Learning Beyond the Classroom

Live Oak students are regularly leaving the classroom to learn from the world around them. Kindergartners experience an array of San Francisco's parks, sights, and neighborhoods on weekly Friday field trips. We make it a point to help expose our students to experiences that deepen their understanding of academic concepts while collecting valuable insights into how these skills make meaning in their everyday life. Field trips like the sixth grade "Our Changing City" exploration of San Francisco's evolving neighborhoods allow our students to experience the richness of the city they live in. In the spring of 2025, eight graders embarked on a new experiential learning opportunity with a week-long tour through the South that brought them closer to their learning about the Civil Rights Movement. 

Overnight outdoor trips present opportunities for our students to pursue learning goals beyond the walls of our school. The trips allow our students to deepen their learning and expand their connections with peers. The administrative and faculty teams work in partnership with outside organizations to provide our students in grades 4-8 with opportunities ranging from recreating a Russian settlement in Ft. Ross to a backpacking trip in Pinnacles National Forest. Some new overnight experiences in recent years have included a fourth grade visit to Westminster Woods, a sixth grade outing to Big Sur, and a seventh grade trip to Yosemite.

Every Live Oak student and staff member is a member of a mixed grade Grove. Groves encourage a sense of belonging, connectedness, and responsibility. Middle school students take on leadership roles in these groups, acting as models for social interaction and supporting younger students in Grove activities and community projects. One of Live Oak's long-standing traditions is the annual Sunflower Assembly where new kindergartners in each Grove are formally introduced by their eighth grade buddies to the broader school community at the beginning of the school year as an expression of welcoming and inclusion. 

El campamento Live Oak es el evento más esperado del año. Con el apoyo del profesorado, del personal del campamento y de los padres, los alumnos se enfrentan a nuevos retos, desde dormir en cabañas con sus compañeros, escalar en roca y nadar como un oso polar, hasta escribir un diario en silencio y participar en un concurso de talentos. 

Twice a year, Live Oak middle school students stage a full play geared for the enjoyment of San Francisco families. The productions give seventh and eighth graders the opportunity to sharpen their acting skills or participate in the stage crew to help bring the production to life. These performances are open to the public and sell out every year. Live Oak students put on two full scale productions each year. In recent years, productions have included, James and the Giant Peach (fall 2025), The Princess and the Pea (spring 2025), and At the Hop (fall 2024). 

Los deportes extraescolares para los alumnos de quinto a octavo grado incluyen campo a través, voleibol, baloncesto y fútbol sala. Los entrenamientos se centran en el desarrollo de habilidades, el buen espíritu deportivo y el liderazgo, al tiempo que proporcionan una oportunidad positiva para la interacción social y de grupo. Los alumnos de la escuela inferior tienen la oportunidad de participar en fútbol y taekwondo como parte de nuestros programas de enriquecimiento Roots & Branches. 

Live Oak offers a robust and engaging slate of afterschool activities through its Extended Day Programs. From the popular taekwondo courses to foreign language, art, and robotics, there are so many ways for Live Oak students to continue learning and growing beyond the school day. Extended Day offerings are available to all students across grades K-8 and are built around providing students even more opportunities to pursue their interests and challenge themselves in diverse ways.