Category Archives: News

News

OHS Latin Program Hosts Regionals

By Amelia Chen

All students enrolled in Middle and Upper School Latin courses at Oak Hall School are participating in the Latin Regionals tournament hosted on campus Saturday, Jan. 28. 

All Latin students compete at regionals in the hopes to be chosen for the state tournament. This year, about 86 students from Oak Hall School will be competing. In total, there are usually around 150 students competing from all the schools in the tournament. This year those schools include Oak Hall, St. Francis, Cornerstone, and Forest High School.

“I’m excited for all of the new students who haven’t been to regionals to experience it and for some of the veterans to be able to kind of show the ropes to the new generation of Latin students,” said Zachary Mair, one of Oak Hall’s Latin teachers.

Students participate in academic testing, Certamen (a Jeopardy-style competition), racing events ala Olympics-style, wear costumes, and participate in art. Minus the testing and Certamen, OHS Latin Club officers organized the regional competition. 

Oak Hall’s Latin Program, the Junior Classical League (JCL), has been competing at regionals for decades and is considered one of the biggest classics programs in the region and quite possibly the state. 

Oak Hall regularly has success in the regionals, as Oak Hall is designed to prepare students on a national level. Mair also noted his hope for the turnout of the competition.

“I hope [this is] a starting line for looking toward states… I’m hoping that students [really] put in that effort and get the award that they deserve for the input that they gave,” he said.

Athletics, News

New Gameday Cheer Squad Qualifies for Nationals

By Bailey Thorp

For the first time in school history, Oak Hall school has a Competitive Gameday Cheerleading team. This team has had an amazing run this season from showcasing their routine at qualifiers, to placing at regionals, and finally on the road to nationals. 

On Dec. 2, 2022, the Oak Hall Gameday squad went to the regional competition in Tampa. At this competition, the team scored second place out of eight teams in the division and qualified to compete at Nationals, a significant accomplishment for a brand-new team.

While Oak Hall does have a traditional Competitive Cheerleading team, Gameday is a different routine altogether. While traditional competitive is flashier and is focused on advanced stunting, Gameday showcases what you would see on the sideline at a Friday night football game. The spotlight is on crowd-leading, cheers, and band dances, rather than pyramids and jumps. 

In mid-February, the team will travel to the Wide World of Sports in Orlando to compete at Nationals. This competition lasts multiple days and includes two rounds of competition, semi-finals, and finals. In addition to competing, the team also gets to spend time at Disney together in their time off from cheer. Wish them luck!

News

Just Because: Ranking Holiday Movies

By Brody Beaupre

There are hundreds of thousands of movies, but a select few have been categorized to be watched every year in December: holiday movies. I have ranked my personal top five favorite holiday movies. If you don’t like spoilers, you might want to stop reading! 

#5: The Polar Express – This movie is a go-to favorite and a staple to watch every year. This movie features a young boy who is failing to believe in Santa Clause, so he is picked up by the Polar Express train and after a visit to the North Pole his faith in Santa is reaffirmed overnight and he wakes up in bed the next morning to find presents waiting for him under the tree, along with a toy train.

Trailer for “The Polar Express”

#4: How the Grinch Stole Christmas – This is a live rendition of Dr. Seuss’s book, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. This movie features Jim Carrey as the Grinch, a vile creature who hates being happy because his heart was two sizes too small. Through the kindness of a little girl, and the Christmas spirit of the village, his heart grew to triple the size it was. 

Trailer for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

Making the top three is a somewhat controversial holiday movie, but I think it falls into the category: Die Hard – This is an action-packed movie where a cop from New Jersey saves hostages (including his wife) from terrorists trying to steal millions..all on Christmas Eve!. There is lots of cursing and blood, but that just adds to the excellence of this movie.

Trailer for “Die Hard”

#2: Rocky IV – This movie is an emotional roller coaster and features one of the single greatest training montages ever. Rocky prepares to fight for personal pride as well as revenge and he is carrying the weight of the United States on his shoulders. After a long and bloody fight, which occurs on Christmas Day, Rocky pulls out the win in the ultimate fight against the Russian machine known as Drago. 

Trailer for “Rocky IV”

And finally, the number one holiday movie of all time: Elf – This is one of those movies that can be watched year after year, while laughing at the same parts every time. After 15 years of watching this movie, I still love it just as much after seeing it for the first time. In my world, it’s the undisputable number one holiday movie ever. 

Trailer for “Elf”
News

Midterm Exams – What to Know

By Ella West

Midterms for Middle and Upper School students are next week. While this is the first round of final/midterm exams for the sixth graders, students in all grades may be wondering what they can do to prepare for exams, or when the exams occur, or how long an exam is, and when students should start studying. Luckily, teachers (and this article) are here to help students prepare and be informed for these exams.

In all Middle and Upper School grades, the last day for teachers to teach new content is Dec. 6, while Dec. 7 – 9 are designated as review days. Most classes will hand out study sheets for students to use at home in order to prepare for exams. 

Middle School Information
Middle School exams are classified by period and grade level, and exams are two hours long, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. 

Middle School Exam Schedule:

Dec. 12Dec. 13Dec. 14Dec. 15Dec. 16
6th gradeA periodB periodD periodE periodG period
7th gradeA periodC periodD periodF periodG period
8th gradeA periodB periodD periodE periodG period

Not every Middle School class will give an exam, however, as projects and papers are also options.

Content Areas that Assess (Exam, Paper, or Project) by Grade Level
6th Grade: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, STEM
7th and 8th Grades: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Language

After Middle School students have completed their exam, they can either be checked out at 11 a.m. as part of early dismissal or go to study hall until noon. Extended Day is available Monday through Thursday, but all students must be picked up by noon on Friday, Dec. 16. If your student will be in Extended Day, please note that lunch will not be served, so please pack a lunch for your student.

Upper School Information
For the Upper School students, the exam schedule is as follows:

Dec. 12Dec. 13Dec. 14Dec. 15Dec. 16
HistoryWorld LanguageScienceEnglishMath

Upper School Learning Specialist Amanda Metzler recommends using a “study map” to organize what to study and when. For example:

When studying for exams, Metzler recommends spaced repetition; a studying technique in which you go over a set of materials take a break, or look at another subject, then go over that same material again. She also sent an informative PowerPoint presentation to the Upper School students with tips and tricks:

News

OHS Open on Friday

Update – Nov. 10 – 6:30 p.m.

Given the improving forecast of TS Nicole, campus will reopen, and classes will resume normal schedule tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 11. We’ll see you then!

Update – Nov. 9 – 10 a.m.

Dear Families,

Due to Tropical Storm Nicole, effective 6:00 p.m. this evening, Wednesday, November 9th, Oak Hall’s campus will be closed. Campus will remain closed and there will be no classes on Thursday, November 10th. A decision regarding campus reopening on Friday, November 11th will be communicated using our Emergency Notification System via email, text, and phone call on the evening of Thursday, November 10th.

To satisfy the required number of school days for this academic year, we will be combining Wellness Day and Conference Day on February 27th. School will now be in session on February 28th.

The Junior Class Introduction to College Night scheduled for this evening has been postponed. Mrs. Wilkins will be in touch with more information.

If you have any questions, please reach out.

Stay safe,
James

Nov. 9 – 8:30 a.m.

As of the 7 a.m. advisory, Tropical Storm Nicole is a Category 1 storm with winds maxing out at 70 mph. Its current track has it coming near Gainesville on Thursday afternoon.

Alachua County is under a Tropical Storm Warning. Oak Hall will make the decision campus will be closed tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 10) after the 11 a.m. advisory.