March 29 & 30: Senior cap and gown pictures

March 30: Report Cards on Skyward

April 5: Testing scores due for Valencia College Dual Enrollment students (please see below)

April 7: No early release on this Wednesday

The CCHS Makers vs. Covid team has delivered 150 face shields and 100 reusable masks to the Health Care Center for the Homeless.

The Makers Team is a group of CCHS students who work directly with MakersforCovid and GetUSPPE to supply healthcare workers with the safety equipment they need. We make face shields using the school’s 3D printers and face masks which are sewn at home.

On Thursday, March 18th middle school and high school students from across Florida traveled to the Florida FFA Leadership Training Center in Haines City to compete for state honors in the FFA Floriculture Career Development Event (CDE). Our Cypress Creek FFA team won 5th place in the state high school division!

The purpose for the Florida FFA Floriculture CDE is to stimulate interest in learning activities related to the floriculture/flower industry, including the identification of plants, pests, industry sales and marketing, store display, job interviews and worker safety. The teams must also complete a “hands-on” practicum which, this year, included creating an herb dish garden and a wreath. The state event was sponsored by the Florida Nursery Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA).

Congratulations to Mr. Acharya and the Coding/Hack Club, the Girls Who Code Club and several Cyber Security students who represented Cypress Creek High School at the 4th Annual Capture the Flag Cyber Security Competition. We had 2 teams competing this year:

For some students, it was their first competition and they respectively placed 3rd and 5th in their heat and 5th and 9th overall. These students are all sophomores and juniors and are already anticipating and prepping for next year with excitement! These dedicated Bears also competed on their first day of spring break which is another huge feat! Go Bears!

Peter Rabbit said, "Monday March 29 is ready to bloom with all lucky 7's: 7 breakfast, 7 lunch, 7 supper, 7 snacks!"

Please take a moment to recognize your teachers who practice what they preach! Assistant Principal Buxton gave a “Shout Out” award to all the teachers who turned on their microphones in the February professional learning experience. Now it’s your turn to TURN ON THOSE MICS!

Hi! I was a Bear that graduated Class of 2016. My name is Lexirelis Ramos. I was at CCHS all four years, I was involved in Psych club with Mr. Dunlop and a bit in theater. I am currently a student at the University of Central Florida, Go Knights! My goal is to become an English language Arts high school teacher. I was actually an ESOL student and now am specializing in English. So if there is any advice I have for the students it is to never give up, because anything is possible when you put your mind to it. I really mean that!

My name is Carlos Antonio Flores and I graduated from CCHS last year, Class of 2020. During my time at CCHS, I was involved in AVID for years and I also had the opportunity to do dual enrollment for electrical where I learned the basics on being an electrician and because of that I now work for an electric company called Terry’s Electric. My advice is to not give up on your dreams no matter what because I didn’t. I had to overcome a number of deaths in my family last year, but I kept pushing forward during that difficult time to achieve my dreams as an electrician. I would like to thank Cypress Creek for everything they taught me.

Cypress Creek wants to encourage our current students to keeping pushing towards success even during the Covid pandemic.

If you graduated from Cypress Creek and would like to be feature in our "Bear in the Woods" section of future of this community brief and in our social media, please click on this link: https://forms.gle/aYgEZr81YpCFqPs88 and complete the Google form.

Your story can benefit our current students as they can draw insight from your message. Thank you and GO BEARS!

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of a member of our Bear Family at Cypress Creek, Genesis Mota.

Since joining us four years ago from the Dominican Republic, Genesis has been a vibrant young woman dedicated to her studies and passionate about JROTC. As a member of New Bear Connections she would kindly help guide and mentor new student arrivals. Whenever others needed help around her, Genesis was always ready and willing to assist.

Link to Genesis’ Gofundmepage: https://gofund.me/e9810286

VCDE applicants will receive a message from Valencia with their VID and directions on testing to the email address used to apply.

To be accepted, Valencia’s assessment office must receive qualifying test score for the applicant by Monday, April 5th.

Questions? Contact Valencia’s dual enrollment office at dualenrollment@valenciacollege.edu or Ms. Dye at dwana.dye@ocps.net.

Seats are available in high-demand programs like healthcare, advanced manufacturing, information technology, building construction, digital media, and more. These programs provide students relevant technical skills to prepare them for immediate employment with reputable employers throughout the region, all at a fraction of the cost of other colleges.

Call, register online or visit an Orange Technical College campus for more information. Discover your #EssentialPotential today!

America has been experiencing a serious shortage in skilled trades, especially for those wanting to get going sooner vs. later as apprentices. As mentioned above, Orange Technical College is offering free skills-based training in many fields - something our Bears might want to look into.

Footnote for our Bears: "Spill the Tea" from OCPS contains a number of very helpful YouTube videos on a variety of college and career related subjects. If you click on the link above you will also find archived posts.

Making sense of the map: There are 67 counties in Florida and the map shows the percentages of residents that have a 4-year degree or higher between the period of 2015-2019. Our Bears should know that the percentage of Orange County residents in the college educated group has risen from 30.6% to 34.6% in only a few years (2010-2014 vs. 2015-2019).

Our Bears should also know that the median income for the holder of a bachelor's degree in Florida was $47,440 (adjusted to 2019 dollars), while high school graduates earned $27,854, according to the 2015-2019 American Community Survey.

Sources: patch.com; U.S. Census Bureau (data recently released)

Even though all students are receiving meals at no charge right now due to USDA waivers, there are many reasons for families to continue to apply for free or reduced meal benefits.

If the application is approved, families may qualify for:

The deadline to submit applications is April 15th.

This information is from the Primary Care Action Network (PCAN). They assist families with navigating the marketplace for healthcare insurance. There have been significant changes in terms of affordability of plans as part of the COVID relief bill. Visit https://www.coveringcfl.net/ to get started.

Please click on the link below for the latest Community Update from OCPS. This is a YouTube short video from Dr. Vazquez, OCPS Deputy Superintendent of Schools, that covers these topics relevant to our Cypress Creek community:

One of the most successful and well-respected boxers of all time, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, passed away earlier this month at the age of 66. While the sport of boxing has largely fallen out of the public eye for a variety of reasons, Hagler’s passing (and recounting of his many successes) naturally leads one to thinking about some of the traits that the world's best boxers all possess: self-discipline, continuous effort towards an end goal, self-confidence, and a never ending drive for personal improvement.

Along the lines of a world champion boxer, here are a few inspirational quotes that can help guide our Bears as we want to finish these last eight weeks of 2020-2021 with strength and maximum effort! It is a safe bet that "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler lived by all of these:

I just try to learn from every mistake that I make so I never make them again.

I think that’s the single best piece of advice: Constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.

I tell young people — including my granddaughter — there is no shortcut in life. You have to take it one step at a time and work hard.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Fax 407-850-5160 | EEO Statement

Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and OCPS - Cypress Creek High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Cypress Creek High School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Dr. McHale at walton.mchale@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.