Battle of the Books:

What is Battle of the Books?

America's Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive program for students in grade 5. It is organized by our very own Suffolk Public Library. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers.

1. What is the book list? There are 10 books selected by the local public libraries. The list will be released to rising 5th grade students by the start of each summer.

2. What will be the make-up of the teams? OES will sponsor an unlimited number of 5 person teams. Each team member will read 2-3 books so the team as a whole will cover all 10 books.

3. When will the competition take place? The preliminary school battle is normally held in February. The winning team goes on to compete with other Suffolk Schools and the winner proceeds to the final competition against Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake schools.

How Does A Student Participate?
A student participates by reading from the book list provided for that year's America's Battle of the Books. Students may count "books" they have read before. However, they cannot count books that they have only seen on a video or a movie. They must read the book. They should keep a summary so they can review this information before their "Local Battle."

Where Do The Students Get The Books?
Our school library will order copies of each book on the list.

What Is The "Battle?"
A typical "Battle" is a tournament or game, like Family Feud, in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book lists. They play several rounds, each against a different team.

Drama Program:
Each year Oakland students in grades 3, 4, & 5 are able to sign up and audition to participate in our annual Theater production. Students may audition to be an actor in the show or be part of the stage crew. Students selected as actors meet after school for rehearsals about two months prior to the performance (not every day) while crew members meet on selected days to design and create the backdrop and props for the show. This activity is an evening performance that is literally ‘Dinner and a Show’!

Safety Patrol:
Safety patrol is offered to a group of 4th and 5th grade students who are leaders and role models. The Safety Patrol members work to keep the Oakland student body safe by monitoring hallways at dismissal times.

Talent Show:
The Oakland Stars come out to shine each spring with our annual Talent Show. Students in all grade levels are invited to audition in acts displaying talents in singing, dance, comedy, dramatic reading, martial arts, puppetry, playing instruments (piano/violin), magic, etc. This activity requires staying after school for the audition and two rehearsals with a final performance at the May PTA meeting at 6:00 p.m. So if you can do it, we want to see it!

Talented Art: 
Talented Art is an elite group of student artists. Students are given a test in 3rd/4th grade, and based on their score, they may be asked to turn in a portfolio of artwork. Their art is evaluated and their combined scores will determine if they are invited to join Talented Art. The students meet once a week in the art room and get to work on special and more advanced projects. They also go on two field trips a year, one downtown to paint holiday windows and then one to the Suffolk Art Museum.

Talented Music:
Talented Music is a group of select 4th and 5th grade students. A test is given in the spring to identify students that meet this gifted criteria. This group meets once a week to learn the recorder, sing songs, and are taught about various aspects of music history and composers. Each spring, they perform with about 250 students from other schools at the evening STARS concert.