Teachers at Oak Hill are abundantly aware that there is more learning to be done than can be encompassed in our regular curriculum. Our faculty have interests that they want to share, but have no opportunity to do so. We devised Winterim to help meet this desire for broader opportunities. Winterim is an upper school program held every year at Oak Hill School the week after Spring Break. Originally, Winterim was envisioned as an time for teachers to give mini-courses in fun subjects, or lead trips to interesting places in Oregon or beyond. In the past we have run courses such as “Reading and Writing at the Beach” or trips to art museums in Oregon. Armando’s yearly trip to Guanahuato, Mexico has been a great favorite, and we have taken students to England and France. In the past we have used this time to take high school students on college trips far beyond Oregon. More recently the emphasis for Winterim has been on community service, with students volunteering hours at Bring Recycling, Head Start, The Pearl Buck center, Food For Lane County, and other sites.
This year we have decided to combine all of these ideas, and we are developing a menu of options for our students. Armando will be offering his yearly trip to Mexico. Anne is considering which colleges to visit. Diane is thinking of art options. Perhaps this will be a great time to take students to the Shakespeare Festival? We will be contacting the community service sites that students have felt were the most rewarding. We feel that this week will be an important, interesting and fun addition to our regular curriculum, and all students are expected to participate.