Storybook Tree Flies Over Lower School

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25, students and faculty gathered around the new Lower School to watch history being made as the storybook tree was flown over the building and placed in the courtyard. As the tree was being flown from the kindergarten parking lot over the first and second grade wing of the building, all you could hear were the sounds of fourth graders showing their excitement, and creating new cheers about trees, for a once-in-a-lifetime event. View the video here.

What’s so special about this tree? This tree, a caliper Chinkapin Oak to be exact, is the storybook tree that will sit outside the library where students will be able to make new memories under its branches. The tree hails from Twin Lakes Nursery in Canton, Texas, where it has been growing in a box for 30-40 years. Currently 25 feet tall, it may someday grow to be 60-70 feet tall. Chinkapin Oaks have been known to live over 250 years with the oldest, the Sacred Oak, located in Oley Valley, Pennsylvania, being an estimated 500 years old. 

“The storybook tree will be a focal point of the new building and a gathering location for Lower School students,” said Trey Blair, Head of Lower School. “Imagine morning meetings, assemblies, book clubs or K-4 families taking place around the tree throughout the year. We can't wait to see students gathering around the tree in 2025!”