Dear Friends,
Welcome to Oakcrest School! I am pleased to welcome you to our website – and our campus. Oakcrest provides a balanced liberal arts education offered in a learning environment which includes a true partnership with parents. Advisory, athletics, fine arts, and clubs round out program offerings ensuring the education of the whole child. The mission and philosophy of Oakcrest are woven into the fiber of the school’s community and touch all aspects of School life.
This past school year has been one of celebration, gratitude and new beginnings. We started the year off by celebrating Oakcrest’s founding mission and 35th Anniversary at our Annual Gala. We also welcomed and opened our doors to new students, families, faculty and staff, some of whom came from as far as Chile, Spain, and Korea.
The accomplishments of our students have been many, including stellar Upper School show performances which earned four Cappies nominations and a Kennedy Center performance. Two students scored in the top 0.01% in the National Latin Exam by earning Gold Medals for five years in a row. We won first place in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference in Varsity Tennis, Varsity Volleyball and Middle School Cross Country, and first place in tournament championships in Swimming and Middle School Basketball. We celebrated our Student Government President and Co-Valedictorian of the Class of 2012, Alexandra Gadiano, being signed to an athletic scholarship to play Division I NCAA Softball at Colgate University.
We also ended the year as we began – with thanksgiving. We gave tribute to Mrs. Debbie Duffy, our Trustee and benefactress whose generosity and commitment to Oakcrest has been extraordinary throughout the years.
I look forward to what the new school year holds for Oakcrest. In addition to welcoming new people, we also welcome additions and improvements to our academic and extra-curricular programs. We are adding instrumental music to our program and the opportunity for students in the Upper School Chorus and Cantare Lux to travel to Rome in June 2013 to take part in a choral festival, which will culminate in singing for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. We are also offering AP Statistics and a Senior Thesis for the first time. The Athletics Department has added a Middle School soccer team and a spring lacrosse team. Lastly, we are very excited to announce that the Fall 2012 Middle School Show, chosen at the request of the students, will be C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
I am also pleased to announce that Oakcrest has made significant progress toward our move to a permanent, 23-acre campus in Vienna, Virginia. We are completing the planning phase of a capital campaign, having completed a marketing study in preparation for the campaign launch in the fall of 2012.
I trust that you will find evidence of the exciting ways that an Oakcrest education can benefit your daughter as you look through our website, and I encourage you to contact us directly to arrange a visit.
Sincerely,
Mary T. Ortiz, Ph.D.