In recognition of Maria Montessori and her contributions to our global community, Google is honoring her today on her 142nd birthday as the featured “Google Doodle.”  For one day only, August 31, 2012, the Google homepage will display the Google logo built from common Montessori classroom materials.

It is widely known that Google has its own Montessori roots as Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin both attended a Montessori school as children. During an interview with Barbara Walters in 2004, Page and Brin credited their years as Montessori students as a major factor contributing to their success. They said that their Montessori education allowed them to learn to think for themselves, taught them to be self-directed and self-starters, and gave them freedom to pursue their own interests.

Everyone at Five Oaks Academy wishes Maria Montessori a happy 142nd birthday and thanks her for presenting the world with a living example of scientific theories of education!

Each year the Five Oaks Academy faculty choses a book to read and study in an effort to improve overall awareness on a topic and explore ways to improve the educational experience for its students.  This year, the faculty has chosen the book “Raising Happiness.”  The author, Christine Carter, Ph.D and executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, recently did a keynote presentation at the “Learning and the Brain Conference” which was attended by Kathleen Trewhella-Grant, the Director of Five Oaks Academy.

In reference to the conference, Kathleen said, “The Learning and the Brain Conference was focused on educating attendees on how to use research-based brain science to nurture smarter, happier and healthier learners.  The conference further highlighted the importance of mental health in learning and achievement and presented research demonstrating that providing an environment where students are happy and content can no longer just be considered something “nice” to work towards but rather a crucial building block in the education of a student. Happiness and one’s state of mind are an essential part of successful learning.  At the conference, attendees learned about the connection between our brain’s ability to receive information and our emotional state. As a Montessori school, Five Oaks Academy has always put a huge emphasis on environmental comfort and teacher-student relationships to promote the happiness and educational success of our students.”

“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupery

In the book “Raising Happiness,” Christine Carter draws on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom to demonstrate do’s and don’ts in action, she boils the process down to 10 simple happiness-inducing steps.

Five Oaks Academy invites all members of our community to join the faculty in this informative read as we look forward to having in-depth discussions about this book and the continue roll of happiness in the educational experience of our students.

Five Oaks Academy is pleased to welcome back students today for the first full day of the 2012-2013 academic year.  As we begin our tenth year at Five Oaks Academy, we are welcoming many new families from our area and from around the world. This year we are pleased to welcome families from Costa Rica, South Africa, England, Italy, France, Germany and China coming to join our international community.

New students to the school and students transitioning to a new classroom began their transition days on Wednesday. Transition days are a way that a Montessori education allows for students to adjust to their new academic surroundings without the added distraction of a full classroom. Five Oaks Academy offers transitions days across all of its programs.

We are looking forward to another year of engaging our students curiosity and creativity in the classrooms and wish each of our students a great start to the upcoming year!

“If you are planning for a year,
sow rice;

if you are planning for a decade,
plant trees;

if you are planning for a lifetime,
educate people”

– Chinese proverb

Please join us in wishing Susan Edwards much success as she leaves Five Oaks Academy to pursue her next successful venture: professional photography. Susan has been an integral part of Five Oaks Academy since the time the school opened. Susan and her daughter, Juliet, both illuminated our community in memorable ways. A woman of many journeys, this next adventure takes Susan to New York in September for a photography class to rejuvenate and inspire her next body of work. Please stop by the office in the near future to pick up one of Susan’s business cards if you are interested in securing her photography services.

Please welcome Jessica Greer as the newest member of our faculty. Jessica will be filling a new position at our school as Executive Coordinator. Jessica was born in Denver, Colorado, but considers herself a Greenville native. Her combination of business and education experience will be an ideal addition to our school’s community.

In Jessica’s Own Words

“I loved working in the business field, and I look forward to using my background in Elementary Education in this new position at Five Oaks Academy. I am the mother of two children and my youngest child will be attending Five Oaks Academy beginning in the fall. I am eager to join the Parent Community in addition to being a part of the faculty. I am thrilled to have been offered the opportunity to serve you as a member of the administration at Five Oaks Academy. The atmosphere and community that have been created here seems like a wonderful environment to learn and work! I am excited about the many opportunities Five Oaks offers to my child and to me as I begin a new chapter in my life and embrace my new work family.”

Five Oaks Academy toddlers, primary kindergartners, lower elementary students, upper elementary students and middle school students recently participated in a fundraising drive to support the organization Amman Imman: Water is Life.  Amman Imman is dedicated to improving and saving lives among the poorest and most abandoned populations of the world by supplying permanent sources of water in the Azawak of West Africa.

The annual fundraising drive, named Ammon-a-thon, gives students the opportunity to raise money by getting sponsors to pledge support for completing repetitions of some of their favorite outdoor activities including running laps, doing jumping jacks, throwing and bouncing balls and other physical activities.  These activities provide students the opportunity to showcase their determination and support of this wonderful cause.  Overall, the students jumped, bounced and sweat their way to raise  over $5,000.  Combined with other fundraisers done over the course of the year in support of Amman Imman, the students raised $6,495.22.

Amman Imman’s global objective is to increase water security for the children and adults living in the Azawak of West Africa in order to drastically reduce the incidence and prevalence of morbidity and mortality related to water insufficiency and poor water quality, such as dehydration, diarrhea, intestinal helminthes, skin diseases, lice infestation, schistosomiosis, trachoma, etc. The project’s objectives include;

• creating permanent, sustainable, and potable water sources, so that everyone within the target population has sustainable and equitable access to enough water quantity of high quality to meet their consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic needs, as well as the needs of their animals,
• ensuring ecologically, financially, and socially sustainable management of water quality and quantity and
• improving hygiene and sanitation related knowledge and behavior among members of the target population.

Events such as the Amman-a-thon empower Five Oaks Academy students to be actively involved in helping others and engages them as global citizens.  Five Oaks Academy is proud of all of its students who participated in Amman-a-thon.

Five Oaks Academy is proud of all of its 2012 graduates and wishes them every continuing success as they transition to the next stage of their education!

Listed below are the graduations for the 2011-2012 academic year.  More information may be found on each graduation by clicking the respective link.

Toddler Graduation – May 17, 2012 – 10:15AM

Kindergarten Bridging Ceremony –  May 17, 2012 – 3:00PM

Lower Elementary Peace Ceremony – May 24, 2012 – 9:00AM

Upper Elementary Commencement Ceremony – May 24, 2012 – 11:00AM

8th Grade Graduation – May 29, 2012 – 6:00PM

Congratulations, graduates!

Five Oaks Academy will be hosting both a student viewing and an adult’s only reception for its 2012 Student Art Show. The Five Oaks Academy Student Art Show showcases the artistic achievements of FOA student artists and their interpretations of both the renown artists and distinct art styles they have studied in Five Oaks Academy’s unique Art History Program run by FOA Art Program Directress Jill Plumley.

Adult’s Only Reception

Parents are encouraged to join us from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, 2012 for an adult’s only reception.  Childcare will be offered in the Lower Elementary II classroom.  Please RSVP to emily@fiveoaksacademy.com if you would like to take advantage of childcare.

By Emmi, FOA Middle School Student

On Sunday, March 25, 2012, Five Oaks Academy Middle School students departed from the Amtrak Station in downtown Greenville on a journey to the nation’s capitol, Washington D.C.

They arrived at Union Station in the early morning on Monday and started their trip by visiting the National Aquarium. Here they saw sea creatures from every ocean on Earth. After this first stop, the students made their way to the National Zoo to see animals from various parts of the world, including the panda from China and the cheetah from Africa. That night the students experienced a monument night tour, where they saw the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, and more.

The next morning, the students began their day at the National Spy Museum, where they learned about the most legendary spies of all time and even took on a secret identity for the day. Following that, the middle school continued to the Smithsonian. They began at the National Air and Space Museum where they saw fighter jets from world wars, rode simulators, and some students even chose to see the Einstein Planetarium. That evening, the middle school students dined at Bistro Bistro, where they enjoyed a selected menu that included a delicious chocolate cake or crème brule for dessert.

On their last day, the students visited the National Holocaust Museum, where they learned of devastating stories and shocking human experiences. Later on, they continued the Smithsonian by visiting the Museum of Natural History, Museum of American History, and the American Art Museum, where they saw the featured exhibit; The Art of Video Games. That night the middle school returned to Greenville by train and they will always remember their exciting experience at the nation’s capitol.

Existing and prospective students may now sign up for Five Oaks Academy’s 2012 Summer Camps.  All camps are filled in the order completed registrations and payments are submitted to the Five Oaks Academy front office.

If a student signs up for both morning and afternoon camps, they are invited to stay on campus during the lunch hour of 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Summer Camp registrations and payments (in full) are due by Friday, May 27, 2012. No refunds will be issued after June 5, 2012.

Registration forms can be picked up in the front office or downloaded here.