Dear OSES Families,

As we approach the end of the school year, we are gearing up for the upcoming testing season. This is an important time for our students to showcase their learning and growth. Please check the school calendar and communicate with your child's teachers for specific testing dates. It's crucial to be aware of these dates to ensure your child is prepared and present.

To help your child perform their best, ensure they get a good night's sleep before each testing day. A well-rested mind is more alert and focused. Additionally, a nutritious breakfast can provide the energy needed to concentrate and excel during tests. Breakfast is still available at the school students will need to be dropped off before 8:00am to pick up breakfast before school.

We are incredibly proud of our students and the progress they have made throughout the school year. Their hard work and dedication have been evident, and we look forward to seeing their achievements reflected in their test results.

Once testing season is done, we have a special treat for our students. At the end of May, we will be celebrating with a Field Day! This will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to enjoy some fun activities and spend time together as a school community. We look forward to celebrating their hard work and achievements in a joyful and relaxed environment.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child's education. Together, we can help our students succeed and thrive.

Warm regards,

Michael Singleton

My name is Shrika Velagapudi, I'm a junior at Orlando Science High School. I took up creative writing as a hobby this past summer, and recently had the wonderful opportunity to publish a nonfiction children’s book about 10 remarkable female scientists from around the globe who broke barriers and accomplished great feats in STEM. Traveling to India every summer, I was devastated to learn how many girls shared my same aspirations and dreams, but simply didn't have the resources or opportunities to bring them to fruition. This drove me to play my part as an advocate for STEM learning and overcoming systemic barriers: 100% of the profits made from my book, "STEMpowering Women", go to funding tech access and education for the millions of Indian girls living in poverty and denied opportunities.

"STEMpowering Women" is a compilation of varying women's journeys to success in the fields of STEM, as they conquer countless challenges and obstacles to prove the world wrong. Mentioned throughout this colorful, inspirational children's book are the tales and accomplishments of women scientists from all over the globe, such as Sally Ride, Antonia Novello, Marie Curie, and more. The aim of this book is to inspire young children, especially girls between the ages of 4 and 10, to take up careers in the field of STEM, and break gender barriers in this male-dominated area.

Due to supply issues at the OCPS level, we do not know if hot or cold lunch will be served. Please be prepared to have either lunch until further notice.

Breakfast and Lunch will be FREE for the 2024-2025 school year

If your child has food allergies and will require a special meal from OCPS please click on the link below to fill out the special diet order form

Special Diets for Food Allergies - Orange County Public Schools (ocps.net)

Next week marks the start of FAST PM #3. Grades 3 and 6 will test on Thursday, May 1st. Please ensure your student is well-rested, has a healthy breakfast, and arrives at school by 8 am.

OSES is planning an Orca Day and Pep Rally on Wednesday to get students excited for their end-of-year assessments. Students are encouraged to wear school spirit shirts or blue and white on April 30th.

The state announced that results for the Spring 2025 B.E.S.T. Writing (Grades 4-6) assessment will be available on or before June 30, 2025. All FAST results will be accessible via the Skyward Parent Portal. Contact Ms. Carter (Cayce.Carter@orlandoscience.org) with any questions.

This week Kindergarten is preparing to take their final FAST/STAR assessment of the year! We are reviewing EVERYTHING learned throughout the year including letter order, letter sounds, syllables, blends, diagraphs, counting by 10s and 1s, counting to 100, addition, subtraction, teen numbers, and more! Please continue to read together nightly and practice weekly homework to help your child prepare for our final assessment!

This week in First Grade, we learned the importance of working as a team when we used our creative minds to design an Earth Day Project. Congratulations to Ms. DiNuzzo’s Class, who won for our grade! We reviewed skills to get ready for the STAR Reading. Students rotated to 2 other classes to practice skills from other teachers. Some of the skills reviewed were author’s opinion, text features, and elements of poetry. Students will have the opportunity to practice other skills with the other 3 teachers on a different rotation day. We continue to review the skills from the entire school year. Please continue to work on Study Island and IXL to help practice First Grade Skills.

This week in second grade has been full of exciting learning adventures! In math, we explored the fascinating world of shapes by examining their attributes and discovering what makes each unique. In science, we dove into the essentials of life, learning about what all living things need to survive. In reading, we used the story May Day Around the World to sharpen our analytical skills—identifying the central idea, making meaningful connections, and breaking down its story structure. It's been a week of curiosity, creativity, and growth! Additionally, over the next few weeks students will be revisiting key second-grade standards across subjects to reinforce their knowledge and celebrate how far we've come this year. We are encouraging students to work through Study Island and IXL plans ensuring a solid foundation for success.

This week, our class has been working hard to get ready for the FAST test. The students have been doing such a great job, and I’m so proud of them! We also celebrated Earth Day with a Recycled Art project, where the kids made an apple tree. It was a fun and meaningful activity for everyone.

Please keep going over the work your child brings home. Your help makes a big difference as they prepare for the test!

This week, our fourth graders were buzzing with energy as we dove into our F.A.S.T Review. The highlight of the week was our fantastic Chalk Day Review, a grade-level event that brought learning to life in the most colorful way! Students rotated through various stations, practicing their math and ELA skills while having a blast. From solving math problems to exploring poetry and text structure, everyone had a chance to shine. It was a day filled with laughter, learning, and lots of chalk dust!

We have had an exciting week. In science, our classes made projects from recycled materials and went on a field trip to the Animal Kingdom on Tuesday. In my advanced Math class, our students have been previewing 7th-grade topics centered around ratios, rates, and percents. Next week, we'll review 5th-grade measurement in preparation for the FAST Assessment.

Students engaged in activities designed to develop speed and cardiovascular endurance. The lesson included relay-style races to encourage teamwork, quick bursts of running, and sustained effort. Emphasis was placed on pacing, improving overall fitness, and having fun while working together

In Spanish class, the 6th-grade students are concluding their food unit with a Hispanic Restaurant activity as the final evaluation. The students created a menu for a Hispanic restaurant, incorporating vocabulary and phrases they have previously learned, with everything on the menu and in their conversations conducted entirely in Spanish. Additionally, they gave their restaurant a unique Hispanic name. To bring the activity to life, the classroom was transformed into a restaurant setting where students assumed roles such as host/hostess, waiters/waitresses, customers, and cooks. They memorized their dialogues and utilized their menus and props during the performance. The students did an excellent job with their Spanish pronunciation, and it is evident that all of them achieved their learning objectives. I am incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication throughout this project. Please find the attached pictures showcasing their efforts! 😊

In the upcoming lesson, students will explore the celebration of Cinco de Mayo and engage in a collaborative project where they will construct a Mayan pyramid from scratch using the materials of their preference.

A few reminders:
Please encourage your students to regularly check Google Classroom for assignments and announcements, as well as OSS Connect for grades and behavior updates.
Additionally, kindly review classroom procedures and expectations with your students. My syllabus and slides were sent home at the start of the semester and are also available on the Google Classroom stream (posted in January).

Have a wonderful weekend!

In order to help keep our families informed of the latest legislative updates regarding their student's education, a Parent Rights Resources page has been added to the school website.

Recent updates include:

• Internet Safety
• District Health Care Services
• Special Magistrate

The mission of Orlando Science Elementary School (OSES) is to provide a well-rounded education with special emphasis in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), while using research-based and innovative instructional methods in a stimulating learning environment. OSES is committed to the social-emotional learning and character development of all students.