Students in Lower Elementary look forward to the Character Museum every year. Parents, grandparents, special guests and FOA students from other levels are invited to the classroom to view the Lower Elementary students dressed as their favorite character from children’s literature. The students prepare for this event through a homework project. This project is multi-faceted and has several goals. The students choose a character and are then asked to write a letter to their teacher as if the student was that character. They must then plan a costume to wear during the Character Museum, including a list of the things they will need and a picture of what the outfit will look like. The final step is to write a dialogue in the voice of their chosen character that they will share with their guests during the Character Museum. The students perform a Character Study by examining the qualities and characteristics that make up their chosen character, gain experience in writing letters, and take on the perspective of their character by writing their dialogue in first person.

This project utilizes skills such as critical thinking, analysis of information, application of knowledge, communication, and creativity. All of these skills will be needed to prepare students for the 21st Century workforce. Additionally, the students are asked before they begin the assignment, as they are in every homework assignment, to break it down into steps and plan when they will complete each step over a week’s time. This reinforces the time management aspect of our program that we work on everyday in our classrooms that will guide students throughout their life.  The Character Museum is an empowering experience as our students take ownership of their chosen character.

Montessori Mornings is an event held several times a year where students invite a parent or special guest to come and experience the Montessori classroom. This event gives the students an opportunity to share the lessons they are working on in the classroom with their loved ones.  It is amazing to see the pride and confidence the students exemplify as they demonstrate their lessons. Since many of the lessons involve hands-on materials that are specific to Montessori, it is an excellent way for parents and special guests to familiarize themselves with their children’s lessons and the materials.

At Five Oaks Academy, we have a mission to become lifelong learners. As educators, we encourage growth in ourselves through conferences, book studies, and continuing education. It is also important to us to provide parents with meaningful learning experiences such as the Parent Lecture Series, the Adult Artisan series, and special guest speakers. We strive to instill this passion for learning in our students as well. We show our students by example that learning does not end when you leave a classroom. Many of our teachers do extraordinary things outside the walls of our classrooms. Ms. Caroline Sellars, a Lower Elementary Assistant Directress, has volunteered to share her time in Uganda that has had a changing effect on her life. Her adventure, written in her words below, will leave you feeling both inspired and grateful for the many privileges we take for granted.

On June 30, 2015, I deplaned at the Entebbe International Airport in southern Uganda, just a few miles from Lake Victoria. Even at 10:30 pm the air was hot and muggy as I paid for my entry visa and handed over my passport to the immigration officer. Two stamps and a fingerprint scan later, I pulled my bags from the carousel and spotted a tall man holding a piece of paper that read: “Watoto, Caroline Sellars”. My month volunteering at the Watoto Babies Home had officially begun.
Watoto is an organization founded by Canadians Gary and Marilyn Skinner. They first came to Uganda in the 1980’s, in the midst of war and extreme political unrest. What started as a small church in the capital city Kampala is now a network of churches and ministries scattered throughout the country. Their outreach programs provide education and work opportunities for women affected by the LRA wars in recent years, as well as schooling and care for children, some of whom are former child soldiers. They operate two Babies Homes, a northern site in Gulu and a southern site called Suubi, where babies ranging from newborn to toddler age are brought to receive care. Some babies come because their families have a difficult time finding food for them, and they just need a nutritional boost to help them back to their ideal weight. Others are brought in for specialized surgeries that traditional hospitals in the country cannot accommodate. Most, however, come from hospitals where they’ve been abandoned, or are found in garbage dumps or pit latrines. Quite often these babies remain in the care of Watoto throughout their childhood, graduating from the Babies Homes and placed with a family in the children’s villages, then eventually learning a vocation or going to college.

As a volunteer at the Suubi Babies Home, my job was to help the nannies take care of these babies. The nannies—all of them Ugandan women—are each responsible for four babies. In orientation, the Babies Home supervisor said that the nannies are the mothers, and we volunteers were the aunts. As aunts, we would be washing bottles, helping with feedings, changing sheets, changing diapers, folding clothes, helping with baths, and anything else the nannies needed. I was placed with one other volunteer in the “Tiger Room”, which had nineteen babies aged seven to twelve months, approximately. Every morning at 7:00 we walked downstairs from the shared apartment  for volunteers and went straight to work. First we took every baby out of his or her crib and gathered them together for the morning feeding. The nannies traveling to the Babies Home from Kampala didn’t arrive until after 8:00, so we had to divide the babies between us and the night workers to feed them. We would sit on the ground with our legs out in a V, and line up six or seven babies next to us with their heads resting on our legs. The most I ever had at once was eight babies during an afternoon feeding, and one of the nannies said to me, “You are an African woman now.” Then one volunteer would wash the bottles in the sink while the other changed all the crib sheets. After that it was time for porridge, and then the morning bath. The babies then took a morning nap and spent the rest of the day rotating between eating, playing, and sleeping until it was time for bed. On a normal day, volunteers finished at 3:30 and were free to wander from room to room, playing with the babies and taking them for walks around the village. But if a nanny was on leave or out sick, a volunteer would be drafted to fill in as a “mommy” for that nanny’s babies all day. Those were the nights I crashed into bed at about 8:15.
Our role as volunteers, however, extended beyond basic childcare. In Ugandan culture, people do not interact with babies the same way as here in the West. Activities that we take for granted, like playing, singing, hugging and kissing your baby, or simply making frequent eye contact with your baby throughout the day are simply not done in their culture. Play and loving touch are proven again and again to be essential to children’s emotional and physical development, so as volunteers we were expected to help the nannies in this respect as well, setting an example in the way we played and interacted with the babies. That way, the supervisor told us, the babies would receive the best of both in the realm of childcare: Western affection paired with the Ugandan emphasis on independence.

Throughout my stay, I was blessed with opportunities to spend time with all the babies, from the nursery infants to older toddlers recently placed in the children’s village. I played with a toddler who was born with his bladder on the outside of his body and is awaiting surgery, and I did a kangaroo hold one night with a new arrival who at two months old weighed only three pounds. I carried a different baby up to church every Sunday morning and held them during the service. I watched a baby crawl for the first time and ate lunch with young women who grew up as Watoto children. Uganda gave me new appreciation for so many things in my life. I came home thankful for the safety we have here in the US; the simple fact that I don’t have to have my bag searched before walking into a grocery store here at home is something I will not take for granted. As a woman I’m thankful for the freedoms and independence I have here, like education and the ability to walk on a sidewalk without fear. More than anything, I learned to be thankful for the children and babies in my life, and how very important it is to show them love at every possible opportunity. I will always carry that with me, especially after seeing what can happen when that love isn’t displayed. It seems so obvious to us, but it bears repeating: hug your babies, kiss your babies, smile at your babies, play with your babies. It is a miracle what a difference it makes.  It was an experience I will never forget, one that I hope to have again someday.

Written by Caroline Sellars

For more information, visit www.watoto.com/babywatoto

“Strength and suffering, heartbreak and hope find voice in this powerful collection of writers from The Writers Block”        -George Ella Lyon

Five Oaks Academy hosted its first Artisan Series on October 15. The focus of the evening was on creative writing.  It was a powerful and moving presentation led by FOA Parent, Anna Katherine Freeland, and her collaborator, Carol Young Gallagher. Anna Katherine and Carol read collections from The Writers Block Project that led to the publication, “Didn’t See It Coming”. Both women are celebrating their fourth anniversary of teaching creative writing to prison inmates at Perry Correctional Institution.

The collection of writing from their project has been endorsed by the S.C. Artist Commission and has received rave reviews. George Ella Lyon, author of “Where I’m From” praised the collection by saying, “Strength and suffering, heartbreak and hope find voice in this powerful collection of writers from The Writers Block.”

FOA’s International Tea will be held this Thursday, October, 15 after morning drop off. This school-wide parent event is a fantastic way to welcome our new international families to our community and allow them to make new connections and friendships with our current families. It is also a great time for our current families to meet the new international families.

Five Oaks is proud that our school community represents 30 countries within our 215 student body. Along with a diverse community at FOA, the Montessori curriculum supports students in a global understanding and appreciation of the world we live in. Please join us in celebrating the unique diversity of our school!

You won’t want to miss the first Adult Artisan Series featuring Five Oaks Academy’s very own, and very talented, Anna Katherine Freeland. Join us for wine and cheese this Thursday, October 15 at 6:00pm as Anna Katherine tells about her experience teaching an advanced creative writing workshop, The Writers Block Project, to inmates from maximum security men’s prison Perry Correctional Institution in Pelzer, S.C. This experience ultimately led to editing and publishing the anthology, “Didn’t See it Coming”, a collection of stories written by these inmates, with co-teacher Carol Young Gallagher. Readings from her insightful book will be featured at this pilot event of the Artisan Series.

The leaves are starting to fall and there is a crispness in the air. That can only mean one thing. It’s time for Fall Festival at Five Oaks Academy! This annual school-wide event brings FOA families, friends, students and teachers together to celebrate the Fall season, recognize harvest traditions worldwide, and enjoy socializing and laughing together. The program features guest musicians as well as highlights student performances from each level as they showcase their World Music and Spanish curriculum.  After the performances, everyone enjoys great music, crafts, food, pony rides, hayrides and other activities. It is the perfect way to celebrate a new season!

Cockroaches and Parrots and Skinks… OH MY! Students in the Five Oaks Academy Elementary classrooms had a special presentation featuring The Wonders of the Rainforest on Tuesday, September 22. They learned why rainforests are important to our planet and why we need to protect them. Students were also able to meet some favorite rainforest inhabitants and learn about how they contribute to our ecosystem! A heartfelt “Thank You” to Wildlife Encounters for bring this entertaining and informative program to FOA!

There is no elevator speech to explain a Montessori education. This research-based educational method is fundamentally and systemically different and was created to meet the needs of each uniquely different child. Though the Montessori method was created more than a century ago by Dr. Maria Montessori, it is a forward-thinking philosophy that adapts perfectly to what educational researchers are saying students need to thrive today. Dr. Montessori’s focus on critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and time management are valuable skills for the 21st century workforce. The only needed adaptation to her method is technology.

Due to the fact that Montessori is so different from what most of us experienced growing up,  parents have many questions on how it works. At Five Oaks Academy (FOA), a low student:teacher ratio allows each child to receive a customized education. Students learn using hands-on materials that give them a concrete understanding of complex concepts as well as addressing the many different learning styles of individual students. Children learn in a self-directed way and are able to make choices that are age appropriate and are  within the framework and guidance of the teacher. The teachers know how to guide students in a way that provides support at the same time giving children problem solving opportunities. Students follow a rich curriculum that exceeds state standards in every academic area as well as a comprehensive related arts program. Students are  encouraged to explore their own interests as well. FOA incorporates technology through the use of Compass Learning, Kahn Academy, Rosetta Stone and coding courses.

Five Oaks Academy is accredited through the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) and is the only Montessori school in the area that offers a cohesive program from toddler through eighth grade. The global community within Five Oaks Academy and its unique diversity, representing over 30 countries, gives students an educational experience you won’t find anywhere else. If you are considering a Montessori Education for your child, please call to schedule a tour of Five Oaks Academy.