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.”