Olivewood School: This Is Your Life

Past and present parents, teachers, students and staff gathered at Olivewood Elementary on Friday to kick off a two-day bash commemorating the school’s 30th birthday.

Amid a colorful array of flags, banners and balloons, more than 650 students wearing birthday buttons and Olivewood T-shirts, cheered, danced and sang during a midday parade and celebration of their school and its history.

“It’s fun seeing all the old principals and stuff,” said fifth-grader Adam Gavaletz.

Olivewood opened during the 1966-67 school year.

When upper-grade students moved into the school in November 1966, the building had not yet been completed, which led to stories of leaky roofs and cramped spaces. Order was restored when the school was completed in February 1967 and the rest of the student body joined the campus.

Principal Suzanne Westmoreland said the school organized the event to celebrate and recognize 30 years of educational excellence at the campus.

“I think it’s very important for the children to have a sense of who they are and who their school is,” she said.

Five of the school’s six past principals were introduced to a round of cheers from students.

One was Jeff Herdman, Olivewood’s principal for nine years in the 1970s and early 1980s. Herdman, now a principal at El Camino Real Elementary in Irvine, said he shares fond memories of the school, its staff and students.

“This place is awesome,” he said. “It was nine of the best years of my profession.”

Former students and staff will also be recognized and remembered as the birthday celebrations continue today.

The birthday party was extra special for teacher Angelina Hudson who has been teaching kindergarten at Olivewood since it opened.

Hudson, who has seen the communities grow, computers enter the classroom and class sizes reduced, said Friday’s festivities were a touching tribute to her school.

“It was so memorable, it was so emotional,” the 61-year-old Laguna Hills resident said.

For students now attending Olivewood, the festivities were also a reminder of the past as each grade level performed dances representing each decade of the school’s history, from Beach Boys’ themed hand-jive and the ‘70s hustle to the electric slide from the 1980s and today’s macarena.