By JEN COWART The students at Oaklawn Elementary School are taking their learning to the stage. Under the direction of music teacher Jessica Hookway, the fifth grade students recently presented the musical “Science Rocks!” and, just one week later, the second-grade students presented the musical, “How Does Your Garden Grow?” for multiple audiences. The 30-minute musicals incorporated singing, dancing, art and solo speaking parts. The students presented for their fellow peers and the teachers during a daytime dress rehearsal and for their parents in a special nighttime performance. “They have been working on these since November,” said Hookway, who spoke with the teachers at each grade level about the types of curriculum topics being covered, and then worked with them to target particular topics for the performances. In the fifth grade, the musical selections featured topics such as the three types of rocks, the three forms of matter, Newton’s Theory of Relativity, clouds and the food chain, and “cameo appearances” from famous groundbreaking scientists such as Sigmund Freud, Isaac Newton, Galileo and Charles Darwin. The second-grade musical centered on plants and featured costume accessories and artistic set design done by the students. The songs included “Planting Seeds,” “We Are the Loveliest Flowers,” “Weeds Rule!,” “The Garden Hoedown,” “How Does Your Garden Grow?” and even had some square dance moves mixed in with the hoedown music. The musicals received rave reviews from the students, teachers and parents, and Principal Jim Zanfini complimented both grade levels after their performances. Throughout the second half of the school year additional grade levels will begin working on their own musicals and preparing for performances.