Education Bulletin

Student from Maitland named to dean’s list

Maitland resident Abheek Raviprasad was recently named to the dean’s list in College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. To qualify for the dean's list in the College of Arts & Sciences, students must earn a semester grade point average of 3.6 or above and be enrolled in at least 14 graded units. Washington University in St. Louis is counted among the world's leaders in teaching, research, patient care and service to society. The university draws students and faculty to St. Louis from more than 100 countries and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The total student body is approximately 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

Winter Park student named to dean’s list

Saint Mary's College recently named Winter Park resident Stephanie O'Sullivan to the Dean's List for the fall 2015 semester. To earn academic honors at Saint Mary's, a student must achieve a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.6 on a 4.0 scale, have at least 12 graded credit hours, no incompletes, and no grades lower than a C. Saint Mary's College, in Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women's liberal arts college offering five bachelor's degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work.

Winter Parker participates in Denison production

Logan Creasman of Winter Park and a graduate of Circle Christian School, performed the role of Catesby in the Denison University production of "Richard III," which took place in February at the college's Ace Morgan Theatre. Creasman is a member of the Denison class of 2017. "Richard III" is perhaps Shakespeare's most brutal depiction of ends-justify-the-means politics in action. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, intends to clear his way to the crown. Standing in his way are brothers, uncles, nephews, widows - in short, all manner of obstacles to be removed. He sets about these tasks with a vengeance.

Jenkins named to Chiefs of Change

Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools Barbara Jenkins is one of six new members named to Chiefs for Change. Chiefs for Change is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by bold and innovative district and state education Chiefs serving in bipartisan administrations. The vision of Chiefs for Change is that every public school prepare its students for today’s world and tomorrow’s. Their mission is to build a diverse community of state and local education chiefs dedicated to the vision and to support them in ways that maximize the success of their efforts.

OSS students shine in MathCounts competition

Orlando Science Schools (OSS) students recently defended their title and received first place out of 34 middle school teams across the region during the annual Central Florida MathCounts Chapter competition. Students from OSS – a public charter school in Orange County that focuses on STEM education – competed both individually and in a team, engaging in live timed rounds of math problems at the competition. MathCounts hosts events in all 50 states and in schools worldwide, with more than 500 local chapters across the country competing in these events annually. Individual participant Saardhak Bhrugubanda and the OSS team – comprised of Sanjana Konda, Esha Ranade, Harshitha Uppada, Minh Le, and Siyona Mishra – qualified to compete in the State MathCounts competition hosted by the Florida Engineering Society this April in Orlando. After three challenging rounds, all individual OSS Mathletes ranked in the top 20 out of 300 students at the competition, placing first, second, fourth, seventh, eighth, 11th and 19th.

WPHS students honored at StudentCam competition

C-SPAN announced this month that students at Winter Park High School are winners in C-SPAN’s national 2016 StudentCam competition. Sydney Plastow and Zoe Heafner, sophomores, won third prize and will receive $750 for their documentary, "Education In America." Walker Simasek and Clay DeHart, sophomores, won honorable mention and will receive $250 for their documentary, "Standardized Testing." Christina Spain and Chelsea Wilck, sophomores, won honorable mention and will receive $250 for their documentary, "Free College Tuition." Nancy Pickett, a junior, won honorable mention and will receive $250 for her documentary, "Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery." The national competition, now in its 12th year, invites middle school (grades sixth through eighth) and high school students (grades ninth through 12th) to produce a 5-to-7 minute documentary on a national policy issue. C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable television companies, which support StudentCam. In Winter Park, C-SPAN is available locally through Bright House Networks. This year, students used video cameras to address the theme, “Road to the White House: what's the issue YOU most want candidates to discuss during the 2016 presidential campaign?” In response, C-SPAN received a record 2,887 video submissions from almost 6,000 students in 45 states and Washington, DC. The most popular topic chosen by students was the economy. Nineteen percent of entries were about issues affecting the economy such as poverty, homelessness, and minimum wage, followed by equality (13 percent), and education (12 percent). The 150 winning videos may be viewed at studentcam.org/winners16.htm

Orlando student wins Bright Ideas competition

Bright House Networks has named Hannah Verma from Orlando as the Grand Prize winner in its 2016 Bright Ideas STEM from Today’s Youth competition. This multistate competition, now in its second year, challenges high school students to dream up inventions to make our world a better place. To qualify, students must show how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can bring their ideas to life. Hannah Verma, from Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, took home the Grand Prize for her Bright Idea, Verma Hygiene Mister, which offers a fresh take on the hand sanitizer, saving hospitals time and money, while also reducing the spread of diseases. Hannah came up with her Bright Idea while working as a summer intern in the Infection Control Department of a local hospital. Hannah and four other finalists from across the country competed head-to-head on TV in front of a studio audience at the Finalist Pitch Event on March 2 in Orlando. The event was recorded for future viewing on Video on Demand on Bright House Networks. The finalists’ projects were selected from entries submitted by 165 teen innovators in Bright House Networks service areas nationwide. A total of 168 businesses and nonprofits pitched in to promote the competition, and educators and school administrators took the lead in encouraging students to participate. As the Grand Prize winner, Hannah will now have the chance to work with product and technology innovation firm Astralis Group to build a virtual prototype and business plan. Together, they will work through the process that may ultimately bring her Bright Idea to life.