As the Class of 2024 prepares to graduate in early June, Oakcrest is soaking in every last moment with the seniors. To celebrate the class and their contributions to the life of the school, Oakcrest celebrated Senior Appreciation Day on May 1.
Read about several of our seniors who traveled to Rome, Italy during Holy Week to attend UNIV, an international forum of young women hosted by Opus Dei.
For visual art teacher and Oakcrest interior designer Ms. Victoria Bigliano’s AP Art History course, the AP exam is right around the corner. In the midst of finalizing preparations for the upcoming exam, the class traveled to New York City to explore The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For Colonel Laurel Walsh, the last 25 years in the military has given her incredible opportunities - travel, continued education, and personal leadership development - but above all, she shared with Oakcrest students, that it’s the sense of purpose in serving her country that is at the heart of her work.
Last year I visited Oakcrest school in Vienna, Virginia to chat with members of a high school class that had upset a major election. Music teacher Alix Baldwin led her class in a musical putsch that dethroned Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as the perennial winner of WETA Classical’s annual Classical Countdown, awarding first place to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The young women in Ms. Baldwin’s class learned a lot in that exercise about civic engagement, and how, with dedication and hard work, you can make a difference in your community.
Each spring, students have the opportunity to share their gifts and talents in the Oakcrest Talent Show! From singing original songs to Broadway favorites, dancing traditional Irish dance to contemporary movement, performing Disney classics on violin to beautiful piano concertos, the 2024 Oakcrest Talent show was a delight to all.
On Friday, March 22, 2024, Oakcrest School hosted a Day of Service where over 300 students went out to 15 different locations throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. From Irish dancing to beautifying local parks in the area, and visiting with residents at various shelters and homes, Oakcrest School is thrilled to provide this opportunity to its students to give back to the community.
In reading the script for Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales back during the spring of 2023, it quickly became clear to the production team that the show would be a great fit for the 2024 Oakcrest Middle School Theatre Production. The musical offers a wide variety of characters and a larger cast.
Henry Wingate, local award-winning, traditional oil painter, will be the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual O’Donovan Humanities Lecture at Oakcrest School on Saturday, March 2, 2024. The lecture begins at 7:00 pm with a reception at 6:30 pm. The topic will be “Classically Trained Artists and their Impact on Culture and Society.”
Oakcrest School is pleased to open ticket sales for its Middle School Theatre production of Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales. Performances will take place on Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24 at 7:00 pm at Ernst Theater in 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22033. Purchase tickets here.
What does it mean to see “Life as a Heroic Journey”? In the 9th grade, our students seek to discover just that. Through the lens of the virtues of self-knowledge, sporting spirit, and fortitude, they discover what a heroic journey truly is through their study of the Greeks in history and through the reading of The Illiad and The Odyssey in English class. Alongside these themes, the class competes in their own Greek Olympics throughout the first semester.
Toys for Tots and Cole’s Closet are partnering together to host a Toy Drive from now until Dec. 15. Students can donate new or gently used toys and place them in the appropriate bins in the school lobby to be distributed before Christmas.
Oakcrest School is pleased to announce its Middle School Theatre production of Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales. The musical leads the audience on a journey through the Appalachian Mountains with six traditional tales and folk-inspired songs. With stories inspired by beloved fairy tales, the evening is sure to be captivating while sharing mountain-lore wisdom for the whole family.
Mary’s Meals is a global organization committed to contributing to the solution to world hunger by providing children meals in their place of education every day. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, Mary’s Meals is the chosen Oakcrest School charity project. Each month, a different grade will host a fundraiser to raise funds which will be given to Mary’s Meals at the end of the school year.
Oakcrest School is pleased to announce the Upper School Theatre production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Performances will take place on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 pm at Ernst Theater, 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22033.
Oakcrest School is pleased to announce senior Aria U. has been named a Commended Student in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students are placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2024 competition by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
With gratitude to Dr. Mary T. Ortiz and her eleven years as Head of School, Oakcrest School honored the Head of School Emerita in a celebratory toast at its Founder’s Day Celebration on September 16, 2023.
Oakcrest School is pleased to announce its Upper School Theatre production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The musical follows the story of Charlie Brown and his friends based on the characters of cartoonist Charles Schulz in his infamous comic strip, Peanuts. Through dance and song, Charlie and his friends discover what it truly means to be a “good man”.
Oakcrest School is pleased to welcome Christie Keuchel as the Interim Head of School. Mrs. Keuchel returns to Oakcrest after serving the school community for 13 years from 2007 to 2020 in a variety of roles: Associate Head of School for Students, Director of Student Life, Director of Middle and Upper School, and Theology teacher. She is the seventh Head of School to lead Oakcrest.
On Saturday, June 3, Oakcrest graduated the 33 members of the Class of 2023, bringing the number of Oakcrest alumnae to 1,022 since the school’s founding in Washington, D.C. in 1976.
“Oakcrest’s mission of cultivating virtues in our daughters extends from the classroom to our courts, fields, and pools,” Mrs. Sweatman explains. “Oakcrest educates the whole person. Sports allow our daughters to experience challenges and teamwork in a unique and beautiful way that transforms their confidence into strength.”
“Oakcrest has really stayed true to its mission through substantial growth,” Mrs. Bertolini said. “That hasn’t been easy and it hasn’t been linear, but Oakcrest has taken its mission very seriously in an uncompromising way.”