Elementary

Oakwood third grade students celebrated their completion of their first take home novel, The Boxcar Children. The activity started with a literature circle, where each student did a wonderful job taking on their role. The unit culminated with an afternoon "Boxcar Picnic." The students watched the The Boxcar Children movie while they noshed on many of the same tasty treats as the characters from the book (fresh bread and butter, blueberries, chocolate chip cookies and milk). It was a lovely afternoon where literature was brought to life.

Did you know that Oakwood students can now take a shuttle to school? Oakwood has partnered with Kidz Jet Shuttle Service to provide transportation to and from Oakwood for students in Los Gatos and San Jose. Kindergarten through high school students are utilizing this service and loving it. This alternative transportation is helping to keep the air clean while providing an opportunity to grow the Oakwood community.

The entire Oakwood campus gathered for a birthday celebration in honor of Oakwood's 20th anniversary. This was one of many events scheduled as part of the year-long anniversary celebration. Mrs. Hanson led students in a birthday song and everyone enjoyed cupcakes festively decorated in Oakwood colors. A special anniversary photo was taken by an Oakwood alum aerial photographer. Stay tuned for more about this special photo! Happy birthday, Oakwood!

Oakwood welcomed preschool through 5th grade students and their families for the 2018-2019 school year at the Lower School Kick-off event. Families gathered as Mrs. Helvey and Mrs. Shales gave the official welcome and introduced our wonderful lower school faculty. After dropping off their school supplies, elementary school students had the opportunity to talk with their teachers and socialize with their classmates over ice cream. Meanwhile, ECE students and their parents sipped some lemonade, talked with teachers, and had some play time with classmates before their official day of school on Tuesday.

Oakwood faculty and staff gathered in the library on Monday morning for a breakfast and meeting to kick-off in-service week. The upcoming week will be filled with meetings, trainings and getting classrooms ready in order to prepare for the start of the school year. Everyone is hard at work to make sure that the school year kicks-off right. We can't wait to see all of our students and their families back on campus next week!

A little drizzle didn't stop Oakwood Elementary students from having a "Blast of Fun" at their year-end celebration. First through fifth grade students played games, signed t-shirts, and had some fun with photo booth props and treats. The celebration ended with a dance party started by the fifth grade students. This events is always a fantastic way to end the school year and welcome the summer break!

As the 2017-2018 school year wound down to a close, Oakwood third graders accumulated enough class points to earn a final event together. They spent their final school year hours in an Escape Room trying to break out of 3rd grade! Students worked in teams to race against the clock and tackle math, reading, history, and geography challenges based on concepts they learned throughout the year. Needless to say, they successfully completed all challenges. Third grade was fun! Look out 4th grade, here they come!

The Oakwood High School class of 2018 wore their caps and gowns for the first time as part of the First Annual Oakwood Senior Walk! Seniors proudly walked through campus while students, faculty, and staff enthusiastically cheered them on and celebrated their achievements. This was a special moment for graduating seniors and the younger students who look up to them.

Mrs. Pappa's second grade students experienced the much-anticipated grand finale to the school year - Camp Read A Lot! Students came to school dressed in their camp attire ready for a fun day of reading. They brought flashlights, pillows, and sleeping bags to use in the tents that were set up in the classroom. Reading Rangers visited throughout the day to ready stories around the campfire. Students participated in activities as a fun way to review material from the school year. They wrote their own camp stories, conducted a survey about s'mores, worked with money at the "Camp Trading Post," and engaged in some friendly competition between tents. What a fun way to end the school year!

Oakwood first graders have been learning about the types of homes all around the world. As part of the unit, each student built a home to display in the classroom. Students were all very creative and materials varied with each project. Homes ranged from farmhouses, beach houses, tree houses, and traditional American modern-day homes. They also built small houses out of cardboard and created a community to display during Spring Open House which represented the Oakwood community. Well done, first graders!