A Loving Goodbye to Mrs. Stancil

by Aaron Bass

During a hard-fought battle with cancer for ten years, we are sad to announce the passing of our beloved kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Missy Stancil. But, we rejoice in the knowledge that she is in heaven today with her creator and Lord, Jesus Christ!

Missy Stancil was born on September 15, 1973. She grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, then attended Bible Baptist College where she met her husband, Pastor Mike Stancil, while travelling with a singing group. They were married in 1993 and entered full-time ministry after graduating in 1996. Eventually that ministry brought them to Florida, where Mike co-pastors Life Church of Central Florida with Mr. Eric Groves. Together, Mike and Missy have three children: Beau, Paytin, and M’Leah. Mrs. Stancil joined OCP as a kindergarten teacher in 2013, where she was immediately loved by all her students and fellow teachers. She passed away on September 3, surrounded by family and loved ones in her home. Now she’s in her eternal home, healed and pain free!

Mrs. Stancil will be deeply missed by all of us here at Orlando Christian Prep. When asked for comments and favorite memories, several teachers and students had a lot to say. Mr. Groves’ favorite memory with Missy was at her daughter’s 16th birthday party. He loved how funny and how entertaining the night was. Mr. Schneider’s favorite memory was mentoring with Missy as he got to know her a lot more personally while their classes spent their “buddy time” together. Anna Knight recalls when she and the volleyball were able to raise money for Miss Stancil. Anna described the moment when they were able to present the money to Missy as priceless and an amazing reaction. Mrs. Jacobson had a lot to say, such as how she loved the way Mrs. Stancil was so passionate towards her students and that she was an amazing example of Christ. Mr. Soucie described how she always won the “guestbook challenge” in the book fair, but then would often share her winnings of free books. He also remembers the way Mrs. Stancil loved his son, Corban. She always had a hug for him and treated him - as she treated all her students - like they were the most special student in her class.

Friends at her memorial service shared that while we remember the sweet, smiling Missy, they also had the privilege of growing up with a trickster - the “wicked” and mischievous Missy! All together, we Warriors miss so many things about Mrs. Stancil, but a few things definitely stood out! Several people we interviewed described her laugh, her beautiful smile, her gentleness, her hugs, her love of Jesus, and her amazing passion towards not only her students, but everyone here at Orlando Christian Prep.

New Teacher Highlight: Mrs. Vanessa Beckwith

by Raymond Rodriguez

This week for our New Teacher Highlight, we’d like to introduce you to Mrs. Vanessa Beckwith, who has joined OCP this year as one of our 4th grade teachers. Mrs. Beckwith is a graduate of Florida State University, and she comes to us from Renaissance Charter School, where she started off as a 7th and 8th grade substitute teacher in 2012, eventually moving into full-time teaching. She teaches because she loves dealing with and mentoring children.

Mrs. Beckwith has five children, who all attend Orlando Christian Prep. Her eldest son, Arnell Walker, who you may already know, is an athlete here at OCP and is committed to the University of Idaho. On her off time, Mrs. Beckwith loves to dance and is a “sports mom” to her kids. Say “hello!” to Mrs. Beckwith and give her a warm Warrior welcome!

New Student Highlight: Junior Cesar

by Aaron Bass

At the Warrior Weekly we are continuing to meet some of the new students at our school. This week we'd like to introduce one our senior Warriors, Julio Cesar Bonfim, or "Junior" as he's known. 

Junior is not only new to our school but he is new to Orlando! Junior was born and raised in Brazil.  Junior's hopes to move to Florida started after visiting a sister who is living here.  He immediately fell in love with our beautiful city! It was also a big childhood dream of his to move to Florida and a goal to study in America and learn different things. 

Junior is still deciding whether to go back to Brazil after graduation, or further his education here in the United States and pursue a college degree. He is a very passionate person when it comes to learning about business, as his brother and father are both heavily involved in business, and he would love to follow his parents' path. 

During his time here at OCP, Junior plans to participate on the soccer team - his favorite sport is soccer! In his free time away from school, he loves to surf, go to church, and spend time at the beach with his girlfriend Leticia. Junior is described by others who know him as very friendly, outgoing, a very passionate and respectable Christian, and polite to everyone in his community. His childhood dreams are to become someone famous and impact the world. 

Be sure to introduce yourself in the hallways and welcome Junior into our Warrior environment here at Orlando Christian Prep!

Sports Recap - September 6

by Nick Bell

This week was an exciting week for OCP athletics!  First, our middle school football team won its game on Thursday night, August 30, by a score of 31-14 against defending SSAC champions Zephyrhills Christian.  The middle school volleyball team also won its match on Thursday against Foundation Academy. Unfortunately, the varsity volleyball team, while playing five full sets, lost its game against Foundation Academy. 

On Friday night, August 31, the varsity football team won its game against Mount Dora by a score of 42-13.  This Tuesday, September 4, the middle school volleyball team defeated Mount Dora, while the varsity team had another hard-fought loss.

New Teacher Highlight: Mrs. Harrison

by Christian Smith

The new teacher we selected to interview this week is 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Rachel Harrison. Mrs. Harrison went to elementary school right here at OCP, then attended Timber Creek High School. At Timber Creek she was a part of a Christian student club called CRU.

Mrs. Harrison started her teaching career as a preschool teacher at Lifesong church, where her husband served as a youth leader. She loves teaching because she can teach kids about God as well as the curriculum, and she feels like OCP is the perfect place for that. Say hello to Mrs. Harrison when you see her in the halls, and make her feel welcome to the Warrior family.

Warrior Life: Favorite Lunchroom Foods

by Jerahmeel King

We at the Warrior Weekly thought it would be fun to ask around and see if we could find out the students' favorite foods in the OCP lunchroom. Some popular favorites definitely stood out!  Top lunch picks include the pizza and the chicken nuggets with tater tots. Some favorite snacks include chips, Big Texas cinnamon rolls, fruity snacks, cookies, and ice cream/popsicles. The students here at Orlando Christian Prep seem to enjoy the lunchroom - or at least lunchtime - in general.  Keep up the good work, Mrs. Rehm and your staff!

What's your favorite lunchroom item?  Comment below!

New Student Highlight: Cristian Chavez

by Nick Bell

This week, we have chosen to highlight sophomore Cristian Chavez. Cristian transferred to OCP from Potters House Academy. Some of the reasons he transfered were to be in a better environment to learn and for sports. Cristian enjoys playing football and soccer. He is currently on the OCP football team and plans on participating in OCP soccer this winter.

Cristian enjoys editing photos and videos, and he loves playing sports with his friends. He has already made a good impression on his peers and has many new friends at OCP. After highschool, he plans on going to college to learn to work as an editor. He hopes to keep enjoying life by spending quality time with friends and family and being successful.

Make sure to say hello to Christian in the halls, and to all the other new students as they get accustomed to our OCP Warrior environment.

Sports Recap - August 30

by Aaron Bass

Our Warriors football team played on Friday, August 24, in Tampa against Superior Collegiate. They were unfortunate to come out of a hard battle with a big team with a loss of 38-6. Be sure to come see our Warriors play this Friday in Mt Dora, where our varsity football team will be looking to grab their second win of the season on our way to the championship! 

The varsity volleyball team played last Thursday against a mighty Master’s Academy. After 3 sets that were well fought with close scores, our ladies were unfortunate to finish with a loss. Captains Emily Jacobson and Anna Knight said the team fought hard and they played strong, but they were disappointed with the result. On Tuesday, our lady Warrior played at home against a strong Lake Minneola. The result did not favor OCP.  We had a chance to speak with captain Raylianne Rodriquez, who admitted it was a tough loss, but said there is always room and time to
improve since it is still early in the season and the team has a lot of potential.

OCP Theatrical Arts: Legends play and Thespians troupe

by Raymond Rodriguez

OCP’s fall play, Legends: Tales from the Island of Enchantment, is an original work by OCP’s own Mr. Jason Porrata, which is based on Puerto Rican folk and fairy tales. Auditions for this year’s fall play will be held on Wednesday, September 5th, and Thursday, September 6th, in the Library. Performance dates are November 15th and November 16th. You don’t need anything prepared to try out... just show up if you’re interested.

The OCP drama club will participate in Thespians this year. Thespians is a drama honors society that supports students in the theatrical arts and gives them many opportunities to develop as student leaders. OCP Thespians will attend both district and state competitions. Jr Thespians cost $12 to be inducted for all three years of Middle school and Sr Thespians cost $30 to be inducted for four years of high school. Payments are due September 4th. If you have any questions, please see Mr. Porrata.

This Week in the Warrior Nation

by Jerahmeel King

We'd like to start with a special congratulations to this month's upper school and lower school Teachers of the Month: Mr. Dustin Schneider and Mrs. Nicole Groff.  Way to go, teachers!!  Enjoy those private parking spaces.

Monday, September 3rd, is Labor Day. There will be no school, so enjoy your three-day weekend! 

On Tuesday, September 4th, both the middle school and varsity volleyball teams will be playing in Mt. Dora. 

Tryouts for the fall play are Wednesday and Thursday next week in the OCP library from 3:30-5:00pm. All students from 6-12 are welcome to attend. Sign up outside of Mr. Porrata’s room. Also on Thursday, the middle school football team will be playing at Windermere Prep. And, the varsity volleyball team will be taking on TFA Leesburg at home, so come out and support our girls! 

On Friday, September 7th, the varsity football team will be playing at TFA. The PTF is hosting a Skate Night on Friday, from 6:00-8:00pm at Astro Skate, on Goldenrod Road. Also on Friday, auditions for the elementary Christmas play, Star of Wonder, will be held in the music room at 2:15pm. See Ms. Thomas for details.

The FACCS Spelling Bee is in October, but will be here before you know it. If you are interested, start talking to your teachers now so you have plenty of time to prepare.