OHA’s Director of Student Affairs welcomes spring and offers words of encouragement for the final push.
Spring officially arrived this past weekend, and we are finally seeing its signs here on “The Hill.” The daffodils are blooming, the weeping willows are greening, and the forsythias are budding yellow. Sunday I took a group of students on a hike to the New River, and a few brave (or foolish?) ones actually jumped in. The positive mood on campus seems directly proportional to the warming weather and lengthening daylight.
It is hard to believe we are less than four weeks from graduation and the end of the semester. Things seem to speed up here on campus in the final weeks as we fill the calendar with end-of-year picnics, softball games, campus runs, award ceremonies, and final exam preparation. But of course, as Dr. Groves often reminds us, April 17th is not here yet. We encourage our students not to count the days, but to “make the days count.” Our students have put in months of hard work, and the final push is the most important. Stay on track, keep your eyes on the prize, finish strong – our language is full of clichés and phrases about ending well, because it is important how we end, and often what we are remembered for in the years to come.
I am proud of our students, proud of this resilient group of teenagers who have faced challenges like few other generations. As I have said before, we have not just weathered and survived this year together, we have thrived. In the midst of a global pandemic, we have remained in person, learning and growing together as a community when much of the outside world has been in upheaval. #Together has been our school’s theme for the year. Through ups and downs, disappointments and joys, we’ve navigated this year together, and grown stronger.
I’m sure we are all looking forward to summer, to rest, and to family. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves quite yet; let’s enjoy the final leg of the journey and finish what we’ve started.
Mr. Aaron Butt
Director of Student Affairs
Oak Hill Academy