Dr. Amy Alsip, Head of Upper School

Upper School Families, 

Happy New Year and welcome to 2026! This week has been full of energy seeing all of the students returning to campus. I hope your holiday season was fun filled with lots of family time and opportunities for rejuvenation. 

As we embark upon this new semester, we hope our students will find new passions to pursue and like Ellie from the movie Up,  we tell our students “Thanks for the adventure — now go have a new one!” Part of the joy of our job here at Oakridge is to not only encourage students to pursue their dreams, but we also get a front row seat to see many of those dreams come to fruition.

Our Oakridge community will be participating in College Tee Day on Friday, January 30th. The US will have a College Day that morning followed by Powderpuff football in the afternoon. 

Report Cards and Academic Holds:

Report cards will be available this Friday on the portal. As a reminder if your student is failing one core class or two or more classes they can be placed on an academic hold for next semester. We do this to ensure students are on track to receive full credit for their courses. If your student is in this situation you will receive an email this Friday after grades have been published. 

Class of 2026 Information Night - January 12, 2026

Students and parents are invited to join us on Monday, January 12, at 6:00 PM in the Library for the Class of 2026 Information Night. We will review important spring senior events, graduation details, and the Yearbook Ad process. This evening is a great opportunity to get all the information you need to make the final semester memorable. We hope to see all seniors and their families there!

College Colloquium- Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 6:00 pm - FAPH

You do not want to miss College Advising's premier event, College Colloquium, which brings college admission vice presidents and deans to Oakridge to share their insight with our faculty, parents, and students. This year's distinguished guests will join us from Ohio State University, Trinity University, and the University of Southern California. 

With the rapidly changing higher education landscape, the College Colloquium program is an important opportunity to update our families on the admission process and to connect one-on-one with selective colleges and universities. This program is made possible by the generous support of Oakridge's Parent Club!

Have a great weekend!

All my best,

 

Dr. Amy Alsip
Head of Upper School