Elementary

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.

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!

Oakwood teachers and staff were invited to participate in a Halloween themed door decorating contest this week. Prizes were awarded to those that created the Spookiest door, the most Creative door, the Funniest door, and a final prize was awarded to the best overall Lower School door. Middle School and High School students voted for their favorite doors during the Thursday, October 29th assembly. Thank you to all who participated in this friendly contest. We have some very artistic individuals at Oakwood! We appreciate all who participated. This activity was a great way to bring the Halloween spirit to the Oakwood School campus!

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!

Ms. Mallette and Mrs. Pappa's second-grade classes experienced a distance learning version of our beloved Camp Read-A-Lot on the last day of the 2019-2020 school year. Students set up tents or forts in their living rooms, bedrooms, or even their backyards, and dressed in camping attire ready for a fun last day together. The excitement began the day before as Ms. Mallette and Mrs. Pappa packed their cars and headed off to each student's home to make Camp Read-A-Lot deliveries. Our second-grade teachers were deeply moved by their warm welcome from each student and family and somewhat overwhelmed with emotion at being able to see each student in person after 66 days apart. On Friday, each student "Zoomed" from their tents equipped with a flashlight, goody bag, and the most exhilarating energy. Just as in previous years, the classes heard stories from our "Reading Rangers," Mrs. Shales and Mrs. Helvey, all while snacking on camp treats. The 2nd graders also enjoyed some camping review lessons. They ended the day with awards highlighting all of the special qualities each teacher found in our extraordinary group of resilient second-grade students.

It's no secret that Oakwood teachers have worked diligently to keep the continuity of everyday school life for our students as they learn remotely. Elementary science teacher Ms. Pompa is no exception. She has always felt it important to reward students for being good examples to their classmates. Before we moved to online learning, Ms. Pompa would secretly select students in each grade and reward them for modeling the character word of the month. They would receive the Secret Student award for their efforts, and the entire class would receive a "high-five".

On Friday, April 24th, as a tie-in with their history unit, Oakwood 2nd-grade students celebrated Pioneer Day: Zoom Style. While it looked much different than it had in previous years, Ms. Pappa and Ms. Malette wanted to ensure that even though the school is currently practicing Oakwood Away From Oakwood remote learning, the children were still able to learn about pioneer life in the 1800s interactively. The teachers were pleased to see that the students still had a great time dressing up with costumes they found at home. Students read their pioneer adventure tales to their classmates, ate some homemade pioneer snacks, and even danced a pioneer jig.

Each year Oakwood 4th-grade students complete a book report project that includes picking a book of their choice to read, writing a three-paragraph summary and a paragraph reflection, and creating a t-shirt to represent the book they read. They depict a favorite part of the story on the front of the shirt, on the sleeves they put the book characters, and on the back of their shirts, they show a theme or motto from the book. The project is typically wrapped up with a t-shirt fashion show where the students model their shirt design, walking the "runway" to a fun script they wrote. This year, with the current shelter-in-place occurring, the 4th-grade students put on their shirts for a Zoom share with their classmates, where they discussed protagonists and antagonists, along with flat, round, dynamic, and static characters. The class also talked about their favorite part of their books and if they would recommend it to others. We love that Oakwood teachers present curriculum through their own inventive methods, inspiring students and keeping them engaged in their learning. Great job 4th grade, your shirts look fantastic!

At Oakwood, we believe that balance is essential. While we engage in remote learning, students enjoy spending time in their online classes, but it is also vital for them to learn and create offline as well. In art class this week, Oakwood Elementary students were given the assignment of creating a color wheel by using found objects around their homes. The outer ring was to showcase primary and secondary colors, while the center objects represented neutral colors. We think they did a fantastically colorful job!