The Pioneer Express
Oak Ridge High School
Friday, October 15, 2021
ORHS Community Member,

On Monday we officially began the second nine-week quarter of 2021-2022. We got off to a fine start and we will be releasing report cards next Tuesday. Please review your student's progress with them right away as education is cumulative process and we want to make sure that each student is on track for a successful academic year.

This Monday we kick off Homecoming Week and each day has its own theme to it. We are looking forward to an exciting week and I hope all of our Pioneers and their families will get involved! Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for looking over some of our latest Pioneer happenings and success stories.

In Pioneer Pride,

Mr. Alvarado
Principal
Oak Ridge High School

Pictured very top and just below: Our Environmental Science Club, which is sponsored by Dr. Julio Ortiz Rios, had the opportunity to participate in a waste audit of our school. This was in partnership with @ucf.edu and @ocpsgreen #thisisoakridge #greenercleanerworld
Dates to Watch For
Friday, October 15
  • Varsity Football vs Cypress Creek – Cypress Creek – 7:00PM

Monday, October 18 – Saturday, October 23
  • Homecoming Spirit Week – see Flyer

Tuesday, October 19
  • PINK OUT TUESDAY (Breast Cancer Awareness)
  • Report Cards on Skyward
  • Bowling vs Winter Park – Sky Bowl – 3:30PM
  • Girls Volleyball FHSAA vs Hagerty – Hagerty HS – 6:00PM
Report cards will be available on Skyward on October 19th be sure to go to launch.ocps.net and login to access your students report card.

Wednesday, October 20
  • Bowling vs Freedom/Lake Buena Vista – Sky Bowl – 2:30PM

Thursday, October 21
  • Bowling vs Windermere/Olympia – Winter Garden – 3:30PM

Friday, October 22
  • Varsity Football vs Lake Nona – Homecoming Game – Stadium – 7:00PM

Saturday, October 23
  • Cross Country – Metro East & West Conference Championship – West Orange High School – Time TBA

Wednesday, October 27
  • Blood Drive – Campus - *See Coach Noel for more information

Thursday, October 28
  • Drive Thru College Fair - 5:00PM to 7:30PM
  • Varsity Football vs Boone – Boone HS – 7:00PM

Friday, October 29
  • Teacher Professional Day/Student Holiday – School Closed
Pioneer Homecoming Week Starts Monday with Character Day!
Miss Oak Ridge High School
On Monday, Oct. 18 from 6-7 pm, our first event will kick off Homecoming. We have 10 entries for this first event. The contest is preliminarily judged on GPA, essay, community service and leadership, teacher interview and student interview. On crowning night the contestants will answer one final question. There will be many awards. We will have seating available in the courtyard to watch the event. We want as many of you to attend as possible to support the following contestants for Miss ORHS 2021:

  • Zumiyah Rodriguez
  • Vanassa Daceus
  • Berlanda Alcimeus
  • Jaysia Peek
  • Tayeler Morgan
  • Ceshley Denis
  • Dahlia Wallace
  • Eunice Pierre
  • Keyona Holley
  • Dieumima Saint-Felix.
OCTOBER……SCHOOLWIDE “PINK OUT” Tradition
In observation of Breast Cancer Awareness month, PLEASE join us in our school wide “PINK OUT”-TUESDAYS.

Oak Ridge Faculty, Staff and students wear PINK every Tuesday in the month of October.
The most frequently diagnosed types of cancer are breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men.
Source: Statista Read full article
Continuing Reminder - After School Tutoring
New Club on Campus
A core tenet of the JA Academy is #SocialResponsibility. Seniors, Jazzlyn and Hien, found a need on campus and decided to take action. They wanted to start a club that introduced and embraced Asian culture at the school and within the local community. Embodying the entrepreneurial spirit, they worked hard researching, surveying, and creating a formal business plan for their club. The Asian Culture Association launched school-wide this week, with almost 20 students in attendance at their first meeting!

Congratulations Jazzlyn and Hien, we are so excited to see what you have in store for the ACA this school year!
Student Spotlight
Jamauri Sands – Disney Shining Star!
Congratulations to Jamauri Sands for being the recipient of the Disney Shining Star Award. Click the link below to read the full story featured on channel 13News.

N.E.M.P. – No Excuses Mentoring Program
Please help us give a warm welcome to our new President of the No Excuses Mentoring Program Ayreus Ortiz! This past weekend at our first general body meeting Ayreus was elected President for the 2021-2022 school year by his brothers. Ayreus is a 12th grader who has been a part of N.E.M.P since his Junior year. We are excited to see where his leadership takes us this year!
Ayreus Ortiz, Class of 2022 and N.E.M.P. President
Schoolwide Tardy Policy Change
Students who arrive AFTER 7:45AM will need to go through Ms. Echevarria in the attendance office to receive a pass to class.

Tardy passes during the day are no longer written. Students need to report directly to class where their teacher will mark them tardy in Skyward.

College and Career Resource Center
Drive Thru College Fair – October 28th
Valencia Bridges to Success Scholarship Program
The Valencia Bridges to Success Scholarship Program is an opportunity for Seniors to apply to a program that not only covers two years of tuition, fees, and books at Valencia College but also provides students with support as they transition to college.

The support includes learning strategies for success and academic achievement, structure that keeps you on track with your academic goals, weekly updates/reminders from an Academic Advisor and Program Director, early registration for courses, and more! The application is available through the Valencia portal. Students can access this application after they have been accepted to Valencia College. The fee to apply to Valencia College is $35.
The FAFSA process opened on October 1 for 2022-2023 school year.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®)
FAFSA Help Session
Our first FAFSA session was held on October 7th from 5-8PM. It was well attended and many of our Senior Class members and their parents received assistance filling out the proper information. We plan to host one every month, our next session is November 11th- mark your calendars!

The College & Career Specialists have scheduled to have a monthly FAFSA Night to better serve our students. The proposed dates are listed below. Time for each event will be 5:00-8:00PM and take place in the cafeteria. Dates are subject to change- events will be announced monthly as well. We hope to see you there!
  • November 11, 2021
  • December 9, 2021
  • January 13, 2022
  • February 10, 2022
  • March 10, 2022
  • April 14, 2022
  • May 12, 2022
College costs are rising faster than general inflation. ORHS students with college plans should plan on attending one of the upcoming FAFSA sessions.
Source: Visual Capitalist - Read full article
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If you know any families or community members that would like to read about the happenings at ORHS please let them know how to sign up using the link:
Community Resources
1) Discounted Internet Service through the Emergency Broadband Benefit:
Interested in an internet discount? The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide eligible consumers a discount of up to $50 per month off their monthly internet bill. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Who Is Eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program? A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one (1) of the criteria below:

  • Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline
  • Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year
  • Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year
  • Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020
  • The household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers
  • Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

Households interested in receiving the benefit can apply online or download an application from the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) website www.getemergencybroadband.org. USAC can be reached at 833-511-0311 or via email [email protected] for more information.
2) COVID-19 Information:
Please click on the link below for information about vaccinations and testing locations and times.

3) Florida Housing Search website:
Florida flag
Have a nice weekend Pioneers!
Mr. Alvarado, Principal
Oak Ridge High School
Friday, October 15, 2021
Oak Ridge High School Senior Leadership Team
Principal: Benjamin Alvarado [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Michele Browne [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Luz Gonzalez Cartagena [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Johndrell Jones [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Nora Pachnik [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Melania Perez Cedeno [email protected]
This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that OCPS utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone.
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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 - Oak Ridge High School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Oak Ridge High School. Please contact Mrs. Laurene Householder at [email protected] with any questions related to the program.
Oak Ridge High School | Mr. Alvarado, Principal | 407.852.3200 | ORHS Website