student Clubs, Teams & groups

Literary Magazine - Veritas

Dear Oak Park Family,

The OPHS Literary Arts Club is pleased to announce that Veritas VII is here! Every year, we invite our student body to submit original works of poetry and short fiction to be considered and curated for publication in our annual literary magazine issue. With over three hundred submissions this year, we witnessed record-breaking participation across all grade levels. It is thrilling to see so many students embrace creative writing as a means of processing their identities, worldviews, and ambitions for a more hopeful future.

Student photographer Juliette Nosek’s compelling composition of a book backlit by a swirl of lights has won the contest for this edition’s cover art. Her photograph highlights the enlightening nature of literature, which draws our secret dreams, wounds, and insights out of the darkness where they can be seen and celebrated by a community of readers. I assure you that the works of the seventh edition of Veritas live up to the promise of their front page. 

Veritas VII is available for purchase for students and staff alike for just $5; we thank the PFA for subsidizing these costs! We can only accept cash and checks at the Student Store right now, but if you visit the OPHS Web Store (Clubs Category), you may pay by card instead. Please make payments to the OPHS Literary Arts Club.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the club and its magazine these past seven years. Even more importantly, thank you for empowering students to express their personal voices with style, authenticity, and courage.

Gratefully,

Jessica Wall-Smith, Veritas Advisor

Veritas VII’s Featured Authors:

Chloe Zohar ○ Charlize Ocon ○ Michelle Bi ○ Brayden Andera ○ Kaela Raquel ○ Jayden Bellemeur ○ Hudson Friedman ○ Darya Ghavami ○ Catherine Cheng ○ Kate Buchler ○ Anika Ravilla ○ Emily Gluskin ○ Zara Farooqui ○ Andrew Hearst ○ Maggie Ruan ○ Beatrice Jereb ○ Clover McKenna Izzo ○ David Wan ○ Addie Vandenhengel ○ Tess Leong ○ Julia Johnson ○ Alexander Lee ○ Claire Hass ○ Bhavya Shanmugam ○ Allison Tang ○ Sarah Manley ○ Raymond Wang ○ Disha Ghosh ○ Ayla Sadrpour ○ Violet Kommers ○ Roman Leith ○ Jacob Robinson ○ McKenna Brown ○ Sharon Dennis ○ Sophia Mannino ○ Sahana Sri

Model United Nations

Thanks to PFA funding, administration support, and a wonderful team, this year has been a great success.  The OPHS Model United Nations team has attended four conferences in total, two in-person and two virtual.  We have accumulated 6 awards throughout the year!  All our awards and the associated college/conference is listed below.  PFA funding has allowed us to offer our conferences for free or at discounted prices, making them more accessible for our team.  Southern California Model UN was offered at a 50% discount, while T&T MUN was completely free.  At SCMUN this past week, our students not only had a great experience visiting colleges, but also got to experience the true spirit of MUN as they delegated and debated with students from 40+ schools!  Model UN is a club that offers far more than public speaking, it provides leadership, diplomacy, and real-world exposure; all of which our delegates were exposed to throughout the year. 

Awards:

UCLA's Bruin MUN 2021: Outstanding Delegate and Verbal Accommodation

UCSB's Guacho MUN 2022: Commendation

T&T MUN 2022: Outstanding Delegate and Best Delegate

USC's SCMUN 2022: Honorable Mention

Our goal for the future would be to make MUN more accessible and well-known, hoping to grow as a delegation. We would like to see all delegates have fun and become aware of the world around them!