Dear OSS Families,

Help us spread the word about the opening of our Orlando Science East Campus located near UCF. It will be opening August of 2020 for grades K-6 with the addition of a higher grade each year to include grades K-8 by 2022. Students attending our East Campus will be able to continue at Orlando Science Charter High School which is located on Technology Drive. We would like to welcome our new East Orlando Campus to our Orlando Science family. They will have the same outstanding programs and educational model that we currently have at our existing campuses including:

· Small class size and individual attention for our students

· Award-winning academic and extracurricular programs

· Robotics, Science and Math Olympiad programs

· State of the art STEM classrooms, labs and media center

· Dedicated teachers and staff

· Hands-on learning experiences

· Full-time Gifted program

Orlando Science Charter School is a tuition free STEM focused public charter school. Orlando Science has been rated the #1 school in 2018 and 2019 in Central Florida by Niche. US News also rated Orlando Science Charter High School the best high school in Central Florida.

While our plans are progressing, we would like to ask for your participation by filling in an interest application to help us determine the capacity of each grade level. If you are on the waitlist for one of our current campuses or would like to transfer your children to the east campus, please complete the application form below by February 15th, 2019.

http://www.orlandoscience.org/orlando-science-east-campus

Sincerely,

Yalcin Akin, Ph.D

Executive Director

Orlando-Seminole- Osceola

Science Charter Schools

Dear Families and Students,

Welcome to the month of February, I hope everyone had a wonderful week! Below you will find our upcoming OSHS announcements and reminders.

Saturday Leadership Academy and AP Studies will continue tomorrow, February 2nd, at the high school campus. Check the newsletter or OSS Connect for the most accurate schedule of courses and room assignments.

OSHS 3rd Quarter Parent Teacher Night Conference Nights dates have been set, please review the PTC corner found in this week's newsletter for dates and information regarding the sign-up process. As always it is important to remember that if these dates and times do not work for you, or if all spots become filled, you may always contact your student's teachers to arrange an appointment for another date and time.

In the month of February OSHS is excited to celebrate Black History Month! Each week we will feature one influential African-American in the newsletter. You can also learn more about Orlando area events celebrating prominent African Americans, like the Zora Neale Hurston Festival.

Congratulations to our hard working OSHS FBLA Team and their wins and district officer elections! Good luck and you prepare for the upcoming state competition.

OSHS Stem Art winning art pieces are displayed below, take a look at what our amazing Orca Artists created with the theme of biomimicry.

Have a safe and wonderful weekend and we will see you on Monday!

Respectfully,

Abdulaziz Yalcin, M.Ed

Principal

Orlando Science Schools-Middle/High

Students who have signed up for Saturday Studies should be prepared for the second session this Saturday, February 2nd. Session one is from 9am-10:30am and Session 2 is from 10:40am-12:10pm. Check back on OSS Connect each Friday for the most up to date Saturday Studies schedule.

3rd Quarter Parent Teacher Conference Nights will take place on

Tuesday, February 12th and Wednesday, February 13th.

Sign Ups will take place starting today, Friday, February 1st at 6pm by clicking the link below. At 6pm on Friday, February 8th, the Sign Up window will close.

Please read through the Sign Up information carefully before selecting a time slot. Don't forget you may always email your student's teachers to make an appointment which fits your schedule. Once spots are filled, please email your student's teachers to arrange an appointment for another date and time, no additional spots will be added to these nights. There will be no wait list created, please check back for canceled time slots.

OSHS is pleased to celebrate "Black History Month" this February! Each week we will feature one influential African-American who helped shaped our society. This week we are pleased to feature Neil deGrasse Tyson.

"Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson obtains his data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as from telescopes in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the Andes Mountains of Chile. His latest two books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto's planetary status. Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children."

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12855

Celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans to our country. Special events throughout the month include lectures, cultural performances and film screenings. Click below for a detailed schedule.

Please help me congratulate the FBLA team in their success at the district competitions starting with District 15’s officer elections:

Alexis D. district President

Levi F. district Vice-President

Avari M. district Secretary

Vidit P. district Treasurer

The FBLA also had a lot of success in the competitions allowing them to go to the state’s competition!

Aisha M. won 1st place

Alexis D. won two 1st places

Avari M. won 1st place

Dante C. won 2nd and 3rd place

Daemyn B. won 2nd place

Deshaun C. won 2nd and 3rd place

Gabriel G. won 2nd place

Gideon F. 1st place and 2nd place

Levi F. won two 3rd places

Micah T. won 1st and 3rd place

Vidit P. won two 2nd places

Well done Orcas. We wish you success as you prepare for States!

Congratulations to the following winners for the STEM Art Contest: Special Recognition goes to Tyler A. for artistic skill and most popular from the Science Fair. 3rd place Alexandra T. 9th gr, 2nd place Elana M. 9th gr, and 1st place Gwendolyn H. 10th gr. The winners and students who received certificates of recognition during the award ceremony will be showcased at the Winter Park Festival in March.

Currently, the Orlando Science School Band Program at both the middle school and high school are raising money to fund their program. Their current fundraiser is a Snap-Raise fundraiser. This type of fundraiser does not hinge on actively selling products or services, but instead requests help and donations from patrons. The band program is asking for help in raising the funds they need to purchase music, maintain and repair equipment, and purchase new or missing equipment. The link at the bottom takes you to the band's Snap-Raise page with more information on donating to their cause or spreading their story. Anything that anybody can offer will be appreciated. Even if you cannot provide financial assistance, forwarding the link with their story to others and through social media can go far to helping them achieve their goals. If you would like any further information about the fundraiser, you may contact Mr. Jenkins.

https://www.snap-raise.com/fundraisers/orlando-science-charter-band-2019

Attention 8th graders: Our class is planning to take a field trip on Friday, May 17, 2019 to Universal Studios! Please complete the field trip permission form on the last page of the document below and return it before the deadline date.

We are excited to announce that the OCLS has partnered with OSS Middle/High to provide free Virtual Library Cards (VLC) to all of our students! There are many wonderful online resources students can access now from any computer with their credentials. Check out the website www.ocls.info and go to Research and Learning to explore all the learning opportunities the library offers. Use the credentials listed in the picture above to log in and learn!

Attention OSHS current 10th and 11th grade students: We are pleased to share with you an opportunity for Florida State University's Young Scholars Program (YSP). It is a six-week residential science and mathematics summer program for Florida high school students with significant potential for careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program was developed in 1983 and is currently administered by the Office of Science Teaching Activities in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida State University. For more details, please visit the Program Information page.

Eligibility:
The program is designed for students who have completed the eleventh grade in a Florida public or private high school. A few exceptionally qualified and mature tenth graders have been selected in past years, though this is quite rare.

To be considered for acceptance, applicants must:

• Maintain at least a 3.0 GPA (unweighted)
  
• Have received a score in the 90th percentile or better in math on a nationally standardized exam (i.e., SAT, PSAT, ACT, or PLAN) before the application deadline
  
• Be enrolled in or have completed Pre-Calculus
  
• Be able to commit for the entire six weeks of the program (no exceptions will be made for travel to other summer internship opportunities, sports camps, Mu Alpha Theta, etc.)
  
• Maintain a permanent residence in the state of Florida
  

Important Program Dates 2019:
January 1: Applications available online
February 15: Application deadline (must be postmarked by this day)
May 15: Admissions decisions finalized (on or before this day)
October 15: Summative evaluations available to students (on or before this day)

Click the application link below to apply. Good luck!

The OSS PVO Committee representing the

Elementary, Middle, Junior High, and High School

are holding their Third Annual Fall Festival to raise funds for our schools!

Annual OSS Fall Festival Fundraiser will be held on

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Something for everyone, from toddler to adult with Inflatable houses, jousting, and slide; Games; Food; Bake sales; Silent auction; Raffles; Vendors; Health Fair

TIME: 11am – 5pm

LOCATION: OSS Elementary and Middle School

2611 Technology Dr. Orlando, FL. 32804

PARKING: Free parking at Magic Mall with shuttle service to the school. $5 Preferred Parking at the Technology elementary and high school parking lot

This is where we need your help! We have various sponsorships at all levels available to fill. If you would like to be a business sponsor, individual sponsor, or know of a business that would be willing to be a sponsor, please contact us.

We are working diligently to fill all the spots.

With your help, we can reach this year’s goal to increase our profits!

Please feel free to contact our PVO Committee below for more information on sponsorship levels, to submit a sponsor referral, or if you would like to become involved with the PVO committee. Our kids are this country’s future; please help us support our school’s needs by supporting the efforts of the OSS PVO committee.

OSS.PVO@orlandoscience.org

Visit our webpage for one stop shop for festival information:

www.OrlandoScience.org/Fall-Festival-2019

This scholarship program helps support promising high school seniors who intend to pursue a career in an approved engineering, computer science, mathematics or physics program and who live in communities where Northrop Grumman Mission Systems has a major presence. That includes Florida's Orange County! OSHS Seniors check out the link below to learn more about NG's $8,000 scholarship opportunity.

FAFSA is the Federal Student Aid program. Every single college applicant needs to complete FAFSA regardless of their income. This application is free and completed through only one website. Do not pay to anyone or any website for completion of FAFSA. This should take no more than 45 minutes to complete if you have everything ready to go. FAFSA is time sensitive. The funds are distributed as first come first serve.

State of Florida has its own scholarship program called Bright Futures and it is managed through OSFA (Office of Student Financial Assistance). When you complete the application, you are also being evaluated for other scholarships through State of Florida. It is a very short application and should not take more than 15 minutes. Most important thing to know is that, you only complete the form and your transcript and SAT/ACT scores will be submitted automatically through OSS and the State of Florida University System. You are not required to satisfy all the application requirements until the end of the school year to apply to this scholarship. On the other hand, being qualified currently does not guarantee that you will receive this scholarship. If your end of year GPA falls under the requirement, then you will not be receiving the scholarship. Here are the current requirements:

Senior yearbook ads are now available!

Purchase an advertisement for your senior today. Include pictures and a short message for your student before they graduate. After payment is made be sure to email your pictures and your message to Ms. Lizarazo to make sure the correct information is placed in the yearbook.

Full page ad:

https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/FULL-PAGE-Senior-Yearbook--Advertisement-/IdDLy

1/2 page ad:

https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/HALF-PAGE-Senior-Yearbook--Advertisement-/IdDLx

Due date is March 29, 2019

The Orlando Science High School on Technology Drive opened its doors to a newly renovated campus in August 2018. One of the great features of the High School campus is the brand new Media Center. It serves as a space where all students can read, research and study. Please consider making a donation directly to the Media Center to help Mrs. Singleton stock the shelves and create a welcoming environment for our students. As always the Amazon Wishlist link below contains the most current requests from our staff and students.

OSS Families: See the important message below regarding FortifyFlorida.

We are pleased to announce that the FortifyFL app is LIVE. Now, 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 be come familiar with the app and help spread the word to other school families in Florida.

Sincerely,

Pam Bondi and Pam Stewart

Attorney General and Commissioner of Education

Our School System has recently updated our accounts on LinkedIn would love for you to join our network! Please see below for links to the official LinkedIn Company Pages for each of our campuses and feel free to share with current families and alumni.

• Orlando Science Schools (K-12): https://www.linkedin.com/company/orlando-science-schools/
  
• Osceola Science Charter School (K-8): https://www.linkedin.com/company/osceola-science-charter-school/
  
• Seminole Science Charter School (K-8): https://www.linkedin.com/company/seminole-science-charter-school/

This is an easy way to help raise money for Orlando Science Schools. Use the link below when shopping from Amazon. 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 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

Hello OSS Families! Please remember that BOX TOPS are a wonderful FREE way to raise funds for our school. Each Box Top is worth $.10 and they really add up. Please make sure to continuously send these in so that I can mail them before their expiration dates. The monies received go to supporting our academic and sport teams, the PLTW (Project Lead the Way) along with many other OSS programs and classroom needs. If you would like to learn more about the Box Tops program go to www.btfe.com. Please register or login today. Make sure that you designate Orlando Science Schools as your school support.

To see a complete list of products go to: https://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/participating-products

Also, it is very important to check those expiration dates. We do not receive any credit for expired Box Tops.

Thank you so much for your support of Orlando Science Middle High School. For questions or thoughts please email me at jmallonee@cfl.rr.com.

Happy Clipping!

Denise Mallonee

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.) Please utilize the SCHOOL PAY link below to pay your dues.

If you have questions, comments, or requests, you may email OSS.PVO@orlandoscience.org . A formal PVO committee, including president and vice-president, will be announced at the end of the first quarter of the 2018-2019 School Year. PVO will hold bi-monthly meetings that will inform parents of progress, agendas, and upcoming events.

Thank you for all of your help and support as we look forward to a great year.

If you are an ADDitions approved volunteer, OSHS can use your help! We are looking for parents or responsible adults over the age of 18 to help during lunch times (approximately 11am-1pm) and during car line before and after school. Please contact Ms. Foley to schedule the exact time slots. All volunteers must complete the ADDitions application is here: https://ocps.samaritan.com/custom/503/ beforehand. Thank you for all you do to help make OSHS great!

Orcas interested in dressing down for their birthday MUST submit a "Dress Down Day" form(found below) to Mrs. Foley at least two business days prior to the requested dress down date.

Technology Drive High School Orcas Families please make sure to review the Dress Code with your students. Dress Code may be found on page 29 in the OSS Handbook HS 2018-2019 below.

Families whose Free/Reduced lunch applications have expired, please take a moment and fill out the OCPS Free/Reduced Meal Application today! It must be completed each year to qualify for this federally funded program. To fill out the application click the link below.

Email: info@orlandoscience.org
Website: http://orlandoscience.org/highschool/
Location: 2600 Technology Drive, Orlando, FL, USA
Phone: (407)299-6595
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orlandoscience/
Twitter: @OrlandoSciMH