On February 23rd, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) hosted their annual Speech Trek Contest via Zoom. The topic was "Has social media helped or hindered the breaking down of barriers for women and girls?" Congratulations to the winners! Oakwood Senior Lily Jaquet took first place, Oakwood Freshman Jaquet Powell took second, and Oakwood Sophomore Jillian Bogosian took third place. Oakwood Sophomores Sophie Lord and Reena Panikar also participated. Each of the students gave poignant speeches on the topic and should be proud of their performances. Lily will now have a chance to compete at the state level.

Students in Mrs. Wilmot's Introduction to Virtual Reality class have been creating VR worlds using HTML and the A-Frame JavaScript library. They learned how to create animations with 3D shapes like boxes, cones, cylinders, toruses and how to introduce both click-based and gaze-based interaction to their animations. They are also able to use 360 degree images in their animations. Students can view their VR creations on their computers, phones, or through an Oculus Rift. This was a challenging course for our middle school students, who learned to work with advanced frameworks more appropriate for high school, and we are proud of all that they have learned.

The 37th annual Morgan Hill Rotary, Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest, was held last week via Zoom. Oakwood High School students: Seniors Lili Jacquet and Madina Turaeva, Sophomores Jillian Bogosian, Sophie Lord, & Reena Panikar, and Freshman Mikaela Minoza, represented us very well. Madina Turaeva garnered the first place award, second place went to Jillian Bogosian, and third place went to Lili Jacquet.

Three of our incredible High School Seniors: Shayan Daijavad, Kate Jackson, and Konark Vinod, are National Merit Scholar Finalists. They each received a Certificate of Merit and will now be considered for the Merit Scholarship awards.

This week Oakwood High School celebrated the current Oakwood 8th-grade middle school students accepted into the Oakwood High School for the 2021-2022 school year! The event began when Oakwood's mascot, Thunder, lead the students from the middle school quad to the high school quad, where high school students and faculty cheered their arrival. High School Student Council President Lili Jaquet and Upper School Head & Principal Mark Newton shared words of encouragement with the students. We are excited these bright students have chosen Oakwood High School! Welcome future Oakwood class of 2025!

Oakwood Freshman Melanie Chipman had an idea to connect the Oakwood high school community. She was inspired by a play she had watched about Sadako Sasaki, a radiation victim from the Hiroshima bombing. Sadako was diagnosed with cancer and decided to fold 1,000 paper cranes (or orizuru, as they're called in Japanese) to wish for world peace. Melanie's thought was, "...with all that has been happening in the world with the virus and political unrest, it might be neat if we as a school folded 1,000 paper cranes.

Dr. Sean Wilmot, Oakwood Science Department Chair, gave a presentation at the High School Assembly on January 22 to discuss the science behind the new RNA vaccine technology being implemented by Pfizer and Moderna versus SARS-COV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Dr. Wilmot also provided historical context on the development of vaccines and the enormous health benefits they provide. The intention of the talk was to delve deeper, celebrating the Science, and encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated as early as possible so that we can all do our part to protect our community. To see the presentation click here.

It was a pleasure to honor High School Senior Lydia Sattler class of 2021 as she signed her National Letter of Intent and committed to Stephen F. Austin State University as a 2021 Women's Soccer Team Goalkeeper. Lydia has been an exemplary Oakwood Hawk during her time at our school, and we look forward to following her journey and all that she accomplishes in the coming years at SFA. We enjoyed being able to celebrate with our in-person high school students today in the Oakwood Athletic Center Gym, while the rest of our upper school joined via Zoom for this momentous occasion. Congratulations to Lydia on this wonderful achievement! Click here to read The Morgan Hill Times article.

History came to life on Friday, November 6th, for Oakwood fourth and fifth-grade students. Both in-person and remote students learned and celebrated the Medieval and Renaissance periods. To bring the era to life, teachers and students alike wore costumes seen during the Middle Ages, dressing as knights, pirates, or those you might see spending time at court.

Oakwood School's third-grade students have had a great time creating a virtual musical this fall, "Super Happy Awesome News!" These students have so much to be proud of, and we want to congratulate them on their abilities to adapt and thrive! The students have now had a chance to watch their show, and soon it will be shared with their friends and families to enjoy!

Congratulations to Oakwood 10th grader Sascha Manalili who was selected as the First Place winner in the AP CSP Category in the CMU CS Academy October 2020 Creative Task Competition. Students in the Oakwood High School AP Computer Science Principles course are working on a Python course offered through Carnegie Mellon University's CS Academy. The top three projects from the first Unit were nominated by their teacher as entries for CMU CS Academy's Creative Task Challenge. Sascha created a Halloween-themed artistic masterpiece with code. Great job Sascha!

Eighth-grade student Sophie G. was honored by the Morgan Hill Rotary Club as Oakwood's Outstanding Middle School Student on Wednesday, October 21. Students who receive the Student Achievement Award are chosen by their respective schools on the basis of leadership in both academic and extracurricular areas. Congratulations, Sophie, on all the hard work that resulted in this recognition!

Oakwood High School Senior Chloe Borsody's original song "Icarus" was selected as an Honorable Mention in the National Association for Music Education 2020 Songwriters Competition (NAfME). The association is among the world's largest arts education organizations and is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Congratulations to Chloe for her accomplishment in this prestigious national competition! Click here to hear her song "Icarus"

On September 9, officials from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of students selected as Semifinalists in the 66th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Oakwood High School Seniors Shayan Daijavad, Kate Jackson, and Konark Vinod have been selected as National Merit Scholar Semifinalists this year. Congratulations!