Oak Grove News

A Message From Mr. Murray
Spring Conferences - March 2nd 
Conferences will take place from 1 - 8pm (virtual 1-4 pm and in-person 5-8 pm). More details and sign-ups to come soon!

5 Essentials 
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted January 24 through March 31, 2023. Students and teachers across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the eleventh annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school.  All teachers and 4th through 12th grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and districts in May 2023 and will also be included in the State School Report Card. Additionally, your district has chosen to provide the optional Parent survey supplement. If at least 20 percent of Oak Grove parents complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card.

As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school and its leadership. This survey is used by our school administration team to determine areas of strength and those for improvement to help us meet the needs of all of our stakeholders. The survey will be available from January 24 through March 31. There will also be QR codes displayed to complete the survey during parent-teacher conferences on March 2. For more information about the survey, click HERE.  To complete the 5 Essentials survey, click HERE

Family Input for Class Placements 
Our staff will soon begin to build classes for the 2023-2024 school year. This is one of our most important tasks to prepare for the coming year. Throughout this process, our goal is to place students in the best possible setting for them to learn. We try to build classes that are balanced in terms of learning needs and styles, emotional and social development, academic achievement, and behavior.

We welcome family involvement in this process, as we recognize that you know your children better than anyone else. If you would like to offer insight, share your perspective, or express a need on behalf of your child, we invite you to complete this form. Be sure to complete the form separately for each child who will attend Oak Grove next fall.

We ask that all information be submitted no later than Friday, February 24th. We will use the information you provide, along with input from teachers, to place your child in a classroom that will best meet their needs. 
To access the form, click HERE

Soaring Eagles! Assemblies
What a fun week of celebrating this past week! We celebrated things that made all of us so proud with Kindergarten-8th grade! From becoming a big brother, getting braces off, to spelling bee competitions and performances during Drama! There is so much to celebrate at Oak Grove. Every single day these students are making this world a better place! Thank you for sharing your children with us! Teachers and students had some friendly and competitive competitions during the assemblies, but students are looking forward to a rematch in our May Assembly!

Mental Health Minute 
Just in case you missed last week! The theme for February is Mindset. If you’re interested in more information, please click HERE. 

IMPORTANT DATES:
FEBRUARY
2/6:  Battle of the Books Begins, 8th Grade Musical Rehearsals, Boys Volleyball vs. Neal, 2nd Grade Art Club
2/7:  Battle of the Books, Wrestling @ Woodlawn, Boys Volleyball vs Sandburg, JH Choir, 7-8 Math Counts, 5-8 Board Games Club 
2/7:  Talk Tuesday w/Biz Lindsay 6-8pm
2/8:  Battle of the Books,  Boys Volleyball @ Millburn, 5th Grade Art Club, Chess Club, iCook Class
2/9:  Battle of the Books, Wrestling Classic @ LHS, 8th Grade Musical Rehearsals, Restorative Practices Mtg 3:30pm
2/20: Presidents Day - No School
2/21:  COW @ 6pm & BOE Meeting @ 7:15pm
2/23:  Early Release at 1:00pm
2/23: 8th Grade Musical 11:00am; 7:00pm
2/24: 8th Grade Musical 7pm
2/25: 8th Grade Musical 11:00am

Curriculum Corner

Talk Tuesday-Tomorrow at 6:00pm

Please join us on February 7th from 6:00-8:00pm in the Junior High Cafeteria for a workshop with Biz Lindsay-Ryan, an expert consultant on diversity, equity and inclusion. The session will ground parents’ experiences in research and begin a productive dialogue giving tools to parents that will benefit the entire family. We will be providing childcare services as well. Please RSVP for this event using this link.  

Winter Placement Appeal Requests-Deadline for submission is February 6th
Parents/guardians of students in grades 4-8 can request an additional review of student placement for consideration into Oak Grove’s talented and gifted (TAG) program for the 2022-23 school year. Families can appeal placement for a child in ELA and/or Math once per calendar year which is reviewed by the Advisory Council.  To initiate an appeal, please complete the Parent Feedback form and email to Leslie Weber (weber@ogschool.org) and Alexa Dunn (adunn@ogschool.org) by Monday, February 6th. In completion of the form, please do not reference your child by name when providing examples and explanations. Parents will be notified via email regarding the testing process and a final decision about placement made by the Advisory Council. If necessary, changes in placement will go into effect for the start of the third trimester. An opportunity to explore placement into TAG for the start of the next school year should be filed during the spring.

CogAT Testing
Students in 3rd and 5th grade will be taking the CogAT assessment the week of February 13th. CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) is a three-part test that assesses a student's Quantitative, Verbal and Nonverbal aptitude. The results of this assessment are used in placement decisions for the 2023-24 school year. Please make sure that your child has working headphones and a fully charged device for testing. We will schedule make-up sessions for those students who are absent. The results will be shared with families by the end of March. 

PTO News
Final Day for Winter Spirit Wear Sale
The ordering deadline has been extended and today is the last day to place your Spiritwear order with Complete Image Apparel. Show your Eagle Spirit, and order today HERE. Orders will be delivered to the PTO by February 27. Contact Courtney Johnston if you have any questions.

Meet-Ups to Learn About Variety Show Volunteering
The Variety Show is a beloved PTO event, but it may not be able to continue after this year if volunteers do not step forward to shadow the chairpeople this year and take a more active leadership role next year. Parents, please come to one of two opportunities to learn more about Variety Show volunteering on Monday, February 13th. The meetings will be at Hansa Coffee Roasters (755 N. Milwaukee) at noon and at O’Tooles (412 N. Milwaukee) at 6:30pm. If you can't make it to either meeting but you are still interested enter your information in this form and we will contact you. Contact Christine Merrild and Ashley Wilson if you would like more information.

Tickets for Son + One Night On Sale Now
Son + One Glow Bowl will happen on March 11th from 6pm - 8pm. This will be a private Glow Bowl night at Bowlero in Vernon Hills with 2 hours of bowling, pizza, desserts & soft drinks and lots of fun raffle prizes. Due to lane capacity, this event is limited to 240 attendees so don’t wait to register. We will make a wait list if anyone cancels as the event draws closer. Purchase tickets HERE. You should receive a payment receipt from PayPal as confirmation of purchase. Local business owners and individual families: we are still looking for lane sponsorships at $150 per lane! Please contact Kate Robinson, Amy Peterson, Beth Koopman, or Joni Kane if you have any questions or are interested in helping sponsor the event.

Junior High Book Fair Thank Yous
The Anderson Junior High book fair last week was a huge success! A big thank you Melissa Sallmann and Lynsey Wolfe for chairing the event and to the volunteers who helped during the fair: Debbie Greer, Katherine Harris, Bev Smith, Becky Casey, Kelly Eply, Annette Ferstenfeld, Laura Reutzel, the office staff, the maintenance crew, and Alyssa Osterman! The students had a lot of fun with the "guess how many pages" game. We were excited to award our 3 winners (Luciana Garcia, Colin DuClos & Hafsa Ahmad) with a free book to encourage their love of reading.

Girl & Guest Dance Thank Yous
We’ve heard wonderful feedback from everyone who attended the dance on Saturday night and we thank you all for your enthusiastic participation! Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped bring back this special tradition and make this event a success. Special thanks to chairpeople Ambika Mayer and Heather Bildsten as well as the planning committee: Aayshah Mirza, Dawn Trout and Maren Spaulding. Thank you as well to the many event volunteers Jennifer Davis, Amber Rynes, Shannon Rojas, Melissa Sallmann, Kate Byers, Joni Kane, Lauren Cole, Kari Fitzpatrick, Ryan Moore, Jennifer Stone, Isaac Stone, Uchenna Osayimwen, Osaru Osayimwen, and Beth Zender. Thank you as well for raffle prize donations: AJ Noonan, Debbie Greer, Beth Zender, Maren Spaulding, Kate Byers, Karin Pawlowski, Anna Linscheid and Donna Bachman.

A big thank you to the local businesses who also donated to the raffle – Beachwaver Co., Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Ultimate Ninjas, SkyZone Vernon Hills, Sports 11, Lake Minear, Bagels by the Book, Duck Donuts, Lolo’s Bowls, All Dolled Up, Painted Penguin and Home Becoming. 

Thanks also go to Ms. Spector and the 5th grade art club for the beautiful art for the hallway! We couldn’t have done it without the help of the custodial crew, so huge thanks to that team as well.

St. Joseph’s Food Pantry Drive
We collected a number of items at the Girl & Guest Dance, but that is just a start to what we hope to collect throughout February. The following are the most needed items: cereal, ramen, pasta, apple juice, flour, sugar, shampoo, conditioner, paper towels, rice, pasta sauce, soup, canned veggies, toilet paper, crackers. Please contact Brooke Schamber at 847-772-3055 with any questions. If you’d like to make a financial donation to St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, click HERE.

Preschool Screening
Preschool screening will be held at Oak Grove on Wednesday, February 15th from 12:30 - 3:30. The screening is for three and four year olds who will NOT be entering kindergarten in the fall. The screening will examine a child's proficiency in speech/language and motor development, as well as assess pre-academic skills. Parents with questions or concerns about their child's development may schedule an appointment by contacting Julie Waehner.

The Staff Battle of the Books teams competed on Friday. The sixth grade “Grateful Read” beat “The Mutts” but it was a very close competition. Students started battling today and will compete again tomorrow in our first elimination round. Good luck!

 

Save the date. On Saturday, February, 18 Oak Grove Student Council will be hosting a Family Fun Carnival at Oak Grove School. There will be Bouncy Houses, Carnival Games, Popcorn and Prizes. Each child is $5.00. Please pay CASH only at the door. 
Ages 3-10 9:00am-11:30. 
Ages 11 and up 12:00-2:30.
Any questions please email abrown@ogschool.org

Attention Parents:  The 8th graders need your help!  Do you or someone you know have a career that they are passionate about? If so, please consider signing up to speak at the 8th grade career day.  Please see the flyer in the virtual backpack for more information.



 

Band News
All bands: We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The days to our Wednesday, February 15 concert are ticking down. We kindly ask that all students arrive as on-time to rehearsals as possible. We need all hands on deck!

Beginning Band only: This week we have the following rehearsal schedule during our normal time.
Tuesday, February 7- white
Wednesday, February 8- blue
Thursday, February 9- both groups
Friday, February 10- both groups

Concert/Symphonic/Jazz Bands only: We are following our regular rehearsal schedule all week. Before school morning rehearsal following the concert (2/16-17) will be off days- no rehearsal. We will resume band activities Tuesday, February 21 with Concert/Symphonic Bands rehearsal in the morning.