Oakton High School

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Oakton High School is a public high school in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, which is in proximity to the town of Vienna, in the United States, even though its name suggests that it would be in the town of Oakton. It is part of Fairfax County Public Schools.

Oakton operates on a block schedule five days a week, alternating between "Burgundy" and "Gold" days. It is currently led by interim principal Dan Meier and several assistant principals.

Video Oakton High School

History

Oakton High School was founded in 1967 in Vienna, Virginia. The original Oakton High School was located in the facility which is now used by Oakton Elementary School. When it opened, Oakton was the host facility for an IBM 1401 which was Fairfax County's first computer. A computer curriculum, one of the first offered at the high school level, was available to full-time Oakton students and to students from several other county high schools on a part-time basis. This system was retired in the early seventies when Fairfax County installed an IBM 360 mainframe at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

In 1973, after a tornado struck W. T. Woodson High School, their students attended the remainder of the school year in a split shift at Oakton High School.

The school achieved international notoriety in 2009 when it suspended, and threatened to expel, a student for taking a birth control pill while on school premises. The incident was referenced during the August 3, 2009 episode of The Colbert Report, with the show satirically portraying the student as a "druggie".

Maps Oakton High School

Campus

Like most Fairfax County schools, the building is of considerable size, consisting of two stories in order to accommodate its large population of students. The school is divided into separate hallways for individual subjects, with English and History predominantly on the second floor and Math and Science residing on the first.

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Demographics

In the 2014-2015 school year, Oakton High School's student body was 55.91% White, 24.63% Asian, 9.30% Hispanic, 4.96% Black, and 5.18% Other.

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Standardized testing

Oakton High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. The average SAT score in 2006 for Oakton High School was 1,703 (568 in Critical Reading, 578 in Math, and 557 in Writing).

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Feeder schools

Crossfield Elementary School, Fox Mill Elementary School, Mosby Woods Elementary School, Navy Elementary School, Oakton Elementary School, Waples Mill Elementary School, Franklin Middle School,Luther Jackson, and Rachel Carson Middle School are all in the Oakton School Pyramid.

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Academics

Oakton offers an Advanced Placement (AP) Diploma Program and a large variety of AP classes. Post-AP courses, such as multivariable calculus and linear algebra are available to sufficiently advanced students.

The school offers a wide variety of elective courses and allows students to participate in academy courses (courses hosted by other schools at other school sites). Elective courses include psychology, various engineering courses, journalism, video production, accounting, multivariable calculus with linear algebra and six foreign languages. In 2008, Newsweek ranked Oakton High School as the 103rd best high school in the country, based on a ratio of students taking AP (or IB) classes to the number of graduating seniors. In addition, Oakton was ranked 88th on the US News & World Report magazine's list based on an assessment of college readiness in 2007. In 2014, Oakton was given a 9 out of 10 ranking by Greatschools.org, one of the highest in the Fairfax County Public Schools system.

In 2014, Oakton High School was ranked #111 Nationally in the US News and World Report Best High Schools.

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Performing arts

Oakton's Performing Arts Department, which includes band, choral, orchestral, and theatre arts departments, regularly earns distinction as one of the premier performing arts programs in the area.

In 2008, the performing arts department won the extremely prestigious Blue Ribbon Award, a result of Superior ratings for all Band, Choral, and Orchestra groups in state festivals.

Oakton Bands

The Oakton Band program is in its 6th year and has been under the direction of Dr. Jamie VanValkenburg since 2012. The program consists of a marching band, three concert bands, two jazz bands, a winter color guard, drumline program, and several guitar classes and ensembles.

Oakton has been recognized as a Virginia Honor Band (the highest award for high school band programs) twenty two times, including eleven consecutive years from 1995 to 2005. This award is given to bands that receive superior marks for marching and concert performances of the top band. The marching band has won countless other awards at competitions throughout the country, and in addition, has been featured in parades and professional football games. The concert bands have made many appearances at Fiesta-val competitions, including locales such as Orlando, Toronto, Myrtle Beach, and Chicago.

The Oakton Band program is deep-seated in tradition, with the exception of the saxophone section. Every August, the marching band will spend time in Orkney Springs, Virginia to focus on the drill, music, and isolated friend groups for the year's program and suffer in the summer weather of the Shenandoah Valley. Furthermore, Oakton hosts the Oakton Classic, a large fundraiser. The Classic has been held annually (usually in October) every year since 1984, with a gap year in 2012.

Cougar Chorus

Oakton High School has four regular in-school choruses; Madrigals, Chamber Choir, Select Women's Ensemble, and Concert Choir. The department also includes two eighth period (after school, for credit) specialty groups: Jazz choir and Show choir. The department is under the direction of Tiffany Powell, and has competed in such locations as Atlanta, New York, and Orlando. In the spring of 2010, the department traveled to New York and competed in Festivals of Music: New York. At the event, Madrigals and the combined women's choir, comprising members of both Chamber and Select Women's, were awarded the best mixed and women's choirs awards. Madrigals has also had the opportunity to sing at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC along with the Washington Chorus.

Oakton Theatre

Oakton High School's drama program typically puts on a few plays in the fall or winter, and a spring musical. The department is under the direction of Vanessa Gelinas, and Robert "Skip" Bromley having retired in 2008. In recent years, the drama program has put on Arsenic and Old Lace, The Wizard of Oz, and other plays and musicals. The 2007-2008 season included The Importance of Being Earnest, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Into the Woods. The 2008-2009 season included The Foreigner, the lead played by Chris North, and The Odd Couple (female version). The spring 2009 musical was Little Women. Performances usually take place in the Robert "Skip" Bromley Auditorium, dedicated 2008. Oakton Drama is to, for the 2009-2010 season, produce A Tisket, A Tasket, Four Dames and a Casket (a play written by Haley Herrinton, a student attending Oakton), and Rehearsal for Murder. Most recently, former student Henry Ragan starred in Oklahoma! by Rodgers and Hammerstein, for which he was nominated a Cappies award. As for the 2016-2017 season, the department put on: Once In A Lifetime (a play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman), Cyrano (an 1897 play written by Edmond Rostand), a One Act Night, including an original play by recent alumni Marriya Schwarz, and Les Misérables: School Edition, which made Oakton High School history, when the last night of the show, Oakton had to turn away customers, due to overcrowding. The 2017-2018 Performance Season, has Oakton making a strong impact. First, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Next, Almost, Maine by John Cariani, then, Orphie and the Book of Heroes by Kooman and Dimond, followed by their annual Cougar Dinner Theatre and VHSL One Act Night, and their annual spring musical, this year being Titanic (musical).

OHS Orchestras

The Oakton High School strings program consists of three orchestras: the Chamber Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra, and the Concert Orchestra. Currectly, all three orchestras are under the direction of Max Oppenheimer. The orchestras typically give around four concerts a year, consisting of performances by the Chamber Orchestra and the combined Symphonic and Concert Orchestras. The program has participated in many festivals around the world, in locations such as Hawaii, Italy, Orlando, and Chicago. In 2007, the newest orchestra, Concert, was introduced. This class meets every day during 7th period, and allows students to learn how to play a stringed instrument in a more learner-friendly environment. The other two orchestras meet on alternating days due to Oakton's block scheduling.

The Chamber Orchestra participated in the Orchestra America National Festival in Indianapolis, part of the Music for All National Festival, in 2008. The orchestra applied and was accepted in 2007, and prepared an approximately 45-minute concert consisting of three pieces. On March 1, 2008, the Chamber Orchestra performed its selections at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Later that year, the Chamber Orchestra was accepted to perform at the American String Teachers Association National Conference, which took place in March 2009 in Atlanta. The group placed 4th, which was the highest ranking of a non-magnet, non-music school.

Mr. Oppenheimer also teaches AP music theory classes, available to all Oakton students. Piano Lab is another class offered by the music program.

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Publications

Oakton's award-winning publications provide many opportunities for students to express themselves. Its Publications Department produces a newspaper, The Outlook, a yearbook called Paragon, and a literary magazine, Opus. In October 2006, both The Outlook and Paragon received Trophy-Class honors at the Virginia High School League, with a rating of Superior. In April 2008, Paragon received a Pacemaker award, one of the highest honors in high school journalism, as well as 8th in best of show. Outlook placed 6th in best of show. The school used to have a radio club, Fat Cat Radio, and a daily television show, Cougar News.

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Athletics

Oakton is a member of the AAA Concorde District and the Northern Region of the Virginia High School League. Its cross country, football, baseball, lacrosse, and men's swimming teams have all claimed recent Virginia state titles. In addition, Oakton fields a number of highly-competitive teams for club sports, such as crew and ice hockey. The Oakton Ice Hockey Club plays in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League (NVSHL).

2005-2006

During the 2005-2006 school year, Oakton Baseball were runners-up. Oakton claimed three state titles: boys cross country, football, and girls lacrosse. The boys lacrosse team, with its loss to Robinson Secondary School ended its three-year streak as state champions.

2006-2007

The baseball team won regionals. Oakton's golf team placed 3rd in the district, and 1st in the region. The boys cross country team placed 1st in the district and region, and 2nd in the state. The field hockey team placed 1st in the district. The football team made the playoffs, but lost in the first round to Chantilly High School, who would end up being the state runner-up. The men's swim and dive team finished second at each districts, regionals, and states. The girls basketball team was the district champion and region runner-up, identical results to last year. The boys track and field team won districts, as well as the girls lacrosse team, who went on to win regionals and states as well.

2007-2008

Danny Kim won the boy's state golf tournament as an individual, and Amanda Steinhagen won the girl's state championship, with Lauren Greenlief coming in second. The boys cross country team captured the district title and were second in the region. The girls cross country team also secured the district title, were 4th in the region, and came back to take 2nd in the state meet. The men's swim team placed 2nd in districts, regionals, and finals to Robinson Secondary School. The girls lacrosse team won the region and state championship.

2008-2009

The boys cross country team won district, region, and state titles. The girls cross country team finished third in the district and were runners-up in the region. The football team, with a perfect 10 - 0 season, went on to win the district and regional titles, finishing with a 13-1 record losing 10-7 to Oscar Smith High School in the state semi-finals after Tiger kicker Ryan Trottman kicked a short field goal in the waning moments. The boys swim and dive team placed third in the district and won the regional title, and the girls swim and dive team placed second in the district. The girls basketball team finished with a perfect season, and went on to win the district and regional titles, and were runners-up in the state. The girls indoor track and field team won the district title. The boys outdoor track and field team won the district title.

2009-2010

The boys cross country team won the district title for the fifth straight year, they also won the region title for the fourth time in five years, and were runners-up in the state. The girls cross country team finished second in the district and sixth in the region. The girls indoor track and field team won the district title for the second straight year.

The boys basketball team, under first year head coach David Brooks, defeated Chantilly on a game-winning 17 footer by Senior Andrew Daniels to win its first District title since 1972.

The boys swim and dive team won the state, regional, and district championship titles. Senior Bradley Phillips won the 400 meter freestyle, setting a national record, and the 200 meter freestyle. Senior KJ Park won the 200 meter IM and the 100 meter breaststroke. The men's 400 freestyle relay also won and set a national record. The girls swim and dive team placed fourth at states. Junior Kaitlin Pawlowicz won the 100 meter butterfly and the 200 meter IM, and set a national record in the 200 meter IM.

Amanda Steinhagen became the first girl to win the Virginia High School League (VHSL) girls high school golf championship twice. She also won it in her Sophomore year at Oakton. Amanda set a state record of 138 for the tournament.

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State champions and recognitions

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Notable alumni

• Zachary Adam Chesser, pleaded guilty to aiding a terrorist organization
• Dave Alpern, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. Graduated 1987.
• Eugene Chung, former professional football player, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots.
• Julie Clark, songwriter, singer, musician, multiple music award winner. Graduated 1984.
• John Cochran (Survivor contestant), winner of Survivor: Caramoan.
• Serena Deeb, professional wrestler.
• J.D. Gibbs, co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR with drivers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Graduated 1987
• Jared Green, NFL Receiver for the Oakland Raiders. Released June 2014. Graduated 2007.
• Cody Grimm, NFL Safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Ammar Malik, professional songwriter for groups such as Maroon 5 and Gym Class Heroes. Graduated 2006.
• Kelly Miyahara, Jeopardy Clue Crew for Sony Pictures Television, Jeopardy Clue Crew (Kelly Miyahara), Graduated 1996
• Adam Moyer, Founder and CEO, Knockaround Sunglasses
• Nyambi Nyambi, actor, Mike & Molly.
• Nathan Pacheco, professional singer, sang with Katherine Jenkins and Yanni. Graduated 1998.
• Sean Parker, attended for two years before transferring to Chantilly, co-founder of Napster, founder of Plaxo, Board of Director for Spotify, and former president of Facebook.
• Rachana Pradhan, Politico journalist, broke story of Tom Price (American politician)'s use of private jets, leading to his resignation as Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Graduated 2003.
• Michaele (Holt) Salahi, noted party crasher at White House dinner hosted by President Obama. Graduated 1984.
• Dave Sharrett II, Iraq War casualty, US Army. Graduated 1999.
• Jasmine Thomas, professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. Graduated 2007.
• Scott Turner, Quarterbacks Coach, Minnesota Vikings. Graduated 2001.
• Michael Wardian, marathoner and ultramarathoner.
• Trey Watts, NFL Running Back for the Los Angeles Rams. Graduated 2009.
• Jacob Frey, mayor, Minneapolis, MN. Graduated 1999.

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In popular culture and film

• In the film Erin Brockovich, actress Julia Roberts, who won an Oscar for her role, wears an Oakton Cougars T-shirt.

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References

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External links

• Oakton High School profile at Fairfax County Public Schools
• Oakton HS Sports
• Oakton HS Newspaper
• VHSL-Reference
• http://www.oaktonchorus.org
• http://www.oaktondrama.org
• http://www.oaktonbands.com
• http://www.oaktoncrew.com

Source of article : Wikipedia