Warrior Weekly

Homecoming week is always a special time of the year, and our students did a fantastic job of participating in spirit week and making this week a point of pride for OCHS. Below you will find announcements for the seventh week of school. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you again for the opportunity to work with your children and for the continued support! #weareone

Kevin J. Yancey

Principal
Oconee County High School

TOGETHER-FAMILY-BELIEVE

OCHS Teacher, Mrs. Kelly Maffeo, was approved Monday night to fill the Assistant Principal vacancy at OCHS. Mrs. Maffeo is a graduate of OCHS and returned to her alma mater in 2015 to teach English. She spent the first 15 years of her career at Collins Hill High School in Gwinnett County. Her transition into the Assistant Principal role will be phased in as we search for a teacher to replace her in the classroom. While Mrs. Maffeo will miss teaching the students each day, she is excited to take on this new role.

We have been greatly encouraged by all of our students' willingness to observe the social distancing protocols. There is no doubt that this has allowed us to have a successful school year up to this point, and we hope that we can continue down the path that we are on. We ask that you continue to encourage your students to observe the social distancing protocols and to #MaskUpOC when social distancing is not possible.

Remember our 3 Ws:

-Wear your mask

-Wash your hands

-Watch your distance

All Oconee County students will now receive breakfast and lunch at no cost through the end of this semester. This change will began Sept. 10, 2020, and will be in effect through Dec. 31, 2020. As announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, this flexibility is being provided as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. OCS is eligible because the system provided meals at no charge to families from March-July 2020 through the USDA Seamless Summer Program.

On Jan. 1, 2021, each student’s meal status will revert back to the prior status. For families who qualify for Free and Reduced lunch, it is crucial that the Free and Reduced application form is still filled out. This information impacts benefits including Title I funding, high school testing and summer school assistance, and Secret Santa.

Online registration for Advanced Placement Exams for the 2020-2021 school year went live at 8:00 am on Monday, August 31st. Students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses at Oconee County High School need to carefully review directions for this process, which can be found here. Registration for all Advanced Placement exams for both Fall and Spring semesters must be completed by 4:00 pm on Friday, November 6th. Please contact Mrs. Kim Harmelink at kharmelink@oconeeschools.org if you have any questions.

Oconee County High School will be administering both the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT on Wednesday, October 14th. All freshmen are automatically registered to take the PSAT 8/9 and all sophomores are automatically registered to take the PSAT/NMSQT at no charge. Any junior interested in taking the PSAT/NMSQT will need to register for a fee of $20.00. Information about PSAT/NMSQT registration for juniors can be found here. Testing will begin at 8:15 am on October 14th and should be finished by noon. Please contact Mrs. Kim Harmelink at kharmelink@oconeeschools.org if you have any questions.

Oconee County High School is excited to provide before and after school instructional extension sessions for those students needing additional support in their core academic classes. To see the complete schedule of these sessions, please go to the Instructional Extension link under the Resources tab of our main school website. Students wishing to attend a specific session need to sign up using a Google Form shared with them through their weekly student newsletter. Please encourage your students to take advantage of this valuable opportunity!

Seniors,

Please be sure you have signed up for an appointment time during our senior portrait make up days on Sept. 22- 24th. Please click the following link to sign up for a time:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094aa9af2ba4fc1-senior1

A $30 sit fee will be requested from Prestige Portraits via check, cash, or money order at the session. If there is an issue with paying this sit fee, please speak to the Prestige Portrait representative at the session and accommodations can be made.

Please remember that if you do not get your portrait taken by Prestige Portraits you will not be in the yearbook this year!

Also for all other senior yearbook information such as ads and baby photo/ senior quote submissions check our yearbook website:

https://sites.google.com/oconeeschools.org/ochs-yearbook/home

If you have questions, please email Mr.Beebe at sbeebe@oconeeschools.org

UNDERCLASSMEN PICTURE DAY and DISTANCE LEARNERS PICTURE DAY SEPT. 28th on A HALL

Please see schedule below. We invite distance learners to come at the designated time, so they can be in the book this year. They may enter through the A HALL doors from the outside of the building.

7:45-8:15 - Faculty and Staff

8:25-8:50- Juniors Last Names A-M

8:50-9:25- Juniors Last Names N-Z

All Juniors who are Distance/Digital Learners can come between 8:25- 9:25

9:25-9:45 Sophomores Last Names A-M

9:55-10:20- Sophomores Last Names N-Z

All Sophomores who are Distance/Digital Learners can come between 9:25- 10:25

10:25-10:45- Freshmen Last Names A-M

10:45- 11:25- Freshmen Last Names N-Z

All Freshmen who are distance/digital learners can come between 10:25- 11:25

Join the OCHS PTO today to stay up to date and be involved around the school as the school year progresses. Our PTO heads up many projects throughout the year and has just recently completed a two year renovation of the media center to make it one of the best in the county. Click on the link below to to complete the form and join PTO!

https://tinyurl.com/y4lla3xl

Also, please make sure to follow the PTO on Facebook at @oconeecountyhighschoolpto and on Instagram at @oconeecountyhighschoolpto

The math department is selling TI-36x Pro calculators for $20. This is the specific calculator your student will need each day in class. Payment can be made with cash, check (made payable to OCHS or online at

https://portal.icheckgateway.com/OconeeCountyHighSchoolActivity/

Your child may be eligible for E-PBT SNAP benefits as a one-time $256.50 benefit per child. Please visit https://dfcs.georgia.gov/pandemic-electronic-benefit-transfer for more information and an application apply. You will need your child's GTID number to apply. This number can be accessed from our parent portal, PowerSchool. To find your child's GTID number, please go to PowerSchool here: https://ps.oconee.k12.ga.us/public. Then, click Georgia LDS in the menu on the left. Your child's GTID will then appear next to their name. The deadline to apply is Sept. 25.

Last year, OCHS held parent book groups at several schools using the book Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons. We were just a few weeks into groups at OCHS when we released in March due to Covid. These were found to be very helpful for participants who have any member of their household struggling with anxiety: parent, spouse, or child. We have also heard that the pandemic has caused increased anxiety in many students and parents. The book is easy to follow and good discussion can occur even if you aren't able to read a chapter each week.

If interested, please email LeAnne Hale at lthale@oconeeschools.org or Jean Bennett at jbennett@oconeeschools.org. After interest has been determined we will send out further information regarding days and times as well as format (socially distanced in-person, virtual, or a hybrid.) We hope to begin the group some time this semester.

The Dual Enrollment Parent night scheduled for September 21st at 6pm will be presented virtually. The link to join the meeting will be posted on our website (bit.ly/warriorcounseling)

Any Sophomore or Junior considering joint enrolling and their parents should plan to attend. Even though we will be online, you will still be able to ask questions.

An admissions representative from Berry College will be meeting with interested students virtually on September 22 at 1:30. Please email or see Mr. Guthas in the counseling office if you are interested in attending.

An admissions representative from The University of Georgia will be meeting with interested students virtually on September 24 at 1:30. The meeting will take place in the lecture hall. Please email or see Mr. Guthas in the counseling office if you are interested in attending.

An admissions representative from the Savannah College of Art and Design will be meeting with interested students virtually on September 30 at 1:30. Please email or see Mr. Guthas if you are interested in attending.

An admissions representative from Mercer University will be meeting with interested students virtually on October 1 at 1:30. Please email Mr. Guthas if you are interested in attending.

An admissions representative from Georgia College and State University will be meeting with interested students virtually on October 2 at 1:30. Please email or see Mr. Guthas in the counseling office if you are interested in attending the virtual meeting.

Here is a great article about some of the most common college application myths. Remember, the colleges are looking to get a well-round picture of who you are as a person, not only as a bunch of numbers!

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/common-college-admissions-myths

For anyone who will be taking the ACT, SAT or PSAT this fall we've just been made aware of an opportunity for students to take a free virtual practice test for one of these exams.

StudyPoint, a company that has been tutoring local students for years, is offering the practice test events for free, and since they're doing so virtually, you can take the practice test from your home. Anyone who participates will also receive a free score analysis that breaks down how you did by section, question type, and content area so you can get a sense for where you might want to do some review prior to the real thing.

They run multiple practice tests each week. If you're interested you can view available dates and register for a test at https://site.studypoint.com/virtual-practice-tests.

Car riders can be dropped off in the mornings and picked up in the afternoons at two different locations. Please do not drop or pick up students from the main student parking lot.

• The first location is at the front entrance of the school (front doors of the school) from Union Church Road.
• The second location is in the rear of the school in the new gym parking lot from Union Church Road.

Please feel free to contact the OCHS Front Office for more information. Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve our drop off and pick up procedures. Our goal is to create the safest environment for all students, staff, and families.

Please do not drop off food from outside restaurants for students during the day. Front office staff will kindly ask for those items not to be left in the front office. Thank you for helping OCHS with this matter.

OCHS traveled across the county line last Friday to take on the Jaguars of Cedar Shoals. In a dominating performance behind a suffocating defense, a steady offense, and explosive special teams, the Warriors dispatched Cedar 35-0. The victory marked the second consecutive win over an opponent from a higher classification, the fifth straight road win dating back to last season, and the first 2-0 start to a season since 2016.

The Warriors will host Clarke Central for homecoming tonight at Warrior Stadium with a 7:30 kickoff before venturing into the first bye week of the season.

All girls interested in playing lacrosse (no experience necessary) come to a meeting on Wednesday 9/23 to get more information! We will meet at 3:40 in the cafeteria. Spread the word and bring a friend! :)

The Warrior softball team stepped back into region play this week with a sweep of East Jackson. OC dominated the Eagles by outscoring them 20-1 over the course of two nights with an 8-0 win on the road Monday night before returning home to a 12-1 victory Tuesday night. Like most teams around the state, Thursday's game with Monroe Area was rained out due to the remnants of Hurricane Sally.

The Warriors will be back in action tomorrow as they travel to West Georgia to take on Carrollton and Bremen before returning to region play with a trip to Franklin County on Tuesday night and a home game with Stephens County on Thursday night.

The OCHS volleyball team faced tough competition from the higher classifications this week as they took on opponents from 4A, 5A, and 6A. OC opened the week with a five set loss against Jackson County Wednesday night. On Thursday night, the Warriors had a late night as they traveled to Madison County to take on Habersham Central from 6A and Madison County from 4A. The Warriors fought hard taking Habersham Central into three games before dropping the match but were able to rebound against the Red Raiders for 25-12, 23-25, 15-11 victory.

OCHS returns to region action this week as they host Monroe Area Monday night before traveling to Hart County to take on the match hosts along with Stephens County on Tuesday. The Warriors will wrap up next week by hosting Jackson and Winder-Barrow on Thursday.

The Cross Country Warrior will returned to action last Saturday as the varsity Warriors traveled to the Carrollton Orthopedic Invitational while the JV team competed in the Franklin County Pridelands Invitational. All four teams competed with tremendous individual efforts well despite difficult course conditions coupled with heat and humidity. In Carrollton, the varsity boys finished 7th overall with Jack Stansell as the top finisher, placing 14th out of 154 runners. The girls also scored a top 10 finish with top finisher Molly Meeks placing 13th overall. These finishes came in the championship race which saw the top teams from all classifications competing against each other.

The JV squads also posted great finishes in Franklin County as the JV boys won their meet and the JV girls finished 2nd overall. Cooper Timberman, Griffin Roberds, and Chaim Moore swept the top three spots in the boys race while Leah John posted an 8th place finish for the girls.

All four teams will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Conyers to take part in the Aubrae Gunderson Invitational.

Volleyball

9/22

at East Jackson

East Jackson (V)-5:30

Franklin County (V)-6:30

9/24 (Senior Night)

West Hall (V/JV)-5:00

George Walton (V/JV)-7:00

Softball

9/22

at Franklin County-5:55

9/24

Stephens County-TBD

Cross Country

9/26

Aubrae Gunderson Invitational-Conyers

Back to School 2020-21 Information: https://www.oconeeschools.org/backtoschool

Free and Reduced Meal Application: https://www.lunchapplication.com/

GHSA For All The Information on High School Athletics: https://www.ghsa.net/

Website: https://www.oconeeschools.org/ochs
Location: 2721 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville, GA, USA
Phone: (706) 769-6655
Twitter: @OCHSwarriors