Letter from Head of School

Robert R. Peterson
Head of School

September 1, 2010

Dear Oakwood Parents and Friends,

I want to welcome all of you to the school’s fifteenth year – a remarkable milestone for our young and vital institution. The Oakwood School has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 1995 when it opened its doors for the first time to forty-two families in three educational trailers in the Ironwood community. In great contrast, last Wednesday we welcomed 339 students at our opening assembly in The Monk Family Gymnasium. Our ten members of the Class of 2011 were honored guests at the all-school meeting where I introduced our fifty-one new students and six new faculty members. It was touching to watch our thirteen pre-kindergarten students stand in front of our seniors to pose for what has become the traditional youngest/oldest photo. At the close of the assembly, the students enjoyed counting down from ten to officially begin Oakwood’s 15th with the ringing of the school bell.

The opening day enrollment of 339 is nine students higher than our projected target number and represents the second highest opening day enrollment in the school’s history. The most exciting news is that the Upper School, which is in its sixth year of existence, opened with a record 103 students. I am thrilled to witness the energy and vitality of the Upper School community each day as I walk through the hall to teach my Modern World History class. The seventh grade class grew by seven students to a respectable number of 27, and this phenomenal growth in our last grade in the middle school would not have been possible if the community did not recognize the quality of our Upper School. The quickly growing enrollment of our Upper School is a wonderful tribute to Jennifer Smith, our Upper School division coordinator, and all of the Upper School faculty members.

I want to remind everyone that our school’s website is the source of very important school information including the Events Calendar, The Parent Student Handbook, and details about the school’s curricula and homework assignments that are posted under the division links found at the top of the homepage. Emily Prokopowicz, Director of Public Relations, maintains the website and does a marvelous job keeping it up-to-date and accurate. I encourage you to check the website daily for announcements, but in this letter I do want to draw your attention to several upcoming calendar dates that you will not want to overlook:

• Friday September 3rd - Oakwood will have its first early dismissal starting at 11:30 with the PK, K and 1st graders, 11:45 for 2nd and 3rd graders and noon for the Middle and Upper School students.
• Monday September 6th - Oakwood is closed for Labor Day
• Tuesday September 7th – Lower School (5 – 6:30) and Middle School (6 – 7:30) Academic Open Houses
• Wednesday September 8th – New Parent Breakfast at the Petersons’ home in Ironwood from 8:15 – 10:00
• Wednesday September 15th – Upper School Academic Open House from 6:00-7:30
• Tuesday September 21st – Board of Trustees Annual Town Hall Meeting at 7:00 pm

The Academic Open Houses are designed to inform parents of their children’s programs of study and allow them to meet all the teachers with whom their children interact. We plan these meetings early in the school year so parents are knowledgeable about course curricula and expectations before the year is operating at full throttle. Please plan to attend the Open House so you can be a well-informed parent who is able to guide your child and share her/his excitement for Oakwood.

The Board has moved its Annual Meeting from January to September 21st. At this meeting the Board will give the parents an insider’s view of the work of the Board of Trustees and its vision for the school, and I will present a “State of the School” address. There will be time for attendees to ask questions of the Board and of me that evening. The Board of Trustees is an exceptionally hard working collection of twenty members (seventeen voting and three ex-officio). I encourage all of you to attend this community meeting to learn more about the school to which you have entrusted your children and to support the volunteers who work tirelessly and wisely to guide the school during the present and into the future.

I want to remind and encourage parents to sign up their children for our wonderful Extended Day program, which runs from 2:30 to 6:00 pm daily, except when we have an early dismissal for vacation or a long weekend. We ask that parents enroll their children in advance to attend the program for a day or week or for the year if they know ahead of time that their children need to attend. Students are also able to “drop in,” which is a very popular feature of the program. Please call the school office if an emergency arises at the last minute, and we will make sure your child receives the message and goes to the extended day room. Having the extended day roster in place in advance is important in ensuring a high quality program, so please fill out the paperwork now if you have a set schedule. Mrs. Samantha Brann (Oakwood’s new Director of Extended Day) does, however, understand hat emergencies come up, and she will welcome the last minute drop-ins. 

Last, I want to review with you our policy regarding student absences.

Oakwood discourages student absences during scheduled class days. The School has scheduled generous vacation periods staggered throughout the academic calendar. Because of this, the School asks for parent cooperation in keeping their children’s vacations within the dates prescribed. Whenever students miss classes, the classroom routine is affected and the burden of making up work is unfairly placed on the student and the teacher. While missing a day of school here or there may seem minimal to you, missing even one day is significant in the academic lives of our students. I include here our policy printed in the school handbook regarding excused and unexcused absences. 

“The School recognizes, however, that there are instances during the school year that may require a student’s absence other than illness. These EXCUSED absences include family or personal milestones (i.e. sibling’s graduation, a family wedding or funeral, a grandparents’ 50th anniversary, religious holidays, visiting schools, medical appointments, and an unusual educational experience. Any plans for such an excused absence must be made in advance and in writing and given to the Head of School. Each student is responsible for all work assigned during the absence. Some teachers may be able to provide assignments in advance of an absence, yet students and families must respect the fact that this may not be possible for all teachers since some teachers’ disciplines and methodologies do not allow them to predict ahead of time what material they will be covering on a certain date.

A student remains responsible for all work assigned during his/her absence from a class.

Unexcused absences are all absences not defined above as illness or excused absences.

Unexcused absences from school are treated differently between divisions.”

Please read about unexcused absences and how each division handles with them in the Parent Student Handbook found under each division’s link located under the photo at the top of our website’s homepage.

Finally, if you ever need to communicate with me, please call Christine Barker in the Main Office. She maintains my appointment calendar and will be able to set up a mutually convenient time for me to meet with you or to call you. I am always interested to hear your thoughts about the school or to assist you with a problem.

Thank you for entrusting your children to The Oakwood School. We are off to a great start, and I know that it is going to be a banner year.

Sincerely,

Robert R. Peterson

Head of School