Tamika Dees, Head of Middle School

Greetings, Middle School Families, 

"The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation." — J.R.R. Tolkien

Big things are happening in the Middle School English department here at Oakridge! This team of four extraordinary educators has an average of 20 years of teaching experience and has taught various grade levels throughout the years. This week’s newsletter features the amazing things happening in our English and Writing courses.

In fifth grade English, students have been working very hard to master elements of fiction and correctly identify plot structure and the main idea. Students are continuing to progress through our novel, Terror at Bottle Creek, as they analyze the main characters and correctly identify text evidence to support their inferences. I am excited for students to begin their brochure next week for our class project. In writing class students have worked hard on learning parts of speech, types of sentences, and learning about compound, simple, and complex sentences. Students will begin applying these various grammar and writing skills to create strong, well-written paragraphs. 

Students in 6th Grade Language Arts are finishing their independent reading book, focusing on annotation skills while also learning about character archetypes and conflict.  Students will complete a summative assignment once they have finished reading their book. The Intermediate Writing classes are learning all about plot structure and writing for an audience.  Throughout the writing process, we’ve focused on enhancing our writing by adding sensory details/imagery, similes, metaphors, dialogue, and strong hooks to capture the reader’s attention. After revising and editing drafts, students also participated in peer editing to provide and receive constructive feedback before making final revisions.

In 7th Grade English, students  are completing a poetry unit by reading The Crossover, a novel in verse.  The students are exploring figurative language, vocabulary, poetic forms, and elements of poetry through this novel. Students will soon complete a summative project of their choice to demonstrate their understanding and learning of this unit.  In Grammar, we are continuing to expand our knowledge about sentence structure as we work with intransitive and transitive verbs with direct objects.

Finally, our upper house students in 8th Grade English  have been reading Romeo and Juliet while learning about Shakespeare and Elizabethan England.  Throughout the unit, we have focused on short writing prompts, vocabulary lessons, and close reading skills.

In the Advanced Writing course, students will be presenting their final research next week. They are excited to share the culmination of the semester-long projects, and to demonstrate their expertise! Topics include the psychology of Inattentive ADHD, the history of baseball, as well as nuclear radiation. It has been amazing and rewarding to see the curiosity, thoughtfulness, and professionalism of our students!

Holiday Treasures Gift Shop

The Holiday Treasures Gift Shop is an annual gift shop that provides an opportunity for ECC, Lower School, and Lower House Middle School students to “shop” for holiday gifts for family and friends.  Volunteers are needed to assist children with gift selection and gift wrapping.  Shifts are available every day throughout the week – morning, afternoon, or both.  If you are interested in volunteering, please click here to sign up. We are so grateful for our OPC!

Winter Spirit Dress Up Days:

• Monday:  Favorite movie character day
• Tuesday:  Candy cane day (wear red and white)
• Wednesday:  Winter wonderland/Snowman Day (wear white)
• Thursday:  Polar Express day (NO PAJAMAS or SLIPPERS) & hot chocolate day
• Friday: Oakridge Spirit Day
• Monday: Ugly Sweater Day

Hot Chocolate Day Sign Up Genius: (items requested by Wednesday 12/10/25)

Progress Report 2.2

Progress Report 2.2 is now available on your “My Oakridge” parent portal. This document can be accessed and viewed under Classes and Reports. If you need assistance accessing your portal, please email technology@oakridgesch.org. 

MS Exam Schedule

Semester Exam Information:  Dec 15 - Normal full school day (A)
Semester Exams: Tuesday - Friday for US and MS students (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM)

Middle School Exam Schedule :

• Dec 16 - A2 / A5
• Dec 17 - B7 / A1
• Dec 18 - B9 / A4
• Dec 19 - B10 / B6 

*Students in grades 5-8 will follow the exam schedule.

Tamika Dees
Head of Middle School