Oak Grove News

Message from the Principal

Spelling Bee
The Oak Grove Spelling Bee will be held on Wednesday, January 17, at 6:00 pm in the Junior High Learning Center this year.  Any interested 4th-8th grader will need to qualify for the bee in December.  The top 5 spellers from each grade level will be able to participate. Qualifying tests will be given in the grade-level ELA classroom.  We always ask that students make sure they can participate in the actual school bee before taking the qualifying test.  More information about the qualifying test will come from your student's ELA teacher. 

Attendance Reminder
There will be no student attendance from December 25 through January 5.  Students will return from winter break on Monday, January 8.

Please encourage your child's attendance when healthy.  We understand the importance of family time, but please make every opportunity to schedule vacations for non-attendance days.  Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as connect to peers and their teachers. Please take a moment to moment to look over the informational resources regarding attendance. 

Elementary (K-5) or Middle School (6-8)

As a reminder, please notify the front office at 847-367-4120 (option 3) for all absences.  If your family or child needs support, please contact 847-367-4120 so we can continue working together.  We wish you a restful and refreshing winter break!

PADS Service Learning Project 2023
What - Pennies, Quarters and Pies……Oh My!!
When - November 29th - December 20th
Who - All students may choose to participate, but 7th grade is collecting

The 7th grade is collecting spare change (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, paper accepted too!) to support those in Lake County experiencing homelessness. The students are encouraged to do extra chores, babysitting, snow shoveling and collect change from their family members and neighbors. The goal is to collect enough money in order to have 7th grade teachers take a pie in the face. If this collection goes really well, Mr. Murray and Mr. O’Malley have agreed to be a recipient of a pie as well.

In addition to this fundraiser, the 7th grade class will be collecting the following items to assist PADS in keeping their food pantry stocked:

• Multi grain Cheerios
• Campbell's Chunky Soup
• Instant Oatmeal
• Macaroni and cheese
• Instant hot chocolate packs
• Instant Ramen Noodles

*Together our students can learn and give through this service-learning project and help our neighbors in need. Please help our students and community if you are able.

Student Council - Reminders

Mental Health Minute
This month's topic is gratitude. Gratitude can be explained to children as taking the time to acknowledge and appreciate the things we often take for granted such as having a place to live, having good health, food, clean water, family, friends, or even an accessible education. Gratitude is taking a moment to reflect on things we are fortunate to have- whether it is considered something big or something small. Gratitude is important because it helps children realize that while every day may not be good, there is good in every day. 

Different ways to foster gratitude in children:

• Volunteer (see links below)
• Write letters or draw pictures for older relatives, the nursing home, or veterans association 
• Share one thing you were grateful for at the family dinner table each night 
• Support a charitable event or organization

Volunteer at:

• Libertyville Township
• Feed My Starving Children  
• PADS Shelter Lake County  
• Lake County Haven
• Beacon Place 

*Please note these are just examples of volunteer opportunities in the Lake County Area and are not affiliated or endorsed by Oak Grove School 

Lost & Found 
Our lost & found has grown considerably over the last few weeks and we would love to return these items to their owners. Over the next few weeks, please come in and check the lost & found in the Elementary Cafe and JH Cafeteria to provide a joyful reunion for some of these items! Please note that on December 22, all lost & found items will be donated to help those in need. If you have any questions, please contact Rob Rendon at rendon@ogschool.org

Important Dates
12/6/23:  Band Concert beginning at 6:30 pm
12/8/23:  Winter Dance from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (See details above)
12/15/23:  Marriott Field Trip Grades K-3
12/18/23:  Choir Concert 6:30 pm  - 8:30 pm
12/19/23:  BoE Mtgs; CoW 6:00, 7:15 Capital Fund Transfer Hearing & Regular Mtg 7:17 (JH Cafe)
12/22/23:  Classroom Winter Parties in Grades K though 4 (More details from grade level communications)
12/25/23:  Winter Break Begins

Athletics
Looking for information about upcoming games or events? Please check the Oak Grove Athletics Calendar

Curriculum Corner

Intervention/Enrichment (I/E) Time
During Curriculum Nights, administration shared information about an instructional period of the day called “IE.” As a reminder, IE is a structured, instructional time for intervention, support and enrichment across K-8. In grades K-5, IE is 35 minutes daily. In grades 6-8, IE is 40 minutes daily. IE is not study hall, quiet time, recess, or free time. All students are working with a teacher, with their classmates, or individually in areas they need support, or engaging in activities to enrich their learning. Teachers use student learning information and data to determine the needs of the students. If you have any questions about the use of IE, please reach out to your child(ren)’s teachers.

Aimsweb Testing
Aimsweb testing continues this week. Students in grades K-5 take an assessment in both reading and math. Students in grades 6-8 take an assessment in reading only. 

iReady Winter Benchmark
iReady is a district administered assessment in reading and mathematics used to measure growth relative to national and local grade level peers. This benchmark assessment is given three times a year. Beginning December 11, all K-8 students will take the winter iReady diagnostic assessment in reading and math. Teachers will use this assessment data, as well as classroom data, to identify areas to support individual student learning. Specific testing dates and times will be shared by the classroom teacher. Reports for both assessments will be shared with families following testing. 

Please help your child(ren):

• Charge his/her iPad or laptop at home prior to test day
• Bring headphones for testing
• Get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast

For more information, please see the iReady Family Presentation.

PTO News

PTO Meeting This Week
The next PTO meeting of the year is Thursday, December 7 at 6:30 pm in the PD Room and on Zoom. For information about this meeting, please see the agenda and minutes from our last meeting. If you would like to cast a proxy vote for the Special Fund Requests, please complete this form and email it to the PTO Secretary.

Winter Market Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the OGS Winter Market on Saturday. We were excited to see so many families and eager shoppers. Special thanks to Hillary Bolke for leading the Secret Shopping Village and Melissa Lenczycki for leading the concessions. We also appreciate all the adult and student volunteers who gave their time to make the event a success as well as the JH Choir and Mr. Farris for sharing their gift of music!

Mark Your Calendar for One Sweet Evening
Head to Sugarville on December 15 for a sweet end to the school day! Stop by Sugarville for some ice cream, candy, and hot cocoa from 4-8 pm, and they’ll donate a portion to the PTO. Crave away!

Marla’s 2024 Ordering & Pricing
Marla’s will open the website for placing 2024 orders in the next week or two. We’ve received notification from Marla via vendor partners including Chik-Fil-A, Panera and Raising Canes that they will increase prices slightly moving forward to account for rising costs. The price increases range from $0.10-$0.20 per meal. We always welcome your feedback on the lunch program and we are hoping to conduct a survey in the near future. If you have any questions or concerns please contact president@ogspto.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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