FAQ

Horizon High School FAQ

From Hawk Talk March 3

General Questions

 Is there a Map where we can see our zone?

What will be the total enrollment at Horizon High School?

  • Total enrollment of our school in the 2021-2022 school year is expected to be in the 13-1400 range. We anticipate approximately 2100 students in the 2022-2023 school year and roughly 2700+ students in the 2023-2024 school year.

When will we know who our counselor is?

  • Currently (as of March 2021)  we have two school counselors on site. We will hire a third counselor at the beginning of the summer and possibly a 4th depending on our enrollment numbers. Once we have a more finalized assessment of our numbers (sometime during the summer) we will assign students to counselors by alpha breakdown. In the meantime, we are dividing students according to grade level:
  • 9th Grade- Wessal Kenaio
  • 10th Grade- Holly McGregor
  • 11th Grade- Heather Zoller

What should I do if I am a new student moving from out of the area?

  • Students new to OCPS or who are coming from another OCPS school in which they were not previously zoned for us would need to complete the enrollment packet and email it to [email protected]The OCPS Enrollment Packet can be found here.
  • You will also need to complete the grade level course registration. You will want to watch the videos relevant for your grade level before completing the form.
  • 9th Grade
  • 10th Grade
  • 11th Grade

Will middle and high school students overlap in schedule or classes?

  • Middle and high school students will

Does my child’s IEP or 504 plan transfer with them?

  • Yes. IEPs and 504s are recognized across schools. If you are transferring from Windermere or Bridgewater, we will automatically receive your IEP or 504 from them. If you are transferring from any other school you will simply provide us a copy upon registration.

Will there be tours of the school this summer?

  • We are planning to offer tours this summer, however we are not sure of the dates that we will be able to facilitate them. We are also awaiting further clarification of permissibility due to the pandemic. If physical tours are not permitted or available for some reason, we will facilitate virtual tours and orientations. Our priority and goal is for face to face tours.

Band

How do students audition/register for marching band?

  • There is no required audition for marching band!  All students who are a part of the band program will participate in the marching band, The Sound of Horizon.  Students should make sure that if they want to be a part of a band, they register for a band class.  If you aren’t sure how to register or what class or course code should be on your schedule, send Ms. Cannon an email and we can get you in the right place!

Is marching band required?

  • In OCPS, marching band is a required part of the curriculum for high school band students.  Exemptions can be made for religious or health reasons.  All students participate in marching band, and our marching band students are some of the most active and successful students on the campus!  Band in OCPS is “co-curricular” meaning that students will participate in activities and rehearsals outside of the school day that are required and graded.  We will work with athletics to compromise on schedules if you want to participate in band and football, or band and any other sport.  We want all of our students to be well-rounded and successful, so scheduling of rehearsals will be coordinated with athletics as well to ensure that as few conflicts exist as possible.  We will also publish the calendar as far in advance as possible so that students can plan ahead for participation in rehearsals outside of the school day.  Our rehearsal structure in the fall for marching band will include Tuesday and Thursday afternoon or evening rehearsals (as well as normal Friday night performances at the football games).

I would like to be in Jazz Band, do I need to be in another band class or can I just take jazz band?

  • Jazz band students are also required to take a regular band class, but exceptions can be made for students that play specific instruments like piano, bass, or guitar that are not enrolled in a band class that do want to be in jazz band.  For all other students, they will need to be enrolled in a regular band class which is where we learn your regular instrument fundamentals and performance, and the jazz band class would be used to study the jazz-specific subject matter.

Will there be band camp, or summer rehearsals?

  • OCPS sets the dates for summer band camp and typically, band camp is scheduled to begin three weeks before the start date of the school year.  Band camp normally runs two weeks and we will run full days during band camp with lots of breaks and alternating indoor and outdoor rehearsals.  Depending on restrictions for the summer, we will continue to enforce and follow all district and state guidelines for social distancing and performance on wind instruments including any required mitigation strategies such as bell covers, instrument playing masks, etc.
  • We hope to be in our band room and beginning to receive inventory in mid-June.  As soon as we are set up to receive students, we will hold some color guard and percussion rehearsals prior to band camp, so those sections can go ahead and get started working towards the fall!  All of this will be scheduled with student wellness in mind, so these rehearsals will be one to two times a week, and the calendar and plan for these rehearsals will be shared as far ahead of time as possible considering that we will not have access to our room until June.

How do I get more information about band?

  • Once we have received and organized all of our contact information for students and parents, Ms. Cannon will send everyone an email and we will set up a time for a meet and greet to answer band-specific questions and share additional information about planning for The Sound of Horizon!  We also have social media accounts set up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  Our band website iswww.horizonhsband.net (andwww.horizonhsband.com will take you there as well).  Also, feel free to reach out to Ms. Cannon at [email protected] if you want to set up a time to talk one-on-one or ask any additional questions about our band program.

Athletics

What sports are going to be offered at Horizon High School?

  • We will have 33 different varsity sports as part of our interscholastic and extracurricular offerings through the athletic department.  To see a list of these sports please visit HorizonAthletics.net and click on the Fall / Winter / Spring / Year-Round tabs on the top of the home page to see each sport broken down by season.  

Will my physical paperwork transfer over from Windermere High School?

  • Yes it will!  Once the school year ends we will be receiving all student-athlete files from Windermere and they will be updated in our new database.  The only item that all families and student-athletes will need to sign (digitally) will be the Horizon Student-Athlete Contract, which will go live on Home Campus in July. A message will be sent to all families once this item is available to complete.

How do I join a sports team at Horizon?

  • Once we finalize our membership with the FHSAA in April, we will have a new portal through www.athleticclearance.com in which families will go in and create a profile to upload athletic physical and compliance paperwork.  Student-athletes will check which sports they will be playing, which will notify each head coach and the athletic director.  Once you receive a “clearance” through your profile, student-athletes will be cleared to begin workouts out with their sports team.  We will be releasing a more in depth step by step guide on how to complete the registration process  in April.

Will there be spring football this May at Horizon?

  • Yes! We will hold spring football practice starting on May 1st at Bridgewater Middle School.  Practice times will begin at 5:00pm on the athletic field out back of the school.  Coach Thomas will hold a series of informational meetings for players and parents in April.  Please check our social media accounts and school websites for dates and times of the meetings.

Will there be summer workouts for sports teams?

  • Yes we will hold summer workouts for many of our sports teams starting on our new campus in June and July.  As our coaching staff is hired throughout the spring we will release those workout calendars on our social media pages and website.

Do you have Horizon Athletics social media pages yet?

  • Yes!  Follow us on Facebook (Horizon Hawks Athletics), Twitter (@HHS_HawksSports), and Instagram (HHS_HawksSports).