Immersion in Full Bloom

Oakwood’s Immersion Program is experimentation at its best. It’s an alternative approach to learning that encourages students and faculty to take risks, gain self-knowledge, develop skills, and have a lot of fun in the process. Over two weeks in 2015, thirty-six classes set off on campus, across the country, and around the world.

In the mountains, seas, and deserts of the American West, Oakwood students are engaged in challenging studies of Marine Biology in Catalina’s Toyon Bay, Wilderness Skills and Photographic Composition in Death Valley, and American Environmentalism in Montana.

To the east, students are in our nation’s capital for Road to the White House, a study of electoral politics. In New York, Girls Learn International is at the UN Conference on the Status of Women, learning about leadership roles in the movement to affect positive change for girls and women worldwide.

Further afield, students in Spain, China, Costa Rica, and the Virgin Islands are exploring the world with immersive language experiences, ocean sailing, ecology, and firsthand knowledge of local cultures and customs. In England, students enrolled in Peace and Conflict Studies at Oxford have been engaged with serious questions on the inevitability of war as they examine the nature and evolution of violent conflict since the seventeenth century.

Here in North Hollywood, the Secondary School campus is alive with the aroma of French cuisine, the sound of music, and the drone of 3-D printers as students work on a range of topics including cooking, culture, robotics, jazz, and musical theatre.

Ensconced in one of the modular classrooms, a group of juniors and seniors in #BUYTHISNOW are planning a quiet revolution in marketing: developing campaigns for products both real and imaginary.

A visual transformation is underway on the North Campus as Public Art students work to complete a project that will enliven the outdoor school environment with colors and concepts taken from Oakwood’s school logo and Statement of Philosophy.

Indoors, printmaking students enrolled in Original Copies are putting the finishing touches on a limited edition print series made with letterpress and block printing techniques learned during Immersion.

For more photos and stories, head over to the Immersion website.