Orange Peal - May 2024

Goodbye School Zones. Hello Open Waters.

Featured Summer Sailings. More to choose from.

5-NIGHT BAHAMAS

CELEBRITY REFLECTION

July 21, 2024

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5-NIGHT WESTERN CARIBBEAN

VOYAGER OF THE SEAS

December 23, 2024

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4-NIGHT BAHAMAS

ALLURE OF THE SEAS®

July 29, 2024

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7-NIGHT WESTERN CARIBBEAN

NORWEGIAN JOY

March 15, 2025

Roundtrip Miami: Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya, Cozumel

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How to Become a Teacher

Are you a non-instructional OCPS employee who would like to become a teacher?

There are a number of routes available to you. What route you take depends in part on your current role and the academic credentials you already have.

Did you know? If you already have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Florida, you may already be eligible to teach. There are a number of routes to get certified, including an OCPS-run, state-approved teacher prep program (Professional Learning Certification Program or PLCP).

If you are a former member of the military or first responder, there are special routes available.

Current Kelly Educational Services substitutes may also be eligible for hire.

Need Some Inspiration ?

Watch this full circle story about an OCPS student returning to teach, and a profile of Stellar Teacher of the Year

Sara Hudson

If you have an associate’s degree and work as a paraprofessional or program assistant:

Para to Professional Pathways: Through partnerships with several colleges, these programs allow current OCPS classified employees to earn an elementary education degree and a guaranteed instructional position with OCPS.

Apprenticeships: The state of Florida has recently approved on-the-job apprenticeship programs through partnerships with several colleges and universities. The district is working with local colleges on next steps and implementation.

Education Degrees: Getting an education degree from the University of Central Florida, Rollins College, Valencia College or another school is a traditional route into teaching. There are varying in-person, online and hybrid options.

Exciting news….A bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Valencia was recently approved by the state Board of Education. In the future, this partnership will increase convenience and affordability for OCPS employees.

Want to discuss your path with an OCPS expert? Contact OCPS Talent Acquisition senior administrator Dr. Bianka Newkirk by clicking here or calling x200-2561 to find out what might work for you.

Building the future, one mind at a time

Learning starts with curiosity, is fed by discoveries, and continues for a lifetime. Education lays the foundation for the future. Wells Fargo is a proud sponsor of the Orange County Public Schools State of the Schools address and support institutions that are committed to leading students to a successful future.

Government Banking

Linda Hallowell, CTP linda.a.hallowell@wellsfargo.com

© 2024 Wells Fargo & Company. PDS-4013983

Angelina Falco

Aziz Ansari

Elijah Rosa

Norah Perfetto Miguel Palacios

Jonah Martin

Ege Erdag

Elvis Avetis

Luis Encarnacion

Micah Mazzella

Gabriel Perez Genesis Perez

Stanislava Haiko

Matthew Iverson Baptiste

Aurelia Taylor Vozella

Caleb Wolf

Caroline Brett Cruz Planas

Eben Ge

Guilherme Lana

Larissa Lana

Ivana Lopez

Yadiel Reyes

Kervens Jules

Vepaul Hariprashad

Olivia Gannon

DR. PHILLIPS JAZZ BAND

THE 1 QUINTETTE

DUET

DUET

Yimo Wu

Evan Sutherland Arianna Walterscheid

Wild Card Elira Aliaj

RISING STARS

By Samantha Weiss

Recipe for Success:

Inside Wekiva High School's Magnet Academyof CulinaryArts

Culinary Stars

See the Wekiva Culinary Magnet program in action:

In the busy kitchen of Wekiva High School's Magnet Academy of Culinary Arts, Program Director Christopher Bates is stirring up more than just delicious dishes – he's cultivating the next generation of culinary experts and innovators.

"Our goal is for our students to focus on three things,” Bates explained. “Learning commercial food safety rules and regulations they need to master to pass state certifications; hands-on skills, that will make them comfortable in the commercial kitchen; and soft skills, which will empower them to be successful no matter what job they end up pursuing," he said. A proud alum of Dr. Phillips High School, Bates is in his ninth year of teaching with OCPS, bringing real-world experience and a dash of innovation to his students.

His journey in the culinary world began under the mentorship of Manny Garcia at Pebbles, which opened its first location in Longwood in 1986. The small chain split up in 2004. That restaurant experience eventually led Bates to the Florida Culinary Institute, which started Bates on a 25-year career through the hospitality industry, including prestigious roles at the Boca Raton Resort and Spa, TGI Fridays on South Beach and ownership of a catering company.

So what inspired Bates to become a chef?

"I love the pressure, insanity and constantly shifting challenges of restaurant work,” he said. “Plus, I really like to eat.”

It's his passion and understanding of the culinary field that Bates brings to his students at Wekiva High. The academy offers a four-year progressive program to not only create chefs, but to equip students with transferable skills critical for the 21st century, such as communication, critical thinking and problem-solving.

One highlight of the program is its involvement in the annual Mayor's Holiday Banquet, where students showcase their talents by catering to more than 450 City of Apopka employees. This event, among others, embodies the academy's hands-on approach to learning.

"Our students are involved with every element of standard catering work and if they stick with us for all four years, they will have solidified the core skills they would need to open their own catering business."

When you walk into the kitchen, you’re automatically hit with the delicious aroma of that day’s lesson. There are several stations where students cook together in teams and a full dishwashing area for cleaning up. Chef Bates taste tests every dish and gives his honest critique to help the students know the areas they need to work on.

“In some culinary programs – kids spend more time sitting,” Chef Bates said. “You’ll notice that the only rooms where there are seats are in the classrooms.”

And the program is getting bigger! Earlier this year, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the new Mustang Pizzeria, Mustang Creamery and to unveil the Mustang Events Catering Trailer. These new additions are designed to help take the chefs-in-training program to the next level.

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association designated the academy a "Premier" ProStart school. ProStart is a two-year, industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program for high school students. The Wekiva program has also received accolades for excellence in 2023 from the Chaine de Rotisseurs, an international gastronomic society. Bates was personally honored as Teacher of the Year during the pandemic and received both the ProStart "Florida Teacher of Excellence" and the national James Maynard Award for Classroom Innovation in 2023. In April 2024, Bates won his second national Teacher of the Year award, this time from the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education.

The students have also achieved remarkable success with the NASA HUNCH culinary challenge team placing second nationally for two consecutive years and the ProStart team consistently winning state competitions.

At the heart of the magnet program, Bates finds joy in exploring the science of food with his students. This year, the program is taking a "deep dive into the science of gelato," a project that

not only teaches students about ice-crystal formation, fat distribution and the chemistry of sugar, but also teaches the scientific and experimental aspects of culinary arts.

"I don't know if they realize how much science and engineering they are learning along the way - but tasting the results of their experiments is almost always exciting," Bates said.

Seniors Joanna Damian and Salienca Noel both love the hands-on learning that Chef Bates provides.

“I just like the fact that I don’t have to sit around and listen to someone talk, but instead experience it myself,” Joanna said, while cooking paella for an upcoming district event.

For Salienca, the culinary program is what made her choose to come to Wekiva High.

“I would be in a completely different school if it weren’t for this class,” Noel said.

Beyond competitions and accolades, the program's real success is seeing graduates thrive after high school. Bates said he received a call from an alumna who credited the academy with providing her with the foundation for a new career as an Assistant Food Services Manager at a local retirement home.

"She wanted to thank us for the solid nutrition/core skill foundation we provided while she was in high school," Bates said, highlighting the program's focus on practical skills and STEM knowledge.

Bates credits the support of the industry partners and advisory board, and the hard work of the students as key ingredients to the success of the program.

"The more OCPS programs like ours can partner with leaders in the community, the greater the results for our graduates on nearly every level!"

Cookie Fundraiser

Cooking Up Opportunities

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TransformingOrtho.com

At UCF, we’re committed to nurturing the next generation of teachers, leaders and creators while strengthening the education ecosystem of our community. Through innovative partnerships and targeted development opportunities, we proudly support public schools, empowering Central Florida’s educators and students to thrive.

FEATURED PROGRAMS

FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR EDUCATORS

This program is tailored for educators, school administrators and community workers who teach Financial Literacy to students (a new course required to graduate). This online, self-paced course offers 35 contact hours to help enhance financial literacy skills to teach, assist students, or for personal betterment.

AP SUMMER INSTITUTE

AP Summer Institutes offer engaging, subject-specific professional development opportunities for current and future AP teachers. Our College Board-endorsed consultants provide teachers with the support and training they need to successfully teach AP courses in a wide range of subjects. It’s a face-to-face/ online combo hosted in partnership with College Board.

UCF CONTINUING EDUCATION HAS MANY OTHER PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES TO HELP IMPROVE CLASSROOM EFFECTIVENESS AND ENHANCE SKILLS.

Teachers, coaches, and mentors are the unspoken heroes of our community. Through June 30th, in recognition of Teacher Appreciation Month, we will pay tribute to those within OCPS who work tirelessly to ensure every student is equipped with the opportunities to thrive.

We invite you to join us!

The Foundation for OCPS strives to support educators and students. We believe every educator is a catalyst to creating impacts that last a lifetime. Make a gift in honor of an impactful educator to empower student potential! A contribution of any amount will help unlock the future of Orange County Public School students today.

Link to donation form

Link to share a story

A Funny Thing Happened: Petrified!

Ms. Berrios and her kindergarten students at Stonewyck Elementary were learning about presidents, including Abraham Lincoln.

She and her students were reading facts and writing about Lincoln. They even built small log cabins with pretzel sticks.

And then Ms. Berrios showed them images of the Lincoln Memorial. She briefly described the monumental statue of a seated Lincoln in Washington, D.C.

With 25 years of teaching under her belt, Berrios still found herself surprised by the reaction one student had to the Lincoln lesson.

At the end of the day, this student came to her looking very sad, almost in tears. He said: “I am so sorry for Abraham Lincoln!”

When she asked the student why he said that, he responded: “Because he turned into stone!”

Ada Berrios Collazo Kindergarten Teacher Stonewyck Elementary School

Teacher Impact Grants Fund School Science Projects and Beyond

By Katie O’Brien

Human-anatomy drawings and skeletons greet students when they walk into Lake Buena Vista High Science teacher Amy Jensen’s classroom.

She is one of the educators who opened the high school three years ago, and wanted her students to learn more about the world of science with a little help from a Foundation for OCPS Teacher Impact Grant.

Jensen now has a chance to take a deeper dive into science projects, thanks to a nearly $5,000 Lockheed Martin STEM grant, which helped her pay for kits and lab equipment and supplies for teaching her students the Project Lead the Way biomedical curriculum.

The grant has also allowed the students to conduct various biomedical-design challenges and develop their own innovative experiments, including learning about knee functions after a fictitious patient was involved in a bicycle accident; measuring the effects of different chemicals on behaviors such as chemotaxis in model organisms; and developing a new device or making a modification to a current apparatus that can help a family member or friend perform daily tasks with less difficulty.

Lake Buena Vista High senior Emerson Prado participated in the grant-funded activities.

“The lab experiments allowed me to expand upon the knowledge and skills I learned in class,” Prado said.

“The science projects have done a great job of increasing engagement and retaining student interest,” said Jensen, who has a Bachelor of Science in biology education from St. Petersburg College.

“The Lockheed Martin grant has funded experiments and labs that would not have been possible without the financial support.”

The teacher impact grants have also funded visual- and performing-arts classroom projects.

Legacy Middle Art teacher Gabriel de Zayas received a $700 visual-arts grant as part of the Florida Education License Plate fund. The monies were used to purchase brushes, colored pencils, markers, paint and paper so the students could draw portraits of historical figures and create color-wheel designs and papier-mâché masks.

Megan McAleer, a music teacher at Hiawassee Elementary, received a more than $10,000 Phoenix Foundation of Central Florida Morning Glow teacher impact grant to purchase bongos, maracas, tambourines, xylophones and other instruments and stands for her classroom.

The Foundation for OCPS’ teacher impact grants have awarded more than $3 million to educators for their classroom projects. The grants range from $500 to $15,000 and provide learning resources that have had a lasting impact on thousands of students. Information on the 2024-25 teacher impact grants will be available online in late Spring 2024.

“Teachers who have received the grants are truly dedicated to highlighting learning outcomes and creating a classroom where students can explore the future,” said Margaux Pagan, senior administrator of philanthropic strategy.

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Will You Be the Winner?

Send the answers to these three questions to orangepeal@ocps.net. One winner will be drawn from among the correct responses to win an Orange Peal prize package.

1. What is the name of the new project students in Wekiva High School Magnet Academy of Culinary Arts will take a deep dive into this year?__________________

2. What profession did Ms. Ojeda originally plan to pursue before becoming a teacher?__________________

3. What was the source of funding for the Arts Education Impact Grant received by Mr. Zayas, the Legacy Middle Art teacher?________________

Best of Social Media

In each issue, the Orange Peal will recognize one top social media post on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Want us to consider your school or department’s post? Send a link to orangepeal@ocps.net for consideration.

Academic Center for Excellence

Many of our schools participated in the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in March, but one 3D piece from OCPS Academic Center for Excellence that won Best in Show had our jaws dropping! Hit the link to check it out!

Olympia High’s band director never saw this coming! To celebrate Mr. Pickett’s birthday, the Titan Band decided to sneak in an arrangement of Happy Birthday during practice – and the look on his face is everything!

During its recent Field Day, Palmetto Elementary School recreated their own version of the Olympics opening ceremony, complete with a “Parade of the Nations!” Love the creativity!

OCPS

Palmetto Elementary

Olympia High

Positive Pathways Transition Center's Behavior Specialist

Michelle

was recognized as a Marvelous Mentor by OCPS’ District Mentor team for working with new teacher mentees and helping them develop excellent teaching strategies.

Fifth Third Bank representative Bianca

spoke to students in Social Studies teacher Derek Bowe’s Economics and Financial Literacy class at the Positive Pathways Transition Center.

Palm Lake Elementary School’s staff and students wore blue attire in support of Light it Up Blue on World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.

Ortiz

Sammet

Hamlin Middle received the Environmental Compliance and Sustainability department’s Energy Star Award for its energy-conservation efforts.

Horizon West Middle received the Environmental Compliance and Sustainability department’s Energy Star Award for its energy-conservation efforts.

Camelot Elementary Teacher is a Knight to Remember

By Sandra Carr

Since the doors first opened in 2001 to Camelot Elementary, Maria Ojeda has been a steadfast Knight. The only OCPS school named for the seat of King Arthur’s court, Camelot has been a place where Ojeda has found professional fulfillment and made an impact as a teacher.

Camelot won’t be quite the same without her.

Ojeda was chosen as Teacher of the Year during the 2009-2010 and 2019-2020 school years at Camelot. She was also nominated by principal Melissa Gordon as a Spectrum News 13 A+ teacher in 2022.

The first-grade teacher has loved providing students with learning opportunities, including transforming questions they had into research assignments. She also created enrichment activities like a poetry recital, family project and other meaningful experiences.

“My favorite teaching moments include students being proud of their academic success,” said Ojeda, who has a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and Master of Science in special education from Queens College in New York. “It always warms my heart when I receive letters from past students who tell me how much fun they had in my class or parents thanking me for making their child’s academic year memorable.”

Ojeda has always dreamed of becoming a teacher. As a child growing up in Queens, New York, she would line up her dolls and teach them lessons from a blackboard.

Ojeda watched her mom take care of the family as a single mother and babysit five to six children a week to earn extra money.

Retiree: Maria Ojeda

Title: First Grade Teacher

Years with OCPS: 30

OCPS Retirement Date: May 29, 2024

She decided to become a Certified Public Accountant after watching her mom work hard to provide for the family. Ojeda changed her mind after her accounting professor told the class to memorize every law in the textbook. She went to the registrar’s office after class and changed her major to education, which was “the best decision of her life.”

Her teaching career began nearly 40 years ago when she taught fourth- through sixth-grade students at the Bilingual Bicultural Arts School in New York City.

Ojeda moved to Central Florida in 1993 and became certified in primary education with an ESOL endorsement while teaching at Union Park Elementary.

“I have been enriched by working with many amazing children, colleagues and administrators,” she said. “I feel blessed to know that I was part of a student’s educational journey.”

During retirement, Ojeda plans to take care of her mom, who is suffering from dementia. She will also garden, read and spend time with family.

Best OCPS Photos

Through the Leadership Orange program, community members learn about all aspects of OCPS. This meeting was at the Orange Technical College - Main Campus.

By Frank Weber

The team members at FedEx and Operation Warm distributed brand new shoes to the children at Lawton Chiles ES. What a great feat of compassion!

Checkmate.

Hundreds of students competed in the 2024 Chess Tournament.

Middle School Jazz 1 and 2, along with High School Jazz 1 and 2, blew the roof off of the Dr. Phillips HS Performing Arts Center.

The wheels on the bus

OCPS received $5 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program to purchase 20 electric school buses.

The Orange Peal is a publication by OCPS employees and for OCPS employees. It launched in April 1974 as a newsletter for all OCPS employees “from principals to custodians.” With a name encompassing the symbols of the orange and the school bell, the Orange Peal was intended for “the good news of this school system [to be] ‘rung out’” -- in other words, to peal.

Editor: LAUREN ROTH

Designer: KIMBERLY BOULNOIS

Contributors: SANDRA CARR

JANINE GONZALEZ

KATIE O’BRIEN

FRANK WEBER

SAMANTHA WEISS