High School Weekly Communication

Hello OCHS! We are excited to share with you today a number of updates and information about the beginning of the school year. Please read carefully for details and as always, reach out with any questions via email or phone. We are so excited to see students filling our halls in less than two short weeks!

Monday, 8/26 - Wednesday, 8/28

• Freshman Retreat - Camp Odyssey

Tuesday, 9/3

• First Day of School, Freshman/OHA and Seniors!

Wednesday, 9/4

• Senior Field Trip to Camp Odyssey
• First Day of School for all grades!

Thursday, 9/5

• Back to School Bash/BBQ! 5-7pm, sign up below!

Tuesday, 9/17

• Back to School Night, 5-7pm

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.

Thank you to all of the families that joined us for our New Student Orientations! We will have one final virtual new student orientation on Thursday, August 29th at 5:00pm. As a reminder, all students new to OCHS must attend a new student orientation. If you have not yet signed up to attend an orientation or have not been able to attend, please sign up for the virtual orientation at this link. The information for the teams (virtual) meeting will be emailed to you!

Student schedules will be available on Schoology midweek next week! Students will also be able to access their schedules on infinite campus's portal app.

• Students may request schedule changes through Monday, September 9, 2024

• All students who would like a schedule change must complete the google form (bit.ly/ochsrequests).

• If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Leighty prior to the first day of school via email or at ext. 651.

Schedule changes will be completed on a first come, first served basis based on availability in each course requested and courses currently scheduled. Scheduling requests are NOT guaranteed.

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

The service hours recording form is included in the summer work and supply link below!

Please find all of the information regarding summer work and school supplies at this link. The link will be updated with all complete work as soon as possible, and an additional email will be sent!

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. Our first day of school for returning high school students will be Tuesday, September 3rd for 9th and 12th grade and Wednesday, September 4th for 10th and 11th grade!

This year, we will be hosting a Freshman Retreat - Camp Odyssey - at the beginning of the school year. From Monday, August 26th through Wednesday, August 28th, we look forward to a great retreat! All of our incoming 9th graders and Honors Academy students are invited. Students who plan to attend and have not yet received an email from Nurse Henning about completing their emergency card should reach out ASAP to the main office by calling 302-516-8000 x680.

Questions? Please reach out to Ms. Leighty at amanda.leighty@odyssey.k12.de.us

Senior schedules currently do NOT include any work based learning, senior privilege, or student/lab aide periods. This is by design. Students who are interested in any of these programs will express their interest and we will adjust their schedules in the first two weeks of school once they have secured a placement or applied for senior privilege.

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

Senior parking spots are now available!

To apply for a senior parking spot (first-come, first-served), please utilize the following link.

Senior parking spots are $35 and must be paid for on Velocity.

Senior parking spots are assigned. Flex spots are not assigned. If you are painting your parking spot, you will be assigned a previously painted spot and will be able to paint your spot in August after checking in at the HS main office and receiving your parking permit.

Seniors, are you interested in Senior Privilege? Senior privilege applications will be available once student schedules have been released on the student portals. Please read below for information on this program!

Senior Privilege

Odyssey Charter High School is pleased to extend to qualifying seniors a late arrival/early release program option. The senior privilege program offers students who have a study hall during the first or last period of the day to arrive late or be dismissed early from campus. Students must complete the Senior Privilege Application Form and submit the Senior Privilege Agreement & Permission Form after their schedule has been released for the academic year.

Students applying for senior privilege must meet all of the following criteria, which will be verified at the submission of this application:

• Grade Point Average Requirement: A student must have a cumulative unweighted GPA of 2.50 or greater at the time of the application. Students must then maintain a minimum unweighted GPA of 2.5 throughout the year. Failure to maintain this basic academic standing will result in the loss of senior privileges until the requirement is met. Students may then be added to academic classes or study hall periods based on the administration's discretion.

• Required Course Completion: Students applying for senior privilege must have successfully completed the following courses: Health, Algebra 2, US History and Biology, and be on track to graduate.

• Availability of Schedule: Students applying for senior privilege must have open availability in their schedule and be free of all obligations. Students may not drop core classes or request alternative options to free periods for senior privilege.

• Available Transportation: Students are responsible for their own transportation. Students must also apply for parking if requesting senior privilege and provide their own transportation. Students will lose this privilege and, if applicable, their parking privilege if found helping other students to leave school property without proper permission.

• Parent/Guardian Permission: Once the initial application has been reviewed, parents/legal guardians will be required to sign an agreement/permission form for senior privilege. The parent/guardian may withdraw this permission at any time.

• Satisfactory Attendance Record: Students are permitted no more than a combined five (5) unexcused absences/tardy to school within a marking period in order to maintain their senior privileges. Students who accumulate five (5) unexcused absences will have their privileges revoked and will be asked to use the time to make up missing work. Senior privileges will not be reinstated until the following marking period.

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

• 2024-2025 Bell Schedule

• 2024-2025 A/B Calendar

• 1-Page School Calendar

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