At the beginning of the school year, Oakdale students were introduced to Mrs. Kelly Kirby. She joined the administration team as the new Assistant Principal to interact with students and to contribute to Oakdale’s academic environment.

Kirby emphasized that her first week was inviting: “It’s been good. So far everyone’s been very friendly, very polite, it was a good start,” she expressed.

“People stopped by as they came..teachers introduced themselves to me…that was really nice. I think that it is a welcoming place and a friendly place that encourages people to be apart of it.”

She made it apparent that her experience was warm and enjoyable. She truly felt accepted into the community.

Kirby came from Catoctin High School, where she worked for 5 years before coming to Oakdale. She works with students with the last names from H to O. She is in charge of testing for PARCC and HSA. She is also in charge of different departments within the school, such as, physical education, visual and performing arts, career and technology, and world languages.

“I do a little bit of everything,” she mentioned.

Kirby’s views about the school: “There are different clubs and activities, different programs, band is four times the size. Football here is like a small college, twice as many kids are here, different people..but it’s good.”

Kirby talked about what she likes about being an administrator. She comments, “I really like positive behavior…Bear Pride. I like to look for ways to give incentives and to reward students for doing things well, to inspire them…things to do with encouraging good behavior.”

She enjoys interacting with the students and find new ways to promote positivity within the school. Kirby also acknowledged, “I think a lot of people hear assistant principal they think of all the bad, and yes – we have to do the discipline part of things..but nobody goes into education for just the discipline.”

Being an administrator, there are also things that Kirby dislikes. “There are long challenging days..I have a young child and family and sometimes its hard, but it’s worth it. I love my job, but it’s certainly not an easy job..that’s for sure,” she admits.  

Overall, Mrs.Kirby found her first week of school at Oakdale welcoming and positive. She is looking forward to the rest of the school year and getting to know more of the staff and students.