Class Notes 05.07.15

+ Bloom and Grow awards scholarships

Bloom and Grow Garden Society provided $15,000 in scholarships for students in Horticulture and Plant Sciences programs at the University of Florida and Valencia College during the 2014-15 school year.

At the April luncheon meeting of Bloom and Grow, Daniel Greenwell spoke to the club on behalf of himself and five other student scholarship recipients at UF. Joining him was Amy Alexander, UF academic program adviser. 

Proceeds generated from the club’s annual Spring Fever in The Garden provide funding for the scholarships. 

+ Locals inducted into Phi Kappa Phi

Two West Orange-area college students recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Jibril Smith, of Windermere, was initiated at University of North Florida. Justin Rider, of Winter Garden, was initiated at University of South Florida.

The two are among about 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10% of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society. The society has chapters on more than 300 college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines.

+ Berger named to dean’s list

Katia Berger of Windermere, has been named to Randolph-Macon Academy’s dean’s list for the second quarter of the 2014-15 school year.

To be named to the list, a student must earn a GPA between 3.3 and 3.99.

Berger is a freshman at Randolph-Macon Academy. She is the daughter of Robert and Kathryn Berger, of Windermere,

Randolph-Macon Academy, in Front Royal, Virginia, is a college-preparatory, co-educational boarding school for students in grades six through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and have the opportunity to learn to fly in a unique flight program. 

+ Ocoee Elementary opens registration

Parents may begin enrolling their students for kindergarten at Ocoee Elementary at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the school, 400 S. Lakewood Ave., Ocoee. Registration will run through the end of the day; after-hours registration will be open until 6 p.m.

Parents will need to bring acceptable proof of residency, the 680 A Immunizations form (from the child’s doctor), proof of physical that has occurred within the last year and the child’s original birth certificate. 

Tours of the school will be available in small groups from 9 to 11 a.m. May 13. After May 13, parents may register incoming kindergarten students in the front office before 3:30 p.m. daily. 

Parents may also complete the registration form online at ocps.net/es/legislative/pupil/Pages/default.aspx.  

+ WOHS Interact Club volunteers for spa day

Students from the West Orange High School Interact Club volunteered for a spa day April 22 at Health Central Nursing Home, Winter Garden.

The students took advantage of the beautiful weather and pampered the residents in the courtyard by serving refreshments, giving manicures and playing board games.