Oak Hill Elementary Celebrates School Pride, Legacy Of 100-Year-Old Tree

When Anne Arundel County officials told Oak Hill Elementary School that the old tree by the school sign had to be taken down in 2023, it was a sad day. Over 100 years old, the oak tree had become part of the school’s charm, but it developed a fungus and was deemed a hazard because it could fall on someone.

The end of that tree’s life led to the beginning of a new oak tree, which the school celebrated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 20.

Prior to the ceremony, Oak Hill Elementary School’s Green Team researched the importance of trees to the environment. They also learned that Oak Hill Elementary was built and became a school in 1971 when the original standing oak tree was thriving.

“Although the specific origin name Oak Hill, for Oak Hill Elementary School, is not documented in available sources, we know it is common for schools to be named after the land’s geographical features,” Principal Deneen Houghton told a group of 32 children. “There are a lot of oak trees in Severna Park, Maryland, so it is possible that our school was named Oak Hill to reflect the natural landscape characteristic of this area.”

Houghton and the Green Team did not have to go out on a limb to determine the tree’s age. A neighborhood resident counted the number of rings on the cross-section of the tree trunk to determine that it was planted over a century ago.

To recognize the importance of the occasion, Houghton read a poem called “The Oak Tree” by John Ray Ryder Jr. The poem, she said, represents the school’s motto, “Rise Above It,” which was coined by a former student who thought of the school’s mascot eagle flying high above the oak trees.

After the poem, Houghton left students with words of encouragement.

“As I cut this ribbon, in front of our new tree, let it represent the start of something fresh, thrilling and promising,” she said. “Our school’s vital role in educating successful students like you will be symbolized by this new oak tree. As you enter our school’s grounds every day, may you gaze upon this tree and know that you are valued, cherished and essential to our school’s success.”