Every year at our International Tea we celebrate the unique cultural differences and backgrounds we have at Five Oaks Academy (FOA). Our community is very diverse with approximately 30 different countries and areas of the world represented within our student body and their families. On Friday, September 7, we gathered together to share our heritage and the stories of how we ended up in Simpsonville, SC while tasting yummy treats from all over the world.

In addition to the International Tea, we also hold an International Festival in May each year. This year, we will celebrate FOA’s cultural richness by creating an international cookbook. We are asking all FOA families and friends to participate by contributing their favorite recipes. The cookbooks will be available for purchase before the holidays and would make a wonderful present for family and friends. Please contact the school for details on how to submit a recipe or how to purchase a cookbook.

Thank you to our 2018-2019 Title Partners for their support of our community events and especially Monica Parkkonen of Monica Parkkonen Photography for taking these beautiful pictures for us to remember this special day.

 Africa and Asia were the two continents that the Lower Elementry program focused on during their cultural and historical studies last year. For the final project of the year, Lower Elementary students were asked to pick one African or Asian country to research, create a visual to share, and finally present to the other students. FOA student, Alex McCall, knew his family had planned a trip for early August to go to Kenya to witness the Great Migration in hopes of seeing hundreds of thousands of wildebeest cross the Mara River. Knowing about his trip at the end of the summer, naturally, Alex picked Kenya for his project.

The project was the perfect way for Alex to learn about the country he would be visiting. He learned some phrases and important words in Swahili. He learned about the geography and different animals that call Kenya home. He also learned about the current president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the son of a former president of Kenya and well-liked by his countrymen.

Imagine the McCalls surprise when they met President Kenyatta while waiting for their flight at a tiny airport near Mt. Kenya! Alex recognized President Kenyatta from his project research and was able to greet him by name as he approached. The president was quite taken with this young American boy bursting with excitement at the prospect of meeting him. He stopped and shook hands with Alex and his sister, Maddie. President Kenyatta proceeded to ask them questions about their visit to Kenya, the animals they had seen, and about their favorite part of their trip so far.

Upon returning to the US, Maddie and Alex shared photos, souvenirs, and even African candy with their classmates allowing them to share in their amazing experience.  

The distance between Warsaw, Poland, and Simpsonville, SC, is more than 4,800 miles, and the cultural differences between Poland and the United States can be vast, but for a group of Montessori administrators and educators who participated in a recent exchange program, their newfound bonds have made those miles and seeming differences feel insignificant.

It all started in February 2017, when Kathleen Trewhella-Grant, founding Executive Director of Five Oaks Academy, and Paul Epstein, Ph.D., a renowned international author and speaker on Montessori methods, were invited to present a three-day Leadership Series in Warsaw by the Polish Montessori Institute.   

More than 70 heads of schools from throughout Poland attended the training and lecture program.  

“The participants’ enthusiasm for Montessori was amazing and their thirst for knowledge and continuous improvement was simply heartwarming,” said Trewhella-Grant on her return.  She noted that the growth of modern Montessori schools is exploding throughout Poland, with the number of schools tripling in recent years, and more and more training centers popping up as well.    

Considering the growth of Montessori in Poland, Trewhella-Grant and Epstein were natural choices as speakers for the Leadership Series.  South Carolina has more Montessori schools than any other U.S. state, and the Polish administrators were anxious to discuss mutual experiences about the management of rapid expansion.

Trewhella-Grant and Epstein came away from the visit impressed with the innovation they saw, whether it was in city schools or small-town schools. For example, Trewhella-Grant notes that new modern schools are being built with distinctly clean designs and large open spaces for an enhanced learning environment, as supported by research on optimal school and classroom design.    

At the conclusion of the Leadership Series, the program received overwhelmingly positive feedback – so positive in fact, that Joanna Maghen, head of the Polish Montessori Institute, asked Trewhella-Grant if she and Five Oaks Academy would be willing to host a group from Poland to visit South Carolina.

“It’s rare to consult a group that is so motivated, that shows so much gratitude and resilience,” said Trewhella-Grant.  In others words, her answer was a resounding yes.

The timing for the exchange visit (beginning in late February 2018) was designed to coincide with South Carolina Montessori Education Week, which was proclaimed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and is a period to recognize both Montessori’s promotion of respect among children and peace to humankind, as well as Montessori schools and educators for their contributions to South Carolina students.  

“The exchange visit was a way for us to celebrate Montessori Education Week in a very big way,” said Trewhella-Grant.  “Through the commonality of children’s studies, we are in fact fostering global connections and promoting international relations that enable us to understand one another better. It’s extremely valuable for students and world communities as a whole.”  

The group of 11 from Poland, including heads of schools, teacher trainees and teachers, arrived for their eight-day learning adventure bearing multiple gifts, ranging from a beautiful Polish tea set to books on Poland and handmade Montessori lesson cards.   Their packed agenda included a mix of lectures and training sessions, combined with classroom observations in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, SC, as well as fun and sightseeing in Greenville and Charleston. In addition to Five Oaks, schools welcoming the Polish visitors included the private Montessori School of Greenville, hosted by owner Robin Bylenga; the private Montessori School of Columbia, hosted by Head of School Karen Kuse; and the charter school East Cooper Montessori, hosted by Principal Jody Swanigan.  

Kuse, of the Montessori School of Columbia, said, “Having the group of Polish teachers visit our school was a wonderful treat. The children noted that Montessori is global, music is universal, and people share common emotions, regardless of where they live.”

As to preparations for the visit, she said: “Prior to their visit, our students learned how to say welcome in Polish and to identify Poland on the map. After welcoming the teachers to our school, many of our students have been noticing Polish artifacts or choosing to research Poland. In Montessori, we call this a ‘Key Experience’ — an exciting lesson or event that sparks an interest and facilitates further learning.”

The feelings of accomplishment were mutual among the visiting Polish educators.  One of the participants said she felt “overjoyed” at the opportunity to experience the classroom environment at Five Oaks Academy and the other schools, noting she was particularly impressed with the U.S. schools’ documentation of lessons, as well as the open and natural communication style with the students.

Among some of the sightseeing and cultural highlights for the visitors included shopping and eating in downtown Greenville; stops at Shem Creek and the Isle of Palms; a Charleston Harbor boat tour; and a BBQ farewell luncheon hosted by Five Oaks Academy.

The U.S. and Polish delegations remain in touch and look forward to future opportunities to work in tandem for the ultimate benefit of Montessori students in both their countries.

Susan S. Nichols is a freelance business writer and former B2B magazine publisher with more than 25 years media and marketing experience. She may be reached at Susansmarr309@gmail.com.  

Congratulations to this year’s Five Oaks Academy Duke TIP Scholars! We are so excited about the opportunities this achievement affords you! It is FOA’s mission to propel each student to their full potential, both academically and social/emotionally, and we are so proud of this accomplishment!

Upper Elementary Qualifiers (4-5 grades)

Middle School Qualifiers (6-8 grades)

The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth. Duke TIP works with students, their families, and educators to identify, recognize, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential.

This year our eighth-grade Middle School students chose Washington, D.C. as their destination for their annual graduate trip.  This trip is decided, researched, and planned entirely by the students with support, advice, and guidance given from teachers when necessary.

The students researched then booked the transportation (this year by train), hotel accommodations, and other activities.  They voted on their top choices of museums and activities.  Some of the sights they saw were the Museum of Natural History, Holocaust Museum, National Art and Space Museum, American Art Museum, and the Renwick Gallery. “The students were so impressive in their level of maturity and responsibility on this trip. It was evident that they put a lot of hard work into planning the museums and activities that complimented their interests. Our students were engaged during the tours of each museum and handled some very tough American and world history events with dignity and respect,” observed Ms. Jessica, trip chaperone.

It was a wonderful trip full of bonding with good friends that they will never forget!

We are very proud of our two FOA Middle School debate teams who competed in the 2018 SCISA state debate tournament held at Florence Christian Academy on March 21!  Out of the 15 teams competing, Zoe and Savannah came in first place and Ranjan and Saxon placed fourth.  We are extremely excited to celebrate their success!

Five Oaks Academy is honored and excited to announce we are the recipients of a 2018 grant “Growing in SC: The Future of STEAM is Here” provided by S²TEM Centers SC in conjunction with the South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science (www.sccoalition.org). The sixth-grade students will benefit from this grant as it paid for their participation in the Level Up Village program “Doctor’s DNA”. A special thank you to Level Up Coordinator, Ms. Valerie Full,  for writing a winning grant!

Five Oaks Academy is first in the Upstate to launch the Level Up Village (LUV) program, a global S.T.E.A.M program. Level Up Village delivers pioneering global STEAM enrichment courses that promote design thinking and 1-to-1 collaboration between students around the world. Our sixth graders will pilot three programs this year: Global Conversations: Doctors DNA, Global Conversations: Malala Yousafzai, and Global Conversations: The Giver. One of the unique aspects of this global program is the partnership our students will form with students living in a third world country. When a LevelUp student kit is purchased in the United States, the money from that purchase sponsors a student in another country who lives on a household income of $1.00 a day or less. For the first two programs, our students have been partnered with a school in Ghana.

Once the decision was made this Fall to launch the Level Up Village program, we researched options to make it happen. At Five Oaks Academy, we excel at providing engaging opportunities for in-depth learning that reach beyond our own classroom excellence. Ways we enrich our program excellence include Khan Academy, Rosetta Stone, Global Outreach, and Community Service. We are excited to add this innovative program that reinforces our rich Montessori curriculum, allows our students to create global connections, and gives students the opportunity for their world studies to be expanded and brought to life! A special thank you to S²TEM Centers SC and the South Carolina Coalition for Mathematics and Science (www.sccoalition.org) for the grant that provided one of these valuable experiences to our students!

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our parents, students, and teachers for their efforts repairing,  mulching, cleaning, organizing, planting and beautifying our school on Community Day!! We truly appreciate everyone coming together to accomplish so many much-needed jobs around our campus and in the classrooms.

This day is always such a wonderful day of building a sense of community with our FOA families and this year was no different.  It is amazing what can be accomplished when we all work together towards a common goal!

A special thank you to FOA’s official photographer, Guy Adamson of Guy Adamson Photography, for getting some great shots of all the hard workers. We would also like to thank Jets Pizza (Five Forks Location) for donating pizza for our volunteers! http://jetspizza.com/stores/largemap/455  

Over 100 years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, began a revolution by calling for a transformation in education using science as a means to developing new educational methods.

Dr. Montessori’s innovative approach to observing children through the lens of a scientist resulted in her developing a method of education, the Montessori method, that was based on human development and the needs of children at different ages. Her findings provided educators with a new understanding of child development. She discovered that students thrive in an environment that stresses the development of a child’s individual and natural abilities, promotes respect towards the child, provides a stimulating curriculum with hands-on learning materials, and allows choices and independence within structure.

There are now more than 22,000 Montessori schools in at least 110 countries worldwide. We are thankful for the opportunities this educational method offers our students. Our governor, Henry McMaster, has continued the tradition of recognizing “Montessori Week” by signing the State of South Carolina Governor’s Proclamation that proclaims February 26 – March 2, 2018, is  Montessori Education Week. This week is celebrated by several thousand Montessori schools worldwide each year!

This year, The FOA Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) celebrated this week with a variety of school spirit activities that gave students the opportunity to celebrate our special school. Additionally, FOA hosted ten Polish Montessori educators and administrators to share and affirm the Montessori method on an international level.