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LIVE OAK MAGAZINE Summer 2026

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READING THE WORLD: Literacy Learning at Live Oak

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Centering Community: Designing for Belonging: Voices From the Community: What Students Need to Belong A Vision for Campus Expansion Jenny Andrus P ‘97, ‘02

Live Oak School supports the potential and promise of each student. We provide a strong academic foundation, foster skills to effect change, and develop courageous and conscientious learners from all backgrounds. We inspire students to advance equity and inclusion, to act with compassion and integrity, and to pursue a lifelong passion for learning. VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE liveoaksf.org

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CONTENTS 3 Head of School Welcome

5 What's Brewing at Live Oak Centering Community: 15 What Students Need to Belong 17 Student Voices: Building Leaders 19 Designing for Belonging Reading the World: 23 Literacy Learning at Live Oak Productive Struggle: 35 A Conversation with Division Directors Graduation: 39 Step Up &Class of 2026 Meet the 2026 Young 43Alumni Changemakers

47 Alumni News & Notes From the Community: 55 VoicesJenny Andrus P ‘97, ‘02 Are Magic: 59 Mistakes Dreas Ratteray

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WELCOME FROM

THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

N MY APPLICATION TO LIVE OAK over twenty-five years ago, a cartoon from the New Yorker magazine was embedded in my educational philosophy statement. It featured an image of two middle school students talking at a bay of lockers and preparing their backpacks for class. The caption read, “Actually, I’m hoping what I’m going to be when I grow up hasn’ t been invented yet.” Like these two cartooned characters, the Live Oak students who fill our classrooms from kindergarten through the eighth grade deserve to be affirmed every day, implicitly and explicitly, that their school experiences are exactly the ones they need to realize their expansive potential and to fully engage in an ever-changing world. In the pages of this Summer 2026 issue of the Live Oak Magazine, you’ll find the stories and evidence of Live Oak’s persistent, evolving, and impactful commitment to ensuring that our students are learning to read the world, to read themselves, and to author the stories that are their lives. They are stories of skill-building, of relationships, of power, and of agency. The magazine presents a deep dive into the research-based practices and collaborative strategies that our faculty employ in their literacy instruction across K-8. Featured are the descriptions of units of study that ensure our students’ reading and writing are purposeful pursuits, where skill building is grounded in making meaning in order to drive the strongest outcomes for learning. Our kindergartners enter Live Oak with eagerness to share their stories. Through their development in later years, they become increasingly sophisticated readers and writers, building awareness of the world and their place in it. For a learning journey to be rewarding, it must be challenging. In these pages, you’ll hear the expertise in the voices of Live Oak’s division directors as they discuss this essential struggle, the ways our program promotes and propels our students through their growth, and the ways in which our Live Oak parents and guardians can be partners in this process. You’ll read about Live Oak’s partnership with Think:Kids and the commitment we are making to building our students’ capacity and confidence to navigate the opportunities and obstacles in their lives with flexibility, creativity, persistence, connection, and awe. Complementing the stories of the progress of our students, our programs, our alumni, and our community, is news of the efforts that Live Oak’s leadership is making in writing the story of Live Oak’s future. A decade

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of seeking opportunity and planning for program potential has led the School to this spot: from visioning to realizing a site at 195 De Haro Street with expanded and enhanced spaces for student learning and expression. This issue gives a platform for one of the project’s lead architects to reflect on how we are grounding our campus expansion in serving the varied needs of Live Oak students for generations to come. The back-to-school season always offers much to celebrate at Live Oak and we hope this issue of the Live Oak Magazine provides an insightful glimpse into the mission-driven work of our school. Our Live Oak learners need the world. The world needs Live Oak learners. Live Oak’s programs and practices are established to drive the potential in this relationship and the evolution of its impact. Enjoy your reading! Warmly,

Virginia Paik Head of School P ’20

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WHAT’S BREWING @ LIVE OAK

Thin kin g Like a En g in e er n

Ki nd er ga rt ne rs in ve st ig at ed st ru ct ur al en gi ne er in g by cr ea tin g a be am br id ge in th e Ch an ge M ak er La b. Th ey co ns tr uc te d a bridge stu rdy enough to support a wooden bl ock and high enough to al lo w a to y bo at to sa il be ne at h it. Th ey tr av el ed to Ch in a Ba si n to dr aw a re al br id ge an d to ur ed Sa le sf or ce To w er to ex am in e sk ys cr ap er ar ch it ec tu re . Th is he lp ed th em an sw er th e qu es tio ns , Ho w do st ru ct ur es su pp or t co m m un iti es ? an d Ho w do en gi ne er s ad dr es s ch al le ng es ?

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"STOP-scars" Math Anim ati on Sixt h grad e mat h stud ents mov ed beyo nd drill s to build thei r own unde rsta ndin g of rate and prop ortio nal reas onin g. Acti ng as direc tors and math ema ticia ns, they appl ied pre- alge brai c logic to stop -mo tion, turn ing abst ract idea s into crea tive stor ies. They explo red prop ortio nalit y by focu sing on unit rate s, equi vale nt ratio s, and scal e facto rs. Usin g Stop Mot ion Stud io and Flipa Clip, students examined the link betw een time and motion. The STOP-scar s culm inat ing cere mon y cele brat ed their desig n effor ts.

Curriculum Highlights 2025-26

Sto ry tellin g in Spanish

exp an de d the ir Lo we r sch oo l stu de nts by creating group Spanish vocabulary bu lar y go als . Th e sto rie s wi th set vo ca re de vel op ed bit plo t an d ch ara cte rs we ma kin g eac h sto ry by bit by the stu den ts, the ir cre ati vit y an d un iqu e an d ref lec tin g s app roa ch is par t voc ab ula ry gro wt h. Thi nse Sto ryt ell ing , of To tal Ph ysi cal Re spo rs an d po pu lar ize d use d by ma ny lea rne method engages b y B l a i n e R a y. T h e y sto ry cre ati on , stu den ts in mu lti- sen sor rni ng as exc itin g as ma kin g voc ab ula ry lea hap pen nex t?” dis cov eri ng “W hat wil l

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WHAT’S BREWING @ LIVE OAK

Economics in a Community

To explore what goods and services are needed within a community and how people meet their needs, second graders played "Economic Chance," earning salaries and moving on a board as producers and consumers. They then designed neighborhoods, identifying essential goods and resources, while learning about saving money, and how communities work to take care of the needs of their members.

Min dwrite sis Char a cter A n a ly nth grade

ivity in seve The Mindwrite act ep de nt s an sw er 12 de hu ma nit ies ha d stu y rar lite a of e pe rsp ec tiv qu est ion s fro m the o t l a u s i v a d ts create c h a r a c t e r. S t u d e n of ch ar ac ter iza tio n cts pe as sh ow va rio us he l connections to t and draw persona d an r, we po , g ide nt ity ch ar ac ter s, ex plo rin s e v l e s m e h t ecting on experience by refl s s a l c n i n e e s pact as and the themes’ im r we po em ills an aly sis sk tex ts. Th eir lite rar y es nc rie pe ex an d th eir stu de nt s to un de rst ga ge wi th the wo rld . en y ntl de an d co nfi

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de, s In fourth gra affordable b to design an a L r e k a ChangeM r from fog uce clean wate device to prod ater cycle. wledge of the w using their kno ce and its ater’s importan They studied w n, Ho w do sw er th e qu es tio im pa ct to he lp an pr ob lem s? th e wo rld to so lve sc ien tis ts loo k at Fr an cis co , r in eq ui ty in Sa n Co ns id er in g wa te and tested hesized, built, students hypot ch an ge an d ng ho w cl im at e so lu tio ns , le ar ni y. wa te r ac ce ss loc all so cia l iss ue s lim it

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WHAT’S BREWING @ LIVE OAK

Building Perspective On a Global Scale In February, Ayan K. ‘26 joined over 500 students from all over the world at the MIT Model UN Conference, earning honorable mention recognition for Best Delegate following his representation of Guatemala on the DISEC Committee (Disarmament and National Security). Ayan’ s work included advocating for Guatemala’s position on issues such as AI data privacy and arms trafficking. Inspired by work in his seventh grade humanities class, Ayan was accepted into a program called League of Creative Minds, which brings middle and high school students together for weekly meetings throughout the year, in addition to participating in international Model UN activities like this. “One lesson I have learned from my experience so far with Model UN is that in order to solve a problem, you need to think from multiple perspectives and collaborate with others in order to reach a common solution,” says Ayan. Looking ahead, Ayan would like to continue working toward finding solutions to large problems in the world. He is learning how to be confident, diplomatic, collaborative, and creative as he expands his awareness and depth of understanding about different issues and current events around the globe. “In Model UN, you must work collaboratively and listen to different perspectives to succeed, and the same is true at Live Oak,” says Ayan. “Many of the things I have learned at Live Oak about working with others have helped me create solutions to real-world problems.”

LIVE OAK MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2026

The Year in Lightning Athletics

2025-26

Cross-Country

Kai R.

1st Place 7 th/8 th Grade Boys SFAL Finals

Team Finishes

Hamilton P.

SFAL Finals 7th/8th Boys · 3rd 7th/8th Girls · 2nd 5th/6th Boys · 2nd 5th/6th Girls · 2nd

1st Place 5 th/6 th Grade Boys SFAL Finals

SFAL Finalists

6-0

Regular Season Record

Student-athletes participating in sports

48%

Of middle school student-athletes who played 2+ sports

Lightning teams that earned playoff berths in volleyball, basketball, and futsal

Volleyball

7th Grade JV Green

132

Faculty coaches

8th Grade Varsity SFAL Finalists

5-1

Regular Season Record

Basketball

7th Grade JV Boys

Varsity Boys

SFAL Finalists

6-0

Regular Season Record

SFAL Finalists

5-1

Regular Season Record

Varsity Girls

SFAL Quarterfinals

5-1

Regular Season Record

Futsal

Boys Varsity Green

JV Girls

SFAL Champions

7-1-1

6-1

Overall Record

Program-High Six Teams Advancd to the SFAL Playoffs

Overall Record LIVEOAKSF.ORG

WHAT’S BREWING @ LIVE OAK Acorn Times Lifts Student Voice The Acorn Times printing press was active during the 2025-26 school year thanks to the initiative and creativity of Live Oak's middle school journalists. Moderated by Wil Dionisio, Live Oak’s dean of student inclusion and belonging, a team of 15 middle school students published the Acorn Times bi-weekly for the Live Oak community. “ We saw an opportunity to give students a stronger voice in the community," says Dionisio. "The idea of a student newspaper felt powerful–a space for sharing stories, highlighting different perspectives, and helping people feel more connected to what’s happening around school.” Jodie F. ‘27, one of the Times staff members, reflected on how working on the Acorn Times helps students gain practical experience working as part of a team with tangible objectives. “I think student-led projects are important because they give real-world experience for students who might want to be writers in the future,” says Jodie. “Student-led projects teach leadership skills and help students feel more engaged and connected to their school. After joining Acorn Times, I’ ve talked to people I never thought I would and worked with students from different grades.” Their creative process is student-led, meeting to discuss story ideas that range from amusing advice columns to sincere personal stories. Broken up into writers, editors, and photographers, the staff collaborate to bring their perspectives and content to life. “I wanted to be part of the Acorn Times staff because I wanted to share my ideas and write for a real audience, not just for a grade,” says Jodie. “It also helps me build skills like writing, interviewing, and teamwork. Even though publishing can make me nervous, it builds my confidence and allows me to contribute to something meaningful.”

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Martial Arts Milestones

Live Oak’s Taekwondo Black Belt Graduates: Mimoh Lee 2017 Taemoh Lee 2019 Evie Richards (1st degree) 2021, (2nd degree) 2022 Brennan Olsen (1st degree) 2021, (2nd degree) 2022 Palmer Halstead 2022 Lilly Brown 2022 Camila Joaquim 2023 Addison Villanueva 2023 Jaylon Chin 2024 Tula Patrick 2024 Sabina Hutchins 2024 Dash Murphy 2025 Bradyn Chin 2026 Pascale Coppola 2026 Emmy Salky 2026

A pair of Live Oak alums joined the ranks of black belts this past year, along with one current student to make it a banner year for taekwondo accomplishments. Bradyn Chin ’25, now a sophomore at Drew School, returned to Live Oak to formally test in January, followed by Pascale Coppola ’25—a sophomore at The International School of San Francisco—in March, both earning their first dan black belt ranking. They were followed closely behind by E m m y S . ' 2 7, w h o c l a i m e d a b l a c k b e l t o f h e r o w n i n M a y. Bradyn, Pascale, and Emmy join a growing list of 12 other Live Oak black belts who have risen through the ranks with the instruction of Firehorse Taekwondo, a long-time partner of Live Oak’s after-school Roots and Branches program.

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WHAT’S BREWING @ LIVE OAK Beach Clean Up Earns Young Scouts Bronze Award This past spring, Anushka A. ‘28, Isa K. ‘28, and Zenaia H. ‘28 spearheaded two beach cleanup service projects at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach as they worked on achieving their Bronze Award with their 5th6th grade Junior Girl Scout troop. Not only did they make it a community-wide event by encouraging Live Oak families to help out, but they developed their own website to promote their environmental action and help connect community members with more ways to make a difference. In previous years, their Girls Scout troop has led other service projects like assembling toiletries kits to donate to organizations that support unhoused people and collecting donations of art supplies that they assembled into art kits for children who were displaced by the LA wildfires.

Explore their website

Student Agency & Voice Live Oak students exercised their agency to demonstrate and engage with current events with a studentled rally in response to immigration enforcement action around San Francisco in January. While some Live Oak students opted to participate in a larger citywide protest in Dolores Park in the Mission, Live Oak third graders practiced civic engagement by making their own signs and leading a walk around neighboring Jackson Park. The variety of ways Live Oak students took action around this issue reflect their consideration of community happenings and their ability to contribute in positive ways.

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Celebrating their 10th year at Live Oak

2026-27 FACULTY & STAFF TENURE MILESTONES Thank you to all of our faculty and staff for their continued commitment and collective energy in helping provide a transformative Live Oak education. In particular, we would like to recognize the following staff members for whom the 2026-27 school year marks notable tenure milestones at Live Oak.

Josephine Corlett

José Trujillo

Lower School Learning Specialist

Lower School Art Teacher

Celebrating their 15th year at Live Oak

Celebrating their 5th year at Live Oak Audrey Soriano

Nicole Zaheed

Kindergarten Teacher

Ashlley Vela Belcher Spanish Teacher

Jenny Burns

Second Grade Teacher

First Grade Teacher

Celebrating their 20th year at Live Oak

Jade Nouchi

Lower School Art Teaching Assistant & Garden Coordinator

Camilo Coehlo

Sydney McGhie

Middle School Humanities Teacher

Jenny Rosen

Drama Teaching Assistant

Strategic Directions Inspire Every Learner

Claudia Martinez Associate Director of Admissions

Tanya Susoev

Associate Head of School

Esther Porcello

Dorothy Martinez

Spanish Teacher & Middle School Dean

Middle School Learning Specialist

Director of Extended Day Programs

Celebrating their 25th year at Live Oak

Vivian Tse

Holly Dunn

Controller

Third Grade Teacher

Every day at Live Oak School students think deeply, follow their curiosity, and stretch themselves to master new skills. As part of a joyful community, they are known well and valued for who they are. Live Oak’s mission, vision, and values are strengths to be secured. The continuous development of Live Oak School and our academic program is rooted in five Strategic Directions. All of them ask that we extend the potential and promise of Live Oak School in new and exciting ways.

Activate Changemakers

Advance Equity, Increase Diversity, Deepen Inclusion LIVEOAKSF.ORG

Promote the Live Oak Way

Secure Assets to Support Priorities 14

Centering

Community Live Oak’s community thrives within the framework of ensuring that all members are seen and known.

L By: Adrian Takyi

I V E O A K S C H O O L S U P P O R T S the potential and promise of each student.

So begins our mission statement, serving as the north star for our work. This bold opening, and the Vision and Values statements that follow it, commit us to our students, their families, and to each other. We are on this journey, together, with our students at the center. Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

This togetherness requires a sense of belonging for each student—we cannot bring some along, while leaving others behind. In the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), we believe this to be true, and we stay tied to our school’ s foundational values so that everyone can seize the opportunity to fulfill their potential and promise.

potential. Once one’s basic physiological and safety needs are met, love and belonging make possible a sense of comfort and an ability to learn. Conversely, we’re aware of the impact when belonging is not prioritized. We’re currently witnessing a loneliness epidemic, and the despair that affects those who lack a sense of community feeling. UCLA medical researcher Steve Cole characterized loneliness as “one of the most toxic environmental risk factors we’re aware of in terms of all-cause mortality,” comparing its destructiveness to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. A strong sense of belonging is deeply supportive of mind, body, and spirit. At Live Oak, we strive daily to protect our students from feeling alone. Our greatest hope is that their experience at Live Oak will serve as a template throughout their lives: this is how it feels to belong. Numerous studies confirm all this, highlighting links between belonging, wellness, and academic

Belonging is not a new concept. More than 100 years ago, pioneering German psychiatrist Alfred Adler coined the term Gemeinschaftsgefühl, which translates to “community feeling,” and wrote about his belief that true psychological health comes from a sense of belonging and responsibility to others. Psychologist Abraham Maslow later described a hierarchy of needs, outlining prerequisites for reaching toward one’s 15

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success. Belonging is a need, not a nice-to-have, for a thriving educational community. For students to feel welcome and connected, safe to take risks and embrace challenges, and to fully pursue their intellectual potential, we must intentionally allocate time towards our pursuit of belonging.

community, our relationship mapping survey which helps us to better understand how students are connecting with our adult community, and through student clubs, affinity spaces, and alliance groups that allow our young people a variety of opportunities to find connection within our diverse community. This past year, we engaged with the NAIS Assessment of Multiculturalism and Inclusivity (AIM survey) to gather qualitative and qualitative data on the school climate and culture that our students are experiencing. These AIM survey results are intended to aid our offi ce i n ce l eb rati ng o u r stre ngt hs , addressing our challenge areas, and mapping a strategic, data-informed path forward.

We are on this journey, together, with our students at the center. This togetherness requires a sense of belonging for each student— we cannot bring some along, while leaving others behind.

Belonging is not a static state; we can’t check it off our annual to-do list so we can get to the rest of the work at hand. Belonging needs tending. If neglected, it can wither – especially with young people. As author Geoffrey Cohen states in his book, “Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides,” belonging is more like “a perspective that’s continually being re-created anew in every situation.” Students may flow through settings where they are wholeheartedly comfortable and confident, only to run up against an encounter moment that shakes their sense of belonging to its core. True belonging work in a school takes steady attention and focus to ensure that it is deeply rooted.

We pursue this impact in numerous ways through the Office of DEIB, beginning with welcoming and connecting with students. This includes new student check-ins to hear the experiences and supports needed to successfully and fully enter our

I’ ve been told that at San Francisco’ s long-closed Playland-at-theBeach there was a giant wooden wheel that spun like an old school record. Dozens of kids would lie down on the wheel as it began to spin. Only those in the center of the wheel could resist its centrifugal force and stay on – all the other kids would gradually slide off to the perimeter. Institutional values are like that wheel – anything that is not held in the center is at risk of sliding off to the side. At Live Oak, we strive to continually place our students—and their sense of belonging—at the center, balanced against unfavorable forces, and prepared to take on whatever challenges lie ahead. LIVEOAKSF.ORG

STUDENT VOICES Building Leaders Live Oak's Changemaker Program puts middle school students in the driver's seat of their leadership growth.

HEN I WAS IN SECOND GR ADE, my sister told me about the Green Team. I always loved nature, and when I learned about climate change, it inspired me to do everything I could to combat it. Naturally, when I learned about the Green Team, I wanted to join immediately. In fifth grade, my dream was finally fulfilled. While on the Green Team, I helped plan the Earth Day Celebration and led the school’ s Lost and Found program. Leading the Lost and Found project developed my leadership skills because I created a system for the Lost and Found, coordinated with adults to arrange quarterly donations, and I gave presentations at school assemblies to remind people about the Lost and Found.

By: Zenaia H. '28

In my opinion, the most crucial leadership skills are communication and organization. Good communication helps in achieving goals and building supportive relationships, and organization reduces stress and aids people in focusing. Additionally, organization is the key to handling a full schedule and keeping track of tasks. These essential skills are difficult to learn, but well worth the effort. I learned that when the Green Team Leadership Crew started preparing for the first Green Team project meetings. Everyone wrote out important facets of their project, like important dates, team roles, and mandatory resources. I would have been completely lost without that planner, especially since there were no notes from the previous year. In the future, I will apply these skills and leadership experience to Green Team projects, group projects for school, and the Girl Scouts Silver Award. This year, for the Girl Scouts Bronze Award, two other Girl Scouts and I organized a beach cleanup competition. We worked with a nonprofit that organizes cleanups for the kickoff and ending cleanups. In between, we left beach cleaning tools at school for families to borrow. We also created a website for them to log the trash they picked up. Finally, here’s some guidance for younger students or parents of students who are looking to learn how to make a change. Most problems they have are also problems for others. Find a solution and share it! If they have an idea, try it out. Lastly, apply to join a program that requires leadership qualities if they are looking to kickstart their skills and gain experience. If they don’ t get in, it isn’ t the right fit for them or they aren’t ready. Remember, it costs nothing to try. 17

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Student Leadership Spotlight A core component of Live Oak’s Changemaker Program is giving space for middle school students to lead Student Leadership Projects around an issue or topic they feel passionate about furthering community support for. In 2025-26, middle school students led 12 different sustainability projects that ranged from shoe drives to student clubs. See a sample of the projects below.

Community Garden Club

Innovation Fair

Florence B. ‘26 gathered students interested in maintaining the Potrero Hill Neighborhood Learning Garden across the street from the Live Oak campus.

Aadi S. ‘28 and Francis C. ‘28 organized a schoolwide Innovation Fair in May encouraging peers to develop creative solutions to environmental problems.

Waste Diversion Shoshi K. ‘26 led efforts to examine and mitigate food waste on Live Oak’s campus by tracking the volume of food that was discarded after lunch and offering proposals to waste less.

The Evolution of the Changemaker Program Started formally during the 2024-25 school year, the Changemaker Program is Live Oak’ s comprehensive, schoolwide initiative aimed at building agency among all Live Oak students in developing the knowledge, awareness, and skills that will help them effect positive change in their communities. Over the past year, the program has:

O Established partnerships with three organizations in San Francisco that allow for ongoing community engagement. O Created the Social Impact Studio, a middle school class designed around building maker skills with intentional problem-solving purpose. O Developed unified social impact topics that guide changemaking work across K-8.

One project in the Social Impact Studio class had students create zines that taught others about and called for action around a social issue of importance to each student.

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Template

As Live Oak develops its vision for 195 De Haro Street, community input gives the architect key insight that will eventually breath life into the physical space.

What did you learn about Live Oak in Phase 1 of the design process that genuinely surprised you—and how has it shaped your thinking about this space? With every project, it takes time to really understand what makes a school unique — its sense of place. I think back to the first time I visited, walking through campus with Virginia. Students were calling out to her, and she knew every one of them…They were having real conversations about what they ’d been thinking about or how their summer was going. You talk about students being known at Live Oak, but you just feel it from the moment you walk in the front door. What’s stayed with me most, though, is the total alignment around joy across your whole community. I’ ve never seen that before. We experienced it 19

LIVE OAK MAGAZINE

Q&A with Emily Bello Principal Architect, EHDD Architecture

when we got to sit with your students at Around the Live Oak World and had them draw their visions of a future campus. And we still have those drawings up on the wall in our team space, because at that age, the world has so much possibility. They keep bringing us back to this question: how do we bring that kind of joy into their everyday experience?

B eyond the physical, what does a space like this actually unlock for how teachers teach and how children learn day to day? In terms of how children learn, there’s a whole spectrum of spaces that support different learners and different learning styles. So, I think within the classroom itself, it’s just getting the basics right. A classroom shouldn’ t face one teaching wall and one teacher. It’s not a forward-facing SUMMER 2026

Building Section

W h a t s t r i ke s m e is that every inch of your campus is sending the same message to a child: YOUR LEARNING MATTERS. WHAT YOU DO HERE MATTERS, AND THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR WHAT YOU’LL DO NEXT.

classroom–it’s more about learning in the round. You know, whiteboards and presentation spaces on each wall, furniture that invites it, cozy corners for self-regulation. Just filling them with daylight and fresh air, and making sure students feel comfortable, matters enormously. I think you’re already doing this, right? In your breakout rooms, there’s little nooks and cubbies, but the opportunity is there to create that range of spaces across campus at different scales that students feel agency to use and that support the whole student. As an example, we heard from teachers that sometimes you send kids to run down the hallway for a minute to workout energy–and then tell them not to run. That contradiction can be difficult for a child to hold. The emerging new campus vision creates real places to move, to wiggle, to

think differently, and self-regulate without that tension. I think too, expanding the ChangeMaker Lab and having big open classrooms—with tools visible and accessible so the space itself becomes part of how students ideate and innovate–means students are learning to think the way professionals do. This is very visible with your athletics and performing arts. Different spaces for different kinds of thinking. That’s what this campus vision unlocks.

Can you design for belonging and how are you thinking about that for Live Oak? Designing for belonging means creating a dialogue with the people you want to feel it–we can’t tell you what belonging looks like at Live Oak. You LIVEOAKSF.ORG

need to tell us, and your students need to tell us, right? But, the piece that’s most concrete to me comes from John Powell at the Othering & Belonging Institute at Berkeley. He talks about belonging not just as feeling welcomed, but as your presence actively transforming the space around you– and that space transforming you in return. So, the question becomes: how does a student walk through the front door and feel that their being there changes the school for everyone? Live Oak has always known how to make people feel seen. Now the building gets to say that too.

You’ve described this project as a catalyst for human-centered, sustainable, and aspirational development. For a community being asked to invest in something that doesn’t exist yet, what does this mean in concrete terms for a student walking through the doors in 2030? There’ s this interesting outside-in, inside-out quality to the two campuses made possible by the You Need, World Needs vision. Mariposa is a

little more cloistered, inward-focused–and that’s appropriate, because that’s where deep learning happens. Who are you? What sparks you? What do you care about? The campus holds space for a child in a way that feels safe and comfortable. De Haro is something else entirely; it’ s where the child meets the world. A peek into the gym. Classrooms that feel different because different thinking happens there–spaces that look more like design studios or an engineering lab than a traditional classroom, preparing students for how creative people work. A rooftop with 360-degree views of the hills, the Bay, and downtown. All of it designed to reflect and live up to the incredible programs Live Oak already has. Even the journey between the campuses is kind of wonderful–walking from Mariposa through Jackson Park, through the neighborhood. Kids don’ t often get to move through a city in this way at that age. The neighborhood becomes part of what they know as their place, and it gets to know them. What strikes me is that every inch of your campus is sending the same message to a child: your learning matters. What you do here matters, and the world is waiting for what you’ll do next.

Live Oak lower school students contributed their vision for our new space at 195 De Haro Street during a series of community visioning sessions facilitated by EHDD architects.

Imagining Campus Expansion

Among the steps that Live Oak has already taken towards expanding its physical footprint, one of the core resources has been the vision of the Live Oak community as a whole. Over the last year, students, faculty and staff, parents and guardians, trustees, alumni, and more have offered their input on how a new building can impact the learning experience for generations of students to come. At various visioning sessions throughout the 2025-26 school y e a r, m e m b e r s o f t h e Live Oak community responded to a series of values-aligned prompts to help give the project missiondriven shape.

Program Priorities as expressed by the Live Oak community: DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING

> Welcoming entries that communicate your values at the front door > Gym and Performing Arts spaces to support community events and provide community resources

INSPIRING CHANGEMAKERS

> Dedicated lower school ChangeMaker Lab >A range of learning environments that support handson learning and project development with a range of tools and resources Feedback from the community has reflected the symbiotic nature of Live Oak’s program: helping to give students the skills that they need to effect positive change in their world. The dual campuses that are on the horizon will be designed to complement one another in that same spirit.

KNOWING & SUPPORTING EVERY STUDENT

> Places that support a range of learning preferences and differences O Classroom Breakout Spaces O Student Support Hubs O Access to Outdoors and green space O Amplify fresh air and daylight in every space

Images and feedback used with permission from EHDD Architecture.

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At Live Oak, literacy instruction mixes joy and creativity with essential skill development. Students move from learning to read to reading to learn. Assessment, curriculum, and teaching promote growth and engagement.

S BR AZILIAN EDUCATOR Paolo Freire wrote, “Reading the world always precedes reading the word, and reading the word implies continually reading the world.” Lower School Division Director I am inspired by this idea in the way that, at Live Oak School, we view literacy as far more than a discrete set of academic skills. Literacy includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, researching, interpreting, questioning, and discerning. Literacy is increasingly multimodal, encompassing the many ways students communicate and interpret meaning through words, images, sound, gesture, movement, performance, and digital media. It is both the process through which students make meaning of the world and the way they communicate their understanding, identities, perspectives, and experiences within it.

Introduction by Regina Hardatt

In our constructivist model, literacy development begins with foundational skills and expands outward into deeper thinking and communication. Over time, students develop the tools needed to decode, write, speak, and express ideas with increasing confidence and complexity. Literacy is connected to identity, language, culture, and perspective. Books often serve as mentor texts for helping students better understand themselves and one another. A story about grief, friendship, or identity can become a bridge for classroom conversations and support students in developing empathy for a classmate navigating a difficult experience. Literacy is a social practice and our long-term goal is to help students become thoughtful, informed, and engaged participants in the world. Students learn to access knowledge and also to question it, reflect on perspectives and positionality, and consider whose voices are centered or missing. A strong literacy foundation empowers students to act with purpose and agency in an increasingly complex world. LIVEOAKSF.ORG

The Building Blocks Literacy instruction in lower school

N THE VERY FIRST DAY of kindergarten, children walk into a classroom immersed in print. A library filled with inviting books, a morning message written for shared reading, handwritten schedule cards outlining the day, and environmental print on posters and signs all surround them. From the start, students see that reading and writing have a p ur p ose . T he y ar e to o l s f o r c o m m u n i cati o n, storytelling, and understanding the world. This print-rich environment is just one way Live Oak School begins building strong literacy foundations in its youngest learners. Kindergarten literacy instruction at Live Oak is grounded in a multisensory, developmentally re-

See what lower school literacy instruction looks like at Live Oak.

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By: Audrey Soriano

Kindergarten Teacher

Mugdha Kulkarni

Kindergarten Teacher

sponsive approach. In close collaboration with the lower school learning specialist, teachers design experiences that engage visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learners. A thoughtful balance of play based learning and direct instruction keeps students motivated, while allowing teachers to meet a wide range of learning needs. Early in the year, much of this work begins with building the physical and auditory foundations for literacy. Fine motor activities such as beading, working with play dough, cutting, gluing, drawing, and coloring help strengthen the small muscles needed for handwriting. Additionally, interactive read-alouds expose students to rich language, building vocabulary and comprehension skills. Through songs, games, and movement based activities, children begin developing phonological awareness. They practice rhyming, identifying lowercase letters and their sounds, clapping out syllables, and segmenting and blending sounds. As the year progresses, instruction becomes increasingly targeted. Using both formal assessments and daily observations, teachers form small groups to provide focused, differentiated support. These groups allow teachers to tailor instruction to each child’s pace and skill level, ensuring that every student is both supported and challenged. Writing instruction is closely connected to students’ oral language development. During our storytelling unit, each child shares a personal SUMMER 2026

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narrative, practicing how to include details about what happened , who wa s in v o l v e d , an d when it took place. Students first illustrate their stories in drawing and writing notebooks, then add labels and simple sentences. By telling their stories aloud with increasing detail, they strengthen the language skills that support their growth as writers. Throughout the writing process, students learn the essential components of strong early writing: detailed illustrations, descriptive labels, and simple sentences that match their ideas. They are encouraged to use “best guess” spelling by listening for beginning, middle, and ending sounds, while also practicing spacing and basic punctuation. Just as importantly, they revisit their work to make revisions and share their writing

with peers, building both confidence and a sense of authorship. Finally, a time-honored tradition of Acorn Stories–a compilation of grade-level writing projects from throughout the year–closes out our year of literacy in kindergarten. Kindergartners spend the last few weeks exploring poetry, and drafting and revising Haiku poems about nature. T o g e t h e r, t h e s e e x p e r i e n c e s form a comprehensive approach t o e a r l y l i t e r a c y, o n e t h a t i s intentional, engaging, and responsive to each learner. By the end of kindergarten, students are not only beginning readers and writers, but also confident communicators, well prepared for the more advanced literacy work that awaits them in first grade and beyond.

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All About Me Early in their first semester at Live Oak, kindergartners start to apply and extend their growing literacy skills by creating Family Culture Books as part of their All About Me unit. Family Culture Books provide a concrete way for Live Oak students to tell the story of their family and to practice reading about others’ stories. In addition, students compile and create booklets explaining their personalities, passions, ambitions, and more as they practice articulating content they know best: themselves! U l t i m a t e l y, t h e y p a r t i c i p a t e i n a showcase of their work, inviting their parents/guardians to see how their skills are helping them share about their identities.

Understanding Your World Developing a multicultural lens in upper elementary

By: Sharon Lee

Fourth Grade Teacher

Annie Fleury

Fourth Grade Teacher

HE FOURTH GRADE THROUGHLINE for literacy at Live Oak School centers on the question: How can we develop a deeper understanding of our own experiences and the experiences of others to build community? We intentionally use books with diverse characters and perspectives to serve two essential purposes: as mirrors—helping students see themselves reflected in literature—and as windows— opening views into the lives and experiences of others. This idea builds empathy, validates all students’ identities, and creates the foundation for a more inclusive learning community.

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When students encounter their own experiences and identities in texts, they develop confidence as readers and learners. Equally important, when they step into the “ windows” that diverse literature provides, they build understanding across differences—essential skills for navigating an interconnected world. Together, mirrors and windows help students recognize both their unique perspectives and their common humanity. Near the end of the year, fourth graders engage in a Historical Fiction Book Club unit centered on California history—directly connecting literacy with our social studies curriculum. Students transition from teacher-led discussions to running their own book clubs, building agency and collaborative skills. As they lead discussions, they ’re actively constructing community and understanding through dialogue. Students encounter characters from diverse backgrounds navigating pivotal moments in California history, particularly characters who faced challenges due to their race or gender. Th ey d i sco v er h o w th e same h i storical events impact different characters differently—recognizing that perspective shapes experience. They also see the resilience, strength, and hope of different communities. This reinforces our central question: understanding our own and others’ experiences builds community. SUMMER 2026

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Through peer-led discussions, students analyze character motivations and growth, identify themes and symbolism across texts, make connections between historical context and personal experience, and think critically about how history shapes lives. In this way, our literacy program helps students develop an understanding of diverse perspectives, recognizing shared humanity, and building a stronger community together.

Windows & Mirrors in Class Texts Live Oak students find connection and take away new perspectives through the broad range of texts they read in upper elementary. See what some of our students’ favorite texts are and why they leave an impact.

THIRD GRADE

Fifth GRADE

Katherine Applegate’s novel tells of Red, an ancient oak that serves as a neighborhood “ wishtree” where people tie wishes. Red watches over its community, including a new Muslim f a m i l y, a n d w i t h a n i m a l friends, protects them from prejudice and helps a lonely girl, while facing the threat of being cut down.

y it ha d so m an I “I li ke d th at d n a s e r u cult : different e g a s the mes really liked s ’ t i y b k a boo don’ t judge st ned that ju r a e l I c o v e r. a k o eople lo because p n ea m t , it do es n’ ce rt ai n w ay to t ge to u ha ve an yt hi ng . Yo kn ow th em .”

A memoir-in-verse about the author's childhood in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York, the story details how Woodson and her young siblings find themselves in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, a devoted part of a Jehovah’ s Witness community, as well experiencing differing racial attitudes around the U. S. in the 1960s and 1970s. “ I t h in k that I g persp e c t i v e a in e d a n e w from Girl D reami Brown ng abo it f e lt ut wha li k e t o t be a p c o lo r d erson uring o f t h you do at tim n’ t re e that ally g et fro f ic t io n m al stor ie s .”

- E ll a S . ‘2 9

- Ja yl a W. ‘3 1 LIVEOAKSF.ORG

Building Skills for a Modern World Media literacy in By: Brittany Pudlowski middle school Librarian

Layla Degani Librarian

CCORDING TO COMMON SENSE MEDIA, students are spending an average of 8.3 hours each day on their screens. It has never been more necessary to open a dialogue with students about the realities and impact of social media on how we receive, create, and spread information.

group and whole-class discussions, they generate new ideas on how to responsibly navigate online issues, such as analyzing how apps and games are designed to trigger the brain to release dopamine, setting and respecting boundaries around privacy online, and examining our long-term online impact.

Media literacy is crucial for students to learn in a modern digital landscape filled with misinformation and divisive narratives. The ability to use a critical eye when navigating online spaces and to discern fact from fiction is a skill that is absolutely essential for young people to learn today.

A lesson on the impact of dopamine and algorithms on screen time shows students how to recognize when screen time devolves into an unhealthy habit and how to interrupt it when the case arises. Students can become more equipped to reflect on how dopamine from screens impacts inability to put our phones away and the role algorithms play in that.

The core approach that Live Oak uses to teach media literacy is through responsible digital citizenship and online awareness, promoting a media literacy education that aims to establish a healthy and discerning relationship to the contemporary digital landscape students explore every day. It is important that we focus on the “dos” instead of the “don’ ts,” emphasizing creating a balanced relationship to social media instead of catastrophizing the impact of it on young minds. We believe that students are capable of discernment in their relationship to technology, as long as we give them the space and tools to learn.

Lessons around privacy online encourage students to build skills of empathy and communication to strengthen mental fitness and recognize bullying

Middle school students utilize tools like #WinAtSocial that engage their critical thinking skills regarding digital literacy. Through structured small29

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#WinAtSocial At-a-Glance

in its different forms. The goal of these lessons is to make sure students are making responsible choices with what they choose to share of themselves and others online. Lessons on the long-term impact of what we do online and the story we tell about ourselves help students examine digital footprint and the permanence of posting online. Students are guided towards reflecting on what impact they want to have on their peers through their online actions. These media literacy skills build on the techniques they are developing through using technology in all their classes. They are facing unique challenges that require unique solutions. It is crucial to their reading and writing skills to have a responsible relationship to the technology they use everyday. As educators, we cannot punish students into using their tech responsibly; we have to instill in them the necessary skills to do so themselves. The impact we see from media literacy education is that students are more capable of utilizing technology and social media to benefit their lives and learning as opposed to taking away from them. Media literacy education helps students develop a discerning eye when approaching information presented to them online. They become more capable of making healthier decisions as their worldview is developed through internet influence, building more positive self-image and healthier life choices. Ultimately, media literacy education encourages students to be active participants in their own education. LIVEOAKSF.ORG

Live Oak builds its digital literacy curriculum around the research-backed framework of The Social Institute’s #WinAtSocial programming. Some of the ways this program engages students in critical thinking about digital media use include:

O Sequential, Age-Appropriate Development: Beginning in kindergarten, lessons build a foundation of kindness and interpersonal awareness on which future lessons are anchored in.

O Reflection Around Appropriate Use: Lessons and activities do not simply tell students to abstain from harmful online behaviors, but give them the skills to independently evaluate risks and consequences in the digital space. O On-Trend Content: Faculty help students learn about what is most relevant right now with activities, case studies, and digital tools that reflect those which students are exposed to most regularly.

Teaching Progress How data informs literacy instruction By: Josephine Corlett Lower School Learning Specialist

T LIVE OAK, LITERACY INSTRUCTION is rooted in the simple belief that students thrive when teaching responds to their needs. We aim to cultivate curious readers, expressive writers, and analytical thinkers—and we do so intentionally. In third grade, data helps us move beyond assumptions and better understand how each child is learning to read and write. We use multiple forms of assessment to guide instruction, identify strengths, and respond quickly when students need support. One of the basic tools we use in lower school is DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), a nationally normed literacy assessment administered three times each year. DIBELS serves as a “temperature check,” helping us understand student’s progress in foundational literacy skills compared to peers nationwide. We pair the DIBELS assessment with the Teacher’ s College Running

Shannon Gomez

Third Grade Teacher

Records assessment, which tracks student literacy growth from grades 1-5. Adding in tools like the Words Their Way spelling inventory in lower school and Literably in middle school, there are a host of supplemental assessment tools that we integrate into our curriculum to balance our ongoing assessment of the breadth and depth of our students’ literacy growth. Ultimately, all these assessment tools serve to establish a common data language that proves to be invaluable for our faculty in continuing to teach our students in responsive ways. The data itself is only valuable because of what happens next. Assessment feedback tells us who is ready for more extensive challenge, who is progressing steadily, and who can benefit from more targeted support. Faculty members regularly analyze student progress together in team meetings, reflect to identify trends across classrooms

RESEARCH-DRIVEN INSTRUCTION Live Oak takes a very intentional approach to recognize the trends in the ever-evolving field of research around literacy instruction. As a faculty, we apply best practices in our curriculum and teaching strategies that have been proven to support effective student learning. Explore some of the core pedagogical principles that shape Live Oak’s approach to literacy instruction as outlined in a body of research known as The Science of Reading, which blends long-term research from a multitude of disciplines to construct a comprehensive view of how students learn to read and write. 31

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Structured Literacy Instruction

» Skills are taught in a logical, sequential order, building understanding step by step.

» Instruction shows

concrete examples so students don’t need to guess.

» Learning is personalized, differentiated, and tied to real-world context. Learn more about the Science of Reading

Reading the World: Literacy Learning at Live Oak

and grade levels, and collaborate to share diverse strategies. Our co-teaching model provides flexible options for strategic small-group instruction designed to help students access increasingly complex texts. The instructional decisions that guide our teaching are driven by the consistent tools we use: better data leads to better decision-making. Explicit multisensory phonics instruction is central to how we teach reading. Research shows that phonics builds the foundation for fluent reading and clear writing, and we pair that science-backed approach with multiple data sources to guide instruction. The majority of our lower school faculty have been trained in structured literacy, often referred to as the “science of reading.” This work has strengthened foundational literacy instruction in the early grades. We also recognize that reading comprehension depends on much more than decoding. Students need background knowledge, vocabulary, reasoning skills, and opportunities to make meaningful connections across disciplines. Underscoring all of this data collection and integration is the keen understanding that the brain

The “Big 6”

Skills and competencies are reinforced and enhanced as students apply these skills in their writing, which in turn further refines the “Big 6.” Oral Language Phonological Awareness Phonics

Comprehension Fluency Vocabulary

Adapted from “Science of Reading: What is it?” by Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD. & Katie C. Carr, M. Ed. for the New York State Education Department.

is plastic; our students don’ t necessarily develop their skills in perfectly linear patterns. What the education world is learning is that instruction that supports neurodivergent and dyslexic learners is the same type of instruction that benefits all students. As neuroscience and education converge, we carefully consider both fields and adapt practices that help a wider range of learners thrive. The impact of this work is visible in our students in their love of reading and capacity for deep critical thinking; the story is being told by the data of progress. According to year-end DIBELS data from the 2025-26 school year, 85 percent of Live Oak third graders are reading at or above benchmark for their grade level, compared to a reported national average of 54 percent in 2023. While our literacy program continues to grow and evolve, our commitment remains constant: using data thoughtfully to ensure every student has access to the skills they need to thrive. Our students are building the skills to read with purpose, write with conviction, and think with a critical lens, all the while feeling empowered by the confidence that comes with understanding themselves as learners.

A Culturally Responsive Teaching Environment

Student-centered and inclusive classrooms with high expectations help children build lifelong literacy skills.

» Warm, supportive classrooms.

» Challenging, standardsdriven instruction tailored to language and ability needs.

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» Accessible,

culturally responsive curriculum and assessments.

» Continuous professional learning and coaching.

A Holistic Approach

Using expansive metrics to understand student learning

By: James Murray

Middle School Humanities Teacher

understanding of a student. Google Classroom analytics provide data on assignment completion and submission, and track trends, which are useful in getting a general understanding of patterns among students, but those metrics are just the tip of the iceberg.

HERE ARE MYRIAD WAYS in which to leverage data to support a student’s growth in middle school humanities. Rather than just focusing on one type of metric in eighth grade, we use a variety of tools and strategies. When used effectively, they can be personalized to meet the needs of individual students. One of the most rewarding parts of my first year at Live Oak was using different forms of data collection to support the varied strengths, areas for growth, and ambitions of my students.

One significant insight came when I selected a specific writing skill area among each of my students that could be improved upon. In my class, we practice a type of writing called “quickwrites,” which are often ACE paragraphs (Assertion, Citation, Explanation). These activities are assessed on a relatively straightforward rubric that prioritizes depth of analysis. Over the course of the 2025-26 school year, I noticed that there were students who ad-

By combining Google Classroom analytics, observational qualitative data , and incorporating the various accommodations for students with learning profiles, it’s possible to gather a holistic

Growing Readers and Writers Across K-8 Throughout their Live Oak experience, students are employing their reading and writing skills in engaging ways. See a range of the projects and units that Live Oak students have been working on to build deeper and more complex literacy skills.

Fifth Grade Speeches

Fifth graders analyze famous speeches throughout history and employ rhetorical strategies and structures in helping articulate their passions in front of an audience.

Second Grade Expert Writing

Young authors identify an interest they are “experts” in and showcase their understanding of nonfiction writing structure, grammar, and spelling in their instructional books.

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vocated for and genuinely needed extra time in order to submit their best work. When the anxiety of a deadline becomes flexible–while maintaining accountability–scores for writing thoroughness go up and the depth and originality of their written analysis improves. This led to me creating a detailed inventory compiling various forms of data , namely trends in assessments for specific quickwrite assignments. These students not only knew themselves very well, but had much more to say about the material than they initially let on. All it took for my students to become successful was the awareness of what they needed and a way for me to implement an intentional system of tracking their progress. At Live Oak, faculty have opportunities to share both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data is the foundation; the qualitative data is what tells the whole story. This happens during division meetings, in professional learning communities, during planning periods, or simply sharing anecdotes; our middle school faculty are constantly looking for ways to leverage data to improve outcomes. Just because a student submitted an assignment in Google Classroom doesn’ t mean that it was the best possible version that it could

be. This is why, especially as it pertains to both short-form and long form writing assignments in humanities, it is important to know each student’s individualized strengths or learning styles in the classroom, and to develop rubrics that account for thoroughness, depth of explanation, and the strength of the overall analysis. There is a lot of work to be done, a lot more for me to learn and understand about how to use data effectively, and so many chances to iterate on these ideas in the name of granting students the transferable skills in literacy that will allow for a seamless transition into high school.

Third Grade Shark Tank

Blending creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, third graders create an object that helps solve a problem and develop their argumentative writing by crafting a well-developed pitch to garner “investment” interest in their idea.

Seventh Grade Flash Fiction

Students integrate diverse sentence structure, imagery, and literary devices as they choose a fiction genre to craft their own stories using Freytag’s Pyramind for story structure, while employing PAIRS characterization.

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E V I T C U D O R P

STRUGGLE

A Conversation with Live Oak's Division Directors Live Oak integrates research-backed pedagogy to challenge students academically and build resilience in supporting students through developmentally-appropriate struggle. Guided by principles within the Collaborative Problem Solving model, faculty help students develop skills to embrace the growth that happens in the face of challenge. 35

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What does Live Oak School believe about the benefits of challenging learners? Regina Hardatt, Lower School Division Director: I always return to our school’s mission, vision, and values, which emphasize a strong academic foundation. The skills students need aren’t built by doing what’s easy; true learning often feels uncomfortable and challenging. By focusing on academic challenge, we continually ask how to best develop students’ deep thinking and mastery skills, which largely comes from working through discomfort in the classroom. Asha Weber, Middle School Division Director: When kids face challenges, they are stretched, which is essential. Discomfort lets them reveal their true knowledge and skills. While some may fake it, most rely on what they know, triggering mental muscle memory. By guiding students through cycles of challenge, struggle, feedback, and success, we help build strong, embedded skills. This prepares them to handle future discomfort confidently, strengthening their abilities each time they face tough situations.

How does Live Oak support students in using academic struggle to their advantage? Regina: Academic challenge centers on Lev Vygotsky ’ s Zone of Proximal Development . How can educators help students remain in this zone to learn deeply? It involves two parts: content knowledge and social-emotional aspects. We guide students to consider both their brain’ s activity and bodily responses, emphasizing emotional regulation during discomfort.

timely feedback to our students. If we are going to challenge them effectively, we also need to be providing consistent feedback that allows us to gauge their progress in real time. Asha: Yes, providing feedback to our students is kind of like the engineering cycle that we talk about with our students a lot. You produce, you gather observations, you process feedback, you iterate, and you continue with the process. It’s sort of this ongoing, ever-evolving loop. Regina: And when our students are getting more consistent feedback, it tends to make the feedback feel like lower stakes. It doesn’ t feel like a crushing result if a student makes a mistake because they know they are going to have another opportunity to refine their skills and show their progress.

What do parents need to understand about their child’s learning and development when they notice they are struggling in class? Asha: That it is a perfect chance to help kids advocate for themselves, handle discomfort , and grow because of it. As a parent, I’ ve seen my child struggle. We must guide kids to see that challenges don’t last forever.

Asha: I think one of the things we do here really well is being thoughtful about partnerships and collaborative work. When we talk about project-based learning and the amount of projects that our students do, it underscores how our academic program focuses so much on communication, collaboration, and opening up the opportunities for our students to practice those skills. Regina: There is also a priority around giving LIVEOAKSF.ORG

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES: When have you struggled in class, but learned through the process? “One time in math class, I had a bit of trouble figuring out ½ divided by another fraction. I was puzzling over this for a while. I started reprimanding myself because I like to solve things fast and don’ t like to struggle. I did keep persevering though. Eventually I found a strategy that works well for me. Later I realized that the strategy was one that was going to help me in math class forever and ever!”

Regina: If a parent sees their child struggling, I first reassure both parent and student that it’s normal and will happen again. Parents should help kids know when to rest—not quit—and that sometimes a pause is enough. This is where parents aid self-regulation by guiding kids to ask, What did I do? What can I do? What could I change next time? Asha: I think, to your point, parents tell children who they are before children fully know themselves. If a parent says a child can’ t do something or only they can help, it takes away the child’s power. We need to help kids find their own power through their experiences. Regina: Yes, that’ s exactly right. When we over-scaffold and remove many barriers, students don’t learn to persevere. Perseverance is a skill, so we must help students and families see that productive struggle is essential for learning and building confidence.

In your experience, w h at a r e t h e p i t f a l l s in chal l enging students beyond their capabilities? Regina: Pressure from adults like teachers, parents, or coaches can sometimes increase anxiety, lower confidence, or cause students to lose interest in activities they once loved. Academic challenges shouldn’ t be about testing if kids c a n h a n d l e p r e s s u r e . H o w e v e r, educators must regularly recalibrate their approach to push students toward growth. Some students need a nudge as they may not see their potential. Our aim is for them to recognize their potential and feel supported by others’ confidence when they haven’ t yet figured out how to motivate themselves. Asha: As a former math teacher, I’ve seen students with real aptitude, so I would continue to challenge them, but sometimes forget they have other subjects t o o . F r o m a n e d u c a t o r ’ s v i e w,

- Kate E. ‘29

“ We had a group project where we had to do research, find data, and summarize it all in a paragraph, but the data was really confusing to read . It s howe d me t h at when you’re struggling to figure things out , you can use your fellow group members or ask your teacher for help, but you just have to keep trying and eventually you will be successful.”

When kids face challenges, they are stretched, which is essential. DISCOMFORT LETS THEM REVEAL THEIR TRUE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS.

- Hamilton P. ‘27 37

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Collaborative Problem Solving: A Model for Building Lifelong Skills

By integrating key components of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach, Live Oak faculty are empowering students to embrace academic challenge by working together in identifying targeted growth areas and implementing effective growth strategies. The outline below shows how Live Oak puts core principles of the Collaborative Problem Solving into action.

A FOCUSED SKILL INVENTORY PREPARES STUDENTS FOR SCHOOL AND BEYOND “In generations past, kindergarten focused on adjusting to school socially with less academic instruction until first grade. Now, early learning expectations rise, but kids get less playtime to build social and frustration tolerance. Collaborative Problem Solving intentionally develops these skills, balancing focus on navigating challenges with learning reading, writing, math, and science.” » Asha Weber «

STUDENT AGENCY AROUND THEIR SKILL BUILDING AND BEHAVIOR “What

love

about

Collaborative Problem Solving is that it’s a strengths-based model. It’s about identifying the skills that a student has and then leveraging them to work through other challenges. It brings the child into the conversation in an active way.

ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT TO WORK THROUGH CHALLENGES TOGETHER “One of the main tenets of Collaborative Problem Solving is that students are not giving you a hard time; they’re having a hard time. So how do we work together to identify what is contributing to that hard time and solve for it?” » Regina Hardatt «

They like sitting down with an voice and dignity.”

Learn more about Collaborative Problem Solving

» Asha Weber «

thinkkids.org

adult and feeling like they have

it’s crucial to keep balance and involve students in the process. I really appreciate Live Oak’s structures like advisory and grade level team meetings, where faculty discuss student progress collaboratively to challenge students flexibly as needed. Our approach focuses on the impact on kids and goal setting, keeping students’ needs at the center.

What progress are we seeing among our students in building skills around selfadvocacy and perseverance?

R e g i n a : E a c h y e a r, c u l m i n a t i n g p r o j e c t s showcase resilience and persistence. We see concrete skill growth. This growth is measurable in some work, like writing, math, etc., but more abstract in the student’s cumulative efforts, which absolutely reflect persistence and learning. Development, teacher support, and student effort are key. Asha: Live Oak middle school students confidently ask for help, shown in their engagement with adults. While grades matter, confidence is key. Last fall, some hid from tough work; by year’s end, they tackled it saying, “I’ll do this. I know where to find support.” This change is monumental to me.

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STEP UP &

GRADUATION

On June 3, the Live Oak community gathered to celebrate the graduates from the Class of 2026 along with the students stepping up to their next grades. We look forward to seeing the growth that happens in the coming year at Live Oak and beyond!

Here’s the thing about Live Oak: it gives you a space to try stuff before the stakes get higher. No pressure, no auditions—just get up there and do it. That’s a gift you don’t fully understand until you’re older. Eli Linn '22 Alumni Speaker Attending Colby College in fall 2026

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SUMMER 2026

I feel like this school has also taught me to have an open mind and hear t; to listen to people when they need you and to just smile and spread joy and kindness. Now I know my time at Live Oak is ending, but for other people it is just starting. So, I ha ve a question fo r yo u: How wi ll yo u sp re ad ki nd ne ss ? Mia Denmark ‘26 Holly Horton Aw ar

d Recipient

Each of you has earn ed this mom ent. You have challenged ideas that deserved to be challenged, asked questions that stopped us mid-sentence, and shown up for one another in ways that give us hope for the future. You have embodied what Live Oak believes most deeply: that curiosity and compassion are not separate qualities, but two sides of the same coin. Neil Cashman P'22 Faculty Speaker

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Graduates from the Class of 2026 are making an impact at the following high schools: Raneem Isabel MC Florence Beatrice Malayah Lilou Gideon Mia Eddie Ella Finn Sienna Kallisto Maya Isiah Callum Ayan Shoshanna Kazunaga Leo Troy Alexandra Katarina Malia Tobias Julian Keshav Tavis Enso Enrico Colin Madeleine Robert Benjamin Eve Adella Connell Kai Nieve Owen Josephine Henry Isaac Chloe Penelope Hope John Charlotte Audrey Sasha Zeina Erszebet

Alkhameri Ames Bach-y-Rita Brady Brugger Byrd Cholankeril Claybaugh Denmark Ellenberg Feeney Feeney Gabriner Gallagher Gopal Hill Jones Kapoor Kellerman Koizumi Kurzweil Leung Lewen-Yurasov Lewen-Yurasov Lundy Madway Massillon Mehta Michaels Mitchell Molinari-Castro Nielsen Norris Olson Park-Jackson Poindexter Pollaro Raynor Roy Sappo-Cronin Scott Stringer Swinerton Tingley Tolve Trollope Truslow Walsh Wasem-Klementz Weinberg Weinberg Williams Ziegler

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San Francisco Waldorf School Convent & Stuart Hall High School The International School of San Francisco The International School of San Francisco The International School of San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Lowell High School The International School of San Francisco Lick-Wilmerding High School Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Urban School of San Francisco Urban School of San Francisco Drew School Lick-Wilmerding High School The International School of San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Urban School of San Francisco The International School of San Francisco Urban School of San Francisco Urban School of San Francisco Lick-Wilmerding High School Urban School of San Francisco Drew School San Francisco University High School Urban School of San Francisco Lick-Wilmerding High School Galileo High School Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory The Bay School of San Francisco San Francisco Unified School District The Bay School of San Francisco San Francisco University High School Saint Ignatius College Preparatory San Francisco University High School San Francisco University High School Saint Ignatius College Preparatory The Bay School of San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Lick-Wilmerding High School Drew School San Francisco University High School The International School of San Francisco St. Paul’s School (NH) The Bay School of San Francisco Saint Ignatius College Preparatory Lick-Wilmerding High School Drew School Lick-Wilmerding High School Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory SUMMER 2026

Congratulations to the Class of 2026

Live Oak really taught me a lesson. It taught me to never give up, even when there wa s a mistake that was made. This can really show us how we manage hardships in school and be okay with making mistakes. That can help us grow as ind ividuals and as a community. Having perseverance and ambition is how you navigate through academic challenges.

Malayah Byrd-Tig er '26 Class Speaker

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2026 Young Alumni CHANGEMAKERS The Young Alumni Changemaker Award began in 2022 to recognize that Live Oak students do not wait to make an impact in their communities. The award honors current high school juniors and seniors who graduated from L i v e O a k t h a t m o d e l e m p a t h y a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y, demonstrate a capacity to create change in t h e c o m m u n i t y, a n d i n s p i r e a c t i o n s i n o t h e r s .

COLETON NAMIE ‘2ol 3‘2 7

Lic k-W ilm erd ing Hi gh Sc ho 43

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I N 2 0 2 5, C O L E TO N C O - F O U N D E D P a t h t o Play, a nonprofit that hosts free flag football clinics. He wanted to remove the financial barrier to accessing organized athletics. He and other high school volunteers design and run weekly skill-based clinics for kids aged 10 to 14. Path to Play is building community partnerships with schools in the Bay Area to extend their impact. He intends to share his love of flag football as well as the benefits of building confidence and lessons in teamwork. Coleton also volunteers for local organizations like the Homeless Prenatal Program and various senior living facilities, playing music for members of the community.

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MAYA JAYARAM ‘23 Sacre d Heart Cathe dral Prepa ratory ‘27

T W O Y E A R S AG O, M a y a w a s d i a g n o s e d w i t h severe scoliosis and prescribed a brace to prevent its progression. To help ensure others receive the same care regardless of financial status, she created a campaign to raise money for Align Scoliosis Foundation which alleviates financial burden for families seeking treatment for scoliosis. Her goal is to help children access essential resources, like a brace, early on to try to prevent worsening pain and the need for major surgery. She continues to share her story to mobilize her community and has raised over $16,000 so far. Maya also volunteers for Bay Area Tutoring Association, which supports the learning and academic success of unhoused, at-risk, and justice engaged youth.

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2 2 ‘ X I R P T N I A S N SAVIO-Wilmerding High School ‘26 Lick

Oregon ersity of

g the Univ

Attendin

in fall 20

SAVION WAS A LEADER in building equitable and inclusive spaces throughout his time at Lick-Wilmerding High School. Using his experience from the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, he designed and facilitated a teach-in workshop for students and faculty to foster conversations around inclusion, reflection, and honest dialogue to build a more just school community. Additionally, as copresident of the Black Student Union, Savion planned and led meetings, working to create and sustain a supportive, inclusive environment for Black students and families. Savion was featured in a student-led documentary, "From Stigma to Strength," which challenged misconceptions about learning differences. He hosted film screenings and discussions at schools across the Bay Area, speaking with students and educators about ADHD, dysgraphia, dyslexia, and how stigma shapes confidence, accommodations, and access to support.

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SUMMER 2026

YOUNG ALUMNI CHANGEMAKERS

JACOB SHAUL ‘22

San Francisco University High School ‘2

Attending UC Berk

eley in fall 2026

J AC O B F O U N D E D M O D E T O C O D E i n 2 0 2 4 t o empower the next generation of programmers and innovators. He and his fellow high school volunteers started out offering free courses to elementary and middle school students looking to learn about coding, AI, and video game development. His nonprofit has since expanded to include tech support and lessons for seniors in assisted-living facilities with the goal of bridging the intergenerational gap. Their goal is to teach students of all backgrounds, including those who have been historically underrepresented and under-resourced. Mode to Code currently partners with 30+ different institutions, teaching 1000+ students across 5 continents. They plan to extend their program to Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Bolivia in fall 2026. Jacob organized UHS Hacks, University ’ s inaugural hackathon, as an extension of Mode to Code. He has raised over $16,000 in cash and prizes and made it free for all Bay Area high schoolers to participate.

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Alumni

News &Notes

Live Oak Alums Help Lead University to State Championship IN LATE NOVEMBER 2025, a group of Live Oak alums running cross-country at San Francisco University High School helped lead University to the CIF state title. Ben Friedland ‘23 was University’s top finisher in the final race, taking 8th place overall, which was University’s highest individual finish at the state meet since at least 2013. Friedland’s 15:34 time in the 5K race established a new school record for a UHS runner at Woodward Park (Fresno). Following closely behind Friedland was fellow Live Oak alum Ethan Kraska ‘23, who was University’s third finisher at 13th place, and Hugo Tao Ong ‘24, who finished in 23rd place. Congratulations to those and other former Live Oak student-athletes who are applying their passion, skill, and determination to achieve great success in their high school athletics careers!

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Liza St. James ‘02 Shares Passion for Stamps in NY Times I N S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5, L i v e O a k a l u m n a L i z a S t . James ‘02 wrote a Letter of Recommendation for the NY Times Magazine titled, “ The Best Part of Any Piece of Mail Is the Stamp.” In her piece she references the class field trip to the Wells Fargo Museum that she took during her days in Jack Schumacher’s first grade class at Live Oak. “My experience at Live Oak taught me so much it’ s tricky to sum up! ” says St. James. “One thing that comes to mind immediately is that being encouraged to follow my own curiosities and to see that as a valuable way of learning is something that informs everything I do to this day—my work as a writer, as a teacher, as a lifelong learner. It means a lot to me to have been supported in that way early on.” For years Live Oak first graders have engaged in a post office unit where they learn about the inner workings of communication via mail, including field trips where they get to experience this process for themselves. They even get to operate the Live Oak Post Office for a few weeks in the spring. We are proud to see another Live Oak alum drawing inspiration from these formative experiences at Live Oak and sharing their passions with the world.

READ LIZA’S PIECE NYTimes.com

SEE MORE OF LIZA’S WORK lizastjames.com

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ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES

Exploring the Many Forms of Storytelling M

EGAN BEATTIE ‘13 HAS BEEN ACTIVELY BUILDING an impressive portfolio of creative work as an actor, musician, and music producer. Most recently, Beattie appeared in the feature film, “Plan B” directed by Brandon Tamburri and starring Jon Heder. She has also been an on-set regular for vertical microdrama projects, which are modern soap operas made to be watched on a phone. On the music side, Beattie released a music video for her single, “Crazy Lady ” this past January. Her music has started to receive recognition at festivals. “Live Oak played a huge role in shaping my creative confidence,” says Beattie, who credits Live Oak drama teacher Stephanie Temple for helping develop her strong foundation in drama, improv, and sketch comedy. “She prepared us for what life as a working artist would look like, sharing her own experiences of what a day-to-day career as a creative actually looks like. I remember her talking about her own experiences of being ready to drop everything for auditions, balancing side jobs, and learning that success is not just about talent, but about drive and flexibility.” Beattie refined her talents at the International School of San Francisco following her time at Live Oak, while continuing to work with Temple at the New Conservatory Theater Center. Beattie then went on to study drama at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, training at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School, where the multidisciplinary approach engaged Beattie with several projects each semester that pushed her to explore different areas of storytelling. After graduating from NYU, Beattie moved to Los Angeles to start her career. “ This experience [at NYU] was the first time I realized that you do not have to be perfect at something, especially in art, to be useful and collaborative,” reflects Beattie, who unexpectedly became the resident lighting designer for student productions at NYU despite minimal experience running l i g h t i n g b o a r d s . “A r o u n d t h e s a m e t i m e , I started writing and directing my own work, which sparked a passion for creating–not just performing–that still shapes what I do today. “More than any one credit, I am most proud of building a career where I get to create my own opportunities and to help other creatives to see their vision come to life.”

SEE MORE OF MEGAN’S WORK meganbeattie.com 49

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ICK ANDRUS ‘02 MADE HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT with the short documentary, “ Three Brothers in Shanghai,” at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles in June 2026. The documentary, which Nick directed, highlights his grandfather’s experiences in Shanghai as a Jewish child refugee during World War II. “I’ ve always loved film,” explains Andrus. “When I was in middle school at Live Oak, a friend and I set out to watch every film on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 list. We didn’t make it all the way through the list, but my passion for film persisted. One of my professors had worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and his incredible stories convinced me that I wanted to pursue filmmaking as a career.”

Learn more about “Three Brothers in Shanghai”

After graduating from Live Oak in 2002, Nick attended Lowell High School before double majoring in film and history at the University of Southern California. He has since worked as a Director’s Guild of America (DGA) unit production manager on independent feature films, commercials, and music videos. “A s t h e s o n o f a l i b r a r i a n , I w a s a v o r a c i o u s r e a d e r, ” s a y s A n d r u s . “ I still remember the first time I read about the Holocaust in fifth grade and struggled to make sense of how such cruelty could exist, especially knowing my own family had been affected by it.”

Bringing Family Legacy to the Big Screen

Andrus credits many o f the faculty he had at Live Oak for helping lay the groundwork of inspiration that has led him down the path of filmmaking, including his fourth grade teacher Kimberly Borst, fifth grade teacher Kathleen Fulmer, and his middle school humanities teacher Jake Sproul, who sparked a lasting passion for history within Andrus. “Years later, that passion became personal as I listened to my grandfather and his brothers describe their childhood in Shanghai, one of the only places in the world that accepted undocumented Jewish refugees fleeing Europe during WWII,” explains Andrus. “As my grandfather’s dementia progressed, I realized that if I didn’ t preserve his story, it would simply disappear. That eventually led to making the documentary, ‘ Three Brothers in Shanghai.’ The project has taken me across the country to meet with experts and eventually to Shanghai to retrace my family’s footsteps. Along the way, I’ ve come to appreciate how much Live Oak’s emphasis on curiosity and compassion has shaped the way I approach my craft.”

SEE MORE OF NICK’S WORK nicholasandrus.com

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ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES

Curiosity Fuels a Positive Impact

I’M CURIOUS TO LEARN as much about the world as possible!” says Thijs Simonian ‘20. During his sophomore year at Stanford University in 2025-26, Simonian directed the nation’s largest collegiate hackathon, TreeHacks, flying in 1,000 students to Stanford’s campus to spend 36 hours building tech projects aimed at making a positive change in the world.

“I thought the best part was giving students that don’ t normally have exposure to tech and Silicon Valley everything they need–the latest technology and mentorship from every major company–to build incredible projects,” explains Simonian. As part of the event, Simonian and his co-organizers facilitated visits from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other major figures in tech, and presented the chance for fellow hackers to win over $1 million in prizes to take their projects beyond TreeHacks and out into the world. Outside of the hackathon, Simonian has worked at Arena, an AI startup that creates the leaderboards for AI progress, where he built their generative video leaderboard. Simonian most recently spent the summer of 2026 working on OpenAI’s robotics team. “Most major positive change to the world in recent years has been driven by inventions and new technologies,” says Simonian, acknowledging that there exist plenty of examples of harmful technology as well, citing addictive smartphones and short form video apps like TikTok. “Despite this, curiosity about technology gives you massive leverage to, when used correctly, make the world a better place. Curiosity can take you anywhere.” Gleaning a passion for tinkering and creating while making art, developing theater productions, building experiments, and more at Live Oak, Simonian identifies the biggest impact of his Live Oak experience as an awareness of his potential to contribute to positive change. “Live Oak instilled having a positive impact–not just an impact on the world–to me,” reflects Simonian. “Learning empathy early on gave me a much better ability to truly understand people and work toward improving their lives rather than just thinking of them as users.” 51

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ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES

Alumni Student-Athlete Standouts

Live Oak alumni achieve incredible success on the courts and fields as they pursue their athletic passions at the high school level. The following alums earned all-league honors during their 2025-26 athletic seasons.

FALL

Ben Friedland ‘23, San Francisco University HS, Boys Cross-Country, 1st Team Ethan Kraska ‘23, San Francisco University HS, Boys Cross-Country, 1st Team Andrew Martinovsky ‘23, College Prep School, Boys Cross-Country, 2nd Team Hugo Tao Ong ‘24, San Francisco University HS, Boys Cross-Country, 1st Team

Zoe Cashman ‘22

WINTER

The Urban School Lacrosse » 1st Team

Angelina Babler-Kuebler ‘23, Drew School, Girls Soccer, 1st Team Daria Bernegger ‘25, The International School of San Francisco, Girls Soccer, 2nd Team Makayla Lundy ‘23, San Francisco University HS, Girls Basketball, Honorable Mention

SPRING Natalie Babler-Kuebler ‘23, The Urban School, Softball, 2nd Team Shaila Clark ‘24, The Urban School, Softball, Honorable Mention D3 Colbert ‘24, Lick-Wilmerding HS, Boys Track & Field, 2nd Team 4x100 Relay Mikaela Ho ‘25, College Prep School, Girls Track & Field, 1st Team 100m hurdles, 4x400 relay, 2nd Team 300m hurdles Ethan Kraska ‘23, San Francisco University HS, Boys Track & Field, 1st Team (800m, 1600m, 3200m) BCL Championship Athlete of the Meet (1st in BCL West and the Bay Area Conference in 800m, 1600m, 3200m) Taemoh Lee ‘22, San Francisco University HS, Boys Track & Field, 2nd Team 4x800 Relay Andrew Martinovsky ‘23, College Prep School, Boys Track & Field, 2nd Team 800m Hugo Tao Ong ‘24, San Francisco University HS, Boys Track & Field, Honorable Mention 3200m Temma Passaro ‘23, Lick-Wilmerding HS, Girls Track & Field, 2nd Team 4x800 Relay Aywin Wu ‘23, The International School of San Francisco, Boys Badminton, 1st Team Singles

Ari Pearlmutter ‘22

Jewish Community HS Volleyball » 1st Team

Ellie Massillon ‘23

The International School of SF Track » 1st Team Soccer » 2nd Team LIVEOAKSF.ORG

Welcome Back to Mariposa,

CLASS OF 2O22!

We were so grateful to see so many members of the Cla ss of 2022 and their families at our reunion event on May 19, 2026. We wish them the best in their college and career endeavors and hope to see them back on Mariposa soon!

American University Art Center College of Design Bard College Barnard College Bates College Boston College Boston University Brown University Cal Poly Maritime Academy Cal Poly Pomona Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Champlain College Chapman College Colby College Colorado College Colorado University, Boulder Columbia University 53

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SUMMER 2026

ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES

Live Oak graduates from the Class of 2022 are joining fellow Live Oak alumni who attend and have graduated from the following colleges and universities: Cornell University Emory University Evergreen State College George Washington University Harvard University Haverford College Johns Hopkins University Julliard College Loyola Marymount University Loyola University New Orleans Mount Holyoke College Northeastern University New York University Oberlin College & Conservatory Olin College of Engineering Oregon State University Pitzer College Pomona College Reed College San Diego State University

San Francisco State University San Jose State University Santa Clara University Scripps College Seattle University Smith College Stanford University Syracuse University The New School Tufts University Tulane University University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Chicago LIVEOAKSF.ORG

University of Maryland University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of Oregon University of Rochester University of Southern California University of St. Andrews University of Texas, Austin University of Utah University of Washington University of Wisconsin Wake Forest University Washington University St. Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University Whitman College Whitney College Williams College Yale University 54

VOICES FROM THE LIVE OAK COMMUNITY Jenny Andrus has both contributed to the magic of a Live Oak education as the school's former librarian and seen its impact in inspiring her two children as Live Oak graduates. Now, Jenny is bringing that same magic to her work as a children's book author.

By: Jenny Andrus P'97, '02

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SUMMER 2026

GUESS YOU COULD SAY I just can’t let Live Oak School go.

appeared when the tour led upstairs to Mary Ann Chin Ng’s third-grade class, where I saw the same sense of engagement and purpose.

In December 2025, I was invited by Live Oak’s wonderful, new librarians to share my debut picture book, Elsa’ s Chessboard—the story of my WWII refugee, chess-playing grandmother—with third, fourth, and fifth graders. Julie Downing, the book’s illustrator, joined me. Being back in the library surrounded by thoughtful, curious students so eager to engage with a book—our book—reminded me of everything I value about Live Oak.

I knew then that Live Oak was the school I wanted my daughter Sasha and her younger brother Nick to attend. What I didn’t realize was how much the school would end up shaping me—both personally and professionally. I learned from the teachers who taught my kids, and my husband Alex and I became part of a vibrant parent community, forming friendships that continue to this day.

The visit felt like a homecoming, another chapter in a journey that began 35 years ago, when I entered a pink building on Diamond Street as a parent on a kindergarten tour. I still remember stepping into John Gaudino’s kindergarten classroom and watching happy kids absorbed in their activities. Any thought that it might be a fluke dis-

I se rv ed o n th e Li v e Oak B o ard fo r tw o t erm s , and in Nick’s final semester of eighth grade, the Potrero campus opened—the culmination of years of planning and anticipation. Nick graduated from Live Oak in 2002, excited and well prepared to enter Lowell High School. Sasha had graduated several years earlier and attended Sterne School.

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Sasha on an rly 90s Live Oak fieea ld trip

Live OAk Nick at Camp

I felt grateful for our family ’s time at Live Oak, along with a sense of closure. We were moving on, just as the school was starting anew on Mariposa Street. I didn’ t stay away long! A few years later, Master of Library Science degree in hand, I returned to Live Oak as the K-8 school librarian. I remained in the role for 14 years, much of the time working in partnership with fellow librarian Melissa McAvoy, also a former Live Oak parent.

I knew then that Live Oak was the school I wanted my daughter Sasha and her younger brother Nick to attend. WHAT I DIDN’T REALIZE WAS HOW MUCH THE SCHOOL WOULD END UP SHAPING ME—BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY.

Some of my happiest memories are of collaboration—working with classroom teachers and specialists on rich, cross-curricular projects. These ranged from planning Stone Soup celebrations with the first-grade team to leading a fifth-grade student library volunteer program with Extended Day Programs Director Dorothy Martinez. Together, Melissa and I devel57

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oped library curriculum, taught library classes, organized annual book fairs with dedicated parent volunteers, and worked with Virginia and the administrative team on a major library renovation project. I loved helping students find “that” book—the one that spoke to them, the one they returned to again and again, the one they couldn’ t wait to recommend to friends. During my years at Live Oak, I came to appreciate the power of picture books. Far from being just for the very young, they also captivated older students. Every so often, an eighth grader would wander in and settle into the picture book section, revisiting stories they had once— and still—enjoyed.

I began to think about writing a picture book myself. A story based on my grandmother’s life bounced around in my head, but it wasn’ t until I SUMMER 2026

Andrus welcomed a range of visiting authors to Live Oak during her years as librarian, including Kwame Alexander (above) and Jeff Kinney (right).

“retired” in 2020 that I found the time to begin. Published by Neal Porter Books in 2025, Elsa’s Chessboard is a multi-layered, inter-generational story about an Austrian Jewish woman. When Elsa was forced to flee her home during World War II, her love of chess helped her find connection and community as a refugee. As a school librarian, I had often used picture books to open the door to meaningful conversations about difficult subjects. Those experiences gave me the confidence not to sugarcoat my grandmother’s story. When I shared Elsa’s Chessboard with students at Live Oak, I was struck by how their curiosity led into deeper layers: Why did Elsa have to leave Austria? How did her identity as a Jewish woman shape her experiences? What challenges did she face as a refugee? How did chess sustain her? What else did she bring with her to America? What would you bring if you had only one suitcase?

Learn more about Jenny’s work at her website:

jennyandruswrites.com

Live Oak School has always been a place filled with stories—stories children tell, write, draw, read, and hear from others. I cherish that spirit of storytelling. Thank you, Live Oak, for helping me find my voice and for inviting me to share my story. LIVEOAKSF.ORG

Live Oak faculty reflect on their growth opportunities as they continue to sharpen their craft and refine their teaching practice.

N SIXTH GRADE EARTH SCIENCE, students ex-

tent with the physical conditions they described?

plore the physical, biological and human pro-

After all, their imaginary worlds still have to obey

cesses that shape our planet. A central goal is

very real scientific principles. Once those deci-

helping them move beyond asking what happens

sions are made, creativity takes over. Deserts,

to asking how and why things happen. While I love

mountains, valleys, forests, storms and craters

guiding students toward a deeper understanding

quickly fill notebooks as students begin imagining

of the Earth system, assessing that understand-

what their planets might look like.

ing is surprisingly difficult. Unlike subjects with familiar assessments such as grammar packets,

Then came the paper maché. We started by cover-

unit quizzes, spelling tests and the standard mile,

ing balloons with layers of newspaper and paste,

Earth Science asks students to weave together

a task that proved much more challenging than

ideas from different disciplines and apply their

expected. Some students meticulously placed ev-

thinking to unfamiliar situations. While I continue

ery strip of paper, barely completing a single layer

to refine my assessments, one promising start

even after two class periods. Others enthusias-

has been our Unit 1 final project: designing and

tically threw handfuls of soggy paper onto their

building imaginary planets.

balloons with little chance of the mixture ever drying. Every afternoon I stretched work time to

Students begin by making design choices based

the last possible minute to give the students the

on what they have learned throughout the unit.

maximum work time, then I scrambled frantically

Which states of matter are most common on

about the room during our five-minute passing

their planet? Is it rocky like Mercury and Earth, or

period so that the next class could get started.

gaseous like Jupiter and Saturn? How far from the

And the problems just seemed to keep coming.

Sun is their planet? And is that distance consis-

Planets mysteriously disappeared. One student’s

LIVE OAK MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2026

Mistakes

magic

are

By: Dreas Ratteray Middle School Science Teacher

balloon popped midway through construction,

Gradually, my thinking shifted from seeing prob-

collapsing the entire project. I began wondering

lems to seeing opportunities. Friction between

whether I had made a mistake by choosing this as

students signaled the need for better classroom

the final project.

systems. Unexpected ridges forming on the side of a planet became mountain ranges. Wild choic-

I remembered something a friend once told me:

es like placing a liquid-water planet next

the only way through is through. I could wish the

to the Sun highlighted my need to rethink

problems away, but nothing would improve until

how I teach the actual material. This shift

I addressed them. We had to take things back to

in thinking captures one of the things I en-

the drawing board. First, we built stronger class-

joy most about teaching Earth Science: it

room systems together. Every student helped

is an inherently naturally messy objective, with

prepare materials before class, including tearing

students (and teachers!) forming ideas based on

newspaper into strips. Everyone shared cleanup

evidence, and therefore inevitably being wrong

responsibilities afterward. The students even de-

some of the time. Earth Science requires revision,

signed their own cleanup tracker to make sure

debate and the occasional spectacular failure.

the work was distributed fairly. We created a la-

Mistakes in this context are not simply inevitable,

beled “planetary parking lot” so every project had

they are essential. Understanding is not founded

a home between classes. No more missing plan-

solely on success. Failure is an invaluable part of

ets! Soggy planets were carefully rebuilt with the

understanding as well.

help of a hair dryer. The collapsed planet gained

SEE DREAS'S SIXTH GRADE SCIENCE CLASS IN ACTION DURING THEIR INTERDISCIPLINARY SOLAR SYSTEM PROJECT AT OCEAN BEACH.

a second life after we inserted and inflated a new balloon inside its shell.

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e t a D e h Save t 61

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Book Fest

December 7-11, 2026

Grandparents & Special Friends Day

May 7, 2027

SUMMER 2026

ACCESS THE DIGITAL EDITION OF THIS AND PREVIOUS ISSUES OF LIVE OAK MAGAZINE: issuu.com/liveoaksf

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Live Oak Magazine is created annually by the Advancement Office. Please share future contributions, feedback, or contact information changes with advancement@liveoaksf.org. This issue was printed by Colorprint. Special thanks to those who contributed photography to this issue: Dorothy Martinez, pg. 6 Ayan K. '26, pg. 7 Justin Mears, pg. 8 Robbie Smiley, pg. 8 Rita Louh, pg. 9 Yoallli Correa & Jenny Burns, 2E, pg. 13 Halen Groce & Jean DeWitt, 4W, pg. 14 Mario Martinez-Muñoz, pg. 14 Renata Martin, pg. 18 Francisca Guzman, pg. 18, 53-54 Emily Bello, Zachary Gong, SiJing

Sanchez & EHDD Architecture, pg. 19-22 Catharyn Hayne, pg. 25, 39-42 San Francisco University High School, pg. 47 Liza St. James '02, pg. 48 Megan Beattie '13, pg. 49 Nick Andrus '02, pg. 50 Thijs Simonian '20, pg. 51 Rizal Adanza, pg. 52 Jewish Community High School, pg. 52 Joseph Wittlake, pg. 52 Jenny Andrus P'97, '02, pg. 55-58

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