Oak Grove News

From the Principal's Desk

Dear parents,

The staff and I are busy preparing for the First Day of School for ALL students K-8 - Wednesday, August 17, 2022. We look forward to welcoming all new families and welcoming back all of our returning families. With just a week to go, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with a list of important dates and information to start the year as smoothly as possible. Use this as your One-Stop-Shop for all things OGS!

IMPORTANT DATES

• 8/9: Board of Education (BOE) meeting - Committee of the Whole (COW) 6:00-7:15 PM, Regular meeting 7:15 PM - Hosted in the Junior High Cafeteria.
• 8/10: New Family Orientation in the Pat Patt Gym from 6:30-8:00PM. All new families, students and parents/guardians are welcome.
  • The OGS Parent-Student Handbook will be posted on the OGS website.
• 8/11: New Traffic Pattern presentation and video sent to all families - updating the arrival and dismissal Car/Drive Line process.
• 8/12: Ms. Sherman will send her Back to School Welcome letter.
  • PowerSchool opens to view class placements and schedules at 3:00 PM.
• 8/15: K-4 Meet the Teacher 2:30-3:30 PM. All K-4 students, chaperoned by parents, are welcome to visit their new classrooms to meet their teachers and to drop off their supplies. Yearbooks for last year’s students will be available for pickup near the school office. PTO will provide popsicles for students after Meet the Teacher from 3:30-4:30 PM on the elementary playground.
• 8/16: Gr 5-8 Walk Your Schedule 2:30-3:30. All Gr 5-8 students, chaperoned by parents, are welcome to walk their new schedules, meet their teachers, and drop off supplies in their homerooms. Yearbooks for last year’s students will be available for pickup near the school office. PTO will provide popsicles for students after Walk Your Schedule from 3:30-4:30 PM on the junior high playground.
• 8/17: First day of school (full day for all students) - PTO After Drop Off Event: All parents are invited to commiserate and celebrate at Shelter C at Old School Forest Preserve on the first day of school. Come network and meet with other OGS parents.Complimentary coffee and light snacks will be served. The picnic shelter is a covered outdoor structure so we'll be able to meet rain or shine. Please click on the invite - http://evite.me/13GMMUfvZR if you're going to make it and forward it to your OGS parent friends. We want to be sure all are included. Can't wait to see you there!
   
• Curriculum Nights are in person this year!
  • 8/23: Curriculum Night K-2, 6:00-7:00 PM
  • 8/24: Curriculum Night 3-5, 6:00-7:00 PM
  • 8/25: Curriculum Night 6-8, 6:00-7:00 PM

Gr 6-8 Curriculum Night Conflict with LHS Event
We are aware of the August 25 event conflict, and I apologize for the inconvenience this presents for some of our families. In the spring we set up the dates with our leadership team's input and once we put them out in the community it was too late to make changes.

Fortunately, we have a new event this year which may help parents/guardians connect with their 6-8 teachers - Walk Your Schedule, on Tues. Aug. 16 from 2:30-3:30. The Gr 6-8 teaching staff will be in their rooms and in the halls during the Walk Your Schedule event. Also, each of the teams will share their curriculum night presentations with parents afterwards so that anyone who is unable to attend will still be able to receive the important information. And, at any point in the year, I encourage you to reach out to any of the teachers with questions, concerns, or suggestions.

When our leadership team is looking at planning dates for the following school year (which we do in the spring), I will reach out to LHS at that time to see if they have any of their dates planned so that we can try to avoid scheduling conflicting events.

 

MARLA’S LUNCH REGISTRATION
Marla’s Food Service is available for online ordering. Marla’s Food Service will ensure that all students who ordered a lunch receive their lunch. Parents are encouraged to order lunches only week to week. If a child does end up staying home due to illness, contact Marla’s immediately, so future lunches can be canceled. Registration information can be found through this LINK.

 

SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS
All grade level school supply lists are found on the district website through this LINK.

BUS SERVICE - DURHAM
All students outside of the Saddle Hill neighborhood are provided bus service to and from school. While masking is no longer mandated, students will be in assigned seats on all buses. Siblings will be expected to sit in a seat together. A spreadsheet of the bus routes are posted on our website after August 15th.

All of the bus rules can be found in the Transportation section of the Parent-Student Handbook. Rules like being on time at the designated school bus stop and staying off the road are described in greater detail within the Handbook.

 

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL TIMES
While the school bell rings for the start of the day at 8:20 AM, students will begin leaving the playground at 8:15 AM in order to arrive in their classrooms on time. At the end of the day the school bell rings at 3:20 PM alerting all students to head to their buses, bikes, cars, clubs, or homes. There are TWO different types of days when students are released early throughout the year:
 

• SIP (School Improvement Days) - Our Learning and Teaching Department uses these opportunities for staff professional learning related to our school improvement goals. Students are released from school at 11:30 AM and NO lunch time is provided.
  • The following are the SIP Days this school year: Sept. 15, Jan. 20, Apr. 21, and May 18.
     
• Early Release Days - These days occur at the end of each trimester, allowing staff to finalize grade reports. Students are released from school at 1:00 PM and lunch periods ARE provided.
  • The following are Early Release Days this school year: Nov. 10, Feb. 23, May 26.

 

LATE STUDENTS
If you are dropping your student off after 8:15 AM, please drop the student off at the Main Office entrance. Staff will need to sign in any student who arrives late. If picking up a sick student, please follow the instructions provided by the nurse on the phone.
• Please send all items with your child(ren) in the morning.

 

Your whole family is invited to join Cub Scouts with Pack 194!
Cub Scouts is a youth development program now open to Boys and Girls from Kindergarten to 5th grade, that teaches values like doing your best, helping other people, and having a fun active lifestyle. Through activities like camping, Pine-wood Derby, and service projects your youth will learn the values of family, friends, and community. Pack 194 is inviting new members to join them at Oak Grove School on September 7th at 6:00 to learn more about the program and how it works. We hope to see you there!

 

VOLUNTEERS
Oak Grove School welcomes volunteers! When visiting the school, please follow these steps:

• Contact the front office in advance of your visit.
• Upon your first visit, and until the office staff recognizes you, please PRESENT A PHOTO ID.
• All visitors will stand in the vestibule until they are directed to enter the office.

 

FORGOTTEN ITEMS
In the event that a student forgets an important item at home, it is up to the discretion of the grade level team as to whether the student will be allowed to call home and request that the item be brought to school. These calls, if allowed, need to be made from a school phone and students are not allowed to use their cell phones for these calls.

• If an item must be delivered to school, there will be bins inside the vestibule where items may be placed.
  • The bins will contain post-its and pens for you to write the students’ first and last name and classroom or homeroom teacher. 
  • If the item is a forgotten lunch, please deliver it before 10 AM to ensure that the student will have it for their designated lunch time.
  • For the protection and safety of all students and staff, outside delivery orders will not be accepted.

 

SICK OR QUARANTINED STUDENTS
The health and well-being of our students continues to be of the utmost importance. With that in mind, remote learning for students who are away from school due to quarantine or isolation will look different this academic year. If a student is well enough to participate, they will be provided with schoolwork asynchronously. The discontinuation of remote synchronous instruction allows teachers to plan for the most effective instruction for students. Given the shorter quarantine requirements, we are confident that we will best help our students by providing assignment materials (for pickup after the first 24 hours) and then help the student fully re-engage upon their healthy return. If a student has specific learning needs, we will work with the family to best meet those needs.

 

STUDENT ABSENCES
If your child will be absent from school or tardy because of illness, doctors’ appointments or vacation, please report the absence to the school office by 9:00 AM the day of the absence by calling our attendance line at 847-367-4120, option 3. Keeping track of all the students on a daily basis is a huge task, and we greatly appreciate your prompt attention. For absences longer than 10 consecutive days, a student may be disenrolled, and upon return, re-enrolled.

 

DISMISSAL CHANGES
If your child’s dismissal plans change, such as getting picked up early for an appointment or they need to get picked up instead of taking the bus, please send an email to their teacher and copy the office staff before 2:00 PM at ogsofficestaff@ogschool.org. Send the email on the day of the occurrence.  Do not email absences to this address. Absences need to be called into the attendance line.

 

EXTENDED DAY PROGRAM
Oak Grove School offers after school care from 3:30-6:00 PM daily, as well as on Institute and Early Release days. Mr. Rob Rendon is the very capable and friendly director of this program. If you are in need of child care, please visit the Extended Day web page through this LINK.

 

HEALTH SERVICES
Health information and medical forms are available on the OGS Medical Services web page found through this LINK. Please drop off forms at the main school office or you may also take a picture of the completed health forms and email them to liu@ogschool.org (k-4 grade) or johnson@ogschool.org (5-8 grade).

• Kindergarteners must show proof of current physical/immunizations, as well as dental and eye exam forms.
• Second graders must complete a dental examination prior to starting school.
• Sixth graders must provide a dental examination form and a health examination form with proof of up-to-date immunizations.

 

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES, SEL  AND BEHAVIOR
While specific discipline practices are discussed in the Parent-Student Handbook, we wanted to highlight that our entire school staff will focus our SEL and behavioral efforts on restorative practices this year and into the future. Our first two Institute Days (August 15-16) will lay the foundation for our staff as they learn more from an expert in the field, MaryAnn Brittingham. Our goal as an OGS staff is to create a safe, nurturing learning environment for all of our students, and restorative practices help students to reshape negative behaviors by focusing on how to repair the relationship between individuals involved in a social, emotional, or behavioral conflict. As our learning continues throughout the year, we look forward to sharing our progress, as the adults influencing the learning of our students, and the progress of our students as they engage in restorative activities.

Look for more information from your child/ren’s classroom, PE and rotations teachers. In their newsletters they will be describing their classroom management structures that support all students’ social, emotional, and behavioral growth through the restorative practices they are using in their classrooms. We also hope to bring MaryAnn back one evening in October for a Parent University. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks!

 

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Murray and I are excited to start the 2022-2023 school year with you ALL! In the school office we also have our assistants: Mrs. Azzato, Mrs. Draths, and Mrs. Gilbert. Further down the hall, we have Ms. Waehner, our Director of Student Services, and Mrs. Dunn, our Coordinator of Teaching and Innovative Learning. If we can be of service to you at any point throughout the school year, please do not hesitate to contact us.

• Mrs. Jen Barnabee, Principal - barnabee@ogschool.org
• Mr. Ryan Murray, Assistant Principal - murray@ogschool.org
• Mrs. Kathy Azzato, Student Records Assistant - azzato@ogschool.org
• Mrs. Karen Draths, Enrollment, Student Absence Assistant and Bus Coordinator - draths@ogschool.org
• Mrs. Susan Gilbert, School Office, Space Usage, and Calendar Assistant - gilbert@ogschool.org
• Ms. Julie Waehner, Director of Student Services - waehner@ogschool.org
• Mrs. Alexa Dunn, Coordinator of Teaching and Innovative Learning - adunn@ogschool.org

 

 

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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