Battle of the Books

What is Battle of the Books?

America's Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading incentive program for students in grades 4 and 5. It is organized by our very own Suffolk Public Library. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers.

1. What is the book list? There are 6 books selected by the local public libraries. The list will be released to rising 4th and 5th grade students by the start of each summer.

2. What will be the make-up of the teams? OES will sponsor an unlimited number of 5 person teams. Each team member will read 2-3 books so the team as a whole will cover all 6 books.

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

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

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

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

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run inspires girls in grades 3-5 of all abilities to recognize their unique strengths, while building a sense of connection in a team setting. Volunteer coaches facilitate lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development to enable team members to adapt to whatever comes their way. At the end of the season, the team completes a 5K together, which provides a tangible sense of accomplishment and sets a confident mindset into motion. 

Safety Patrol

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

Talented Art 

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

Talented Music

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