The vision of ORAA is to strengthen the OR community by 1) facilitating alumni networking and communication, 2) providing funds in support of OR events and causes, and 3) increasing awareness of OR issues.
Thursday May 16, 2013 - Portsmouth comedy show fundraiser for the children (ages 9 and 2) of ORHS classmate Paul Agakian who recently passed away of brain cancer. Thursday May 16th, 7pm, Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel. Tickets are $25. Hope you can make it! More info at: http://www.agakianfund.com/
Hosted by the Oyster River Alumni Association Profits from the events benefit a variety of scholarships and grants for Oyster River students.
***The Class of 1993 20th Reunion will be held at ORHS following the Bobcat Bolt Run/Walk. The reunion will be integrated with the Oyster River Festival for family fun!
OR Alumni Database: Please help the Oyster River Alumni Association create an alumni database by submitting your contact information via this short survey. Your contact info will only be seen by ORAA organizational staff. We will not share it with anyone else. Thank you for helping us bring together generations of Bobcats!
Durham Friends: If you are a pre-2000 graduate of Oyster River High School you are invited to join Durham Friends. The Durham Friends website contains alumni biographical information, old photos and also has an associated listserve where you can easily send group messages to all alumni that are members.
Oyster River Alumni Association Facebook Group: Has over 1300 members - please join us!
Benjamin Wheeler, son of 1978 ORHS alum David Wheeler, was one of the children tragically killed in the mass shooting of Newtown Connecticut in December 2012. ORAA has set up a fund in Benjamin's name to help the Wheeler family with unexpected expenses related to the loss of their son. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible and will be dispensed in their entirety to the Wheeler family minus PayPal transaction fees. To donate click here.
ORAA is pleased to announce that our third annual ORAA scholarship for excellence in OR community organizing was given to ORHS senior, Cody Jacobsen at the 2012 ORHS Baccalaureate Ceremony. Cody will be attending Plymouth State University. The scholarship was in the amount of $300, which we hope to be able to grow in the future.
If you would like to contribute to the ORAA scholarship fund, you can make a donation via our donation page.
Please support OR schools by making a donation to one of the "Mini-Grant" OR classroom projects listed on our donation page. These mini-grant requests are made by OR teachers for small amounts of funding which will support classroom projects that are not being covered by the regular district budget. Thank you for supporting OR schools!
OYSTER RIVER TEACHERS - HOW TO APPLY FOR A MINI-GRANT (Fall 2012 grant cycle):
1. Mini grant requests must be for $300 or less per project. At this point ORAA does not have built-up funding for mini-grants it can draw from - we have to make an appeal to alumni each year to be able to fund the projects. Because of this, we can not guarantee that your request will be funded and it will take some time to try to raise the requested amount. ORAA will give out a total of $1500 in grant money each year. Therefore as soon as $1500 in requests is reached we will stop accepting applications. Projects which have already been funded in a previous grant cycle must wait at least 2 grant cycles to be renewed again. This will give other projects/teachers opportunity to apply.
2. Write a one-paragraph description of the project, the students it will benefit, and the teachers involved. Email the description to Anita Mathur at
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. Please also attach a digital photo of the project or student beneficiaries if you have one (photos of children must have a signed release form from the parents which your school administrators should provide).
3. Submit the paragraph description by November 15th. Checks will be disbursed as soon as the grant request amount is filled. If it is not filled by June 1st, a check for whatever amount has been collected will be disbursed at that time. Tell Anita Mathur who you would like the check to be made out to (the school versus a teacher's name).
ORAA is pleased to support the Josh and Nate Hardy Scholarship fund through profits from the annual Bobcat Bolt Road Race. The Josh and Nate Hardy scholarships are given out annually to a graduating senior at Oyster River High School. The Josh Hardy scholarship supports an aspiring art student and the Nate Hardy Scholarship benefits a distinguished male and female athlete. For more information on Josh and Nate, please go to www.bobcatbolt.com. For more information on donations to the Josh and Nate Scholarship Fund please go to our donation page.
Keep up to date on Oyster River news by subscribing to the student newspaper, the Mouth of the River. For only $20.00 per year you will receive 6 issues delivered by mail to your home.To subscribe, make a $20.00 check payable to "ORHS" and send to: Oyster River High School, Attn: Mouth of the River, 55 Coe Drive, Durham, NH 03824.
Kathy (Weber) Stickney graduated from ORHS in 1981. While at Oyster River she was on the track and cross country teams and also member of the Chess Club and Math Team. She won a national writing award while in high school (a Scholastic Book Award for "short story").
Kathy went on to complete her BS in Chemistry at UNH (1986) and then joined the U.S. Peace Corps from 1987-1989 where she taught high school chemistry and physics in French in West Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry at at Virginia Tech (1990-1995) and accepted a teaching position at the University of Indianapolis. She has been Chemistry Department chair since 2004. Kathy received an NSF grant for science teaching in 2010 and is involved in the university's Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellows program since its launch in 2007.
In addition to her academic achievements, Kathy has been in the Indianapolis-area news recently for her running - she has the goal of running a marathon in all 50 states! She has been featured in a University of Indianapolis informational publication for high school students. She was also extensively involved in showing horses in eventing before she started running so seriously!
Congratulations to Kathy (Weber) Stickney - keep up the good work!
