Thanks & Giving is Oakwood's school-wide community service project, which encompasses our educational goal of being Community Contributors through Respect, Service, Cooperation, and Good Citizenship. This meaningful event recognizes the opportunity to reach out to those in our community who are less fortunate. This year we asked families to donate funds that were used to purchase grocery store gift cards. These gift cards were then presented to Community Solutions who will distribute them to local families in need.

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!

Welcome to the first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year! Whether on-campus or remote, we love seeing our students' smiling faces!

Oakwood faculty and staff had so much fun delivering surprise packages to each of our 32 graduating seniors on Saturday. The Class of 2020 was greeted with a celebratory yard sign, as well as a care package containing their cap and gown, a mug with the class of 2020 names on it, a custom cookie created by an Oakwood faculty member, a senior class photo, a "Virtually the Best Senior Class Ever!" t-shirt, a book of "High-Fives" from Oakwood Kindergarteners, and much more to commemorate an unforgettable final year at Oakwood. We're grateful for their resiliency and dedication and wish them the best in their future endeavors! Congratulations Class of 2020!

As the school year comes to an end, some of the annual events we were looking fondly towards are not on the calendar due to the shelter in place order. One of these events is the "A Little Song and Dance" performance. However, Mr. Potter has a little surprise to share with his amazing students and the entire Oakwood community. He has created an incredible video of his students performing "Tuxedo Junction."

Congratulations to Kate Jackson whose Science Fair project titled, "Finding Fibonacci: Does separating leaves by the Fibonacci Golden Angle optimize average sun exposure per leaf?" received an Honorable Mention award in the Biological Science & Engineering category at the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science & Technology Championship which moved to a Virtual Model this year. Kate's project had previously placed 2nd at the South Valley Science Fair, an event at which Oakwood was also recognized by being awarded "Best School." Congratulations Kate!

Oakwood High School senior Valerie Doan is one of two local college-bound women who will receive scholarships this year from P.E.O. Chapter WJ in Morgan Hill. The scholarship selection is based on academic achievement, strength of character, non-scholastic activities and financial need. Morgan Hill Chapter WJ is one of 3 P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) chapters in the South Bay region. P.E.O., www.peointernational.org , which provides financial aid to women worldwide for undergraduate and graduate studies, has been a pioneering force for women's education since 1869. Congratulations, Valerie!

During their remote learning lessons, the Oakwood Kindergarten classes have finished their Christopher Columbus history unit. As a bonus activity, they could re-create one of Columbus' boats, the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria, and either a telescope or a compass, with their family. Many of them have been acting out the journey at home, and we love the video that this Oakwood family created to commemorate their experience.

Oakwood Preschool through High School Educators have been resilience personified. They quickly organized classrooms within their homes and adapted their teaching styles to fit the new Oakwood Zoom Class platform, learning new technology and applications along the way. They understand that learning online can be challenging and have worked to present the information clearly, giving students the tools and knowledge needed so they can be successful during their independent learning time. Upper School faculty are even using zoom technology in their classes to provide breakout discussion groups.