Oak Grove News

Message from the Principal

What a week!
I hope that you all enjoyed the extended weekend and the beautiful weather! This week we have 8th-grade graduation, picnic day, our retiree's final day, and more. 

To the graduates, we wish you the best and please know that you're always welcome back to Oak Grove. 

To the retirees, thank you for leaving your mark and making Oak Grove a wonderful place. 

To all, thank you for your support throughout the year, have a fun summer, and see you all in the fall.

Teachers Select New Roles - Updated
Each year, when OGS experiences openings at grade levels due to retirements, leaves, or attrition, our existing staff have the option to consider these openings before they are posted to external candidates.
Please welcome the following teachers to new positions of their interest:
Mrs. W. Miller - Kindergarten
Miss Sarmiento - 1st Grade
Mrs. Thoune - 2nd grade
Mrs. Tazzioli - 5th grade
Mrs. Zurawski - Elementary special education teacher
Mrs. Aimee Brown - Middle school special education teacher

Additionally, Miss Dugan and Mrs. Mosquera will be returning to their full-time positions next year, as a reading interventionist and enrichment specialist respectively.

Oak Grove New Hires
We're excited to welcome new staff members to Oak Grove for the 23/24 school year:
Katherine Fitzgerald - Kindergarten
Geneva Ori - 3rd Grade
Jenna Maj - 3rd Grade
Andy Eckhorn-Martinez - 4th Grade
Kristen Hardy - 8th Grade
Alyssa Pavlakis - 8th Grade 

Eighth Grade Dance
A huge thank you to all the 8th grade parents, teachers, staff,
administration and alumni that helped make the 8th Grade Dance an
enormous success! The halls of Oak Grove were transformed into Chicago
as the Class of 2023 celebrated their Graduation and time together at
Oak Grove.

Carrying on this long-standing tradition would not have been possible without your support, contributions and time. The
students were incredibly grateful and will cherish these OGS memories forever! Congrats to the Class of 2023!

Mental Health Minute
This month's topic is Community. Having a supportive relationship between students, teachers and parents is the heart of a school community. For more information, click here.

Important Dates
5/30: Eighth Grade Graduation at Libertyville High School 7:00 pm
5/31: Fifth Grade Civil War Day
6/1: Last Day of School
6/5: In person registration for new families 1:00 - 7:00 pm, Small Gym

8th Grade Graduation

Dear Families,
We are excited to have the opportunity this year to stream our graduation event this evening at 7:00 pm.  The link is available here and on the front page of our website.  A recording of the graduation will be available within 48 hours and will be posted on the website.  

Curriculum Corner

Curriculum Review Opportunity for Families
At the May Committee of the Whole meeting, information was presented to the Board of Education regarding curriculum pilots that occurred during the school year for social studies and science in grades 3-5 and a resource review for our new early childhood classroom. In accordance with Board Policy 6:45, resources will be available for stakeholder feedback and review May 22 through June 2 by appointment. Stakeholders will have access to samples of the curricular resource and be asked to complete a short survey. The Teaching and Learning department will review stakeholder feedback and present a recommendation to the Board of Education for resource adoption at the June Board of Education meeting. If you would like to view the presentation, please click here. To schedule an appointment to review resources, please contact Leslie Weber (weber@ogschool.org). 

Literacy Curriculum Pilot
We are excited to share that during next school year, all grade levels will be piloting literacy curriculum from two publishers: Amplify and Great Minds. Both programs are research-based knowledge-building, structured literacy programs and were chosen by a committee of teachers across every grade level. The teachers are looking forward to implementing Amplify CKLA (grades K-5) and Amplify ELA (grades 6-8) during the first semester, followed by Great Minds Wit & Wisdom in all grade levels during the second semester. Next May, the teacher committee will provide input and recommend a program for adoption.

PTO News

Field Day was SO FUN!
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for Field Day! Thank you to Karin Pawlowski and Laura Reutzel for their leadership and for coordinating every detail so the day went smoothly. Thank you to the nearly 100 parent volunteers who helped run all the stations. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Don’t Forget - 23-24 School Supply Orders
Place your order before June 4 -after June 4 there will be a $10 late fee. No orders will be accepted after July 25. Educational Products, Inc. (EPI) has put together individual school supply packs to match the current school supply list for 2023-2024 school year. You will find the prices online and also on the info sheet found in the virtual backpack. Type in our Oak Grove code OAK039 then find your grade level pre-pack needed and place your order. All of the non-consumable items are guaranteed for the year. If your student's binder, scissors, pencil bag, headphones, ruler etc. are damaged during the school year, the company will replace them. Check your spam filter if you didn’t receive a confirmation email. If you have any questions or didn’t get a confirmation email, please contact Jennifer Liu.

Kona Ice Truck
As a reminder, the PTO is sponsoring the Kona Ice Truck on Wednesday for students at school. Please review Kona’s allergen information.  If your student cannot have this icy treat, please contact your student’s homeroom teacher and send in an alternative treat.

PTO Reimbursement Requests Due ASAP
If you made purchases on behalf of a PTO committee please turn in your reimbursement requests ASAP. The PTO fiscal year is coming to a close and our treasurer needs time to process the requests and issue checks. If you have any questions, please contact Haeli Byrnes.

SAVE THE DATE! BooHoo Yahoo Brunch
Please plan to join us on Friday, August 25 in the morning for the 2023 Boohoo Yahoo Brunch. More details to follow this summer on social media! (NOTE: this is a date change from what was announced at the May 17 PTO meeting, so please update your calendar!)

Thank You For Your Support!
This was a wonderful year for the PTO and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the OGS community. Whether you gave your time, talent, or treasure, we appreciate your contributions. We wish you all a wonderful summer! 

May 17 Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the final ‘22-’23 PTO meeting on May 17 are available here. These minutes will be reviewed at the first meeting of the ‘23-’24 school year.

Summer Construction and Building Access

All summer access will need to go through Door 16 in the upper lot, or the District Office, starting on June 5 due to summer construction. This would include Extended School Year (ESY), summer camps, registration, etc... Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work to upgrade our building. 

Retirement Wishes

On Wednesday, May 31, current and former students of Mrs. Saia, Mrs. Koehler, and Mrs. Hamlin will be given the opportunity to say goodbye and wish them luck in their retirement.  

Current Oak Grove students in grade levels 3-7 will be given a ten-minute time slot during the last hour of the day to go to the JH Cafe and meet with these teachers.

Former Oak Grove students are invited to meet from 3:45-4:45 pm on the Jr. High playground for their opportunity to say goodbye to the retiring teachers. 

If you have any questions please email Jennifer McBride at mcbride@ogschool.org.

OGS Summer Recommended Reading

4th-8th graders: See the Virtual Backpack for a list of Recommended Summer Reading books.

Virtual Backpack

Please click HERE to view the flyers in our virtual backpack. Flyers are updated weekly, so please check back often so you won't miss any of the events going on in our community.

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