11/06/19
Thanks to Kira for this week's update:
This past week, we wrapped up our zinemaking project with visiting artist Anneli Henriksson and finished our academic classes before heading into the start of our Final Projects. This weekend was also our second Breakaway Weekend where 14 students went on a camping trip to Pinnacles National Park and the other 25 students remained on campus with Chris, Mo, and Pattiann for a relaxing weekend filled with movies, art, sugar skulls, and bonding.
I learned to drop all previous assumptions I had about people because I had never met anyone like the other students at Oxbow. For the first time, my peers and their insightful thinking inspired me. For example, during the ‘Einstein’s Dreams’ presentations, I kept looking around the room thinking, I can’t believe all of these students are talking the way I think.
— Sara DeLong, Spring 2010
It's been a whirlwind week, but also a time when I sang the praises of Oxbow to my colleagues. I've been thinking much about how Oxbow is an exemplar of true education. That art centers the curriculum is hardly surprising, and for those of us who work within the traditional educational mold Oxbow offers a gold standard of focused project based learning. Beyond the school's approach to immersive experience are the intangibles which make Oxbow different. The sense of community and of working together, even as each student retained their strong individual presence is palpable. The feeling of warmth and trust between the adults and the nearly adults in the Oxbow community could be felt throughout the campus. The openness of the architecture and interconnectedness of the three studios in themselves speak of the Oxbow philosophy and identity. More than form follows function, the physical attributes of Oxbow have a distinct warmth and invite exploration.
I'm sure that the ongoing challenges of leading and reinventing your school might sometimes keep you from having the time to see Oxbow with the fresh eyes of a visitor, but your steady presence and vision are really visible in every detail. Thank you for inviting me to one of the most profound experiences in my career.
— Ken Rush, Visual Arts Department, Packer Collegiate Institute
Oxbow opened me up to what was out there in the world to go out and grab, and gave me so much that I take with me everywhere I go, with everything I do.
— Nina Palomba, Spring 2008
A School Like No Other