Education Bulletin

Local schools shine in green recognition program

Orange County Public Schools announced the top three winners of the third annual Green Schools Recognition Program. Maitland’s Dommerich Elementary took third place behind Tildenville Elementary and Lockhart Middle, earning a $1,000 prize from the Energy Rebate Program. Students were given the opportunity to have hands-on experience in their school community with recycling efforts, using school grounds as a learning environment.

Trinity Prep names new girls basketball coach

Trinity Preparatory School is pleased to announce that current Athletic Director Steve Bluth will be the next head coach for the girls’ basketball team. Bluth has an extensive and successful background in basketball. He coached the Trinity Prep junior varsity team last year and was the head boys’ basketball coach at the Fieldston School in New York for 17 years. During his tenure, his teams won over 250 games and were selected to play in the New York State Federation Basketball Tournament for 15 of those years. Bluth’s teams finished as semifinalists, or better, eight times and won the 2005 New York State Class B Championship. In addition, he was awarded the New York State Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2011.

OSES places in mathematics competition

Orlando Science Elementary School found success in the Orange County Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual mathematics competition on April 8. This year, 39 teams from 14 participating schools competed in the OCCTM math tournament and multiple OSES students placed: the third grade team took first place, the fourth grade team took first place and the fifth grade team took second place. A handful of OSES children received the highest individual score for their respective grades, including: Arnav Mujumdar, third grade; Michelle Li and Meghana Konda, fourth grade; and Harvik Kesineni, fifth grade. In addition to sharing the highest individual score for fourth grade, Michelle and Meghana achieved the highest score for all participants across all three grade levels. OSES also won ribbons for individual team events such as problem solving, team relay and the estimation activity.

Local student named winner in handwriting contest

Enanodi Arugu, a student at The Parke House Academy, earned a spot as a third grade-level winner for private schools in the 2016 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. Enanodi’s entry was among more than 270,000 entries from students across the country. Celebrating 25 years, the annual Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest encourages legible handwriting by evaluating the handwriting abilities (based on the Zaner-Bloser Keys to Legibility: size, shape, spacing and slant) of students in grades K-8 whose schools use Zaner-Bloser curricula. After each participating school held their own handwriting contest, one winning student from each grade was then entered in the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting contest to compete to become a state grade-level winner, a national grade-level semifinalist, and ultimately to be awarded the title of grand national grade-level champion. Zaner-Bloser awarded a medallion to Enanodi, an etched diamond award to Enanodi’s teacher and a $200 Zaner-Bloser gift certificate to The Parke House Academy.

Winter Park High student wins a new car

Winter Park High School class of 2016 student Josephine Spiegelberg, 18, chose the key that opened the brand new $18,000 Honda Fit LX at Holler Honda’s Fit for College grade incentive program event. Now in its third year, Holler Honda’s Fit for College program has rewarded high school scholars with nearly $60,000 in new automobiles. More than a thousand entries were received this year, numbered, then Random.org picked 12 entries. There were no losers, though. All twelve local scholars were presented with an Apple Watch or iPad Mini, and two college book scholarships worth $1,500 were also presented. Orange County Public School’s Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins received “Education Leader of the Year” by the Holler-Classic organization.

Disney offers special rates for teachers and school staff

In recognition of teachers and school support staff, the seven Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels in the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida are offering “Teacher Appreciation Rates.” Available to preschool, daycare, and kindergarten through college teachers and support staff in the U.S. and Canada, for stays now through Sept. 30, 2016, the special rates provide the opportunity to take in the many special events that are happening at the Walt Disney World Resort this spring and summer. This includes the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, the 2016 Garden Rocks Concert Series at Epcot, and the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series at Epcot. In addition, you can experience the many new offerings at the significantly expanded and enhanced Disney Springs, formerly known as the Downtown Disney area. When work is completed in mid-2016, Disney Springs will have expanded to more than 150 shopping, dining and entertainment venues. Other new offerings in the Walt Disney World Resort include the terrific new Star Wars Launch Bay at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Society seeking choral scholars

Handel’s “Messiah” is widely regarded as one of the finest and most well-known classical music works ever written. The Messiah Choral Society has long been committed to provide an enriching and rewarding musical experience for young people interested in choral music. The society is open to singers of all ages but offers a special Choral Scholar opportunity to seniors in high school and to college students. If you know of a student who might wish to be a Choral Scholar, please have them contact [email protected]. Choral Scholars receive a copy of the musical score for Handel’s “Messiah” as well as a practice CD. They also receive special mention in the program and can earn community service hours for the time they put into rehearsals and the performance. There are no auditions, but the MCS aspires to meet professional standards. Their choir generally has 110 to 140 members. Performing with the MCS presents a unique opportunity for amateur singers without requiring a major time commitment. The society rehearses approximately 2 hours on each of the 12 Sundays from the Sunday after Labor Day until Thanksgiving. Most rehearsals are planned for Sundays from 2 to 4:15 p.m. in the Rehearsal Hall (Room 119) of the Keene Music Building on the Rollins College Campus in Winter Park. The MCS presents a performance of the highest caliber. This year, their concert is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, at the Bob Carr Theater in Orlando. There are no tickets and admission is free. Everyone is invited.

Winter Parker performs in Denison University production

Logan Creasman, of Winter Park and a graduate of Circle Christian School, was one of nine students who together performed more than 40 roles in the Denison University production of "Margo Veil: an entertainment," which took place in April at the college's Ace Morgan Theatre. Creasman is a member of the Denison class of 2017. "Margo Veil: An Entertainment," written by Len Jenkin, bends time and space as Margo Veil goes from New York City to Rapid City, Mexico, Indianapolis and Lithuania, encountering a bevy of strange, ominous and wacky characters. Having bombed-out on Broadway, Margo only wants to go home; but her journey becomes one surprise after another. The plot is non-linear, and the stories change as the actors assume new personas. At Denison University, one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges, motivated students from around the world tailor educational experiences in pursuit of their highest aspirations.

Local resident graduates from Troy University

Chantelle Calhoun of Winter Park recently graduated from Troy University during Term 4 of the 2015/2016 academic year. Calhoun attended Troy online and graduated with the Master of Science in Strategic Communication degree from the College of Communication and Fine Arts.

Students make Furman dean’s list

Maitland resident Madeline Doten and Winter Park resident Allison Powell were included on the dean's list for the 2016 spring semester at Furman University. Furman's dean's list is composed of full-time undergraduate students who earn a grade point average of 3.4 or higher on a four-point system. Furman is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college of 2,700 students in Greenville, S.C.

Maitland resident makes president’s list

Francesca Brown, a senior majoring in musical theatre from Maitland, has made the president's list at Coastal Carolina University for the spring 2016 semester. To qualify for the President's List for high academic achievement, students must earn a 4.0 grade point average and must be enrolled full time. Coastal Carolina University is a dynamic, public comprehensive liberal arts institution located in Conway, near the resort area of Myrtle Beach, S.C.