Oakwood celebrated the many cultures of its community through entertainment and food sampling at the biennual International Festival. The festival featured musical performances representative of Scottish, Indian, Ukranian, Japanese, Mexican, and Filipino heritage. Many numbers were led and choreographed by our talented students. Students wearing traditional garb paraded across the stage proudly showcasing cultures from around the world. The festival concluded with food sampling from many countries including India, England, Italy and Middle Eastern countries. This gave students the opportunity to try many new dishes.

The Oakwood community gathered for the annual Freedom Festival – Oakwood's school-wide celebration of patriotism. Students honored our country and our veterans with grade level presentations which included patriotic songs and videos produced by students. Veterans and members of the military had special VIP seating and were honored with a song especially for them, "American Heroes."

Oakwood 7th grader, Ayana W., was recognized by the County of Santa Clara for her Synopsys and California State Science Fair achievements at a Board of Supervisors meeting in December. Forrest Williams, board member and past President of the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association (SCVSEFA) and Supervisor Mike Wasserman presented Ayana with a commendation and congratulated her on her STEM success. Congratulations, Ayana!

The second grade book drive collected a total of 1,117 books for the El Toro Club House in Morgan Hill, which supports their "Reading Hour." This program matches community volunteers with youngsters to read stories. At the end of the hour, each child is given a book from the donations, which helps build a child's personal library. Second grade class representatives visited upper school classes to spread the word, students at our after school care did a lot of the counting and sorting of books and the entire Oakwood community contributed to the collection. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to make this project a success. Way to spread the spirit of giving, Oakwood second graders!

Thanks and Giving is a school-wide community service project where Oakwood students and their families collect and assemble bins of food containing a complete Thanksgiving meal plus some daily staples. The bins of food are given to Community Solutions, a local organization that assists families in need. The third grade students are asked to think of ways they can earn money for this worthy cause. This may include doing simple chores around the house for parents, relatives or friends. Their earned money is then put together and they go on a shopping trip to purchase the needed items. They are tasked with using their math and problem-solving skills to be as cost-effective as possible when purchasing the items.

This week, they took their combined earnings of $550 to Nob Hill, and were able to purchase enough items to create 8 bins containing a complete Thanksgiving meal as well as eleven $20 grocery store gift cards. The bins of food and gift cards will be presented to Community Solutions, along with the rest of the bins created school-wide, during our annual Thanks and Giving Celebration.

Oakwood fourth and fifth grade students celebrated the Middle Ages and Renaissance time periods with a day full of hands-on, enriching and educational activities. Students, faculty and parent volunteers donned period-specific attire from elaborate gowns to pirate and knight costumes. Activities included juggling, jousting, painting frescoes, and archery, among others. Students learned all about falconry and were able to see a falcon and a red-tailed hawk in all of their splendor. A medieval weaponry expert held demonstrations and students were able handle weaponry and even try on some knight's armor. After a grand feast, the celebration concluded with a May Pole Dance by our very own fourth grade students and recorder performance by our incredible fifth graders. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made this event possible.

Oakwood's first New Enrollment Open House of the season was a big success. Interested families had the opportunity to take a campus tour, meet teachers and students, and observe our learning in action. The Harmonttes performed some musical routines from their upcoming show and fifth graders presented a sneak peak of their upcoming play, Attack of the Killer Grasshoppers.

Oakwood High School Linguistics students spent the day in Monterey meeting with several individuals at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Soon after arriving, the group sat down with Lama Ranjous, a graduate student in International Policy and Development program, to discuss the role of language and cultural competence in her work and studies. The group also met with Thor Sawin, a professor of teaching English and second languages. They wrapped up the day with a Q&A session with Holly Mikkelson, a professor of Translation and Interpretation. Everyone who attended went home that evening inspired by the words of the individuals at the Middlebury Institute.

Eighth Grader Carolyn B. was honored by the Morgan Hill Rotary Club as Oakwood's Outstanding Middle School Student on Wednesday, October 18. Carolyn received a framed certificate and a cash award. Congratulations, Carolyn, on all the hard work that resulted in this recognition.