Oakwood Way Assembly: Dr. Cameron Helvey's Remarks

As Mrs. Helvey discussed earlier, we have come a long way as a school and as a community. I was a student here during those early years, starting in 1998. I remember those days of portable classrooms, mud fields, and dreams of an expanded campus, including this wonderful Athletic Center we are in today. I had the distinct honor and privilege of being a student in each one of our divisions, from green shirt, to white shirt, to grey shirt, to high school. And since that time as a student here at Oakwood, I’ve also been able to be a part of many different schools and educational organizations throughout the country and the world, from the Mountain West to New York City, and Guangzhou, China, to D.C. and Brazil to Nashville. And while each one of those places has a special place in my heart, there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here on the campus of Oakwood School. There’s something special about Oakwood. Something unique. When people visit our campus for the first time, they often comment on it. 

So what is it that makes Oakwood so special? What does it mean to be an Oakwood student? And what does ‘The Oakwood Way’ signify for you? Each one of us recently was able to reflect on these questions and others. 

Last year, I was able to take a stroll down memory lane in a way, as I spent four full days walking in your shoes as an Oakwood student. As some of you may remember, I shadowed as an 11th grader, a 7th grader, a 9th grader, and a 4th grader. I was able to experience “a day in the life,” if you will, as an Oakwood student. Hour by hour and class by class, I felt again what it means to be an Oakwood student. I experienced, first hand, what it means, as our mission states, to have “an unwavering commitment to a more intentional education.” There is intentionality in all that we do here on campus. Being intentional means doing things on purpose, with a purpose. With thought and care, instead of just going through the motions or just letting things happen. 

I saw this more intentional approach to education in every experience I had. Whether it was engaging in complex whole-class discussions in 11th grade English, (digging into the heart of Hester Prynne’s relationships — especially with her daughter. I still remember the moment where Pearl takes the scarlet letter from the ground and demands that her mother put it back on… wow. We weren’t just analyzing words on a page; we were wrestling with questions of identity and complicated family relationships.) Or in 9th grade math, calculating the cooling rates of certain objects and tangling with complex equations in preparation for a baking activity the following week. Or debating the visions for a young nation in 7th grade as members of Team Hamilton or Team Jefferson. Or learning the ins and outs of Spalding in 4th grade and excitedly preparing for a trip to Coloma, a place, according to Mrs. Merten, that loves hosting Oakwood students because of the way they behave.

The tenets of our intentional approach to education are: 

1. Ensuring that all students learn from passionate experts. Our mission is fulfilled because of the incredible, talented, and hardworking teachers (let’s give them a huge round of applause). All of this wouldn’t be possible without them. And when we say passionate expertise, we mean it. Our teachers aren’t just passionate about the subject matter they teach, in which they are truly experts, but even more importantly, they are passionate about teaching and mentoring the rising generation and they love to do what they do. 
2. We create a disciplined and jubilant culture of confident self-expression, that is infused in every aspect of learning at Oakwood so students develop into their best, most authentic selves. 
3. We uphold high academic expectations that inspire the kind of intellectual stamina that leads students to think critically and creatively. With our high expectations comes high support. As Mrs. Helvey said earlier, Oakwood is a place where students are challenged, cherished, and known. 
4. We sustain strong moral examples and instill core values such as respect, service, honesty, kindness, citizenship, and dignity. 
5. And finally, we inspire unbridled exploration. There are no limits to the learning you do as an Oakwood student. Whether it’s in the classroom, on the stage, on the court, on the field, or in a lab, students explore their interests and go far beyond what they thought possible. 

As we were collecting the puzzle pieces yesterday and this morning, I was able to read some of the ideas that the different classes and advisories came up with. 

“We commit to helping each other persevere even through the hardest times.” 

“We commit to sustaining confident, moral, and academic excellence.” 

“We commit together as a group: to be a solar panel that absorbs light and converts the energy into positive awesomeness that powers people’s hearts!” 

All of this encapsulates our commitment to the Oakwood Way. The commitment to the Oakwood Way is both an individual commitment as well as a collective commitment. As an individual commitment, each member of the Oakwood community is responsible for living out our values through their words, actions, and choices every day. The Oakwood Way begins with personal integrity and the decision to uphold what we stand for. As a collective commitment, together we create a culture where respect, kindness, and high expectations are the norm. The strength of the Oakwood Way comes from all of us choosing to live it, united as classrooms, advisories, teams, and a school family. Today’s commitment ceremony is a visual representation of this individual and collective commitment. 

In just a moment, we will have our three division heads call a representative from each lower school classroom and upper school advisory group. As each individual is called, they will come forward to put their group’s piece of the puzzle on the wall. Picture a beautiful stained-glass window. Each individual piece—different in color, shape, and size—might not seem like much on its own. But when they are all set together, and the light shines through, the full image comes alive. Each piece is vital to the beauty of the whole. That’s what it means to be part of Oakwood. Every one of you brings something unique—your talents, your questions, your efforts, even your struggles. Alone, they might feel small. But together, they create something that couldn’t exist without every single piece. The Oakwood Way is about being intentional with how we learn, how we treat each other, and how we grow, so that the window we create together shines with brilliance. 

This year, I invite you to be all in. To be an Oakwood student means more than taking classes—it means being part of a school family that sees you, challenges you, and walks with you as you become the very best version of yourself. As we begin a new year together, let's each commit to that way of being—not just for ourselves, but for each other. That’s The Oakwood Way—and I’m proud to walk it with you. Thank you.