High School Family & Community Engagement Coordinator. She is a 2011 graduate from St. Paul High School and a 2015 Graduate from the UofO! This is her 8th year teaching Art. She is the sponsor for Art Club and Beta Club. In her free time, she likes to play basketball, read, paint, bike, craft, and do just about anything outdoorsy. When asked why she thinks family and community engagement is essential, Mackie said, "I feel that Oark is my home away from home. Together we are one big family! Family and community engagement helps get all of the members of the family and community together for the good of the school and students. I have had the best time getting to know students and families better through the Family and Community Service Engagement events and programs. I am so blessed to be a hornet!”
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Welcome to the Adventures of Oark School!
Check here frequently to see upcoming events from our Family Engagement Team & to view photos from our events!
Meet the Family & Community Engagement Coordinators!
Kurstein Mackie
Steph Alderson
Steph Alderson is the Elementary Family & Community Engagement Coordinator. She is a 2014 graduate from Oark High School and a 2018 Graduate from the University of the Ozarks! She has been teaching 1st Grade here for the past 5 years! In her free time, she plays basketball, runs, binge-watches Netflix, and plays with her sassy 3-year-old, Avery Leigh! When asked why she thinks family and community engagement is essential, Noles said, "We have the best students and families! TOGETHER we can have the best school and community! A community that works and learns together grows together! Oark is one of the BEST places in the world with the BEST people. I can't wait to continue to learn with our students, our community, and all of our families! "
UPCOMING EVENTS
Check back with us for more fun family events!
PAST EVENTS
Grandparents Lunch
We invited grandparents and families to visit our students during lunch in celebration of Grandparents day!!
Math Night
We held our 1st annual Family Math Night where 3rd-12th grade families learned fun strategies to practice math skills with their children at home! We had balloon animals, food catered by the Oark Store, and a lot of fun!!
Holidays Around the World
Families gathered for a fun family night to learn about Holidays around the world! We had crafts, snacks, live music, photo booth, and a delicious hot cocoa bar!
Oark Family Fest
Families and community members gathered together for a fun event this Fall! We had live music from Gloryland Church and the Ol' Skool band. There were a ton of booths ranging from food, face painting, cool crafts, jewelry, and games! We had a pageant, car show, and the annual Yale to Oark 10k!
Winter Recital
Our K-12 students led by Ms. Rund and Mrs. Mackie performed beautifully in front of their families at our Winter Recital! We had songs, bucket drums, clarinets, caroling, and more! Fun was had by all!
COUNTRY BUMPKIN BONFIRE
Our Family Engagement team helped out the 10th grade class with their Country Bumpkin Bonfire event! It was soooo much fun! We had hot dogs, pulled pork, dancing, games, and all around fun!!!!
FERNCLIFF REWARD TRIP
Our High School students went on a reward trip to Ferncliff. They were able to canoe, rock climb, play team building games, and so much more! Students and staff all had a great time!
FRITZ ADVENTURE CENTER
Our High School students went on a reward trip to the Fritz Adventure Center in Branson to celebrate an awesome year of hard work!!! They had a great time and represented our school well!
2022 FAMILY FIELD DAY
We had an inflatable bounce house, water slide, slip & slide kickball, yummy treats, field games, face painting, & more! You will not want to miss this year!
DOC FLOYD DAY
We celebrated our heritage and had a blast! We had live music, a pageant, a Shine & Show Car Show, the Yale to Oark 10k, Vendors, Petting Zoo, & fun for the whole community! :)
GRANDPARENTS DAY TEA
We hosted a new event this year that was so much fun! We invited our grandparents and families to enjoy a Tea Party with our students! We had a skit by our 6th graders, volunteers from the community, yummy snacks, & we taught the community about how a traditional Tea Party works! :)
MUFFINS IN THE MORNING
We invited our families to enjoy Muffins with our K-12 students, have some photobooth fun, & learn more about what Family & Community Engagement is all about!!!
CHRISTMAS FAMILY NIGHT
This was one of our biggest events this year! We had a STEM Santa Sleigh Racing Session, a STEM Jingle Bell Tower Room, a Christmas Ornament Engineering Room, & a Gingerbread Angle Room! We had students from Pre-K through 12th grade and their families attend! Our Family Engagement team prepared delicious snacks and fun for all! We are looking forward to another fun Christmas night next year! :)
SPRING FAMILY NIGHT
Spring Family Night - We hosted an educational Spring Family Night! We had fun sessions to help prepare us for our testing! We integrated math, science, yummy pizza, and History!!!
LUCKY DONUT DAY WITH OUR DUDES
Lucky Donut Day with our Dudes - We invited the "dudes" (dads, grandpas, uncles, etc.) over for some donuts on St. Patrick's Day! We had a photo booth, and we got to speak with them about Family & Community Engagement!