April at Oxford High School
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
-Mahatma Gandhi
As IB Learners we are Caring. We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a
commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference
in the lives of others and in the world around us. On the weekend of April 28th, the Oxford School of Early College (OSEC) held the annual Oxford Gives Back Spring Clean up. This event is spearheaded by OSEC Coordinator and Counselor, Mark Suckley, with help from our OVA and OSEC staff - as well as many other OCS students and staff volunteers.
A quote from the legendary Marsha Chapman:
"...to Leadership and OSEC students, “Thank you” for packing 500 (not 400) snack bags for our rakers, baggers, and all-around refuse gatherers. Not only did each treat sack have assorted fun snacks, but also each carried a heart-shaped “Thank you” attached at the fold, an endearing detail...Thank you, too, for all who supported this little activity through your generous giving of funds, snacks, and time! You’re the engines!"
Through April 26th - 28th, OHS FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) team had the privilege to compete at the FIRST World Championship in Detroit at COBO Hall. TORC was one of three teams to win the Engineering Inspiration Award and they placed 24th out of the 68 teams on their field! By earning this award, our students have automatically qualified for FIRST World Championship next season! Over 35,000 participants and supporters came downtown for this amazing adventure. Our team had the opportunity to compete with our robot on the Carson field as well as compete for the highest honor in FIRST, the Chairman's Award. Our students qualified for this world competition after battling at the FIRST in Michigan Championships at Saginaw Valley State University.
"The Engineering Inspiration Award celebrates a team for their success in promoting STEM within their community and outreach. TORC is one of six teams to receive this recognition out of 3,647 teams from 28 countries competing in 2018. "
“The award is a testament to all the amazing work the team puts in, beyond competing with a robot, to promote FIRST® and STEM opportunities to other students as well as humanitarian efforts both at home and to other countries around the world,”
We are open-minded. We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience. On April 25th students from various clubs and programs spent some time with Dr. Jay Marks from Oakland Schools. Dr. Marks is a diversity and equity consultant who works with students and/or staff on topics surrounding diversity, equity, race and social justice. The purpose for his visit was to gather student voice to identify areas of our building where we can improve our school culture. Dr. Marks will work with staff in assessing our student and building needs so that we can continue to improve our learning environment next school year.
-Megan Clapsaddle, T.O.R.C. Student Team Member
Ian Houston, TORC Chairman’s Mentor
Every student can succeed. Mr. Judd Robertson, Mrs. Amanda Bausack and Mrs. Colleen Ramsey continued their work this month further developing our support classes for next year.
Every learner is unique. Our students' experiences shape their biology as much as biology shapes their experiences. Their social and cultural experiences, including their schooling, will influence their growth and development. In addition to content-area skill development, our teachers are working on building our student's soft skill and executive functioning development. 
Our Jazz Band performed at the Thornapple Jazz Festival in Hastings, MI, this Saturday, April 28th. Our band received a clinic from the Saxophone professor from CMU, John Nichol, and attended other performances at the festival for an enjoyable learning experience. Mr. John Hill is always seeking opportunities for our students to perform and improve their own skills.
This month, our Social Justice Club held an art exhibit in the Media Center, titled "What Were You Wearing?", to raise awareness on sexual assault. The purpose of this exhibit also included combating myths, giving a voice to victims and providing support for students in need. This exhibit was modeled after the University of Kansas Prevention and Education Center in 2013.
Class of 2020 Sophomore's received a presentation and advice from Judge Julie Nicholson, this month in our Performing Arts Center. She spoke with students about the impact of their decisions for the future and the power of choice.
Students in Ms. Bolton's Human Body Systems class experimented with muscle fatigue this month. These hands-on lab activities and investigations is what makes this science class so enjoyable and relatable to students. You will find her students using technology to facilitate learning every week.
Our Mentorship students visited Leonard Elementary School again this month to officially kick off Leonard's OLWEUS bully prevention program. Students held an assembly in the gymnasium and then visited classrooms to continue their work supporting our future HS Wildcats!
Family First. This month staff held an after school small bridal shower for Katy Koiveunen who is getting married this summer. These get-together's help keep our staff connected.
Over Spring Break, our OHS Travel Club, spent their vacation in Italy. Travel Club Advisers, Mr. Jake Trotter and Mrs. Katie Blaszczyk, had some help with Ms. Katie Goetz this year on their European adventure. This annual spring trip gave our students the opportunity to visit places like ______.
On April 18th, we welcomed dozens of respected professional community members to our Spring CTE Advisory Committee Meeting. We began the evening in our PAC lobby for a wonderful welcome dinner, prepared by our outstanding food services staff. After dinner, our various CTE programs broke out into their respective classrooms for their CIP (Classification of Instructional Program) sessions. These program meetings, led by our CTE teachers, help keep us connected to our professional community. Their voice and professional knowledge help us prepare and improve our curriculum - which helps us better prepare our students.
On Friday, March 30th, The Oxford International Program hosted an early graduation ceremony for its thirty-one students who are finishing up their senior year at Baker College. Superintendent Mr. Tim Throne and OIP Counselor Terri Castron were among the honored speakers. Students Lily Ge and William Xiao also spoke about their memorable experiences at Oxford High School. Lily and William are excited to attend Penn State and The University of South Carolina, respectively, in the fall. We are proud of the accomplishments of all of these students and wish them well as they head off in many different directions to fulfill their dreams!
On April 24th, OHS held a memorable Special Needs Prom at Lakepoint Community Church. This event was almost entirely developed, planned and carried out by our first period Mentorship students, like Ally Lupu, pictured below. Our students had a blast and spent most of their time after dinner dancing the night away! Mrs. DiCicco, Mrs. Gray and Mrs. De-Nise helped assist with our student planning and partnership with Lakepoint. Fox 2 Detroit featured a segment on their evening news that night, highlighting the work from our amazing students . Check out the video here!
Our Biomedical students were visited by the Oxford Fire Department this month where they were taught CPR. Mrs. Janelle Lie provides hands on experience for our students during most lessons in this course.
This month, OHS held our annual Spring Art Show, held in our Performing Arts Center lobby. This event gives our students the opportunity to share all their amazing work with our community. It also serves as an opportunity to share the importance of art education with our community. OHS Art teachers Mrs. Beck Ziemanski and Ms. Michele Whalen do an excellent job preparing our students for this event.
Mrs. Lauren Rambo would like to thank our parents and the OHS staff for the support of our Quiz Bowl seniors. While our team lost their first match at the State tournament on April 20th, they came back strong the following day to win 4 matches and beat their rivals from Linden HS. Our Quiz Bowl team made it to the quarterfinal game and were eventually bested by Holt HS. This is the furthest our Quiz Bowl team has made it into the State tournament. We are very proud of both their gameplay and sportsmanship.
Oxford Model United Nations team ended a successful season with a weekend long conference at Michigan State University. Club Advisor, Lauren Jasinski, was so impressed with our students' preparation, professionalism, and interactions with other schools. She was also so proud of their hard work, as we are lucky to have such wonderful students as our future world leaders!
The month of April is when our Spring Sports begin their seasons. Stay updated by bookmarking our Oxford Athletics Website.
On April 13th, four Wildcats sign to compete in College! Ulises Rodriguez signed with Wayne State University to run for the Warrior's Cross Country team. Dominic Bruce will be running Cross Country for the Blue Demons of DePaul University. Bridget Cusick will be running Cross Country for the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals. Garret Warren will be swimming for the Falcons of Notre Dame College. Not pictured, Rebekah Sewell signed her letter of intent to play lacrosse at Rochester College. Allison Robilliard also signed with Rochester College and will join their Cheer Team this summer!
Check out the following teams and keep up with the action this season:
Our Boys and Girls Track teams held the 56th Elmer Ball Track & Field Invitational at Wildcat Stadium on April 21st. This invitational is not your average track meet. Over 28 teams from 3 states and over 750 athletes competed. Check out the complete results here.
Check out John Oetjens' Oxford Schools update at the 12:33 mark on OCTV's News This Week. John shares some of the following highlights from this month at Oxford High School: Robotics team preps for World's in Detroit, students share voice during gathering, Mr. Balsley's Auto Tech mini mites competition (MITES).
John Oetjens also speaks with our Robotics students and adult team mentor Ian Houston about the success of their season in Schooling Around Episode 71. Also featured is Orchestra Director, Natalie Frakes, who discusses the Oxford Elementary before school Choir program, held at Lakeville Elementary.
Our Student Newspaper staff launched a new website in October: www.Ohsnews.org. Our dedicated team of 18 writers, five of whom pull double-duty as editors, and one dedicated website manager - are working hard to report the news in an unbiased, fair and balanced way. Please check them out!
Our OHS News Broadcasting has also made some outstanding updates to their daily news show. You can subscribe to their YouTube Channel and even set alerts to receive their news each day.
Communication & Information
Parents who are better informed are more likely to be engaged and supportive of their child and our learning community. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the following pages within and in addition to our OHS Homepage.
Mr. Wolf’s Top 6
- If you don’t already receive our weekly emails from OHS Administration, please click on SchoolMessenger and subscribe to receive helpful weekly info and updates.
- Our Parents & Students webpage is a great resource for parents to access student grades & attendance (PowerSchool), teacher websites (Haiku) and other school resources.
- Please visit our OHS School Calendar to view upcoming events.
- OHS News Broadcasting YouTube Channel is where you can find all daily announcements. Subscribing and/or viewing on a regular basis will help keep you informed and updated.
- Our Counseling webpage has a number of resources for you and your student, including our curriculum, career resources, transcripts and services.
- Make sure you are also visiting our Athletic Website for athletic event dates, games and information. We are currently working on a redesigned website that we hope you will love using.
- Check out our Twitter page @oxford_hs to see day-to-day highlights of our wonderful learning community!
- Our student Newspaper staff has launched a new website: www.Ohsnews.org with a dedicated team of 18 writers working hard to report the news in an unbiased, fair and balanced way.
- OCS Facebook is another way to see day-to-day highlights district-wide.
- Wildcat Review Newsletters are created each quarter to highlight all of the outstanding work and accomplishments throughout Oxford Community Schools.
Thanks for your support and help in keeping Oxford an amazing Community!
Steve Wolf
Principal – Oxford High School@stevenwolfedu
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