December 2018

Dear Parents,   
                                                                 

I hope you and your daughters enjoyed some well-deserved time together over the Thanksgiving break. The faculty, staff, and their families also enjoyed a restorative break and were eager for students to return. We have some unique activities and learning opportunities planned to make productive use of the three weeks the girls are here before they head home for the holidays.

Oldfields regularly provides its faculty and staff professional development opportunities to ensure they remain knowledgeable about how to best understand and educate adolescent girls. To this end, on Tuesday, December 4, Oldfields welcomes Dr. Karen Swartz, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to campus for a workshop on adolescent depression. With an estimated 5% of adolescents having depression, it is one of the most common illnesses teenagers face. As the Director of the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP), Dr. Swartz travels the country leading a school-based program designed to educate high school students, faculty, and parents about teenage depression. Oldfields is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to educate our faculty, students, and the surrounding community on mental health issues that affect the well-being of our teens in an increasingly complex world. We are pleased to also welcome faculty members from two other Baltimore schools for this presentation.

While our faculty and staff are engaged in the six-hour workshop, our students will be having a unique learning opportunity of their own during our first Virtual Class Day. As online courses become more common in high school and college, learning how to work independently is an important skill. Boarding students will work in their rooms on campus, and day students will work at home on carefully prepared asynchronous assignments. Please pay particular attention to the Virtual Day Schedule, as all students will be responsible for handing in their completed assignments at the end of each class period. Students will hear more about this exciting educational opportunity from their teachers this week.

Thank you for your support as we continue to explore methods to give your daughters the most meaningful experience possible. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Most sincerely,

David Perfield
Head of School

Senior Presentations
A Cherished Tradition

The entire community looks forward to the dates on the calendar when one of our seniors will be presenting their Senior speech. Some speeches are inspirational, some are personal, some are funny, while others are sobering, but all are an honor to hear, and all are cherished. Often the girls capture the essence of an Oldfields education far better than any of the faculty or staff ever could, and with the student's permission, we would like to share some of them with you. Olivia's is a bit longer than usual, but well worth the time. Enjoy!

Fall Sports Awards took place on November 6 with coaches and team captains reflecting on the ups and downs, the insights and lessons of the season. A highlight is always the announcement of each coach's selection of the reward recipients--the surprised reactions are priceless. 
Click here for a complete list and photos of the award winners. >

Stay tuned for Fall Academic Awards coming December 5!

Ilana Feldberg Adelman '88 held a beautiful Gathering for Oldfields at her lovely apartment in New York City overlooking the Hudson River on November 8, 2018. Alumnae, parents, and friends came from all over the city to meet Head of School David Perfield and to see old friends. Instead of ending at 8 p.m. as planned, the last guests left closer to midnight! Now, that's a party! Many thanks to our gracious hostess, Ilana--one of Oldfields' most devoted alumnae.

Important Reminder: By December 11, all boarding parents must fill out a travel form for Winter Break (even if you are planning on picking your daughter up and bringing her back.)

Online travel form and transportation policies >

Thank you!

Here's an easy way you can support Oldfields' girls and teachers all year long just by shopping. (What could be more fun?)

Amazon Smile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Oldfields every time you shop, at no cost to you. You'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenience as on Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a percentage of the price of your purchases to Oldfields!

Signing up is easy! Simply go to smile.amazon.com on your computer or mobile device and select "Oldfields School" as your charity of choice.
 

To learn more about the Amazon Smile program, click here.

Thank you for shopping and donating!  

Dear Parents,

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving. As we wrap up this year, we'd like to thank you again for your contributions to the Fall family Weekend Silent Auction. Now the OPA is working on plans for our next event for the girls in January--the ever popular Bingo Night. More details to follow.

Our next meeting will be December 12, 2018, at 6PM in Miss Nan's Library. Please join us. We would love to have you.

Happy holidays,

Jennifer Manning
OPA President
jjgtmanning@gmail.com

This Month in Photos
Even though the students were only on campus for part of this month due to a well-deserved Thanksgiving Break, the campus was bustling with activity in and out of  the classroom. From exam preparation to Arts Day, from Sports Awards to Thanksgiving dinner, we captured the highlights below so you can get a glimpse into your daughters' lives at OS. Enjoy!