OCSA's world-famous Halloween Maze is back and better than ever! This year, the festivities have expanded into a full Halloween Festival, with games and activities, live entertainment, food trucks, and treats sold by The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory. Then, enter Granny’s lair – if you dare! Granny's Sinister Sweets will take over the Scott & Charlotte Egan Studio Theatre and will crawl out into the Container Lot on Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Click here to purchase your tickets and reserve your spot to meet Granny. This event is brought to you by the Arts & Enterprise, The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality, and the Production & Design Conservatories. For extra fun, make sure to follow @OCSA.AE and @OCSAPnD on Instagram to help them search for teachers and staff who have gone missing…

Actors from all conservatories wanted! Students come leave your mark – on the neck of the audience! The Creative Writing Conservatory is holding auditions for Scarefest actors this coming Tuesday, October 22, during Office Hours in the basement of Michael F. Harrah Symphony Hall. For more information, please contact Josh Woods at josh.wood@ocsarts.net.

Don’t miss the renowned Visual Arts Conservatory annual fundraiser, the Painted Pumpkin Auction! TODAY, Friday, October 18, at 9 p.m. is your last opportunity to bid on one of these stunning seasonal faux pumpkins created by Visual Arts students and staff in a variety of styles. There are over 50 different scary, creative, and beautiful pumpkins to choose from, so there is sure to be a pumpkin you will want to take home! Click here to view the entire collection and place a bid today! If you are a winner, your pumpkin will be available for pick-up from the OCSA campus in time for Halloween festivities. Winners will receive an email with specific instructions.

Students: In celebration of Halloween, we encourage you to submit an original, OCSA-centered spooky tale for the Terrifying Tales Short Story Contest! Click here to read the contest guidelines and submit your “terror-ific” tale by this coming Wednesday, October 23, at 11:59 p.m. The top three stories will be published on the OCSA blog and the first place winner will receive a special OCSA swag bag. Be sure to follow along on the @WeAreOCSA Instagram all month long for Halloween trivia, polls, fun facts, and much more!

October is here, and it is almost time for OCSA’s Annual Halloween Bash! Students: If you are interested in competing in the costume contest, there are five student categories: scariest, funniest, most creative, best cosplay, and best group.

We would like to share the following do’s and don’ts, which can help as you plan your costume this month: 

Do:

• Respect people’s decision to participate or not participate in Halloween festivities.
• Make sure your costume doesn’t hinder your ability to learn or others' ability to learn.

Don’t:



• Bring toy guns or weapons to school. If your costume includes a replica or foam sword or staff, that is acceptable; however, please be aware that staff or administration may ask to see it and may stow it in their office if it is determined to be potentially dangerous.
• Engage in cultural appropriation or wear a costume that makes fun of a specific religion, race, ethnicity, cultural group, or gender. True appreciation comes in the form of learning about other cultures, befriending different people, going to museums, researching, and listening to others’ stories. Dressing up for one day of the year is not an appropriate demonstration of appreciation. Please stick to make-believe costumes, such as superheroes, zombies, aliens, vampires, book characters, and all things imaginative or creative.

High school students from ALL conservatories: The Gala Team is looking for talented vocalists, dancers, and greeters to be a part of this special event. If you are interested in auditioning for Gala 2025, the deadline to sign up is this coming Tuesday, October 22. Auditions will take place on Wednesday, October 23. Click here for more information and to sign up to audition today! Don’t miss your opportunity to participate in OCSA’s biggest fundraiser of the year, held on Saturday, March 29 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.

The Popular Music Conservatory is excited to share their See’s Candy fundraiser! If you are interested in these irresistible gifts that are perfect for family, friends, teachers, or really anyone, click here to order now. Sales close at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 5. All proceeds will go to support the Popular Music Conservatory.

The OCSA-famous Dodgeball Tournament is one week away on Friday, October 25 from 3-5 p.m. in The Callero Family Foundation Plaza (DMS Quad). You will not want to miss this fast-paced, action-packed event! 

Did you know that The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory’s upcoming ThrowDown Finale includes a thrilling virtual auction that is open to everyone? Please click here to access the auction before it closes on Sunday, October 27 at 3 p.m. You can also place a vote for your favorite ThrowDown team to get an advantage in the competition. Votes and donations must be placed prior to the start of the event on Saturday, October 26. All proceeds from the event and auction will benefit The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatory.

The priority deadline for purchasing AP exams is Sunday, October 27. All AP exams must be purchased through MySchoolBucks. Please note, AP exams purchased after Sunday, October 27 will incur a $40 late fee per exam. Sunday, March 2 is the deadline to purchase AP exams, without exception. 

If you need to cancel an exam for any reason, a full refund will be issued for exams that are canceled before Saturday, November 2. A partial refund and a $40 cancellation fee will be applied for exams that are canceled between Sunday, November 3 – Sunday, April 6. No refunds will be issued after Sunday, April 6. For more information, please visit www.ocsarts.net/APHonors.

The El-Erian Family Acting Conservatory wreath fundraiser is in full swing! Now is the time to purchase your holiday evergreens in support of OCSA’s amazing student artists. This year, the Classical Voice, Commercial Dance, Creative Writing, Film & Television, Integrated Arts, and Musical Theatre Conservatories, as well as The Garn Family Jazz Studies Program, are also participating in this fundraiser! Click here to view all of the available evergreens, and click here to view Chanukah options. 

If you would like to support a particular student or conservatory, be sure to select the corresponding name from the drop-down menu under “Credit My Order To” at check out. Don’t miss out! The fundraiser will end on Thursday, October 31.

The Arts & Enterprise and The Mekjian Family Culinary Arts & Hospitality Conservatories are looking for bands to perform at OC Rock for Kids on Thursday, February 27 and compete for an amazing grand prize! This is an off-campus event open to OCSA students from ALL conservatories. To apply, your band must attend one of the mandatory information meetings on Wednesday, October 23 or Thursday, October 24 in the Dance, Music, and Science Center (DMS), Room 101 during Lunch. Join the Google Classroom for more information.

For OCSA students wishing to transfer conservatories for fall 2025, applications are now available. Please click here to start the process. Students wishing to apply to a new conservatory must complete a conservatory transfer application and participate in a Conservatory Placement Activity for their desired conservatory (with the exception of the Arts & Enterprise Conservatory). The deadline to apply for a conservatory transfer for the 2025-2026 school year is Wednesday, January 15; however, we highly encourage transfer students to apply before this deadline as transfer results are sent out early. If the conservatory you are applying to has an in-person placement activity, it will take place in late January or February. If you have questions, please contact our Admissions Office at admissions@ocsarts.net.

As a reminder, we are still in need of mentors for this year’s Professional Mentorship Program. Professional mentors will be paired with interested juniors to help them explore career options and receive guidance about postsecondary opportunities. We try to pair as many students with mentors as possible. To view the list of needed fields, please click here. If you or someone you know might be willing to support one of our OCSA students this school year, please complete this Professional Mentor Interest Form. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Arts Enrichment Karen Rymar at karen.rymar@ocsarts.net.

We want to celebrate your off-campus achievements! Whether your accomplishment is a publication, casting, certification, award, scholarship, job, or performance – let us feature your success on State of the Art, OCSA’s special webpage dedicated to spotlighting the accomplishments of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff. State of the Art is updated twice a year, at the end of the fall and spring semesters, but you can submit your accomplishments anytime at www.ocsarts.net/StateoftheArt.

All accomplishments will be posted at the conclusion of the semester in which they were submitted. An email will also be sent out once accomplishments for the semester are available for viewing. We can’t wait to see all the exciting things you have been up to! Past State of the Art accomplishments are always available to view at www.ocsarts.net/Accomplishments.

If you ordered a class ring or Senior Package A, click here to make your ring selection, if you haven’t done so already. Keep in mind that a class ring takes 11 weeks to order, so make your selection now! Ring sizing with SoCalGrad will take place this coming Thursday, October 24 during Lunch. 

Please refer to the Class of 2025 Senior Bulletin for more details on important information and links regarding senior year. To review other informational documents relevant to the senior class, please visit www.ocsarts.net/12thGrade. If you have questions after reading the above information, please email student.services@ocsarts.net.

Halloween (No Conservatory): Thursday, October 31

Non-Teacher/Non-Student Day (No School): Friday, November 1

Veterans Day (School Closed): Monday, November 11

Thanksgiving Break (School Closed): Monday, November 25 – Friday, November 29

Last Day of Conservatory, First Semester: Thursday, December 12

For more information, please visit www.ocsarts.net/BoxOffice.