04/24/23 Oak Grove News

Dear Families,
Please save the date for the next Superintendent Talk on Tuesday, May 2, from 5:30-6:30 pm. The meeting will be in-person in our Professional Development (PD) Room. This is an opportunity to hear from the community about any topics of interest. These meetings will have a maximum of 15 participants in attendance to ensure voices can be heard. If a session fills, we will open additional meetings. Please RSVP HERE to let us know if you plan to attend and require childcare. Light refreshments will be served.

Thank you, Tony!

Tomorrow night's Board of Education meeting marks the end to Dr. Anthony (Tony) Giamis term on the Oak Grove Board of Education. He has served eight years on the Board, including four years as Board President and two years as Board Secretary. He was first drawn to the Board to address issues related to curriculum changes and communication. Tony is known for his passion for STEM education, an advocate of education as a leading indicator of future success, and for his steadfast focus on the budget.

Dr. Giamis is a veteran of two Superintendent searches, two Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), eight annual operating budgets for a combined $150-million dollars, a multiyear & multi-million district renovation, and when Oak Grove School was named a recipient to the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program Award. The greatest challenge during his tenure on the Board was to balance safety with education and the community needs/expectations during the COVID-19 era. He is thankful to have had great relationships with the Board, administration, faculty, community health experts, and the community to keep the students at OGS moving forward when many other Districts fell behind.

Dr. Giamis plans to spend more time with his family in the next chapter. He will be able to attend more activities with his sons, Zachary (OGS'16), a junior at Western Illinois University, and with Christopher (OGS '18), a freshman at Marquette University, with his wife Liz. In his free time, Tony is an active leader in the local Boy Scouts of America Council and is the Course Director for their National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) program again this June.

Message from the Principal

What a week!
Our Oak Grove community is truly extraordinary! We're looking forward to celebrating our Purple Up Day, Wednesday, April 26 to recognize our military students and families. We have so many wonderful volunteers within our community that help in a variety of ways and that is what makes Oak Grove such an amazing school. To celebrate our volunteers on Thursday, April 27, we are hosting a breakfast at 7:30 - 9:30 am to thank them all for everything they do for our school.
If you have any questions, please contact Susan Gilbert at gilbert@ogschool.org or Kathy Azzato at azzato@ogschool.org.

Registration for Returning Families
2023-2024 registration for returning families will open on May 1. A letter with instructions and login credentials will be emailed home the morning of Monday, May 1. We ask that all families complete online registration before May 15. If you are not planning on returning to Oak Grove for the 23-24 school year, please contact Karen Draths, draths@ogschool.org.

Registration for Incoming Kindergarten and All New Families
Monday, June 5, 1:00 - 7:00 pm in the small gym. Information regarding registration will be mailed home to all new families. If you aware of anyone new to the area who is interested in registration information, please have then contact Karen Draths, draths@ogschool.org.

Mental Health Minute
This month's topic is Reflection. A continuation for this month's topic on reflection is a list of literature per grade levels below. Also included are some suggested questions you can ask your child to help them reflect as they read. For more information, click HERE.

Spirit Week
For this week's spirit week schedule, click here

Important Dates
4/24: Stepping Up to Sixth Grade 6:00-8:30 pm
4/25: Track at Lakes Community High School 4:30 pm, COW 6:00 pm, Regular Board Meeting 7:15 pm
4/26: Purple Up Day Breakfast 7:15 am, for more information click here
4/27: PTO Volunteer Breakfast 7:30-9:30 am
5/1: Track at Lakes High School 4:00 pm
5/2: SuptTalk 5:30 pm, Symphonic Band at Libertyville High School 6:30 pm
5/3: Golf vs. Millburn and Lake Bluff at Glen Flora 4:00 pm, Track at North Chicago High School 4:30 pm, PTO Meeting 6:30 pm
5/4: Track at Lake Forest High School 4:30 pm
5/6: Lakeside Conference Track Meet at North Chicago High School 8:00 am

Curriculum Corner

iReady Testing
Spring diagnostic testing is taking place this week in math and reading.
To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic tests, encourage them to:

Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.
Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
Try not to worry about questions they do not know—remind them that it is expected they will only get about half of the questions correct.
Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish.

Please be sure your child brings a fully charged device to school and has working headphones for the test. Students who are absent will be scheduled for make-up testing next week.

PTO News

Stepping Up to 6th Grade
We are looking forward to seeing 5th grade student+adult pairs this evening! The night kicks off in the Patt Pat gym at 6:00 pm. If you are unable to attend, your student will still receive a goodie bag from the evening via their homeroom teacher. Watch for additional details later this week.

RSVP Now for the 6th-7th Grade Social
Calling all 6th and 7th Graders! Come to SkyZone on Thursday, May 18, from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m for a fun afternoon of jumping! We will have the place to ourselves, so it will be a great time to socialize with friends and jump out some energy. This event is limited to 85 students and a designated adult must remain on site. (This adult can be for a group of students). Sign up here. Water and a snack will be provided at the conclusion of the event. Please complete the sign-up sheet and the SkyZone Waiver for your Student. The Students are given jump socks at the event. Please reach out to Carrie Siebert with any questions.

Volunteers Needed for Field Day
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to volunteer for the PTO Field Day. As a reminder, Field Day will be held on Friday, May 26 and we need at least 20 more parent volunteers from 8:30-11:00 am to confirm the event, and make it a success! Grab a friend and sign up for a station for a morning full of fun! Please email Karin Pawlowski or Laura Reutzel with any questions.

Earth Day Clean-Up
Great job to all those who participated in the Earth Day Clean-up of OGS school grounds and thank you to Jen Davis for coordinating the event! We found some unusual items like an old TV and we disposed of countless food wrappers, baggies, and broken pencils. Remember, every litter bit hurts, so let’s do our part to keep the Earth clean!

Last Days to sign up - 4th & 5th Grade Social
Don’t forget to sign up for the 4th & 5th Grade social on Friday, April 28 from 7:00-8:00 pm. This event is limited to 75 students and a designated adult must remain on site (this can be one adult for a group of students). Sign up here - it’s sure to be an ultimate evening! Upon completion of the sign-up sheet be sure to also submit the Ultimate Ninjas waiver. Please reach out to Donna Bachman with any questions.

Buy One, Get One Book Fair May 9-May 12
The BOGO Book Fair for Grades K-8 will be at Oak Grove Tuesday, May 9 - Friday, May 12. We will be open late for Family Night on Wednesday, May 10 from 4:00-7:30 pm If you have questions, please contact Kelly Epley. Here's how to get ready for the Book Fair:

VISIT the Oak Grove Book Fair Web Site.
VOLUNTEER - Click Here to view and sign up for available times!
CHECK the Book Fair Schedule to find out when your child shops.
SET UP your eWallet - Make shopping easy by adding money to an eWallet account for your child. Click the eWallet link on the Book Fair Home Page. You can also donate to teacher's eWallets! Just search by name.
GIVE the gift of reading to others - The All for Books Dollar Challenge is back during the Spring Book Fair! Send in donations (extra change and/or small bills) with your student on his/her shopping day to drop into our donation jars. This year, OGS is raising money to buy books for Reading Power! Reading Power partners with underfunded schools in Zion, North Chicago, and Waukegan to provide one-to-one literacy tutoring. The grade in K-4 and 5-8 that collects the most money during the challenge will win a popsicle party!

OGEA Scholarship

The Oak Grove Education Association is proud to present the eighth annual Eagle Scholarship given to an Oak Grove alum who has demonstrated excellence in academics, character, extracurricular activities, and service. The OGEA represents the certified staff at Oak Grove School. Our educators are committed to the success of all current and former students.

The Oak Grove Education Association is proud to present the eighth annual Eagle Scholarship to Sean Heard. Sean embodies the diversity of experience that we prioritize at Oak Grove. His time at Oak Grove included athletics, involved in multiple sports, academics, challenging himself outside of the classroom, and fine arts, where he put all of his talents on display with his 8th grade class. He attributes his level of involvement at LHS as being a byproduct of the "empowering environment" of Oak Grove School. Sean, we, the teachers of Oak Grove, are proud of your efforts, salute your growth and look forward to your future contributions.

Band News

Hello Band Families!
Our concerts are coming up fast! Tuesday, May 2 at 6:30 pm is our Symphonic and Jazz Band Concert. This concert is held in the LHS auditorium. On Wednesday, May 10 at 6:30 pm is our Concert and Beginning Band Concert. That concert is held here at OGS in the Patt Gym. Attire for both is "Dress Your Best"- please no jeans, athletic wear or clothing with tears/rips.

Just a friendly reminder to Beginning Band participants to have their instrument and book on Wednesdays for group lessons in addition to your designated rehearsal days.

There will be an email from us with greater detail sent out by the end of today.