The Spanish National Honors Society recently held their induction ceremony. Thank you to our student leaders, parent volunteers, teachers, and advisor, Ms. Caraballo for a fun night of food, games, and celebration. Artwork made by our student artists was also on display.




The Grinch made an appearance at BDCHS! Thank you to Ms. Camilla, our office receptionist for turning the main office into Whoville.
Happy Holidays to our school community!


Assistant Principal Healey recently attended Lutz Preparatory School's High School Options Night to speak with prospective families and share about what makes BDCHS SOAR! #BDCHS #Phoenix #SchoolofExcellence #PublicCharter


There is still time to donate!
The Giving Tree, a community service project sponsored by La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica- Capítulo Norma Collazo Matassini runs through Wednesday, December 21st. Take an ornament from the tree located in the Media Center. Each ornament has a donation item. Please bring your gift by December 21st. All donations will go to CASA, ST. Petersburg, an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence.

A Message from Principal Fernandez:
What a wonderful time of year! It is hard to believe that the Holiday Season is quickly approaching. Due to the busy nature of the season, sometimes schedules and added responsibilities can cause stress. Concerts, parties, family visits and so many other events seem to be packed into a limited amount of time.
Our first semester of the 2023 school year is quickly coming to an end. Students have been working hard on their courses and have taken advantage of our tutoring support in the mornings and afternoons by our dedicated teachers to assist in their academic journey.
We are very proud of our school community and wish to send our thanks and gratitude to parents, guardians and caregivers who work hand in hand with the school in building a supportive community for our students. Our families work hard and advocate to be a partner in their children’s education, safety, and well-being. For this, we will always be so thankful. We are also grateful for our volunteers who enthusiastically provide so much to our school throughout the
year.
We are thankful for our students who come to BDCHS every day ready to learn. They provide us all with a daily reminder of why we are here and what is essential.
We are grateful for the teachers, administrative assistants, clinic staff, support staff, counselors, and administrators who care about student success and have the best interests of our students in essence. We see dedicated and hard-working individuals going above and beyond to ensure great things happen in our school. They do make a difference, and our students benefit
from those efforts.
One of the greatest opportunities and responsibilities we have as a school is to create a feeling of community. I often stress the importance of knowing and recognizing everyone’s story because it is the combination of all of our stories that make our community what it is. It can sometimes be a challenge to get to every individual, but I want to applaud our staff for their ongoing work to
individualize instruction and continuing to focus on working with individual students to help identify specific strategies and reflect on those strategies as they continue to grow and develop as learners.
This month is also the time in the year when we start planning forward for the upcoming year. Our 9th-11th grade students have been working on selecting their courses for the 23-24 school year, which provides a great time to talk with your student about the importance of aligning their schedule to their goals beyond BDCHS. High school is the time for students to explore their interests and their options. Given we are fortunate to be in a smaller school setting we are able to offer a wide variety of course offerings and dual enrollment, each providing unique experiences for students.
As we start a new year, it is always important to remember the impact we have on others. Our words and actions matter every moment of every day. Take time to say thank you. Take time to tell someone you appreciate them. Take time to enjoy the little moments. There is much to be grateful for here at BDCHS. I am thankful for our students, staff, and I am grateful to be a part of a community that values education. I appreciate the unwavering support from our families.
On behalf of the BDCHS faculty and staff, we wish everyone a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year!
With great Phoenix Pride,
Cheryl Fernandez
Principal
Join us tonight!

The Giving Tree, a community service project sponsored by La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica- Capítulo Norma Collazo Matassini starts on Monday, December 5th through Wednesday, December 21st. Beginning on December 5th, take an ornament from the tree located in the Media Center. Each ornament has a donation item. Please bring your gift by December 21. All donations will go to CASA, ST. Petersburg, an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence.

Dear Phoenix Families,
We will be holding an informational Student Progression Night on Monday, December 5th in our cafeteria beginning at 5:30 pm. This will be an information session on courses we offer for students next year, including academics, electives, and dual enrollment. We look forward to seeing all of our Phoenix students as we begin to plan for our course selections next year.
BDCHS World Languages & Cultures Club

Join us for Noche Latina on Friday at 5:00pm!

The World Languages and Fine Arts Department has been organizing a Noche Latina event on December 2nd that will include a Spanish National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, Holiday Pot Luck, Holiday Tree kick-off, domino tournament & Spanish games.
All are invited!
We are in need of donations:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10c0a45aeae29a6f58-bdchs93
Phoenix Families ~ November is Family Engagement in Education month. Let’s celebrate and encourage families to be engaged in their child’s learning, development and well-being.
@EducationFL @FloridaLottery #EngagedFamiliesFL #FLedu
~ Principal Fernandez

Phoenix Families ~ Research suggests that family-school partnerships not only strengthen families and increase student achievement, but also improve schools and build healthy communities. Students with engaged families, regardless of demographics, are more likely to develop confidence, have better social skills, earn higher grades and test scores, have fewer behavior problems, graduate and go on to post-secondary studies.
@EducationFL @FloridaLottery #EngagedFamiliesFL #FLedu
~ Principal Fernandez

We are very pleased to announce that BDCHS was recognized by the Florida Department of Education as a School of Excellence! Only a total of five high schools in Hillsborough County, with two being charter high schools were recognized. We want to thank our faculty, staff, administration, students and families for this wonderful achievement.
For more information: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18534/urlt/Schools-of-Excellence22-High.xls

Phoenix Families ~ When schools, families and communities work together to support learning, students are more successful and the entire community benefits.
@EducationFL @FloridaLottery #EngagedFamiliesFL #FLedu
~ Principal Fernandez

Interested in Traveling Abroad During Spring Break? The deadline to sign up for the trip to France and Spain in March of 2023 is fast approaching, as ACIS must finalize all flight space by November 17th. Please contact Mrs. Caraballo (ecaraballo@bdchs.org) as soon as possible if you would like to join the group. Also, keep in mind if you would like to use your own travel points, you could save up to $1,000 by selecting the non-fare option and join the group at the first hotel in Paris.

THANK YOU: To all of our families and university/business partners who attended our first College & Career Fair! It was a great success, and our team has already begun to plan our next event. Shout out to our amazing student services department who works diligently to support our students in planning for the future.




On this Veterans Day and every day, we honor the men and women who have served our country. We at BDCHS are also grateful for the sacrifices of our military families.

A Message from Principal Fernandez:
Dear Parents,
Here we are in November and with it comes all the excitement the upcoming holiday season brings. It is a busy time and the perfect time to begin to reflect on this year. Multiple holiday breaks are beginning to happen and we want to make sure everyone remains focused to end the semester on a positive note.
Life at school has been very busy. Many of our fall sports have come to an end and most of them had a record-breaking year. In addition, we have numerous students who participate in sports at their home school and their performance has been amazing. Make sure to check out our web page for constant updates.
The campus has also been abuzz with the perspective student open house, PAC meetings, college and career night and many other events for clubs and organizations.
Last month we received notice that we were one of five highs schools in Hillsborough County designated a “School of Excellence” by the Florida Department of Education. This designation comes as a result of us improving to an A rating and maintaining that rating for multiple years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the faculty, staff, students and parents for their continued support. This recognition would not have been possible without your continued support.
Progress reports are quickly approaching and grades will be updated in CANVAS by the end of the day on November 11th. Conference night will be held Monday November 14th. Teachers will be reaching out if your student’s grade drops below a 70%.
Arrival to school has shown some improvement and we have been keeping an eye on traffic situations to accommodate late arrivals. Your support with getting your student to school on time is greatly appreciated. Classes begin at 8am and late arrivals disrupt instructional time.
Please make sure to bookmark our website. There you will find day to day updates on events going on at BDCHS and other important information. You will also find a BDCHS app in the Apple store and coming soon to the Google app store.
Important Dates:
November 11 Veterans Day – School Closed
November 14 Conference Night – 4-6pm
November 18 Teach In
November 21-25 Fall Break
November 30 Prospective Student Open House
Once again, thank you for your continued support as we “Continue the Tradition of Excellence”.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Fernandez
Principal
College Fair is tonight! We will start promptly at 5:30pm. We hope to see you there!

