This past Sunday, September 8th, the Redwood Day community came out in full force as an official contingent of the Oakland Pride Parade. As I arrived in downtown Oakland at 10:00 a.m., the crowds were already gathering, and I was curious about how many people from our School community would show up. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I immediately began seeing our familiar Redwood Day Oakland Pride T-shirts attached to smiling faces from a bunch of our RD fam from a wide array of ages and backgrounds.

Join us after drop-off tomorrow at 8:15 a.m. for Friday Coffee and Treats and meet our new Director of Equity and Belonging, Sanjev deSilva. We hope to see you there!

Redwood Day welcomed lower school parents and guardians to campus on Thursday for Back-to-School Night where they heard from the specialists before heading to their core classrooms. It was an incredible evening of excitement and community.

All lower school parents and guardians are encouraged to attend our Lower School Back-to-School Night this evening (Thursday, September 5) at 5:30 p.m. The evening is structured with wonderful opportunities. Times and locations will depend on your child’s grade level.

Redwood Day welcomed DJ Bitesize and Friends to perform at our assembly today. The performers spoke to the students about the importance of shared community values. They also talked about their experiences as performers.

We welcome our parents and guardians to join us tomorrow morning after drop-off for Friday Coffee, where there will be an opportunity to meet our new Lower School Director, Tony Cifra.

Who doesn’t love the 1st Day of School? Faculty and staff were eager to welcome the students back today for the official start of the new year. New students, faculty, and staff were introduced during assembly, where attendees were treated to some fun performances. Here’s to another wonderful year!

Yesterday evening, we held our annual Art & Music Night, and many of our community members came out to view the incredible artwork the students have worked on this year. They were also treated to some amazing musical performances. 

Today, the 8th-grade students put on Redwood Day’s first-ever Kinder Carnival! The 8th graders provided a ton of activities for the kindergarteners, like mini golf, ring toss, an obstacle course, a “train” ride, face painting, and much more! Thank you, Class of 2024!

As part of APIDA Heritage Month, Maya Alcantara, a member of the Philippine Women's National Soccer Team, spoke to the middle school. She talked about what it was like being on the team as a Filipina American and her experience playing youth and college soccer. 

Today, 1st Grade celebrated its annual Bee Day. Their hives have been buzzing with excitement as they bee-gan their insect unit. They have been focusing on the honey bee and have learned how they communicate, what jobs they do, their anatomy, and their life cycle. “Save The Bees!”

Our middle school musical, Redwood Day on Broadway, opened tonight. There is a performance tomorrow during the school day and a final performance on Saturday at 2:00. Don’t miss it!

We held our annual 8th Grade vs Faculty/Staff Basketball Game. This is a much-loved, longstanding tradition that is both fun and competitive. There was even a special appearance by our beloved Cougar! Oh, and the staff/faculty won!

What a treat to have our class of 2020 alumni visit yesterday for our annual reunion! Check out which high schools they are graduating from and where they are headed next 🎓 We are grateful that so many students AND parents/guardians returned to Redwood Day for this lovely gathering.

Last night, our middle school rock bands took over Ashkenaz in Berkeley, treating guests to some incredible performances. Thanks to everyone who came out to support this important event. Proceeds from the event go towards our Tuition Assistance Program.

Last evening, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade enthusiastically shared their STEAM projects with their families and the Redwood Day community, highlighting engineering design or scientific processes and the connections they made across disciplines.

Over the past school year, sixth-grade students learned about ancient civilizations. During the Civ Unit, students were asked to apply this knowledge by creating civilizations of their own. In groups of four to six students, they imagined every aspect of their newly flourishing societies: religion, language, social structure, economics, shelter, clothing, and more. At the Civ Museum, students presented final displays of their societies.

Last night, we were treated to an incredible presentation and discussion on “Promoting Sleep Health for Youth” hosted by Clinical Psychologist and Redwood Day parent Dr. Allison Harvey. Presented by Laurie Ransom, Director of Curriculum, Dr. Harvey discussed the critical importance of sleep for supporting children and adolescents as they develop and grow emotionally, academically, and physically.

Yesterday, during the Middle School Gathering, we were visited by members from The Bionic Project. The Bionic Project aims to create a more inclusive world for everyone, regardless of physical ability. Founded in 2018, It seeks to dismantle disability bias, build empathy, and foster connection through education, story, and sport.

Spring Sports are here! Our volleyball teams had their first matches last week as they traveled to St. Paul’s for a season-opening triple-header. Our Ultimate teams had their first games yesterday, and Track & Field will have their first meet on April 17. Go Cougars!

Today, Redwood Day students and staff came together to help alleviate food insecurity in our community. We are partnering with Harvest Pack, a humanitarian hunger relief nonprofit organization. Students joined an assembly line in the gym to pack 40,000 nutrient-dense meals.

The middle school Battle of the Books Club went to Albany Middle School yesterday to meet students in book clubs from other schools. They met Thien Pham, author/illustrator of one of the books we read (Family Style, an award-winning graphic novel memoir), along with some of his author/graphic novelist friends, Briana Loewinsohn and Jason Shiga.

We were pleased to have graphic novelist George O’Connor visit Redwood Day today. He presented in the Gym for grades 3-8. After finishing his “Olympians” series (based on Greek mythology), O’Connor is turning his attention to Norse mythology, and his new book “Odin” was released yesterday. 

Today, during a special middle school assembly, representatives from City Team, the local organization that will receive and distribute the packed meals from this Friday’s Meal Packing event, came to describe their work and answer questions from students. 

As part of our 60th Anniversary Speaker Series, Dr. Yalda T. Uhls hosted an event where she talked about helping our children safely navigate the digital world we live in. She addressed the research focused on the effects of media and technology on children and broke down complex issues relating to the presence of media in our children’s lives.

7th-grade DBi students are working in engineering design teams to build a wind shelter to protect 27 empty cans from the force of a high-powered fan. 

Redwood Day would like to honor International Women’s Day by recognizing the incredible women who make our school so special.

On Friday, March 1, several members of our Board of Trustees were on campus for breakfast with the faculty and staff, followed by classroom visits.

Redwood Day welcomed award-winning children’s author Angela Dalton to campus yesterday as she met with our K-2 students in the library. Dalton, who is also an Oakland resident, spoke to the students about her book, Show the World, which is a celebration of self-expression and the power of using your voice, centering Black children, and exploring the many things they can do, create, and say to make their mark.

As part of Spirit Week, today was “Dress as a Book/Movie Character” day in the Lower School.

This morning, the Class of 2024 presented the Automated Wax Museum. The museum is a long-standing tradition, and it incorporates the foundational skills taught in English 8: literary analysis, character voice and perspective, public speaking, creativity, and author craft.

In Mandarin class, students did Lunar New Year-themed projects like writing calligraphy, paper cutting, learning the 12 zodiac signs, digital calligraphy, and making dumplings. Students were “writing” Year of Dragon both in Traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese, “Wish you a prosperous year of Dragon,” and “Blessing and Good Luck.”

We continue celebrating Black Heritage at our 2nd Annual Black Literature Read-In Week for Grades K-5. Volunteers were invited into K-5 classrooms to read a book celebrating Black culture and history written by a Black author. Heritage Literature Read-Ins are co-sponsored by the Diversity in Action (DIA) Committee and Office of Equity and Inclusion in partnership with the Library.

Our 1st-grade friends learned about penguins which included writing an informational report and making a sock stuffy. Students participated in penguin-themed activities in literacy and math; they had a penguin-style snack and used their courage and confidence to present their penguin reports to the class. Our first graders worked hard to gather information about their specific penguins with iPads, reading literature, and watching scientific videos.

Last night, we held our annual MS Book Beat. The event included student readers, speakers, performances by the student rock bands, an edible books bake sale (benefiting our 8th graders’ graduation party!), and pizza for all. There were some inspired performances and a great time by all in attendance. 

Yesterday, we welcomed award-winning authors Lisa Yee and Dan Santat as we launched our Book Fair. They visited with our students and discussed their new book, “The Misfits #1: A Royal Conundrum.”