Girl's relay team wins the National Championship! Members of the girls 4x100 meter relay team won the gold medal at the AAU Jr. Olympic National Championship in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • Zenzile Riddick (8th) received the President's Scholarship from Bishop O'Dowd and will begin at the Oakland private school in the fall - congratulations for her hard work
  • Golf academy attracts a number of Ile Omode students
  • We offer an early goodbye to Mama Taiwo who will take maternity leave, although she will continue to teach the dance class; she will be replaced by Baba Khabral, a gifted teacher and parent with many talents
  • Alums Marcus Herron and Bakare Awakoaiye faced off at a dual track meet at St. Mary's
  • Girl's Club spends a Saturday shopping and dining in San Francisco
  • Ile Omode students win the elementary, middle school, and high school competition for the 2nd Annual Dr. Carter G. Woodson Black History Bowl
  • Students begin track season strong at CA Track Club's Invitational meet - several students are ranked nationally (see the Sports Channel for more details)
  • Parents can now access their children's grades, homework, lessons, and schedule online (see Teacherease.com - if you don't have an account, contact Mama Kelly)
  • Adding to our mobile initiative, to put a laptop on every lap, the school is now providing protected email accounts for every student from 4th through 8th grade
  • Bakare, an alum, now a freshman in high school, was profiled as a "Game Changer" by 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys
  • 7th District Councilman Larry Reid visited our school and spoke to the elementary and middle school students
  • Our children had a great time at their first "safari" field trip

Ile Omode Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

Ile Omode will celebrate its 25th year of educating children in Oakland with a Carnival and Brunch fundraiser on Saturday, May 21 and a special service on Sunday, May 22 at Wo'se Community.

On Saturday, join Ile Omode in a brunch and carnival. The block party style event is open to everyone, and will feature carnival games, entertainment, food, and excitement for all ages. Tickets for the brunch are $25 for adults and $8 for children and can be purchased in advanced at Ile Omode, or on the day of the event, which begins at 10 am.

On Sunday, Wo'se Community, will offer a special Sunday service devoted to celebrating the achievement of one of Oakland's premiere educational institution. The event will feature performances from many of the current children as well as visits from the schools alum. Community guests are welcome for the 10:30 am service, as the celebration launches Ile Omode into service for the next 25 years.

Donations are encouraged, and interested individuals and groups can make contributions directly to the school (click here to make a contribution online). All donations are fully tax deductible.

All events are at 8924 Holly Street, in Oakland, California.

2010 Alums Face Off at Track Meet

Marcus Herron ('10) and Bakare Awakoaiye ('10) faced off for the first time in a dual track meet between St. Mary's High School and Bishop O'Dowd High School. Marcus got the better of his former classmate and friend, finishing 2nd overall in the 800 meter run.

Both students formally competed for CA Track Club (an Ile Omode athletic partner), and were teammates on last year's 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams that competed at the Pacific Association regional competition.

Marcus competes for St. Mary's in the 200 and 400 meter runs, as well as on the 4x400 relay team. Along with the 800 meter run, Bakare also competes in the 400 and 1600 meter run.

They're both adjusting to the demands of high school athletics, where practices are more intense, including weight training and daily practices for longer than they experienced as youth athletes.

 

Winners of the 2nd Annual Dr. Carter G. Woodson Black History Bowl

For the second consecutive year, Ile Omode, captured first place in the elementary and middle school divisions of the 2nd Annual Dr. Carter G. Woodson Black History Bowl.

The annual event continues the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson to promote the study of Black history, and to promote academic excellence among our youth. Sponsored by Verizon, 100 Black Men, and Oakland Unified School District, the event was held at Frick Middle School.

The elementary team, consisting of Khalid Cross (5th), Zmari Davis (5th), Khukheper Awakoaiye (5th), Malik Bossett (4th), and Galanafai Windross (4th), stood off an incredibly strong challenge from a well prepared Piedmont Elementary team. Midway during the competition, someone tripped a cable, causing the judges to resort to maintain the scores manually. Of course this launched conspiracy theorists, which will keep the rivalry brewing until next year.

The middle school competition was easily won by our middle school "A" team. The team included returning players, Halim Muhammad (7th) and KaRa Awakoaiye (7th). New members included Zenzile Riddick (8th), Senay Alkebulan (8th), and Kalimah Davis (6th). Senay competed for Beams Academy last year, which took 2nd place, so some might consider this a late season trade. Kalimah was a member of last year's elementary "B" team, but this year was the only 6th grader to make the middle school "A" team.

In a surprise move, the school fielded its "B" team to compete in the high school competition, and although it was a challenging match, they secured the victory. The team, led by team captain, Yomi Origunwa (6th), also included Namdi Riddick (6th), Maia Morgan (7th), Aminah Muhammad (8th), and Tatiyan Stepney (6th).

Congratulations to all the schools, students, and supporters for a great event.

Girl's Club in San Francisco

The Girl's Club guided by Mama Alison Morgan, recently spent a Saturday in San Francisco shopping and dining at the Cheesecake Factory.

The Girl's Club meets weekly, and decided to taking a shopping trip to San Franciso. They organized several bake sales to raise money to pay for their excursion, and had a great time.

While not caring for the long wait at the restaurant, Maia (7th), did enjoy the Cheesecake Factory, "and just having a good time and doing girls talk." Zenzile (8th) wrote:

Going on the Girls Group trip to San Francisco was so fun! Not only did we get to do two of my favorite things, eat and shop, but we got to enjoy each other's company and have a good time.

The day started when we all met at the Bart Station in West Oakland. We were all very excited about the days events. When we got to San Francisco our first stop was Forever 21. At Forever 21, I walked all over the three floors with Sennua (8th). Once we picked out somethings for each other and ourselves we decided to go to the dressing room. We saw Aminah (8th) there and once we tried on our things we knew what we were going to buy. From there we made the short walk to the Macy's building. When we got to Macy's, we all thought it was pretty funny consoling Janessa (8th) through her extreme fear of elevators. We couldn't go back to the Cheesecake Factory without stopping at Starbucks first for Janessa's signature drink, though!

Eating dinner was the best part. I had Shrimp pasta. We must've been at that restaurant for at least 45 minutes before we ordered - just talking and having fun. My neighbor Tatiyan and I bonded really for the first time, and I didn't realize how awesome she was until the trip. Walking back to the BART was crazy! The city was lit up, and even though it was drizzling, we enjoyed that too! I had so much fun with all of the girls and I was really happy and thankful that Mama Alison did it with us. I hope we do it again soon!

Larry Reid Visits Ile Omode. After speaking at our graduation ceremony at Oakland's City Hall in June, Larry Reid decided to pay our school a visit. He toured the school and was very impressed with the work that has been done.

After touring the school he spoke with the elementary and middle school students, as well as a number of parents. For students studying U.S. government it was particularly instructive for them to get a glimpse of a city councilman's work and vision for our city. Councilman Reid said that he got involved in politics because he wanted to, "change communities and give African Americans a sense of hope."

Reid represents most of East Oakland, and discussed plans to renovate Foothill Square, bringing both commerce and jobs to the area that has been in decline since Albertson's closed over five years ago. He is in talks with Ross, and other mid-sized retailers, and expects to break ground in 2011. He also has been at work on a community/recreation center in Brookfield, and students were excited to hear about water slides in Oakland - summer couldn't come fast enought for them. Everyone was surprised to learn that the Walmart near the Coliseum is the highest grossing Walmart in Northern California, and the In-N-Out Burger earns the highest revenue of any franchine in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Councilman Reid committed to supporting our school, and told the students that they are, "truly blessed" to receive an Ile Omode education. Shortly after his visit, the school received funding to support our music program - allowing the school to purchase new instruments for our jazz band ensemble. (visit Councilman Reid's website)

The Open house events are held on the last Friday of each month. Prospective parents can chose one of the following tour schedules:

  • Breakfast Tour: 8:00 am; begin with our near-world famous breakfast
  • Lunch Tour: 12 or 12:30 pm; enjoy a Friday "fun" lunch
  • Afternoon Tour: 4:30 pm - this tour can be schedule later depending on your schedule; designed to accomdate parents who are unable to attend the breakfast or lunch tour

There are immediate openings in the preschool; selected openings in elementary, and age-specific, scholarships available for girls. If interested in enrollment you may contact the school at (510) 632-8230.

Students Begin Intermediate Algebra at Laney College. Eighth graders Aminah and Zenzile (pictured at left) recently completed their enrollment at Laney College, and have taken their first chapter exam in Algebra 2 (Intermediate Algebra) - earning an "A" on the exam!

After a long process the two middle school girls are well on their way to completing their first college course. The two completed Algebra 1 and Geometry at Ile Omode, and are now concurrently enrolled at Laney College in Oakland, where they're taking Intermediate Algebra. They completed the math assessement (a requirement for any student enrolling in a math course). The assessment results placed them in Intermediate Algebra and Trigonometry (although they'll only take Intermediate Algebra).

They receive instruction at Ile Omode from the school's director, and upper-level math teacher, Baba Jahi, and take exams at Laney College.

Zenzile says she felt nervous before the exam, but, "being there with my friend helped the stress, and the studying we did together really helped."

They completed their first chapter exam, and Aminah scored 96% and Zenzile scored a perfect 100%. Although they did extremely well, Zenzile knows this is no reason to relax. "After I got my grade I was impressed but not surprised. I knew I did good, but I also know that it's only going to get harder", Zenzile said. The girls are enjoying themselves, and it's encouraging to see their hard work paying off for them.

Mural Project. Mama Lisa, the art and Spanish instructor at Ile Omode, decided to create our first Kwanzaa mural. Inspired by grafitti art, poets and musicians alike, the mural pays tribute to Kwanzaa as well as motherhood. We wanted to share the beauty of Kwanzaa with everyone and the mural seemed like a great vehicle for sharing the expression with the community.

Mama Lisa sketched the designed and worked with the middle school students to complete the mural. Watch the video below, and you'll know they had a wonderful time with the project.

 

"Martin" Actor Inspires Students. A chance encounter in Atlanta led to a visit 2,000 miles away. After a long flight from Oakland to Atlanta, Georgia, our middle school students were hungry, and anticipated a plate of chicken and waffles at Glady's Knight & Ron Winans Chicken and Waffles.

While enjoying brunch, the students looked up and saw Tommy Ford, best known for his role in "Martin" of the same name. Thanks to reruns and late night cable the teenagers were more than familiar with his character. Tommy was very gracious during the intrusion, but was so impressed that he decided to visit our school.

His presentation was far from the standard, "don't do drugs, stay in school", but was an incredible blend of sermon, comedy, drama, and inspiration. He showed an ability to communicate as easily with 3 year old preschoolers as to 13-year old teens.

He stressed the importance of making good choices and believing in your capacity for change. He shared his own struggles of having to overcome the negative impression of his father, recalling how one woman who had nothing but contempt for his father, told him he'd , "never be nothing". Of course he went on to great success, and continues to perform, and more importantly to speak with young people and share his success with the hope of inspiring them to find their, "job" in life.

Safari Field trip in California? Our "safari" field trip is reminiscent of the advertisements for Berkeley Farms, which read, "Farms in Berkeley?". Well there are no farms in Berkeley, but there is a safari in California, notably Safari West in Santa Rosa.

Our students had the pleasure of taking a tour at Safari West, and had a chance to see wild animals up close and personal.

The tour guides at Safari West were gracious, and answered every one of the dozen questions asked every minute, especially the mating rituals of the young giraffs.
Take the first Ile Omode history quiz! Are you up to the challenge? No cheating, and no life lines. [requires the free Adobe Flash Player]


See the picture of the month.

Baba Darian our afterschool teacher, and a renowned West African drummer and dancer, will teach the West African drumming class. Baba Darian has performed with Diamano Coura for over a decade, and brings enormous talents to share with our children.

Baba Jashen, a UC Berkeley student, completed his class, "Introduciton to World Music" for the 4th and 5th grade class, and will continue his studies in Berlin. He'll remain in Germany until August, but will return to teach in the fall. We wish him well during his trip and studies.
On to Italy! Our office manager, Mama Kelly, and Baba Darian (dance teacher) will perform with Diamano Coura for a music festival in Italy. Diamano Coura received an all-expenses paid invitation to represent West African dance.

Congrats to Aminah and Zenzile (8th graders) for completing the math assessment at Laney College and receiving placement in Algebra 2. The two girls enrolled in Algebra 2 and they both earned an "A" on their first chapter test.

The Girl's Club continues this year under the leadership of Mama Allison, while Mama Pam guides them in the Girl's Health class. The girls meet weekly, and interested mothers are invited to attend the club meetings or the health class on Fridays.

After joining the teaching staff last year (1st grade), Mama Taiwo, with her years of dance experience, has added a dance class. The dance group has several performance planned, and are readying themselves for a competition in the beginning of the year.

Mama Kelly (office manager) has relaunched our career speaker's series this year. Her guests this year have captivated the children. This year's speaker's list has included Dr. Charles Bossett (dentist), Jamila Churcill (surgical nurse), and Adonde Jordan-Davis (attorney). Contact Mama Kelly if you know an interesting career presenter.

Interested in fall enrollment? See the "Open House" schedule.

The Creations (from anicent Egypt) class offered by Wo'se Community runs from April 17 through May 22. The free class is taught by Dr. Ray Davis, and meets every Sunday from 9 to 10:30 am at Wo'se. Check back for an updated online class schedule for the new year

Enrollment confirmation forms for returning students are due to Mama Kelly.

Baba Abubakar's Martial Arts Aerobics class for adults continues. The classes are weekly Monday through Thursday from 6 - 7:00 pm, and Saturdays at 10:30 am. The classes are still only $5 per session. See the flyer.

FREE West African Drum class - offered by Wo'se, and taught by Bro Kele every Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 pm. All classes are at Wo'se (8924 Holly Street, Oakland). Call 510.632.8230 for more information.