OAKMONT REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER December 2007
	Administration		Main Office Staff
	David Uminski, Principal		Gin Koski, Registrar
	Greg Smith, Assistant Principal		Pegi Deshayes, Administrative Assistant
	Brian Sargent, Dean of Students		Sharon Olson, Administrative Assistant

PRINCIPALS' NEWS
Junior Driving Privileges

The School Committee recently approved the Oakmont School Council and Administrative request to extend parking privileges to juniors. Permits will be issued to qualified juniors on a seasonal basis based on the following criteria:

1. Must have license for at least six months
2. Participate in at least one co-curricular activity, sport, or community-based learning experience
3. Be financially and academically eligible

Students must apply for a permit each season, they must provide a Copy of License, Copy of most current Progress Report or Report Card (provided to the committee by the administration), Copy of Auto Registration, Rationale for Parking Permit (to include sports/activities), and Parent Signature.

The selection process is as follows:

1. Names are removed from applications
2. Committee is formed to rank-order applications
3. Rank is assigned to qualifying applications based on:
   1. Level of Co-Curricular Participation
   2. Discipline Record
   3. Academic Grades
   4. Rationale for Permit
4. Lottery will be held if the number of selected applicants exceeds available permits.

Administration will determine number of permits to be issued based on available spaces. The cost of the permit is $15 per season.

Mr. Uminski                                  Mr. Smith
(978) 827-5907 x2157                    (978) 827-5907 x2155

OCTOBER SPARTANS OF THE MONTH
by Greg Smith

This month’s Spartan of the Month honor is shared by two outstanding young men:
Chris Streeks and Christian Kinsley.

Chris Streeks was nominated for October Student of the Month because he volunteered his time and expertise to teach new computer skills to the Oakmont faculty during professional development day. But Chris’ willingness to share his technology savvy with others goes way beyond a one day commitment. He’s helped at least six teachers at Briggs and Oakmont develop classroom websites and he serves as a computer troubleshooter for both teachers and students in computer trouble.

Now in his senior year at Oakmont, Chris plans to attend either Pratt Institute or Fitchburg State College and study Information Technology and Graphic Design. One day he hopes to become a website developer, manage servers, or work in computer network administration. In fact, Chris has already had his first successful professional web development project. “I designed a website for a computer programming company,” he says with pride, “and they paid me for it.”

Not surprisingly, Chris finds that his favorite classes at Oakmont are those that involve computers. “The best courses are Computer Art courses,” he explains. “It’s fun to make something totally original, print it out, have people critique it and say, ‘that’s pretty cool.”

Chris’ mentor and guide in the world of computer art is Oakmont teacher, Mr. Larry Szalay. “He taught me a lot of things that I thought I already knew and furthered my graphic design abilities,” Chris explains. “Mr. Szalay is outgoing but relaxed, and he explains things well. His class is a fun place to be. It’s a good creative atmosphere.

Chris, who is the son of Anderlene and Patrick Streeks of Ashburnham, is a mentor and role model himself for his four younger brothers. In addition to his computer work, Chris is the co-leader of the percussion section of the Oakmont Marching Spartans. He also finds time to run the sprinting events on the indoor and outdoor track teams.

Perhaps Chris’ greatest strength is his upbeat personality. ”What I like about Chris is that he’s always happy, always smiling, always positive,” says Oakmont Dean of Students, Mr. Brian Sargent. They say that some people can light up a room with a smile, but October’s Co-Spartan of the Month, Chris Streeks, is a young man who helps to light up a whole school with his generosity, warmth, and yes, his unmistakable smile.

Christian Kinsley, who is the son of Peter and Tammy Kinsley of Ashburnham, hopes to eventually pursue a career in architecture or automobile design. His career choices have been influenced by another important person in his life – his Technology Education teacher at Oakmont. “Mr. Lantry has been a role model to me.” Christian explained. “I can talk to him, learn from him, and even teach him new things that he’s not too proud to learn. Before I took Mr. Lantry’s classes I knew how to make things go, but now I know how to drive them.”

Other than working with computers, Christian enjoys all types of sports. “I love dek hockey, basketball, football, and anything competitive.” He also found time in his busy schedule to serve as the DJ for the Oakmont Alumni Association Sock Hop at Homecoming.

Christian Kinsley and Chris Streeks both gave up a day off and a chance to sleep late to come into school and offer their computer expertise to teach their teachers during Professional Development Day. With Technology Education teacher, Dave Lantry, they offered a short course on how to use advanced computer presentation techniques in the classroom. Oakmont teachers gave the course and its instructors very high marks. Some even said that it was the best professional development class they ever attended.

“It was pretty weird to be one of the only two students in the classroom,” is how Oakmont sophomore Christian Kinsley describes his initial reaction to teaching his teachers. “But it was really an honor to be able to help my teachers learn something new.”

Christian was asked by Mr. Lantry to help out with professional development because he led the PowerPoint project in Lantry’s Communications Technology class. Christian’s talent for computer technology began at an early age. “From the time I was three my father taught me all about computers. Now I can teach him a few new tricks, and he’s a computer engineer.” Christian’s relationship with his father is a special part of his life. “I work with my father on everything, from yardwork to programming computers,” he said. “He’s definitely a big part of my life.”

When asked about what he likes best about Oakmont, he replied, “It’s the atmosphere. We learn, but we have our fun, too. It’s a warm, friendly, enjoyable place to be.” Oakmont’s great atmosphere is due to the special relationship between teachers and students, and that is due, in part, to the contributions of Chris and Christian.

Winter sports schedules can be found here.

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Posted December 6, 2007