The class of 2023 stands behind the Kindergarten students after their Clap Out down the halls of OCS.
What a way to end the school year! The campus has been buzzing with excited students and eager parents in the Lower School hallway with the Sr/Kinder Clap Out, Field Day, Kindergarten graduation, and class parties. The celebratory atmosphere has extended to the portable buildings and upstairs as Middle and Upper School students put their pencils down for the last time; finals are over and grades will be out soon. Teachers are working through their end-of-year checklists, turning in textbook counts, finalizing grades, and preparing their classrooms for the summer months.
The graduating class of 2023 will be moving on after the commencement ceremony on May 27, but for the rest of us, our mission at OCS remains the same in the midst of change.
We have been meeting with teams to enhance campus security. Progress is coming along with new additions and improvements for next year. You can read about some of the specifics in my previous blog post.
As you already know, Mrs. Rozier is retiring and our upcoming Lower School Principal, Mrs. Fragale, has already spent many days on campus. This has been a smooth transition all around!
The Fogleman family has been on furlough for the past two years and they will continue their mission activities in Namibia, Africa this summer (you can follow their journey here). While it’s hard to say goodbye to the incredible Mrs. Fogleman, we welcome Mrs. Mayfield who is moving from PreK4 to Grade 2. She and Mrs. Gildea will make a rockstar team.
Mrs. Osgood will be leaving Grade 3 to assume library and school counseling responsibilities, while also pursuing her license as a professional counselor. We have hired Mrs. Leah Masters to teach Grade 3 alongside Mrs. Ward. Mrs. Holly Klinglesmith is relocating to east Texas with her husband.
Dr. and Mrs. Atterson are moving to pursue other ministry opportunities. We are grateful for the service they have provided us. Many school events would not have gone as well as they did without the work of our beloved music teacher.
The search continues for several key positions; please see our Careers page if you know of qualified candidates who would be a good fit for our community. As lives are led in different directions and people are brought to our path, things will fall into place for next year—this we know, because this ministry belongs to our sovereign God.
When stress levels are high, I have learned to consciously bring the Scriptures to my mind to regain perspective about who God is in the midst of my circumstances. I remind myself specifically that God is unchanging and limitless.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2 ESV)
When anxiety threatens to barrel over me, I am learning to embrace my limits as a human created by an eternal Creator. His majesty and his power are incomprehensible, and to Him belongs this ministry of Christian education.
For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:9–10 ESV)
Endings are a bittersweet part of life on this side of eternity. We will miss those who are leaving and we rejoice in the plans that the Lord has.
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:12–17 ESV)
This final week of school was packed with celebration of all that our students have accomplished. Now that 2022-2023 is over, we turn our eyes to all that the Lord has for us in 2023-2024. The administration will be working, Monday-Thursday from 9:00-3:00 pm, this summer to prepare for the next year. Be sure to come to the June 29 Summer Uniform Sale and sign your student up for summer camps. We look forward to when we next see you on campus.
Penny Hayes M.Ed.
Head of School
