March is Women's History Month, and this year we're focusing on women who are close to home for us at OHMS, whether that means Virginia women or women instrumental in the foundation of Orchard House Middle School itself.

his morning, stylist and artist Kamala Bhagat visited our students to talk about Afrofuturism, biophilic design, and how inspiration is transformed into materials and textiles during her creative process. In the afternoon, 7th and 8th graders heard from stylist and creative director Jon Cope about how many opportunities you can find to hone your skills while on your path to whatever you define as success.

Students heard from playwright and screenwriter Brittany Fisher, watched a series of short films, and participated in a discussion facilitated by parents from this year's Black History Month committee. Fisher shared her experience surrounding the creative process, particularly with the short film Bleach, which was developed as part of a program with Richmond's Cadence Theatre Company.

Kayla Allen, Shelley Greene, and Erika Holmes perform for students and discuss their experience as Black string musicians.

Lenise Robinson has been a professional stylist since 2008. She is also a mom, a sister, daughter, and a veteran. She launched her multicultural salon Parlour in 2016, specializing in healthy hair care for all textures.

An enormous thank you goes out to Hamilton Glass P'24 for his conceptual, organizing, and creative work—we're so excited to have this visual representation of how special our school is to all of us and to have you and the rest of Richmond see OHMS in full color!

Rob Cardwell of CBS 6 dropped in during STEMester to record a segment for Building Better Minds. Check out the video for an overview of our week of curiosity, fun, and exploration

During our 2024 Black History Month celebration we are introducing the theme of Strings and Threads.