Class Notes 11.13.14

+ Valencia College honors fallen veterans

Valencia College will host the traveling photo exhibit, titled “Remembering Our Fallen,” this week, in celebration of Veterans Day.

The exhibit opened Nov. 10 and will be open through Nov. 14, at the college’s West Campus, 1800 S. Kirkman Road in Orlando. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More than 300 Florida service members have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The traveling memorial commemorates their lives with photographs, brief narratives, and written messages left by loved ones. Here are a few of those individuals:

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael D. Thomas, of Seffner, learned of the plights of some Afghan women and bought a sewing machine with a buddy so the women could earn a living;

Army Pfc. Christopher T. Blaney, of Winter Park, enjoyed volunteering in a capacity that allowed him to work with lions and tigers; a photo shows him with a leopard; and

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Aaron A. Weaver, of Inverness, survived the 1993 battle of Mogadishu that was recounted in the film “Black Hawk Down” and died in a helicopter crash in Iraq in 2004.

The memorial was unveiled Oct. 10 in Tallahassee and will be traveling throughout the state. It was created by Patriotic Productions, of Omaha, with financial support from Bellevue University, Nebraska. 

+ Parent Academy continues Saturday

The next installment of Orange County Public Schools’ Parent Academy will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at Southwest Middle School, 6450 Dr. Phillips Drive, Orlando. This installment is titled, “The Involved Parent: Parents, Schools and Communities Working Together.”

The Parent Academy focuses on three primary tracks: student achievement; parenting and advocacy; and personal and individual growth.  

On-site registration and check-in starts at 8 a.m.

For more information or to register, visit parentacademy.ocps.net.

+  Windermere Prep earns distinction

 Windermere Preparatory School was named the “Best Private School” in the Orlando Business Journal’s 2014 Reader’s Choice Awards for the second consecutive year.

Each year, thousands vote to honor the finest community places to educate, dine, shop, enjoy and do business within Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties. 

Currently, Windermere Prep is the only Central Florida private school to offer strong differentiators, such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which is considered the elite standard of high school curriculum. 

The school also offers a variety of programs and activities, and the newly added state-of-the-art Sports Performance Center. 

“It is an extreme honor for Windermere Preparatory School to be awarded this recognition in Central Florida,” said Headmaster Dr. Thomas Marcy. “To receive the acknowledgement twice in our history thus far makes me even more proud of this remarkable institution. I am incredibly grateful to the parents, students, administrative staff, faculty, the Central Florida community, and the Orlando Business Journal readers for believing in our mission.”

+ Superheroes invade Ocoee Middle

As part of Red Ribbon Week — a week to raise awareness in schools of the dangers of drugs — students and staff at Ocoee Middle School dressed as their favorite fantastical heroes.

+ WOHS administrators honor Emily Crowell

West Orange High School Principal Douglas Szcinski and guidance counselors Nadia Morel and RandyOrras recognized EmilyCrowell for her recent designation as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.

As a semifinalist, Crowell will compete for about 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million, which will be offered next spring. About 90% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.