Early Childhood

On November 13, Oakwood School hosted an Open House for prospective students and their families as well as current Oakwood families who wanted to preview all the opportunities ahead. The day was a wonderful showcase of all Oakwood has to offer, with classroom demonstrations, student performances, and student-led campus tours. This event, the first on-campus Open House in nearly two years, was a true celebration for our school community. We were thrilled to welcome current and future Oakwood families to campus for this special day.

Oakwood will host one more Open House this school year–mark your calendar for Saturday, March 5, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Contact admissions@oakwoodway.org to RSVP.

Monday, August 23, was a great day at Oakwood School! Faculty and staff enthusiastically greeted students back on campus. Middle school and high school students arrived for their first day of classes. With eager anticipation, students met up with old friends and happily met new classmates as they found their way to their classes.

During Summer@Oakwood's "Olympics Week," campers celebrated the Olympics with themed activities and games. Our young students learned about the variety of sports that take place during the Summer Olympics and participated in their own Oakwood Olympic games! Children ran through obstacles courses, jumped over hurdles, and perfected their pool noodle javelin throw. During craft time, campers created paper plate medals and made handprint LED Olympic torches.

Campers in the Summer@Oakwood program recently had the opportunity to interact with Lower School Head and Principal, Mrs. Shales' farm animals! Mrs. Shales brought one of her goats and some of her chickens for the campers to meet. The children learned fun facts about each of the animals were taught about their particular needs and proper care. Campers enthusiastically asked questions as they pet and held the animals. The children also had fun sharing about their own pets with one another. Thank you, Mrs. Shales, for bringing your farm animals for our campers to enjoy!

Our Summer Explorers attending Summer@Oakwood enjoyed a fun-filled water playday on Friday, June 25! With perfect weather, our Junior Kindergarten through Second Grade campers splashed in mini pools, played in water tables, squirted each other with spray bottles, and ran through the sprinklers! We can't wait for more fun water days ahead at Summer@Oakwood!

On the last day of school, Friday, May 28th, the Oakwood High School Class of 2021 wore their caps and gowns to participate in Oakwood School's Third Annual Senior Walk. Students, faculty, and staff enthusiastically cheered on our seniors in-person while families showed their support watching the event live over Zoom. It was a special experience not only for the graduating seniors but also for the younger students who look up to them. We are proud to celebrate our Senior Class's great accomplishment with this Oakwood tradition.

For Oakwood Kindergarten students, the end of the school year is bitter-sweet. Although they have grown tremendously during this school year and are excited about their promotion to first grade, these students have truly enjoyed their time in Kindergarten. Learning came alive in their classrooms. They built relationships with their classmates during playtime and bonded with their teachers, who supported them in their growth. We invite you to watch a video where these students share in their own words what they loved about Kindergarten this year.

Oakwood School was thrilled to be chosen for our students to talk with Astronaut Dr. Shaoon Walker on the International Space Station via Amateur Radio on March 22, 2021. This activity was part of the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Program, which promotes learning opportunities as part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Math) initiative.

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, the Pre-Kindergarten classes built leprechaun traps. The students worked in teams to paint and decorate their traps in class, and then explained how they work. Before heading home on Tuesday, March 16th, the students set the traps in hopes of catching a leprechaun or two. However, when the students arrived at school on Wednesday, March 17th, they discovered great mischief: gold and green dust scattered about, and the traps had were sprung, but unfortunately, the leprechauns were too clever to be caught. Better luck next year, students!

For our youngest early childhood students, learning takes place through a hands-on, multi-sensory approach. For example, the Jr Kindergarten students have been learning about the various types of weather. They were taught about the different types of clouds and learned about a classroom favorite, the cumulonimbus. Each day they completed a daily weather journal practicing to write the new vocabulary words they learned to describe the weather. They also enjoyed a fun science experiment where they determined that as water gathers in the clouds and the water droplets get too heavy, it begins to rain. The lessons continued in art, where they created little thunder clouds, painted a colorful kite, and made a classroom book based on Eric Carle's book "Little Cloud." The teachers continued the lesson theme with many weather-related books, educational videos, and movement songs to round out their lessons.