SCHOOL NEWS

Local High School Named Catholic Youth Sports Champions

On Jan. 15, the Holy Family Catholic Schools Boys Varsity Flag Football team was victorious against St. James with a final score of 12 – 6, making them Catholic Youth Sports Champions. The game was played in the rain and wind at Bishop Moore Catholic High School.

“We lost to St. James in the regular season, so it was outstanding effort by all the players and both coaches to win the finals,” says Director of Athletics Rese McNatt.

This is the first championship for head coach, Tom McAleavey, who has been coaching for five years. Along with first year assistant coach, Tyler Kight, HFCS is proud to bring home this victory.

SCPS Launches Second Physics Bus: The Optics Bus

Seminole County Public Schools launched a second Physics Bus during a ribbon cutting on Jan. 29. The Optics Bus will expand student experiences in physics beyond the Mechanics Bus, which launched in January 2020, and will provide students with physics experiences based on 4th and 5th grade math and science standards. The Physics Buses will make scheduled stops at SCPS elementary schools to provide students with STEM experiences that develop critical math skills. On the Mechanics Bus, students explored sound, gravity, density, forces, motion and speed. The Optics Bus will engage students with lenses, lasers and prisms as they explore the behavior of light. “Bringing physics to students at an early age will help remove the stigma of physics and encourage participation beyond elementary school,” says SCPS Superintendent Dr. Walt Griffin. “Physics is mathematics in action. Students need to experience the joy of math and science in a fun, hands-on and creative setting.”

District Graduation Rate Above State Average

The Florida Department of Education released the 2019-20 graduation rates for the state, school districts and high schools. The district average graduation rate among its 20 traditional high schools is 97.9%. The graduation rate of all Orange County Public Schools is 90.4%, which outpaces the state’s 90% average. Both averages are 2% higher than last year. “We are pleased to see our schools perform so well compared to the state average in spite of the pandemic wreaking havoc on our community,” says Superintendent Barbara Jenkins. “We are grateful for our families who chose OCPS for their child’s education and to the teachers who worked tirelessly every day for students in order to help them graduate. The class of 2020 demonstrated resilience and grit in the face of adversity. We are extremely proud of them and we wish them much success.” In addition, Evans High School increased its rate by 10.8 percentage points from 86.8 to 97.6, the largest gain in the district. The top four highest graduation rates for traditional high schools in the district are Timber Creek High School at 99.9%, Lake Nona High School at 99.6%, East River High School at 99.5% and University High School at 99.5%.