Oak Grove News

Superintendent Talk

Dear Families,
 
This is a reminder that the next Superintendent Talk is scheduled for Thursday, October 27, from 5:30-6:30 pm. The meeting will be in-person in our Professional Development (PD) Room. Please RSVP to Jennifer McBride if you would like to attend. Refreshments will be served.
 
School Board Member Election
Three seats on the seven member Oak Grove School Board of Education will be filled at the April 4, 2023 election. Candidates elected will serve four-year terms expiring in April of 2027. The seats expiring are currently filled by Anthony Giamis, Raabia Khan, and Kim Rihman.

Residents interested in running for the Board can pick up a petition packet at the Lake County Clerk’s office at 18 N. County Street in Waukegan.

More information, including important dates can be found on the district website.

Elections are nonpartisan and Board candidates do not indicate a political party affiliation. For more information about the nature and duties of serving on a School Board, please click here.
 
 
From the Principal’s Desk
Congratulations to our Fire Poster Contest winners and participants:
• 1st Place - Pranavi Lakam, 2nd Grade and Anvi Gupta, 1st Grade
• 2nd Place - Hafsa Shariet, 1st Grade
• Honorable Mention - Isaac Lee, 1st Grade and Ayaansh Gupta, Kindergarten
• Participant - Mohammed Azhaan, 2nd Grade
 
All posters will be showcased on our school carousel TV by the front office.
 
 
Welcoming New Staff
Please help us continue to welcome new staff members to the Oak Grove family! This week we have  Michelle Bereczky and Melissa Sheldon.
 
Michelle Bereczky - 8th Grade ELA Teacher
Mrs. Bereczky’s first introduction to Oak Grove was many years ago when completing observation hours in her college coursework. She said,  “Since then, I have always thought it would be an amazing school and where I would one day like to work.” After directing teachers at Bright Horizons for the last several years, she wanted a change in her area of passion, middle school ELA, which led her here. She credits her teammates for the positive first two months of school and said, “ I have learned a lot through the experiences of teachers on my team. I enjoy working together and collaborating on common topics that we all teach.” In her spare time she likes to sing.

 
Melissa Sheldon - 5th Grade Science Teacher
Mrs. Sheldon always knew she wanted to be a teacher, and said that school was a challenge for her. In third grade, she was diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. Her experience as a student made her passionate about helping kids and others who struggle in school. Before coming to Oak Grove, she taught kindergarten through fifth grade special education in Frisco, Texas. Of her first months at OGS, she said, “I am blessed to be a part of the Oak Grove community and have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with students, parents, and staff. The Oak Grove family welcomed me with open arms and has helped me acclimate to life in Illinois. I've enjoyed participating in spirit week and gathering with staff members on Treat Thursdays.” She considers herself a lifelong learner who loves listening to audiobooks and learning new skills. A few of her favorite hobbies are gardening, painting, wood working, and baking.  

 
Planning 8th Grade Trip
In an effort to include student and parent input in the planning of the end of year 8th Grade Trip, an email was sent to all 8th grade families which included a list of three options for trip locations, along with a survey asking for preferences. This is a reminder for 8th grade parents to complete the survey by Friday, October 21, 2022.
 

Bus Driver Update
Last week we received an update from the bus company manager. They have eight drivers currently finishing their training. Two of those drivers are slotted for Oak Grove School.  The bus company is hoping the drivers can take the certification test before Thanksgiving. If all goes well, we should have two new drivers by the end of November. If the need for late (2nd run) buses continues after that time, we will make adjustments to have other buses take their turn being the second run buses.
 

Important Dates
• 10/18: COW @ 6 pm, BOE @ 7:15 pm
• 10/20: End of 1st quarter
• 10/25: Restorative Practices Parent Meeting @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (RSVP through THIS LINK)
• 10/26: Fire Drill #3 @ 12:30 pm
• 10/31: K-3 Halloween Parade around the field track at 9:05 am (or PatPatt Gym if inclement weather), K-4 Parties in afternoon
• 11/8: Election Day - No School
• 11/14: Conference Sign Up begins at 8:00 am
• 11/18: Conference Sign Up ends at noon

Reminder Elyssa’s Mission and Student IDs Grades 6-8
October 19 all 6-8 grade students will participate in Elyssa’s mission (22-23 Elyssa’s Mission: Family Letter). In an effort to provide students with increased opportunities to find support for their classmates, friends, and themselves, we have added contact information to the back of all 6-8 student IDs. 
 
All student IDs will be distributed on Thursday, October 20.

Reminder Red Ribbon Week
The week of October 24 through October 28, Oak Grove students will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week. For more information about Red Ribbon Week, CLICK HERE.

Reminder Erin’s Law
Erin’s Law instruction will begin this week. If you have any questions, please take a few minutes to review the 22-23 Erin’s Law: Family Letter.

All K-5 families, you should have received a parent guide book last week from the youngest child in your family. The guide book provides additional descriptions of what is covered in class.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact murray@ogschool.org or skiefer@ogschool.org. All instruction will be given with two adults in the room.

Mental Health Minute
Are you interested in some K-8 friendly reading around decision making? If so, please click HERE to find some stories as a continuation to our October Mental Health Minute.

Reminder - SEL Survey
The fall SEL survey will take place this week of October 17 - October 21.  If you’d like more information, please review the 22-23 family letter.

Curriculum Corner
Village of Green Oaks Visits the STEM Class
One of the primary reasons for bringing STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Math) to Oak Grove is to provide opportunities for our students to understand STEM through real-life scenarios and connect to our community. Ben Metzler, one of the civil engineers at the Village of Green Oaks, came and spoke to students in Mr. Hennebery’s 5th grade STEM class about the recent water main break at Oak Grove school. Mr. Metzler was able to discuss the role of a civil engineer and how to solve real world problems using the engineering design process. Students were able to understand what happens when a water main breaks, the impact on their community, and how it relates to some of the engineering concepts students are currently learning. This is one of the many opportunities that our students will have as we continue to reach out to the community and resources around us.

Talk Tuesday-October 25
Our second Talk Tuesday will be on October 25 from 6:00-7:30pm in the Professional Development room. The session will discuss the meaning of restorative practice, the ongoing professional learning that our teachers are receiving, and what these practices look like within our school and classrooms. Please RSVP here.

Veterans Day
We would like to extend an invitation to all Oak Grove community members that are veterans or current service members to attend our Veterans Day celebration the morning of Friday, November 11. We will have coffee and donuts prior to the ceremony in the Pat Patt gym and a historical artifact walk in the junior high gym afterwards. If you would like to honor a veteran and have their picture displayed, please use the Honoring a Veteran form and submit it to the office or your child’s classroom teacher.

Oak Grove Yard Signs
Help support OGS Student Council by purchasing your very own Home of an Eagle sign! Use the link below to purchase and emails will be sent when orders are ready for pickup. Please email Aimee Brown with any questions.
OGS Yard Sign Link (RevTrak)
 

Gala Experiences Under the Friday Night Lights
Oak Grove students enjoyed their Gala experiences with the LHS Varsity Poms, Cheer and Football teams this fall season. Winners were able to learn cheers, pom routines, be the ball boy and experience the game day atmosphere from the field. Thank you Coach Henneberry, Coach Vance and Coach Dugan for making this possible.



 

 

 
Band News
This year, Isaac Stone will be representing Oak Grove in the trombone section for the annual Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) District 7 Music Festival. This Music Festival is an annual event featuring the best music students in band, choir and orchestra from schools in Lake, McHenry and Cook Counties. Students are selected to perform after a thorough audition process. Congratulations Isaac on this achievement and we wish you the best of luck with the performance!

---

PTO News

PTO Website is LIVE!
We are excited to announce that the PTO website is live! We now have a password-protected
hub for all-things PTO including a calendar, an online directory, our volunteer sign-up hub and
much more! In the coming days/weeks we will continue to populate the site with information and
features so stay tuned in OGS News as we debut tips and features. As soon as the website
vendor uploads the directory information, you will receive an email regarding how to sign in to
the site for the first time to review your information and set your password for future logins.

Social Media Chair Needed
We have an immediate need for someone (or duo/trio) to take over the role of social media
chair. The role requires about 5-6 hours of work per month and much can be done and
scheduled ahead of time. The chair(s) will make a monthly calendar of Facebook posts and
work with PTO Exec Board and Chairpersons to determine activities, events and special days to
promote each month. Knowledge of Canva (or an interest in learning this easy-to-use design
tool) is a must to make the posts visually appealing. Contact president@ogspto.org for more
information or to express interest.
 

Help Needed for the Fall Book Fair Nov. 14-17
The Fall Scholastic Book Fair for Kindergarten - 5th Grade is coming to OGS on Monday,
November 14th - Thursday, November 17th. Students will have the chance to shop during the week and families can join on Wednesday, November 16 for Family Night. More details to come! We need volunteer support from our school community to help make the Book Fair a success. If you’re interested in signing up for a volunteer slot, please email Kelly Epley at kelly.epley@gmail.com. We will be sending out a link to sign up for volunteer hours soon!

You Are Awesome to the Core!
We want to extend a BIG thank you to Heinz Orchard for donating apples for the “We Couldn’t Have Picked A Greater Bunch” themed Treat Train last week. Also, huge thanks to the families who have supported the Treat Train so far this year. Throughout the year, families in each grade will have the opportunity to donate to the Treat Train so if you haven’t heard from the committee yet, you will soon! Thank you also to committee chairs Jacki Lewis and Kate Robinson for spearheading the Treat Train this year.

FMSC Volunteer Opportunity
Don’t forget to sign up to help pack meals at Feed My Starving Children on November 17th. To sign up go to www.fmsc.org and select one of the two Oak Grove Community Gives Back options on that date. The first is from 4:30-6:15 pm which requires code EE63V5 to join, the second is from 7:00-8:45 pm with M8BN2D as the code to join. If you have questions not listed on the website please contact Brooke Schamber to inquire about this event at (847) 772-3055.

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.

 

 

---