Oak Grove News

From the Principal’s Desk
What a blast I had on Friday night with Mrs. Bereczky, Mrs. Tazzioli, Mr. Potter, Mrs. A. Brown, Ms. Dugan, and the 7th and 8th graders who came to the Holiday Happenings! I can’t wait to see what fun the Student Council and Honor Society have in store for us in 2023. We wish everyone in our OGS community a healthy, safe, and fun-filled winter break. See you in 2023 - January 9, 2023 to be exact. Happy New Year!

Toy for Tots
Once again our OGS Student Council, led by Mrs. Patti Tazziolli and Mrs. Aimee Brown, and accompanied by Lance Corporal Holland have been able to provide underprivileged children in Lake County with gifts for this Holiday Season.  A big thank you goes out to all who contributed to this cause.

BeWell Co-Ed Fitness Opportunity for 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Students
Starting Friday January 13, 2023, OGS and the PTO are proud to partner with BeWell Fitness to offer a Speed, Agility & Movement Principles series for students in grades 6, 7, and 8. This will be once a week for 11-weeks from 3:30-4:30pm in the Pat Patt Gym. The goals of class are to improve acceleration, deceleration, change of direction and overall movement competency - perfect for students who want to prepare for their upcoming athletic season. BeWell Fitness has been working with athletes of all ages and talent levels for over 15 years. We ask that only serious students sign up. Even though we want this to be fun, it is not a social hour or club. Space is limited to 25 students and 10% of your child’s tuition to the program will be donated back to the PTO from the 3 installments of $99. Click HERE to sign up, and for any questions please email ben@bewellfitness.com.

Camp Galileo: Innovation, Friendship and Fun
Camp Galileo is coming to Arlington Heights at Our Lady of the Wayside School this summer. At Camp Galileo, K-10th graders enjoy creative STEAM-inspired projects and get active outside. Our dynamic staff helps kids turn ideas into reality, collaborate with peers and play hard outdoors. Stanford research shows that kids who experience Galileo’s curriculum demonstrate perseverance, confidence and resilience. Enroll during Early Bird registration and save $50 per week. www.galileo-camps.com

World Language Survey for Incoming 6th graders
As we prepare for the 23-24 school year we would like to know if your child would prefer French or Spanish as they continue their educational experience at Oak Grove. An email with login instructions was sent home to 5th-grade parents on Dec. 6th. Please contact Dave Huber at huber@ogschool.org if you can not find your login credentials.
If you're looking for more information about the World Language program in the middle school at Oak Grove please click on the link below. 
World Language in Middle School at Oak Grove

Mental Health Minute
As we continue to model and share ways to demonstrate gratitude, please take a minute to review some community ideas in this week's mental health minute.  

Family Traditions Collage
Oak Grove School wants to highlight the traditions our families celebrate year round. Please attach a photo to the Google Form which will be added to a collage hung in the hallways of OGS. Photos will be accepted from now through winter break. We can’t wait to showcase our students and their families. In addition, students will be participating in drawing and writing about traditions in their classrooms this week.

Important Dates
12/21: Wrestling @ Viking
12/22: K-4 Class Parties
12/23-1/8: Winter Break - No School

JANUARY
1/9: School Resumes
1/11: PTO Mtg @ 6:30pm (*2nd Wednesday due to Winter Break)
1/13: PTO Spirit Day
1/16: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School
1/17: COW @ 6:00 pm; BOE @ 7:15 pm
1/19: Oak Grove Spelling Bee @ 6:30 pm

Paraprofessionals needed!

Curriculum Corner

iReady is a district administered assessment in reading and mathematics used to measure growth relative to national and local grade level peers. Beginning January 10, all K-8 students will take the winter iReady diagnostic assessment for reading and math. 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:
*Charge his/her iPad or laptop
*Bring headphones for testing
*Get to bed at a reasonable time and eat a healthy breakfast 

For more information, please see the iReady Family Presentation.

Board Games Club Grades 5-8:  Mark your calendars! We will meet on Tuesdays from January 24- March 14 from 3:25-4:15. Details about our initial meeting will come in the January Oak Grove News. Please be aware this will be the only group that will meet this year.  If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Ms. Douglass at douglass@ogschool.org. 

Spelling Bee:   Interested 4th-8th grade students are currently participating in qualifying rounds with their grade level ELA teachers.  The names of the top 5 spellers and an alternate for each grade level will be submitted ahead of winter break.  All spellers will have winter break to prepare for the school spelling bee when we return.  Thank you to ALL of the students who participated in the qualifying rounds. Qualifying spellers should expect an email from Ms. Douglass ahead of break with some further details.  The Oak Grove Spelling Bee will be held on Thursday, January 19 at 6:30 PM in the Junior High Learning Center. 

PTO News

Grades 5-8 Domino's Pizza Lunch on Thur, Dec. 22nd
Just a reminder that the PTO will be purchasing cheese pizza, oreos & Skinny Pop for Grades 5-8 on Thursday, December 22nd to kick off winter break. If your student cannot or would rather not eat the lunch provided, please send them to school with an alternative. Credits have been issued for previously ordered Marla's lunches.

Additional Volunteers Needed on 12/21
We added 3 more volunteer spots to help with morning driveline coverage on Wednesday, December 21st from 7:40-8:15 AM. This is when OGS will host its staff holiday breakfast and we want all of the playground supervisors to attend the breakfast as well. Please sign up here.

Tickets Now on Sale - Girl & Guest Dance!
Please join us for the OGS Girl & Guest Dance on Saturday, February 4th! We are so excited for our girls to break out those beautiful outfits and have fun with their adult guest and friends! We'll have a photo booth, raffle prizes, music/dancing, and cupcakes/light snacks. Tickets are on sale now through January 27th on the PTO website. Check out the flier in the Virtual Backpack for more details. We can't wait to see you all there!

2023 Lunch Volunteers Needed
The lunch volunteer sign up sheets have been updated through the end of the school year. We need your help to make lunch distribution run like clockwork. Your student(s) would love to see you on their birthday or any day, so please join us in 2023! Sign-up forms are linked here:

Elementary Lunch Volunteering

Junior High Lunch Volunteering 

Favorite Things Lists
In this giving season, don’t forget to access the Staff’s Favorite Things lists available here.

December 2022 Board Briefs

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.