Future Bear Families,

We are so excited to welcome your students to Cypress Creek High School for the upcoming school year!  This year, the district will implement the Course Planner feature in Xello to collect student course requests for the 2026–27 school year. This process will be used with rising 9th through 12th-grade students.

The Course Planner empowers students to take ownership of their academic journey by allowing them to select courses while tracking their progress toward high school graduation and post-secondary goals. Your child can explore courses while gaining an understanding of how course choices support their goals as they move through high school.  

Families can review course options and selections together using the Xello Family Portal. You can access your Xello Family account through the OCPS Parent Portal (login/directions here).  You will know which courses your child is taking and why, without needing paper forms.  You can view past and current courses, credits earned, and track your child's progress toward their diploma. All this information is stored in Course Planner online, so you always know what has been completed and what is next. 

To help your child get ready for next year’s course requests, please review the checklist linked here. It will help guide your child as they prepare to choose their courses for the upcoming school year.  School counselors will introduce Course Planner to students and guide them through the course selection process in Course Planner. The school counselor will review course selections once students submit their plans to ensure appropriateness, accuracy, and alignment with graduation requirements and post-secondary plans.

If you have not had the opportunity to log in to Xello Family Access, please check the email account you have listed in Skyward, as you will receive an email from noreply@xello.world with the subject line “[Parent First Name], welcome to Xello Family.” This email will invite you to activate your Xello Family account. If you experience any issues, please contact your child’s school counselor for assistance.

Our counselors will be visiting middle schools during the week of February 2nd. During these visits, they will guide students through the course selection process using Xello.  After the initial visit, students will have a little over one week to complete their course requests in Xello before counselors return to lock selections into Skyward. Please check in with your student(s) during this time to ensure they complete the process carefully. The courses they select will be their first classes in high school and can set them up for future success. 

To support students and families with the course selection process, we invite you to attend our “Bear Necessities” Freshmen Experience Night on Wednesday, February 11th, from 5:30PM to 7:00PM. During this event, students and parents will learn about our academic pathways & electives, clubs & sports, and dual enrollment opportunities. Breakout sessions will be offered every 15 minutes to provide more detailed information.  See flyer below for more information. 

The dates for the initial and return counselor visits for your student’s school are listed in the table below. Please note these dates so you can stay involved and support your student throughout the course selection process.

CCHS Counselor Initial Visits 
February 2 - Walker Middle School 
February 3 - South Creek Middle 
February 4 - Renaissance Middle
February 6 - Meadow Woods Middle  

Bear Necessities - Freshman Experience Night 
February 11 - All Middle Schools Invited to CCHS

CCHS Counselor Return Visits (Course Selections Due)
February 17 - Meadow Woods
February 18 - Walker Middle 
February 19 - Renaissance Middle 
February 20 - South Creek Middle 



Make it a bear-tastic day!