On Monday, November 18, Oakwood School's newest campus addition, the Athletic Center, officially opened with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and All-School Spirit Rally! Michelle Helvey greeted the eager community in the Athletic Center Quad to cut the ribbon for another jewel of our campus. Students, staff, and guests proceeded inside and marveled at the size of the new gymnasium before making their way to their class' assigned seating areas. Athletic Director Kort Jensen welcomed the crowd, and explained to them that this newest facility is so much more than a gym, but a true athletic center where they will enjoy locker rooms, team rooms for game strategy, weight and cardio rooms, and a concessions stand! Oakwood's new mascot finally made its debut and Mrs. Helvey announced its name--Thunder! Kort Jensen then asked all middle and high school athletes for the 2019-2020 school year to please stand in the bleachers for our community to honor them and their hard work and dedication to their various sports! Students were able to participate in a shoot-around on the court with thunderous cheers from the entire student body and our new Mascot! High school student-athletes then led students from kindergarten through 12th Grade on tours of the facility, pointing out the various spaces and answering questions from inquisitive minds. The morning ended with high fives and hugs from Thunder and each student taking home a brand new Oakwood Hawks pennant flag!

Each year Oakwood families participate in a uniform exchange program. This year our uniform exchange coordinator, Wendy Sue Kissa, sent many of the extra Oakwood uniforms to Honduras to share with some very deserving students. Thank you, Mrs. Kissa, for facilitating this admirable project!

Oakwood's beautiful new Gwendolyn Riches Liberal Arts Center Theatre had its debut performance on October 25th and 26th with the high school comedy "Here Comes the Judge." The rapid comedic dialogue, superb acting, and zany characters in this play held the audience's attention. Thank you to everyone who came out to support Oakwood's Performing Arts Program and the cast, tech crew, creative staff, and parent volunteers and supporters for their time, talent, and hard work putting the show together.

Congratulations to the Eighth Grade Girls' Volleyball team, who are the 2019-2020 San Benito Athletic League Volleyball Champions! Click "Read More" for details.

Last week seven of our high school seniors were notified of honors received from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Four students, Nolan Kornelsen, Jashan Pabla, Abhas Rajhans, and James Xu, are among the approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue for some 7,600 National Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring. Three additional students, Shria Bulusu, Ali Rastbaf, and Anne Rickard, were named as Commended Students in the 2020 National Scholarship Program, an honor recognizing their exceptional academic promise. We are proud that 21% of our students have already been recognized nationally for their outstanding academics! Bravo Seniors!

Oakwood students participated in creative and campy themed days throughout spirit week, culminating with the annual Spirit Assembly on Friday, where they exhibited grade-level and school pride. The assembly brought together the entire campus, both lower school and upper school, as well as friends and family. Students participated in grade-level performances, each with their own individual style, and based on a theme chosen to represent the grade for this school year. It's incredible to watch Oakwood students supporting each other and showing Oakwood pride. It's great to be a Hawk!

Classes have been in full swing for the past two weeks, and Oakwood students, from both lower and upper school, have been utilizing our new Liberal Arts Center. Many ooohs and ahhhs have been heard in the halls as they enter for the first time! Click "Read More" for details.

Actress Cecelia Ticktin, the current Elphaba Standby in the National Broadway Tour of Wicked, graciously came to speak to Oakwood's Performing Arts Students on Wednesday. Ticktin recounted that at the age of ten, during a Broadway performance of Les Miserables, after feeling a connection with the lead actor, she decided to pursue a career as a Broadway actor. While speaking to the students, Ms. Ticktin relayed it was her willingness to work much harder than others, an enormous amount of perseverance, and a slight touch of delusion, that allowed her to pursue her lofty goals and finally achieve her dream role. Click "Read More" for details.

Oakwood families gathered Friday, August 23rd, for the annual Back to School Family Social. It was the perfect opportunity to relax, catch up with friends, and welcome new families. Students spent the evening riding in the Oakwood surrey, dancing, trying their luck at the Balloon Burst, and playing organized games.

Oakwood School celebrated the opening of the Gwendolyn Riches Liberal Arts Center on Monday, August 19, 2019, with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Students, parents, faculty, staff, trustees, Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce members, and other honored guests, gathered in the expanded quad outside the impressive new building. Click "Read More" for details!

Oakwood welcomed preschool through 5th grade students and their families for the 2019-2020 school year at the Lower School Kick-off event. Families gathered as Mrs. Shales gave the official welcome and introduced our wonderful lower school faculty. Click "Read More" for details!

Aiden Huang, an Oakwood High School student, had the incredible opportunity to play his violin at Carnegie Hall in New York City, this past May at the International Piano and String Competition 2019 Winner Recital. Aiden was invited to play by American Protégé after being chosen as an Honorable Mention Winner for the Junior category of the competition. He decided to perform "The Boy Paganini" by Mollenhauer. Aiden has participated in the San Jose Youth Symphony for the past six years. He enjoys playing violin in the orchestra setting; however, after watching his sister perform at Carnegie Hall last summer, Aiden was inspired to see if he was capable of playing solo; therefore he entered this year's competition. It was an exhilarating moment for Aiden, especially after seeing many great musicians performed on the stage. During the Winner Recital, each musician needed to deliver their performance successfully to receive the award. It was indeed a fantastic experience for Aiden. He not only was allowed to travel to New York City and play on the iconic stage but also met new friends who are also very talented violinists.

Campers in the Summer@Oakwood program had the opportunity to interact with and learn about a variety of animals during camp last week. Each day different guest animals were brought to Oakwood. The students met a pig, goat, French lop rabbit, chinchilla, ball python snake, and some chickens. With each visit a guest speaker educated the children about the animal's particular needs, proper care, and a few fun facts. Campers enthusiastically asked questions as they petted and held these exciting creatures and also shared experiences with their own pets.

During Oakwood's week-long Artapalooza Camp, students explored many different mediums of art. They created personalized ceramic mugs, and many of the campers opted for an animal theme. They spent time over a few days creating pillows by tie-dying cloth, stamping designs, and sewing them by hand. The campers also created Japanese marbled paper, designed dragon eyes from clay, tackled drawing experiments, and undertook other mediums as time allowed.This camp was an incredible experience for the students enabling them to test their creativity during each project. The final art pieces displayed the unique individuality of these young artists.

Campers in the Summer@Oakwood Travel Adventure camp had the incredible opportunity to visit some of the best destinations the south bay has to offer. From Mountain View to Monterey and back again each day the campers took on a new adventure. The week began with a hike through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz. Tuesday was a day filled with thrill rides and wave pools at California's Great America theme park. Wednesday they headed south to see and examine the many exhibits of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The heart of Silicon Valley to the Intel Museum and a tour of the Googleplex was how they spent Thursday. The week ended with time on beach to explore tide pools and enjoy the sand at Rio Del Mar Beach. The campers came back to campus each day chipper, and full of stories of their enriching experiences.