Jim Andersen, Head of Upper School

May 5, 2023

In this email:

• Weekly Wrap Up
• Student Spotlight
• Upcoming Dates & Details 

May days are underway in the Upper School with continued moments and memories. Since the last newsletter, we watched seniors decorate their graduation hats, welcomed the rising senior class with the wearing of their "navies," witnessed the last-minute Fine Arts Night preparations, and studied for the AP exams and finals ahead. May is off to a running start!

SPC wrapped up with the Owls showcasing Runner-Up for Varsity Baseball. Tennis had strong showings, with Eva Kovachev dominating her #1 singles opponent in every round of the tournament. The boys' team beat ESD to take 5th place. Cole O'Leary won his #1 singles match. Aadit Mehta and Sohan Masters beat their #2 doubles opponents in straight sets. Jay Puri and Brandt Pettigrew won the deciding #1 singles match to put us over ESD for the victory. Softball took the lightning win in the consolation finals. Click here for the Track recap from Coach White. Congratulations to all our Owls!

Oakridge Ninth Grader Brody Guild is the USA Gymnastics 15-year-old Senior Level 9 North Texas State Champion, where he also won gold medals on Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, and Still Rings; silver medals on Vault and Parallel Bars; and a bronze medal on Horizontal Bar. On Saturday, April 1, he competed at the Region 3 Championships (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) in Lubbock, Texas. In the Senior-A group, Brody won gold on Floor Exercise, silver on Still Rings and Parallel Bars, bronze on Pommel Horse, and second place All Around. In July, his score qualified him for the selective Region 3 Men’s Gymnastics Elite Camp at the University of Oklahoma. On Friday, April 28, he competed at the Western National Championships (25 states) in Galveston, Texas. In the Junior-D group, Brody won silver on Floor Exercise, bronze on Pommel Horse and Still Rings, and second place All Around. He was ranked third out of 89 15-year-old Level 9 competitors and sixth out of all 273 Level 9 competitors. We are incredibly proud of this Owl!

AP exams began this week. All AP exam dates and times may be found on the May calendar below. All students in an AP class will either sit for the College Board AP exam or be given an AP equivalent final by the AP teacher during final exam dates. 

Regular final exams are the week of May 22-26. Please see the May calendar below for days and times. Final grades will post in June. The last checkpoint will be May 10.

Schedules for the 2023-2024 school year will be underway soon. Expect a course selection list in your portal at the beginning of June. There will be time for adjustments to be made prior to materials being purchased, which happens in early July.

Class of 2023 families are preparing for Graduation! 
Graduation at a Glance:

• Signing Day, May 9, 2:15 PM in the SAC, university dress
• Senior Dinner, May 10, 6-8 PM in the SAC, dress attire, reservations required
• Senior Sunset, May 12, 5-8 PM in the SAC and OAC, casual; this is a rehearsal and is mandatory
• Graduation, May 13, 11-1 PM in the SAC and QUAD, dress attire, no guest limit, doors open for seating at 9:30 AM, seniors must be in the Library by 10 AM
• Senior Exams are complete, grades will be finalized and posted to the parent and student portal on May 10; remember to print the final report card from your portal

Parent Remind Hoot please join now. This is a great way to receive updates and reminders.

The Oakridge School calendar: save the dates of all these important events.

The Upper School Team

Jim Andersen
Christine Metoyer
Michelle Emmert