the school day and a meeting can last anywhere from 30-50 minutes depending on the presenting issue that is brought to me. Students can request meetings with me from my OSS Connect page which they all have access to on their dashboard, although it is under construction as we speak and will be up soon. Parents/Guardians can request meetings with me via email.
My schedule is as follows:
Mondays & Wednesdays – Lynx Campus (Middle School)
Tuesdays & Thursdays – Tech Campus (High School)
Fridays – Alternating Campuses (for example, Aug. 13th – Lynx, Aug. 20th- Tech, etc.)
Because I serve both campuses throughout the week, the best way for a parent/guardian to schedule time with me is via email (Felicia.Perez@orlandoscience.org).
Some fun facts about me:
- I’ve met 5 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates! Don’t be shy, ask me how…
- I’ve read 44 books so far in 2021 and will be sponsoring the Good Book Club this year.
- I attended Schools for the Performing Arts for both middle and high school. My major was dance!
- My birthday is this Sunday 😊
Thanks for taking your time to read this introduction. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to help!
All the best,
Ms. Perez
MS. PEREZ'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK
IMPORTANT PARENT RESOURCES
In an effort to reduce length and better streamline new content in our weekly newsletter, we have created a separate page for Parent Resources. This page will be available here each week, and can be accessed with one easy click. Access the link below to view:
Parent Skyward/OSS Connect Access
Parent Teacher Conference & Report Card Dates
Bell Schedule
Orange County Public School Calendar
PVO Information
Weekly Tutoring Schedule
Public Library Resources
And much more!
FOLLOW OSS MIDDLE HIGH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Orlando Science Lynx Lane Campus
Email: info@orlandoscience.org
Website: www.orlandoscience.org
Location: 2427 Lynx Lane, Orlando, FL, USA
Phone: (407)253-7304
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orlandoscience/
Twitter: @OrlandoSciMH