A Message from OVS President/CEO Michael Hall-Mounsey

December 4 – One year ago today the Thomas Fire roared through the Ojai Valley, leaving devastation in its wake. It destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including our Lucila Arango Science and Technology Center and our beloved Grace Hobson Smith House girls’ dorm at Upper Campus.

From the ashes of the fire, we vowed to reopen and rebuild – and it is remarkable how far we have come.

Today our Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees approved final schematic designs for a restored science and technology center, an expanded girls’ dormitory, and a new Student Commons dining and library complex to meet the needs of our growing high school. We now move to the next design phase and hope to break ground next summer.

At the same time, our Restore Renew Rebuild campaign is gaining traction, including $320,000 in gifts and pledges received just last week. We are grateful for a $200,000 anonymous gift and a separate $100,000 pledge from past parent ZhenWu Lin to name the new Lin Family Lab for Biology and Environmental Science.

Since launching our campaign in May, we have received more than $2.85 million in gifts and pledges from past and current families, trustees, alumni, faculty members, students, and foundations. This includes a $1 million donation by The Aramont Foundation for The Aramont Science and Technology Center. We are grateful to Aramont trustee Lucila Arango (U84) for securing this lead gift and inspiring others to give.

The outpouring of support for OVS in the year since the December 4 Thomas Fire has been like nothing we have seen in the school’s history.

With the help of nearly 200 volunteers, we reopened in January with temporary dorms and classrooms and without interruption to our academic and co-curricular programs. In this can-do spirit we began visioning workshops with Frederick Fisher and Partners architects for the new buildings. Meanwhile, our students showed their resilience by tackling AP exams, spring backpacking trips, senior capstone projects, and more.

This week, Upper Campus students will join other area high school students in a joint Ventura County Strong week, penning letters of gratitude to first responders who were on the front lines for the Thomas Fire, and who have since responded time and time again to wildfires and other tragedies. To end the week, our students will join their peers across the county in wearing white, symbolizing their unity and their desire to hold together their communities. Our award-winning journalism students are adding their own voices, providing valuable perspective on all that has transpired. You can read their stories here.

In so many ways, our students and faculty are determined not to look back, but to push forward, focused on what’s ahead. And it is in this true OVS spirit that we have rebounded and are now poised to rebuild in a manner that will greatly improve the school for years to come. We hope you will join us in this effort.

Learn more about Restore Renew Rebuild campaign at campaign.ovs.org.

September 30, 2018

A Message from OVS President/CEO Michael Hall-Mounsey:

An oak tree grows to a certain point, and then nothing visibly happens. It appears dormant. But what we can’t see is that the root system is reaching down, pulling in nutrients and establishing a healthy footing before we see its foliage begin.

Right now, Ojai Valley School, like the oak tree that serves as its symbol, is putting down roots and building a solid base in anticipation of new growth that soon will be visible for all to see.

Lucila Arango of the Aramont Foundation was instrumental in bringing about a donation of $1 million to Ojai Valley School, following the devastating Thomas Fire. Above, she and OVS President/CEO Mike Hall-Mounsey discuss the plans to rebuild Upper Campus.

This growth will be most evident at the Upper Campus where in the coming year we will rebuild the academic and residential buildings that were destroyed in the Thomas Fire. We will rebuild better than before, and take the opportunity to simultaneously construct the long-awaited Student Commons, a two-story dining hall, kitchen and library complex that will be second to none.

In the aftermath of the devastating Thomas Fire, we have the rare opportunity to rebuild in a manner that accentuates our identity, our connection to the outdoors, and our sense of community, while also innovating and enhancing our academic, co-curricular and residential programs, thus elevating OVS to a leadership position among independent schools globally.

But opportunities are only realized by taking action – and I’m thrilled to report that we are now on our way thanks to the generous gift of $1 million to our rebuilding campaign by The Aramont Foundation.

Alumna and past parent Lucila Arango (U84), as trustee of the Foundation, stepped forward this summer and secured this lead gift to inspire others to join in our campaign and to ensure that our dormitory, science and technology center, and commons are built together to truly create a new heart and hub of campus life. (Learn about Luci and her support of OVS in an article in our Family Tree magazine. Click here to read it online.)

Los Angeles-based architect Fred Fisher, a current parent, and his architectural team are developing designs for the new Aramont Science and Technology Center, the Grace Hobson Smith House dormitory, and the new Student Commons. Those initial schematic designs received unanimous approval by the OVS Board of Trustees in September, and we are well on our way to breaking ground on this exciting project in the coming year.

For now, I encourage all our alumni, past parents, new parents, students and faculty to join in our campaign to rebuild. Volunteer, make a donation or a multi-year pledge, or learn more about the RESTORE RENEW REBUILD effort by contacting our Development Office at (805) 646-1423 or through the new campaign website.

In the resilient spirit of OVS, the entire school community near and far made a commitment to reopen after the fire and continue the academic program from where it was interrupted. This determination was strongly supported by an immediate outpouring of generous contributions from alumni of every era, as well as parents and friends.

Our oak tree is ready to sprout new branches and foliage thanks to the generosity of our OVS family! We look forward to working together to provide an even better student experience for generations to come!