The Grenadiers (17-2, 26.24 rating) rank No. 1 in the state among all classifications in FHSAA playoff rankings, ahead of No. 2 Lake Highland (13-4, 25.99) and No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (13-5, 24.28).

Colonial is all but assured the top seed in 7A Region 1, which includes No. 2 Boone (15-3), No. 4 Lake Mary (14-4), No. 5 Timber Creek (12-8), No. 6 Ocoee (12-3) and No. 8 Hagerty (8-5) among area playoff contenders.

Seniors Carmen Richardson (11.9 pts., 3.7 ast.) and Jasmynne Gibson (7.2 pts., 4.3 rbs.) entered the season as the lone returning starters for the Grenadiers. Winter Park transfer Jasmine Boca averages 9.4 points per game.

Colonial finishes the regular season at home vs. Lake Highland on Feb. 1.

* Colonial Girls Basketball team schedule and record.

Thank you to the Fire Department for coming out to engage our students in World Heart Day! Freshman and Junior students were taught how to perform hands-on CPR. Over 1,500 students were trained and now know how to perform it, should someone need assistance some day!

Congratulations goes out to George LaComb on his acceptance into the Florida House of Representatives Page & Messenger Program. He is pictured with Johanna López, member of the Florida House of Representatives.

Students in Mr. Taylor’s class working on a review for an upcoming test.

Students in Mr. Ramos' class working on factoring polynomials.

* Please see Mr. Ramos' personal success story in the segment that follows.

Freshman students had the opportunity last week to fly drones and learn more about the Flight Academy Program on the main campus.

Students took part in an Edgenuity Blitz (online coursework) to plow through their classes as they climbed closer to the finish line!

Mrs. McNair, College and Career Specialist, works with students during a Valencia College Bridges to Success application session!

Mr. Ramos was recognized by Mrs. Reussow at our faculty meeting for his over 25 years of service teaching math at the Ninth Grade Center! He has touched countless lives and we are so grateful to have him with us!

Student Government Association (SGA) students on the Ninth Grade Campus worked hard to sort and pass out class shirts to Freshmen. All grade levels were provided with a Colonial High School t-shirt, which was designed by a student. The slogan “Grenadiers March Towards Success” was voted on and adorns the shirts. Each grade level has a different color, ensuring all students have something they can wear to show their Grenadier pride!

Our guidance counselors hosted another “Coffee with Counselors” where families were invited to come in and meet with their student’s guidance counselors about current academics, graduation requirements, and post-secondary options.

Mrs. Reussow led teachers through a "deep-dive" of data from the first and second quarters. Teachers learned about the new FAST and BEST score, reviewed data, and made a plan towards the end of the year!

Colonial Families: For information on your child's bus, please click the link below. Please also know that busing is handled via OCPS Transportation and they will always have the best information on your child's bus times.

The Valencia Horizon Scholars – Take Stock in Children Program is excited to share that our application for eligible 8th & 9th grade students in Orange County is now open for the 2023-2024 school year!

Students and families can learn more about the program and access the virtual application via the Valencia Horizon Scholars – Take Stock in Children Program website.

Four times per year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics releases their results on what Americans earn per week based on educational attainment. They just released their findings for the 2023 4th quarter on Thursday, January 18th (see Table 5 in the report). To no surprise, the pattern held up again for another quarter as follows:

Bachelor's degree and higher - $1,608 (red line in chart)

Some college or associate's degree - $1,058 (blue line in chart)

High school diploma, no college - $917 (green line in chart)

* Grenadier Footnote: These are median figures for the USA. For individuals these figures will vary by job type, where you live, how long you have worked for a particular organization, etc. But overall, the pattern holds across the 50 states and this remains true even during economic recessions (the grey bars in the chart).

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED database Chart shows weekly earnings by educational level for every quarter during the 21st century. The top red line represents those who have at least a four-year college degree.

Don't do nothing halfway, else you find yourself dropping more than can be picked up.

It's not all about talent. It's about dependability, consistency, and being able to improve.

We're not going to talk about what we're going to accomplish. We're going to talk about how we're going to do it.

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.

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