Dear Oakridge Community,
Happy Mother's Day, Oakridge moms. We honor you for the graceful way you lead and love your children and wish you a relaxing weekend. Susan Gale's quote resonates with me, "Mothers are like glue. Even when you can't see them, they're still holding the family together."
May 1 was the final day of school for seniors, but most have some work yet to do before they cross the finish line. Advanced Placement exams are May 11-22. The 76 young men and women in the Class of 2020, some of whom enrolled 15 years ago, never imagined concluding their Oakridge experience in this way. No one did. Rest assured, we have celebrated them and will continue to do so in creative ways.
Last week was National Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to the Oakridge Parents' Club and Board of Regents for the gestures of appreciation you extended to the faculty and staff. Your thoughtfulness is inspirational. Parents, if you have had recurring thoughts about thanking a teacher for his/her impact on your child, I encourage you to act. Make that call. Send that text. Write that email. Sending a kind word is free; receiving one is priceless.
Please make note of these important items:
- Graduation has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, July 25.
- Out of an abundance of caution, weekly summer camps – scheduled for June 8 through July 17 – are cancelled. All summer sports camps are also cancelled.
- Upper School choir parents will hear from Mr. Stewart late next week about the April Carnegie Hall trip that was cancelled.
- The Oakridge School plans to start the 2020-2021 school year on campus as scheduled, with the first day of school on Wednesday, August 19. The key dates are online.
- Our administrative team will utilize the summer to plan scenarios for an uncertain future. As we gain clarity and have news to share, we will communicate with you.
- Later this month, I will send another letter. It will include information regarding paying your child's tuition for the 2020-2021 school year.
More and more of you are following the school on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you are not, you have missed seeing some great Oakridge moments. Though physically separated the last two months, we have remained connected. This video is one powerful example of the content we share.
The 2019-2020 school year ends in just two weeks. For most of us, the last seven weeks have seemed more like seven months. Although it has been a taxing time, I am so proud of the ways we have rallied and supported one another. As I have said before, we value people first at Oakridge…and it shows. I will close with a quote from John Wesley, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you can." Embracing this mindset will help us get through this crisis.
Onward and Upward,
Jon Kellam