Oak Grove News

Mrs. B’s Message of the Week
At the warp speed with which we started the school year, I hope this past long weekend provided time to relax. As I sat with a friend on Sunday, reflecting on the first few weeks of school, I enjoyed sharing the many positive interactions I have witnessed of students making new friends, and staff welcoming new teammates. While the relationship-building focus will continue in all classrooms, this week students will take the iReady assessments in reading and math. Soon our staff will begin setting goals with students. I encourage families to talk with each other about the goals we have for ourselves as we grow together this year! A few of my goals include: remembering more names, participating in a classroom book club, and starting an older with younger grade buddy system. I look forward to learning about your goals too!

NEXT WEEK: Mr. Murray and Mrs. B share restorative practices being implemented at OGS.

Reminder of Lockdown Drill
The tentative date for our active intruder drill is September 19th, 2022. Please click HERE, to find more information about our active intruder drill and our ALICE response.

TikTok Trend
Thank you to the community members who alerted us about a current TikTok trend called “little miss”. Currently, there are several “little miss” postings that have connections to Oak Grove. Like many social media postings, some “little miss” posts are appropriate and others are not. Also, some individuals making these posts are taking pictures of people in the Oak Grove yearbook and identifying the students first/last name as well as their picture. Most likely, this is occurring without consent. Please help support us by monitoring posts such as these and encourage safe social media usage. We want all of our students to feel safe and it will take all of us working together to ensure that this happens. 

If you have a child who uses TikTok or if you’re a user yourself please use this link to report any inappropriate posts. This will not guarantee that a post will be removed but the more people who report the post the more likely it will be removed.
Resource - Common Sense Media and guide to TikTik

Choice Recess
Oak Grove is excited to offer Choice Recess! Starting the week of September 12th, students in Grades K-5 who would like a quieter space for recess may have the option to participate in Choice Recess twice a week. There will be weekly themes, Card Games, Legos, Keva Blocks, and Board games with the addition of Silent Reading as a weekly option! Your child may elect to try it out once or not at all. It's a choice to provide our students with voice. We are looking forward to this great option and will be sure to share pictures of our Choice Recess success throughout the year on Social Media! =)
 

Preschool Screening
Preschool screening will be held at Oak Grove on Wednesday, September 21st from 9:00 - 11:00 am and from 12:30- 2:30 pm. The screening is for three and four year olds. 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 at waehner@ogschool.org.

Mental Health Minute 
The Soaring Eagles! Theme for September is relationships. Please take a brief minute to read the Oak Grove Mental Health Minute: Relationships. 

Device Usage Update
Based on feedback from staff, families, and students we have adjusted our Oak Grove device usage. Specifically, students in grades 6-8 will have unlimited access and student in grades K-5 will have access from 6am - 10pm daily. Please note that the adjustment to grades 6-8 were to provide families and students with extra flexibility in how they best manage their time.

Bike Rider Safety 
Any family that has a bike rider please be sure to remind your child(ren) about the rules of the road. We have had a few reports about unsafe drivers. For the safety of all, our bike riders are asked to walk their bikes on school property.

Oak Grove Clubs
Please be on the lookout! Oak Grove Club sign ups will begin on September 12th and shared right here in the OGS news!

OGS Musical Announcement

 

Prayer Space
This year’s prayer spaces are located in Mr. Murray’s and Mrs. Barnabee’s offices. Both spaces are available to students during each of the lunch/recess periods. Students who are committed to this daily practice should let one of the lunch supervisors know when they will be leaving the cafeteria or recess area. Once they let an adult know where they are going, the adult will provide a pass so the student/s can walk responsibly through the halls to the office. When finished with prayer, students should take their pass/es back to the lunch supervisor. These safety steps allow staff to know where students are at all times.

Picture Retake Day

Retakes are on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022.   You may still order pictures online at shop.hrimaging.com.

Parent Visitors During Arrival
Anything that needs to be delivered (i.e. forgotten lunch, project, etc.), please alert the office staff and drop the item in the grade level bin in the vestibule.

When dropping off students in the morning:

• If walking, please stop at the green gate at the front of the elementary playground and say goodbye to your child/ren.
• If driving, please arrive BEFORE 8:15 AM so that your child/ren can be dropped off in the Green Zone in the upper parking lot car line.
• If arriving after 8:15 AM, please do NOT pass a bus. 

Important Dates

• 9/7: 7th/8th Girls Volleyball at Highland 4:15-6:15 PM, PTO Mtg @ 6:30pm
• 9/8: Superintendent Coffee Chat 8:30-9:30 AM in PD Conf Rm (Parents Welcome), 7th/8th Girls Volleyball 4:15-6:15 PM, Cross-Country at Milburn 4:30-5:30 PM
• 9/12: Bus Safety Drills AM, 7th/8th Girls Volleyball at Deerpath 4:15-6:15 PM, DEI Mtg 5:30-7 PM
• 9/13: 7th/8th Girls Volleyball 4:15-6:15 PM, Cross-Country at Butterfield 4:30-5:30 PM
• 9/15: First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month, SIP Early Release 11:30 AM
• 9/19: Lockdown Drill 10:00 AM, Beginning Band Recruitment (Parents Only) 6:30-7:30 PM
• 9/20: Talk Tuesday 8:30-10 AM in PD Conf Rm (Parents Welcome), 7th/8th Girls Volleyball 4:15-6:15 PM, BoE Mtg (CoW 6-7:15 PM, Reg Mtg 7:15 PM)
• 9/21: Cross-Country at Milburn 4:30-5:30 PM
• 9/22: 7th Grade Girls Volleyball @ Northwood 4:30-6:30 PM, TAG Information/ Appeals Presentation 6:30-7:30 PM, Marching Band Festival 6-8:00 PM

 

First Curriculum Talk Tuesday
Our first Talk Tuesday will be held on Tuesday, September 27th at Oak Grove from 6:00-7:30pm in the Professional Development room.  The meeting will be hosted by the Teaching and Learning team to share highlights around the OGS curriculum and programming and to hear feedback from parents on these topics.  During our first session, we will share information updating families about current Illinois State Board of Education mandated units of study, and the Sexual Health and Education standards and programming.  We will also be sharing information on TAG services and the placement appeal process at Oak Grove. Talk Tuesday slide decks will be available on the Oak Grove website after each session. 

PTO info:
1st PTO Meeting Tomorrow Night
The first PTO meeting of the year will be this Wednesday, September 7th at 6:30pm in the Elementary Library. Meeting documents will be e-mailed to families and a Zoom link will also be shared if you prefer to attend remotely. We hope to see you there!

Volunteer Needed - Staff Appreciation Chair
The PTO is still looking for someone (or a pair!) who is interested in serving as our Staff Appreciation chair(s) to plan acts of gratitude to recognize the non-teaching staff at OGS. Examples include Nurse’s Day, Administrative Assistant’s Day, Principal’s Day, Custodian’s Day, etc. Please email PTO@ogschool.org if you are interested!

Culver's Share Night Fundraiser September 14
Mark your calendar and adjust your grocery list! See the flier in the Virtual Backpack for details. A special thank you to the Honor Society for volunteering their time to support this event! For any questions, please contact Erin Liebgott at ellieb1314@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at Culver's!

Poms
Calling all students in grades kindergarten through fifth! Have you ever wanted to perform with the poms? Here is your chance. The Future Cats K-5 Poms Clinic will be held on October 14th after school. The students will learn a dance with the poms, have a snack, get a shirt and poms, and perform before the Varsity football game under the Friday Night Lights!  A portion of the proceeds will go towards a Breast Cancer Foundation. Be sure to sign up today! Go Cats!

Click Here to sign up: Future Cats K-5 Poms Clinic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Additional Calendars Available On OGS website
Besides the primary school calendar, there are other calendars you may choose to see. All calendars are visible by default, but to ensure you seeing anything that may be of interest to you, go to our calendar page, click "Select Calendars," "Select All," then "Apply Selections." Rather than "Select All," you may choose to turn any particular calendar on or off by clicking on its name.

 

 

 

 

 

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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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