Inclement Weather
Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I can't believe the holiday season is nearly upon us. Soon, I expect winter will arrive to stay, so I thought I would share the procedures for canceling school, in case we have inclement weather ahead of us.
The area superintendents work together to make decisions about canceling school. I work closely with the D128 high school district superintendent as well as the three other “feeder” school superintendents. Whenever bad winter weather is predicted, or occurs, we are in constant contact with each other. We also use up-to-date information provided to us by local weather agencies.
First, and foremost, it is our obligation to keep students safe as they wait at bus stops and travel to school. There are times when the area high schools choose to remain open, but the elementary schools cancel. However, we do try to avoid this if possible. There is no “exact” temperature, or wind chill factor that causes cancellation of school. We make our decision based upon a myriad of factors, with each weather event being analyzed on an individual basis.
We are cognizant of your need to make supervision plans as far ahead as possible. We make every effort to consider this as we make our decision. If school is canceled, I will utilize our School Messenger phone messaging system first. We also will try to send an e-mail to you, as well as update our website. Please know that those methods take a bit more time, so please don’t rely upon them as your first source of information. If your phone contact information has been changed, please inform the school as soon as possible, so that we may update your contact information on the phone messaging system.
In my 35 years in education, the decision to cancel school, or not, can be one of the most difficult. Either way, people are disappointed. Experience tells me that the most important factor is student safety, so it will be the determining factor in our local decision to hold classes, or not. Hopefully, our winter will be mild and we will not have to cancel classes. Have a wonderful holiday break!
Important Reminder Regarding Laptops
Junior High Students and Parents,
The tech department will be updating policies and performing routine maintenance on all student issued laptops over the winter break. All laptops must remain at school for winter break. If you have any questions, please email ogstech@ogschool.org.
Thank you,
OGS Tech Team
Social Emotional Learning
Greetings from SEL!
During the month of December, we have been focusing on feelings in grades K-5! In Kindergarten, we began by identifying the different types of feelings, happy, sad, angry, scared and learned about how we can have different feelings than our friends. The important vocabulary words are EMPATHY & COMPASSION. We've done activities and acted out scenes about recognizing feelings in our friends and we learned the importance of responding with compassion. Our 4th graders made a music video for grades 2 & 3 to launch the unit and be role models for how we can manage our emotions. Our 5th grade students made music videos from grades K & 1 to help them identify a variety of feelings that we show in our face, voice and bodies!
Dr. Meltzer worked his magic in the production room to help us create these two videos for our K-5 students! Please watch them with your child and compliment those role models for a great performance. There have been many other acts of kindness or ways we are showing compassion such as writing thoughtful notes for each other, the teachers and the bus drivers too! During this season and throughout the year it is important to take time to thank those in our lives. We also recognize the strengths in our friends and family and take the time to celebrate them!
Have a wonderful winter break!
6th Grade - 'Feed My Starving Children' Service Day
Thank you to all of the parent volunteers for helping to make this day possible for this class! The day was amazing and the class broke some amazing records from all of our previous classes!
Boxes filled: 211
Meals sent out: 45,576
Children fed for the year: 125
We raised over $1000 as a class with creative fundraising and generous donations.
The 6th grade team is so proud of this whole class!
Anna Heard, a former Oak Grove student, came in to talk to the kids about her experiences in Cambodia feeding young children using the Manna packs like we packed today. She is involved in Care for Cambodia group at LHS and was in the first class of 6th graders to go to Feed My Starving Children as a class project here.
7th Grade PADS Service Project for 2017
Who: 7th graders supporting PADS of Lake County
What: We are collecting new and gently used sweatshirts and sweatpants
When: December 4-20th
Why: We are supporting people in need and giving back to the community
Don’t Forget Penny Wars!
Is your homeroom up to the challenge?
Curriculum Corner
Hello Oak Grove Community,
The first week of December students took the winter round of STAR assessments. Results will be e-mailed home on December 21st. The e-mail will include a link to the cover letter and a PDF of your child’s individual report. Each report is sent home in a separate e-mail. If you have questions about the document, there are several places you can find additional information. On the OG website, assessment page, you’ll find links to articles and sample reports with descriptions. Also, a updated video tutorial has been posted to explain the different reports along with a question and answer section to address some commonly asked STAR questions. Thank you for your continued interest in your child’s success on these assessments, as we continue to receive additional questions, we will update the Q/A section.
PTO News
Save the Date
The Mother Daughter Tea will be on Monday, March 12th from 6 - 8 PM
Hot Lunch
Stayed tuned for more information about Marla’s Session 2 Lunch Schedule. Ordering will begin on January 1st for the session running February 5th - May 29th. New options will be available, including Jimmy Johns and Dominos Pizza!
Thank-you!
Thank-you to all those who participated in the Potbelly Fundraiser last Wednesday.
Thank-you to all our parents who are busy planning this weeks holiday parties.
PTO Meeting
Our next PTO Meeting with be held on Wednesday, January 10th at 9:00 in the Jr. High Teacher's lounge. All are welcome.
Warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday and very happy New Year!
Oak Grove Wrestling Club
Oak Grove Wrestling vs Gurnee Viking
December 20th, Wednesday, 4:30pm
Junior High Gym
1st meet of the 2018 IESA wrestling season. State Qualifier Antonio Kelly and Sectional Qualifier Diego Norena lead a young squad into a tough matchup before winter break. No admission. There is still time to sign up and get wrestling!
Virtual Backpack
Oak Grove School Board of Education
Click HERE to view Board Agenda and Minutes
Email: boe@ogschool.org
Website: www.ogschool.org
Location: 1700 S. O'Plaine Rd. Green Oaks, IL 60048
Phone: 847.367.4120
