High School Weekly Communication

Happy Thursday OCHS! We've had a busy week with picture day, new apps and programs in Seminar, and getting further into regular classroom content. Next week we have field trips starting and a college fair for some of our seniors. Keep showing your Filotimo throughout the school! Hoot hoot!

Friday, 9/20

• Picture Day Makeup (for students absent today)
• This date is no longer a Dress Down Day - it was replaced by Wednesday!

Friday, 9/27

• HBCU College Fair (Seniors - info below!)
• Class of 2025 Senior Pictures (final opportunity at OCS)

Monday, 9/30

• End of Interim MP1

Thursday, 10/3 & Friday, 10/4

• Family Conferences

Our HS Students, grades OHA, 9, 10 and 11 will take the PSAT/NMSQT on Wednesday, October 30th. Please read the following for more information! 2024 PSAT/ NMSQT Family Communication

Dear 12th Grade Students & Families,

We are excited to invite all seniors with a 2.5 GPA or higher to attend the HBCU College Fair at the Chase Fieldhouse on Friday, September 27, 2024. Students are encouraged to research a few HBCUs prior to the event!

What to expect:

• Students are required to wear their OCS uniform.

• The bus will depart OCS at 8:45AM and return to OCS at 1:15PM.

• Students will eat lunch at OCS when they return as lunch will NOT be provided.

How do students register for this field trip?

Families must register their student(s) directly on the PARENT Infinite Campus App:

1. Choose the menu icon, select “School Store”

2. Choose “Shop” in the HS School Store

3. Select the HBCU College Fair

4. In the dropdown menu, select your student’s name.

5. Under “Required Forms” select the HBCU College Fair 9/27 form.

6. Complete the form online, including the e-signature page at the bottom.

7. Add the fair to your cart and check out. At check out, you will be able to pay the $5 fee.

*Please note that the IC app will not show the HBCU fair after the registration deadline, 9/25.

**Late registrations will NOT be accepted.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Jonyelle Smith, School Counselor, at 302-516-8000.

The High School is selling Fall Mums. All proceeds support OCHS student activities.

You can order a beautiful 9" planter:

• 1 for $10

• 3 for $25.

Color choices this year will include the following: Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple, and Pink. You can pick your colors when placing your order! All mums are grown at Frysville Farms in Ephrata, PA, and will be ready for pick-up the week of September 30th in the main lobby of, Building 20. The last day to order is Friday, 9/20/2024.

Use the link https://ocs-bpa.square.site/ for ordering or follow the QR code on the flyer! Reach out to Jackie Brandt at the HS with any questions at Jackie.Brandt@odyssey.k12.de.us

The OCS Code of Conduct for 2024-2025 can be found by clicking this link.

The acknowledgement form is on page 6 of that document, but also can be found here for ease of printing should your student need another copy. This form is due by Monday, September 16th.

Please be reminded that this policy begins on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Thank you!

Students may not use personal electronics (cell phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, etc.) at school or on the bus.

When entering the building, students should not have any devices or their accessories (headphones, charging cords) visible. All electronics should be stored in students’ locked lockers. Students are not permitted to use personal electronic devices while riding the bus, and must abide by the Acceptable Use Policy and comply with driver requests to put a device away.

Students who violate this policy will be asked to turn over their phone or electronic device to an administrator. Refusal will result in an automatic suspension. If a teacher asks the student to put their devices away and the student refuses to comply with this reasonable request, the teacher will immediately call for an administrator who will remove both the student and the device from the classroom and proceed with the appropriate disciplinary consequences, including confiscation, detention or suspension.

The first time a student is found possessing or utilizing a device, the device will be confiscated, students will meet with an administrator to reiterate the rules, and a phone call home will be made. The device will be returned to the student at the end of the day.

The second time a student is found possessing or utilizing a device, the device will be confiscated, students will meet with an administrator to reiterate the rules, and a parent or guardian must come to the school for a conference with the administrator and to pick up the device.

Additional incidences of a student utilizing or possessing a device will result in continued confiscation and parent conferences, including suspension(s) for the student. Any time a student refuses to comply and turn over their device, they will be suspended.

Medications - Emergency and Routine

If you have a student that requires emergency or other medications to be kept in the School Nurse's office, please send in or drop those off at school now.

All emergency medications MUST be sent into school. Medications that are controlled substances (medications that you give your license to pick-up) must be brought to school by someone over the age of 18.

Please call the School RN so that we may look for the medication and prepare.

Odyssey Charter School's Requirements for Medication can be found here.

Emergency Treatment Cards - This should have come home with all students. A new Emergency treatment card is required EVERY school year. This is a requirement by the Department of Education. Emergency Treatment cards MUST be turned in by Wednesday, September 18, 2024.

Required Health Screenings - Hearing/Vision Delaware Department of Education requires vision and hearing screenings completed on all students in Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th, all students that are new to Delaware Public Schools, and students considered for special education. Postural and Gait (Scoliosis) Delaware Department of Education requires postural and gait screenings (often referred to as Scoliosis) on all students in 5th-9th grades.

Required health screenings will begin taking place in the month of September. If you have any questions, please reach out to your student’s building RN.

HIGH SCHOOL HEALTH SCREENINGS WILL BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024. These will be completed on all High School students that are required by the State of Delaware (8th, 9th, 10th and students considered for Special Education Services)

As a reminder, students with specific health needs or treatment plans must resubmit these to the nurse each school year.

Juniors who are interested in parking on campus need to complete a parking application and purchase a parking pass for $15 from Ms. Lingo in the main office. The application can be found here, and parking spaces can be paid for online on Infinite Campus or cash in the main office.

Please see the map for information regarding our carline and parking at the high school. This map has not changed from last year, if you are already familiar with the high school procedures.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, all OCHS students will need to complete service hours. This was communicated earlier in the year through our course catalog changes as well as in scheduling meetings with our school counselors.

We will be utilizing a phased approach for the number of required hours per grade level, as follows:

• Seniors (Class of 2025) - 10 total hours
• Juniors (Class of 2026) - 20 total hours, 10 per year
• Sophomores (Class of 2027) - 30 total hours, 10 per year
• Freshman (Class of 2028) - 40 total hours, 10 per year

All students are required to complete Service Hours to graduate from OCHS beginning with the Class of 2025. Students will need to submit evidence of any hours competed - they can do so using this form.

Please see the attached calendar for the 2024-2025 school year.

I am excited to share a few opportunities that you may be interested in applying for:

1. Are you interested in studying abroad and learning a new language for FREE while in high school? If so, I highly recommend you begin your application for NSLI-Y (https://www.nsliforyouth.org/how-to-apply/timeline/). It is super competitive! I am happy to help in any way.

2. If you are a history enthusiast, I highly recommend you apply for the Voice of Democracy scholarship here (https://www.vfw.org/VOD/)! You can win a $35,000!

3. Have you ever read anything by author, Ayn Rand? Here are some scholarships that you may be interested in applying to: https://aynrand.org/students/essay-contests/

Each of these opportunities are due in October(ish) -- it feels like a while away, but the deadline WILL sneak up on you. If you're interested, please map out time now for you to begin. You will want your teachers and counselors' support. I'm happy to help too! :)

Hey Seniors! Ms. Leighty here -- your new Assistant Principal!

As many of you may know, I have a lot of experience working in selective college admissions and one of my big goals is to ensure that as many of you as possible are admitted to top-tier institutions with awesome financial aid. If you have aspirations of attending a top college, I highly recommend you apply to as many fly-in programs as possible.

If you need or want support, don't hesitate to contact me. My email is amanda.leighty@odyssey.k12.de.us and my extension is 651.

Check out this list -- many deadlines are quickly approaching.

Link: College Fly-ins + Deadlines

Our final day of Senior Portraits for the Class of 2025 is on September 27th. You must sign up in order to be included in the yearbook! Sign Ups are now open for this date: https://seniors.legacystudios.com/odyssey-charter-wilmington-de/

· Below is the contact information for the Legacy Studios customer care service in case you require any assistance.

· Call: 716-512-6336

· Email: customercare@legacystudios.com

· Chat: https://seniors.legacystudios.com

Thursday, September 19th

JV/V Volleyball @Lake Forest at 3:30/5p

JV Field Hockey vs. Concord @Maple Zone at 3:30p

Monday, September 23rd

JV/Varsity Volleyball v. AI duPont at 3:30/4:45p

Tuesday, September 24th

JV/Varsity Volleyball @Wilmington Christian at 4:00/5:30p

Varsity Boys Soccer v.AI duPont @Chase Field House at 3:00p

Middle school girls volleyball @Red Lion at 3:30p

Middle school boys soccer @Newark Charter at 3:30p

Wednesday, September 25th

Middle school girls volleyball v. Academia at 3:30p

Thursday, September 26th

Middle school boys soccer v.Academia @Chase Field House at 3:30p

Check out https://www.odysseychartersports.com/ for all sports schedules.

• 2024-2025 Bell Schedule

• 2024-2025 A/B Calendar

• 1-Page School Calendar

• Dress Down Dates
• Dress Code
• High School Grading Policy