Oak Grove News

The Oak Grove School District 68 Board of Education is pleased to announce Ms. Allison Sherman as the next superintendent of schools starting July 1, 2020 to succeed Dr. Lonny Lemon, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Ms. Sherman will join us as an Associate Superintendent on February 24, to transition with Dr. Lemon, through June 30.

Ms. Sherman comes to Oak Grove with a Chief School Business Official certificate from Northern Illinois University and her State of Illinois superintendent licensure from Loyola University. She earned a Master of Arts in Educational Policy and Leadership from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Michigan.

Ms. Sherman currently oversees the implementation of the Illinois ESSA Support and Accountability Plan at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). She led the launch and implementation of IL-EMPOWER, the state system of support for schools identified for improvement. Prior to ISBE, Ms. Sherman was an Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services for Marquardt School District 15 and Director of Curriculum for Indian Prairie School District 204. While at Indian Prairie, Ms. Sherman worked with the Aurora University Institute for Collaboration to design the John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School on the campus of Aurora University. The STEM school is a first-of-its-kind partnership school in the state of Illinois, comprised of a unique integrated STEM curriculum designed in collaboration with public school systems, corporate and non-profit partners, and a university. Ms. Sherman was the Founding Director in its inaugural year.

The Board of Education conducted a state-wide search with the assistance of the BWP and Associates that produced 37 qualified applicants from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds. After months of meetings and interviews, the Board of Education is pleased with the search process and its outcome.

“Ms. Sherman has a passion for working with students and families and is excited to begin her new role at Oak Grove. She will continue to carry forward the vision of Oak Grove”, said OGS Board President Tony Giamis.

Ms. Sherman would like the community to know, “The story of Oak Grove School District has been one of success under the leadership of the Board and Dr. Lemon. It was clear from meeting stakeholders that this is a community’s school – a family of staff, parents, administration, and Board committed to providing every opportunity for students to reach their potential. I am honored to step into the role of Superintendent and to work with the Board, Dr. Lemon, and staff over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition.”

Please join the Board of Education in welcoming Ms. Sherman to our Oak Grove family. A welcoming reception will be planned in January.

Geography Bee registration closes Friday January 10th. This year’s bee will be held January 13th at 6:00pm in the Junior High Learning Center.

Visit Mr. Henneberry’s website for registration and preparation activities.

CLICK HERE

Hello Oak Grove Community,

As part of our Talented And Gifted (TAG) placement procedures, we will be holding our winter session of Advisory Council. During the winter Advisory Council meeting, the committee will review placement appeals. Parents have the right to request an additional review of student placement into Oak Grove’s TAG program, through a placement appeal which would be reviewed by the Advisory Council. This process is discussed on pages 11 and 12 of the TAG Handbook.

In addition, please see the TAG Handbook for the matrix used to make placement decisions (p. 10) as well as the placement flowchart (p. 13) for additional information.

Parents requesting participation in the appeal process are required to complete the Parent Inquiry Form beginning on page 22 of the TAG Handbook. The Parent Inquiry Form, located on the OG website- click on Parent Inquiry Form, which must be completed and emailed to Sarah Cacciatore at cacciatore@ogschool.org no later than Friday, January 17th for consideration at the winter Advisory Council meeting. Parents will be notified via email regarding the final committee decisions.

*Please note, appeal process may only be utilized once a calendar year.

Our school spelling bee is Wednesday, January 15th at 6:30pm in the Junior High Learning Center. All participating spellers were sent home with a letter and study guide ahead of break. Please make sure to let Mrs. Evans know if you are aware of a conflict for your speller. All family are invited to attend. Friends are welcome to support our spellers too, but they must have an adult with them during the spelling bee. Congratulations to all of our qualifiers!

4th Grade

Jacob Xu

Advik Anand Vijay

Nikki Desikan

Sarina Linde

Samhita Manyam

Alternate: Sahasra Derangula

5th Grade

Caitlin Greer

Aniket Mandal

Mira Shah

Hamza Alsawaf

Zoe DeMoon

Alternate: Hafsa Ahmah

6th Grade

Shriteja Patil

Shubh Varshney

Ibraheem Amed

Aryaman Hati

Roohee Patil

Alternate: Lucy Giovannetti

7th Grade

George Schuman

Nate Kos

Zara Isaz

Alex Loesch

Shrivatsa Gottimukkala

Alternate: Nikolas Reeves

8th Grade

Vanessa Zhang

Husnain Haroon

Marisa Tarica

Ranya Belabbes

Razi Mohammed

Alternate: Sohaib Ahmad

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing break! Are you interested in helping with Oak Grove's multicultural program? We NEED volunteers to keep this program a success!

We are currently seeking volunteers to help with country-specific classroom lessons Mrs. Kiefer and Mrs. Dunn have put together. The lessons are run like a class party with different stations where the kids make maps, play games, read books, examine cultural items, etc.

This year, we are not holding all of the lessons in one week. Rather, the teachers could pick any date/time in January, February or March. You can see the dates the teachers have selected in the google sheet below. Each grade has a separate tab.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xlirABYlS9lXgb09l1ha_VP_IXFYD85XGbJXato2V9U/edit#gid=311829553

If you would like to sign up to help in any class, please do so through the links below. You are not limited to you child's/children's' classroom(s). If you have an interest in any of these countries, we would love for you to volunteer. For your reference, here is a list of countries for each grade - K (Brazil); 1st (Poland); 2nd (China); 3rd (India); 4th (Nigeria); 5th (Peru). For 4th and 5th grade, check with your child to see whose classroom they’ll be in during the lessons! This way you can volunteer in the room WITH your child!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-kindergarten1

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-first1

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-second1

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-third1

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-fourth2

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e45aba92da1ff2-fifth2

Once you sign up, we will be in touch with more information and instructions. Please feel free to reach out with any questions - (703) 608-8104.

Also FYI - you may receive a similar email from your room parent. Apologies for any duplication.

Many thanks!

Elizabeth O'Neill & The Multicultural Committee

PTO Meeting this Wednesday

Happy New Year! Please join us this Wednesday, January 8th at 9am in the Professional Development Room. All are welcome! December’s meeting minutes and the January meeting agenda can be found at www.ogschool.org/pto.

K-1 Social is Next Week

Attention all Kindergarten and 1st graders! The K-1 Social is next Thursday, January 16th. Please click on the link below to sign up for a fun, FREE event at the Libertyville Sports Complex on our early release day. Parents, please consider signing up to volunteer: we need helpers to make the day a success for the kids! Hope to see you there!

https://www.smore.com/gvx24

Daddy/Daughter Dance Tickets

Get ready to dance through the decades this year for the Daddy/Daughter Dance! It is going to be totally tubular, dude! Please buy your Daddy/Daughter tickets & raffle tickets for February 1st. Hurry before they sell out!

https://howardliz.wixsite.com/daddaughterdance2020

Mother/Son Dance Tickets

It's that time of year again! The annual Mother/Son Dance will be held Saturday, February 8, 2020 from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Junior High gym and is encouraged for all K-8th graders. You don't want to miss your opportunity to Dance Through the Decades! As in years past, we'll host a photo booth, raffle prizes, snacks, magician, and NEW this year, a DJ with special entertainment from Mr.GetThePartyStarted! He'll get you and your son on the dance floor to cut a rug to songs from the 50's through today! We would love to see you dressed in your favorite decade attire! Dressing up is optional, but encouraged!

Get your tickets HERE! They'll be on sale now through February 2nd.

We also need your help to make the dance a success. If you or someone you know is available to help decorate or work the event, please volunteer HERE.

Email Lynsey Wolfe (lynsey.wolfe@gmail.com) with any questions.

PTO Fundraisers

Thank you to everyone that was able to stop by and shop the B. Bungalow Holiday Shopping Oak Grove PTO Fundraiser, and thank you to B Bungalow for hosting us!

Save the Date!

With the New Year brings new resolutions and goals! What better way to refresh and kick off the New Year with a HOT YOGA class. Please join us at Heather’s Gym on Tuesday, January 21st at 6:30 – 7:15 pm for an amazing Adults HOT YOGA class. 100% goes to the Oak Grove PTO. Space is limited so please keep your eye out on how to reserve your spot!

Week of 12/19-12/22

The Oak Grove Wrestling Eagles took on the Vikings of Gurnee just before the break. The match-up was very close throughout the night. Each team forfeited the 215 & 275-pound weight classes. The night started with Nicholas Cramp getting a forfeit win at 65. Zayne Davidson worked hard to pin his opponent in the 2nd at the 70lb weight class. Mason Workman and Gavin Torres won by decisions. Orion Moran pinned his 85lb opponent in the 3rd. James Liu worked quickly to pin his opponent with 30 seconds left in the 2nd period. Hunter Hill won by decision and Kyle Byrnes wrestled tough to pin his opponent in the 2nd.

In the end, Oak Grove fell to Gurnee Viking 46-45. “Wrestlers of the Meet” were Zayne Davidson (Varsity) for his quick pin in the second. Matthew Branford (Junior Varsity) was awarded for his aggressive pin for a first-year wrestler.

Winter Break

Many wrestlers turned out for open mat work at Libertyville High School. This year set the highest number to come out at 15 wrestlers. Exactly 50% of the team came out over break to get some work in. Viktorija Tijunelis (6th) and Tiana Tillman (6th) went over and beyond when they participated in the “Wrestle Like A Girl: Empowerment Camp” over the winter break in Chicago, IL. The camp gathered female wrestlers from throughout the midwest. Alli Ragan, USA Wrestling Team Member, was the guest counselor for the day.

This Week

The 2020 IESA season is officially underway! The Oak Grove Wrestling Eagles travel to Shepard Middle School on Thursday 1/9. On Saturday, 1/11, the Eagles participate in the Woodlawn Quint. A total of 4 dual meets will be wrestled in one day. Oak Grove will face-off against Regional opponent, Lake Zurich South.

Science Club will meet this week on Friday, 1/10, from 3:30-4:30 in Mrs. Edelson's room. Check Google Classroom for further announcements (Join Code: dwg4pd)

7th and 8th grade boys volleyball tryouts will take place next week on Monday and Tuesday, 1/13 & 1/14, from 3:30-5:00pm in the Patt Gym. All athletes must have a current physical on file with the school nurse in order to participate in tryouts. Contact Coach Edelson or Coach Izenstark with any questions.

January 6 - D

January 7 - E

January 8 - F

January 9 - A

January 10 - B

January 13 - C

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.

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