A new era of holiday traditions at OM 

There is a familiar buzz of excitement in the Oakland Mills Community as the holiday season rolls around. It is a time for cheer, family, and relaxation as many students hit the halfway mark in the school year. As families start to engage in their holiday traditions, so does our school. Throughout the years, OM has had events to celebrate the coming season, including a silent auction, the WBAL Concert for Kids, and Secret Santa Candy Grams. However, this year the Student Government Association (SGA) worked tirelessly to make this winter even more spectacular. 

The highlight of the season’s festivities was the Winter Parade and charity event that occurred on Saturday, December 17th. The parade featured the JROTC, the National Science Honor Society, the SGA, the Jewish Student Union, OMO (Oakland Mills Online), the GSA, the OM marching band, and was closed by Santa Foy and the OM varsity cheerleaders. The parade route started at Steven’s Forest Elementary School and ended at OMHS, where families were invited to come in and watch movies, build gingerbread houses, and peruse community resources. The event allowed students to bond with their peers for hours in a safe and festive environment. 

Among those putting together this celebration was Rohan Warrier, our Executive Board President, and he has been incredibly enthusiastic about this year’s possibilities. “I’m super excited about the winter events this year. The holiday parade is something that is important to me and I’m glad we get to do it for the first time. The holiday hangout is something that the parade is leading to, which is also going to be fun. It’s going to be a night full of fun activities, and the community is going to be involved,” Warrier explained in the weeks before the event. 

 According to senior class president Abbey Cerbo-Reyes, there were big things in store for the holidays besides the parade and subsequent hangout. Part of what made this season’s events so important was the anticipation built up from previous years after issues with Covid. “Last year, there was a big Covid outbreak in the winter time, so most of our winter events got canceled. We were supposed to have the holiday hangout and silent auction last year in December, but we could not have them due to Covid. However, this year we have so many more events going on and planning to do,” Cerbo-Reyes said. This season with its many associated events, truly was the beginning of some special new traditions, as well as some old favorites.