If you will need to fly, Asheville is the closest airport, and has close hotels and rental cars available. Greenville-Spartanburg is also nearby, and both airports have connecting flights to Charlotte, Atlanta, and other large hubs.

Please send your flight information to the Dean of Students well in advance if you are flying solo and will need to be picked up at the airport on Opening Day.

For other recommendations, check out our list of local things to do and places to stay.

LOCAL RESOURCES

Address letters to: 

(Student name)
43 Hart Rd
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768.

Student Phone: Parents and guardians will receive the student phone number on Opening Day. Students may use the phone during free time and are encouraged to write letters to friends as an additional way of staying in touch with those back home.

Everyone loves getting a care package. We are also trying to practice our principle of simple living. We don’t need a lot of stuff, and there is limited space in our dorms. One care package during the semester is fine, especially for a birthday. However, we ask that this be a rare, special occurrence and not more frequently than that.

Things that are great for a care package:

• Crafting supplies are a great care package gift! Knitting, embroidery, friendship bracelet supplies, carving knives, art supplies, coloring books, art kits, etc.
• Tea is an excellent surprise! Students love to swap herbal and caffeinated tea flavors. Non-caffeinated coffee is welcome as well.
• Small, fun things to be shared with friends such as temporary tattoos, henna, wash-out hair dye, sudoku and crossword puzzle books, etc.
• Stationary, postcards, and other writing supplies.
• Magazines and newspapers. Appropriate content only, please.

Things to avoid:

• We ask that no food be sent. We often have a number of food allergies and sensitivities, and ask that all food come from our kitchen.
• Similarly, we ask that no powdered hot chocolate, apple cider mix, or any liquid drinks be sent. Only tea or decaf coffee, please!

Sometimes there’s an emergency purchase that needs to happen, such as a lost headlamp that needs to be replaced. However, we ask that no Amazon packages or online orders be sent during the semester. We want to move away from the “instant gratification of desire” to encourage our community to be satisfied and make do with what we have.

The easiest way to get an emergency item is either directly from family or through our school store (see below).

Thank you for respecting this culture of simple living at OA.

At the beginning of the semester, you will set up your school store account with our Office Manager. Then, during the semester, you can purchase stamps, pens, pencils, phone cards, notebook paper, and other school supplies if you run out. You can also purchase some awesome OA swag like Nalgene water bottles, shirts, and Crazy Creek chairs.

If there is a specific need that comes up during the semester, such as a broken watch that needs to be replaced, we can run to a nearby store. However, this is the exception. Remember, simple living is our goal!

Please do your best to bring enough shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and other bathroom products to last through the semester. If you do need more, you can either request it through the store or have someone mail you more.

We know many students are athletes and want to stay in shape for sports. We are moving every day at The Outdoor Academy, walking to classes, hiking up a small hill each morning for Morning Watch, and exercising our bodies throughout the week during work crew and outdoor programming classes. Each student will have a choice period during the day, and many students choose to take a run or work out during this time. We have basketball nets and tennis courts, an athletic field and soccer goals, yoga mats and weights. If you want to bring any special equipment for a sport, please reach out to the Dean of Students.

Though we are not a therapeutic school, we know that many teenagers (and most people!) are working through life challenges. If a student has been seeing a therapist in the year before their semester at OA, we encourage them to continue seeing them via telehealth while at OA, or to work with a local therapist in person. The Residential Life team will reach out to families before the semester begins to see how best we can support student’s mental health while away from home. We often find that students experience an increase in positive mental health while at OA because of the lack of technology and social media, the increase of being outside in the fresh air, and the sense of belonging and meaningful connections that are formed within our small, close-knit community.