Watching her golfers practice on the range of Soule Park golf course, Nancy Sackett pays special attention to her seniors, giving thoughtful advice and support…or heckling and running with the teenage boy banter as if she is one.
Coming into the dog days of the school year, the promise of summer break is extra important for both Mrs. Sackett and for her senior golfers, as it signifies their final days at Ojai Valley School.
After six years of teaching and bonding with students in her special ways, Mrs. Sackett has decided to leave OVS, trading in her home in Ojai for a new life in Montana.
Since her start at OVS, Mrs. Sackett has taught Chemistry, AP Chemistry and Marine Science, coached golf and led an advisory group for all six years of her tenure. Throughout this time, she has made close connections with many of her students.
“I am sad and excited to be leaving OVS,” Mrs. Sackett said.
Before arriving at OVS, the Sacketts (her husband Douglas teaches at Lower Campus) taught internationally for more 30 years.
They taught in Venezuela, Egypt, Thailand, Taiwan, and Switzerland, and then finally came back to the states and taught in a couple of different schools before ending up in Ojai.
“I think advisory definitely has been a good place to bond with students, but also I often have kids for two years in a row, I might have a kid for chemistry and then AP Chemistry or Marine Science,” Mrs. Sackett said. “ So when you have a student for two years, then you really get to know them and that makes it more fun that way.”
One of the students with a close relationship with Mrs. Sackett through golf, chemistry and Marine Science, senior Logan Daily remembers his first encounter with Mrs. Sackett.
“I got some laps my freshman year about two weeks in, just a scared little freshman and was very intimidated by having laps,” Logan said. “I didn’t know if they’d go on my permanent record or if I’d be getting expelled, but I get to lap labor and Mrs. Sackett is there and I explained to her why I got laps and he said, ‘that’s a bunch of malarkey, I think you only have to work off three laps.’
“So I did about 45 minutes of work, and then my mom came and picked me up, and that was about it,” Logan said. “And I just thought she was the coolest.”
Since that first time getting Logan off lap labor, the two have created a unique student-teacher relationship.
“I started playing golf my sophomore year and Mrs. Sackett saw that I had some potential so she worked with me and got me some lessons, which led to my golf game as well as my relationship with her flourishing,” Logan said.
It’s not exclusive to Logan. Mrs. Sackett is a mentor and friend to the whole golf team, while still serving as an authority figure, maintaining a balance between serious instruction and lighthearted fun.
“She likes to joke around and it’s just really funny hearing her and all the banter with the golf boys,” said senior golfer Nic Jugan. “You know, she’s often roasting some of our teammates, cracking jokes. It’s really funny to watch especially for someone of her age to be so in touch with the youth.”
Mrs. Sackett said it has been reward to watch her golfers grow over the years.
“Seeing Logan, Erik, and Nic grow up from sophomore year through senior year has been pretty amazing,” she said. “Just to see how much they’ve improved and matured in golf and as people is great, but so are simple funny moments.”
However, it is not just the golf team on which Mrs. Sackett has left a great impression. She is cherished by her students.
“That’s my guy!” exclaimed sophomore chemist Ben Manning when asked about Mrs. Sackett.
Mrs. Sackett applies a special method in class. Beyond ensuring her students are caught up and fully understanding the often confusing alphanumeric sequences of Chemistry, Mrs. Sackett likes to keep things light.
“I really like really funny moments,” Mrs. Sackett said. “I think about just having fun with students in the classroom who like chemistry. The labs are always fun and students seem to always enjoy that component. So that’s great.”
This attitude is carried through to her advisory group, all of whom cherish her.
“She was the first teacher, or really the first person that I ever talked to at OVS, and she welcomed me with open arms,” reminisced junior Ella Schuette, who is in Mrs. Sackett’s advisory. “Our interactions are all full of laughs. She puts her foot down and makes sure I’m on top of my [work], but she also knows how to have fun.”
When the year comes to an end, Mrs. Sackett will be moving to Montana with her husband, Lower School technology teacher Douglas Sackett.
Mrs. Sackett just got a job offer to teach online, which she has decided to give a try.
“My husband and I both want to kind of slow it down and do more fun hobby activities — fishing, golfing, hiking, all of those kinds of things,” Mrs. Sackett said. “So I think teaching online, from home, is going to kind of give me the opportunity to do that. I’m going to have a lot more energy to do other activities, I won’t be working weekends, and sadly won’t be coaching golf anymore.”
In her final months at the school, Mrs. Sackett led the golf team to a League Championship, with two of her golfers qualifying for the CIF boys final. During this final round, Mrs. Sackett played behind her boys, shooting a score that would have put her in fourth place.
“We could not have done it without Mrs. Sackett,” Logan Daily said.
Recently she has been spotted playing pickleball with students in front of the cafeteria, prepping her students for AP exams, and doing all the things she will soon be unable to do in her next stage.
Though Polson, Montana is over a thousand miles away from Ojai Valley School, the connection between Mrs. Sackett and her students will never be lost. After her departure, the impressions she has made on her students in the last six years will live on fondly in the memories of many Spuds.
“I’m going to miss her a lot,” Ella Schuette said. “I don’t know how anyone will be able to replace her.”