The Kingswood Oxford Upper School shared some excitement in welcoming admitted students into the daily life of a Wyvern on Tuesday, April 1.
Admitted Students Day is an annual event where admitted students and their families can see every aspect of a day in the life at KO. Senior Associate Director of Admissions Rebecca Benavides shared her thoughts on the day. “We had good weather, we saw large crowds of people, and we as a team thought the event was a great success,” Ms. Benavides said. During the Upper School Admitted Students Day, 59 admitted students came to campus and attended classes.
These admitted students arrived just before the weekly Upper School assembly. In assembly, members of the Admissions Team shared the schedule for the day. This also provided a time for Senior Speaker Stella Zimmer to give a list of which clubs were meeting that day. Then, students moved into period 6 classes with their host students. Each class was engaging and welcoming to the visitors.
Upper School math teacher Jimmy Oxsalida embraced this opportunity. He asked each of his students to state their names and how their day was going, including prospective students in class activities. Mr. Oxsalida had two classes with admitted students: Geometry and Intro to Finance. In his Intro to Finance class, students talked about investments and did risk assessments, providing a snapshot of what the course’s curriculum is like. “It was like a day in the life, but a little bit more involved than just a quick insight into what we do every day,” Mr. Oxsalida said. “There was a student who had already taken geometry, so she really dove into the activity.”
During Community Time, hosts showed their guests the many clubs that KO has to offer. After being a part of one of the clubs, hosts and their students made their way to the host’s period 2 class, and then to lunch. The lunchroom was full of smiling faces and new acquaintances while students dined on tacos and churros. After lunch, the hosts brought their visitors over to Roberts Theater for a drop-off to meet back up with their families.
Throughout the day, many students who are part of Shield & Dragon, KO’s student ambassador program, ushered families, gave speeches, and welcomed the newcomers. “We probably had about a third of the group involved,” Mrs. Benavides said. “They were very involved with the Upper School program.”
She described how KO’s Admitted Students Day really sets the school apart. “The feedback we get from families after that, we hear often that we have a very strong program, that we do a great job,” Mrs. Benavides said. Mr. Oxsalida also noticed the impact KO students had on the guests. “It seemed like a lot of the kids in my classes enjoyed it,” he said.
Looking towards next year’s event, the Admissions Team plans on improving the program further. “We try to make it better than the year before,” Mrs. Benavides said. One of the goals this year was for new families to understand KO’s core values. This was expressed through a program that “emphasizes character, curiosity, and communication, whether it’s in a classroom, a panel, or a casual conversation,” according to the Admissions Team.
We look forward to seeing our newest Wyverns again in September!
