Orlando Science Schools Lynx Campus

Greetings Orcas,

Happy Friday everyone! We have some important dates coming up that I would like to quickly remind you of:

Sunday, May 9th: Mother’s Day

Best wishes to all you mothers out there. I appreciate you taking care of your children every day, choosing the best school for them, and being involved in their education.

Monday, May 10 – 21st: Teacher Appreciation

We have extended beyond one week in order to truly show our amazing teaching staff our appreciation. See below for PVO’s daily appreciation breakdown the week of May 17th.

Monday, May 10 – 14th: National Charter Schools Week

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first charter school law. Thank you for making us your school of choice!

Wednesday, May 12th: Regular Release!!

Due to testing, there will be no Early Release this coming Wednesday. Please plan accordingly.

Even though the school year is coming to an end, our students are not slowing down. Several students were recognized at the spring Noetic Competition for math with Aaditya J. achieving National Honor Roll status. Additionally, Ananya P. has been selected as a Broadcom MASTERS nominee. Only 10% of science fair projects nationwide are selected for this opportunity. Phenomenal accomplishment Ananya!

In case you missed the announcement, Orlando Science School has been named the #1 Best High School in Orange County according to the 2021 US News and World Report! We couldn’t be prouder of our staff, students, and families for making this possible. Thank you!

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

We are thrilled to announce that Orlando Science School is ranked the #1 Best High School in Orange County according to the 2021 US News and World Report! This is a tremendous honor and is even more incredible in light of the challenging year we faced. Our students and staff are extraordinary and this is proof! We are so proud of you all.

We are very excited to announce that we will be creating a virtual graduation for our 8th graders! To do so, we need your help! Please see the requests below, for pictures and videos to help us create a special celebration for our students. Participation is optional for all.

If you would like to participate please email these items to Mrs. Caggiano: Clarissa.Caggiano@OrlandoScience.org. Please include your student’s first and last name in the email subject line. This will ensure that it is labeled accurately. Please submit all photos and videos by May 7th.

Student baby pictures:

Email two pictures - 1) one young/baby picture and 2) one current/recent picture.

Parent congratulations messages to their students video:

Email one congratulations picture or video message (please no more than 5 seconds long).

Student messages thanking teachers/staff/parents video:

Email one thank you picture or video message (please no more than 5 seconds long).

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for all of your help and support for this wonderful endeavor!

To show our appreciation for the teachers who play such a key part in this success we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation not one, not two, but three weeks.

We would love for you to join in the efforts and have outlined our plans below.

Week 1 (May 3-7): OSS Administration will be treating staff to gift cards

Week 2 (May 10-14): A morning of (pre-packaged) breakfast for staff

Week 3 (May 17-21): PVO's amazing daily appreciation activities (See list below).

Hello, All! I want to announce that PLUS Alliance is hosting a VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW!!! You will submit videos of you and/or your friends/family performing a talent to victoria.may@orlandoscience.org. The Top 10 Talent Videos will be shown to the school for voting! Winning Video takes a Prize!!!

Deadline for video submission is MAY 17th!! Talents can include time-lapse footage of drawing, painting, etc. It can be athletic talents or musical talents! Any talent welcome!!

$2 entrance fee to go toward the Winning Prize!! School Pay Link is here:

https://schoolpay.com/pay/for/Virtual-Talent-Show/ScIwmxB

COME ONE, COME ALL, and SHOW YOUR TALENTS ! ! !

As testing continues, we will no longer be able to provide headphones to students on campus. Please ensure that your student has a pair of headphones with them each day for use during class. If you are unable to provide a pair, we will do our best to assist. If headphones are forgotten, students should report to the front office. Thanks so much for helping ensure we have the equipment needed for testing!

If you missed the March 30th Assessment Info Webinar, you can now view the recorded meeting below:

OSS Middle High families,

Thank you for your patience as we continue to prepare for 2021 state testing. Our goal is to ensure all OSS students, staff and families have a safe and successful testing experience.

During this unusual year, the state has decided that districts will still be conducting annual assessments of student learning. While we have stressed that we believe there should be no punitive outcomes based upon these assessments, we agree that the student information will help inform our instruction for summer and for the next school year.

OSS Middle High will administer state assessments April 6-16 and May 3-25, which aligns with the Orange County Public Schools testing window. All OSS campuses will adhere to the guidelines included in the OCPS Health and Safety Procedures Manual. There will be no significant changes made to school day schedules and students are excused from all classes on their testing day(s). Per Florida Department of Education instructions, all spring state required testing will be held at school sites. This includes all OSS Middle High students, including those enrolled in the eLearning model.

Thank you again for your support. Rest assured we are working hard to make sure your child's learning gains are accounted for and that they are able to work towards their academic goals.

Please direct your assessment related questions to Mrs. Frunker at:

Frunker@orlandoscience.org

*** THERE WILL BE AN IMPORTANT EMAIL GOING OUT NEXT WEEK WITH LOCATION AND ROOM ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION FOR UPCOMING TESTING SESSIONS. PLEASE LOOK FOR THAT EMAIL. ***

Our Yearbook club is working hard to finish up and submit the final product! The current date for Yearbooks to arrive is early June! With that being said, we will host specific times that you and your student will be able to come to the school to pick up the Yearbooks you have ordered! Please plan accordingly with these dates and times. If these times do not work for you, please contact Ms. Filippone or Ms. Pantone to schedule a time to get your Yearbook!

Pick-up Date 1: June 1st 7:30 am – 4 pm at the OSS Lynx Campus

Pick-up Date 2: June 2nd 7:30 am – 4 pm at the OSS Lynx Campus

*Please note that shipping dates may be affected due to Covid. If there is any change in dates it will be updated within the weekly Newsletter.

If you have any further questions regarding the Yearbook please contact:

Ms. Filippone: jamie.filippone@orlandoscience.org

OR

Ms. Pantone: Alexandra.pantone@orlandoscience.org

Have an idea for improving our school? We'd love to hear about it. Your idea counts! Tell us about it using the link below.

We love to recognize our teachers and staff that go the extra-mile to engage and motivate our students every day in and out of the classroom. If there's a staff member or teacher you'd like to recognize, we'd love to hear about it. Please take a moment to fill out the survey linked below. We will be sure to share the responses with our staff.

An OPPORTUNITY is a chance to do something.

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." - Ann Landers

Hello and Welcome Back to Counseling Corner!

This week, we’re going to talk about making a Self-Care Toolkit. A Self-Care Toolkit is a box or container that holds self-care items to be used if/when the person who created it needs them. Now it may sound simple enough, but there is an art to creating a great and helpful toolkit. As a parent, you can help your child(ren) create their tool-kits and it can be a bonding activity, or you can use these tools to make your own toolkit first and then share with your child. Here we go!

Self-Care Tool-kits have been found to be most effective/successful when the self-care items included utilize sensory components related to touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell, movement, and comforting pressure. I will give you ideas of what to include for each sense below.

First, find a box or bin big enough to hold the items you’ll place in there (or you can just designate a space in your closet or room to keep the items together). The purpose of keeping the items together is so the owner can find it easily and access the tools inside quickly, because when someone is in personal crisis, it can be difficult to think clearly. The toolkit becomes something you don’t have to think about using or finding.

Next, the ideas:

Touch: Soft blanket, stuffed animal, clay, silly putty, stress ball, fidget toys, bubble wrap

Taste: Herbal tea, hot chocolate, minty gum, Listerine strips, ginger ale, frozen starbursts, mints

Sight: photos of vacations, family, friends, things you love, inspirational quote book, journal & pen, positive notes to yourself or from others, postcards, gratitude list

Hearing: comforting music, lo-fi beats, white noise, nature sounds (you can save or make a playlist of these sounds wherever you listen to your music for easy access)

Smell: candles, lavender or eucalyptus oils, flowers, plants, scented lotion

Movement: yoga mat, an outfit to use to run, jog, or walk outside, print-out of soothing stretches

Comforting Pressure: weighted blanket, bean bag chair, small swing or rocking chair, fuzzy socks, tissues (for if you need to cry)

Suggestions that count in more than one category: bubbles (touch, sight, movement), coloring book (sight, movement), puzzle (touch, sight), art supplies for knitting, drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. (touch, sight, movement), nail polish & supplies (touch, sight, movement), bath bombs (smell, touch, sight)

Once you compile all your favorite items into the designated space or box, keep it in a safe and easily accessible place. If you find yourself in need of self-soothing, time alone, crying, processing, distraction, just being safe and comfortable, pull out your Self-Care Toolkit and relax.

Thanks for visiting Counseling Corner and as always, if you have any questions, I’m happy to help!

All the best,

Ms. Perez

We are so excited to congratulate Saumya K! Saumya was chosen as one of the winners for the NJHS Outstanding Achievement Award! This award recognizes middle school students across the nation who have excelled in the 5 NJHS pillars of achievement and offers these students a $500 scholarship!

You can read more about the award and see the full list of winners here: https://www.njhs.us/students/the-njhs-outstanding-achievement-award/

Congratulations to Mrs. Demir on being selected as one of the featured teachers in the May issue of Orlando Family Magazine!

We are so proud of Ananya P for her success in being selected as a Broadcom MASTERS nominee. This is a great honor—only 10% of science fair projects nationwide are selected for this opportunity. Ananya will receive a t-shirt and bumper sticker, and could be named one of the Top 300 MASTERS (announced September 1st) or one of the 30 finalists (announced September 14th). The 30 finalists will gather in October for a week of competition—including presentation of the research project and hands-on science and engineering challenges. Top prizes include $25,000, trips to STEM summer camps, and more. Schools of Broadcom MASTERS finalists each receive $1,000 from the Broadcom Foundation. Congratulations, Ananya!

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!

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