The Grove

Thank you to all our families who were able to join us for Pastries with Your Patriot. It was great having so many visitors join us. A huge shout out to our PTO for hosting this event.

This week we focused on the Graduate Profile skill of being future-ready literate. We talked about working hard to use technology to support student learning and completing learning tasks. Also, being able to understand basic financial concepts, such as money, saving, and spending.

Get ready, we have Picture Day on Thursday! Information is going home with students today. In addition, we have information below about the packets.

Thank you to our wonderful PTO for hosting this week's Pastries with Your Patriot. We had over 200 visitors and loved seeing the many grandparents, parents and family members joining our Patriots for some tasty pastries to start the day.

In order for all staff (support and certified) to engage in professional learning on collaborative planning days, the front offices at schools will close earlier than usual.

Please note that elementary schools will close their front offices at 12:45 PM.

Classroom lessons are in full swing! During these lessons, OGE School Counselors Ms. Davies and Ms. Warren share strategies that will help students fulfill the Oak Grove Patriots Motto: Be Kind, Work Hard, Be Brave! Ms. Davies has been strengthening 3rd graders' understanding of what it means to be responsible. Ms. Warren has spent time with Kindergarten to enhance listening skills! Ms. Vaughn's Kindergarten class rocked their read aloud and guided drawing activity!

Greetings Patriot Families!

Every year, we send out a School Counseling survey to families in an effort to gain valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of our program. Below you will find a link to Google form with a few simple questions we can use to find trends & make necessary adjustments to serve you better!

Please take a moment to fill out the form. We truly appreciate it!

Warmly,
Ms. Davies & Ms. Warren

Fall '24 FAMILY Survey

Each week, students are nominated by teachers and staff for exemplifying our school motto of "Be Kind, Work Hard, Be Brave". Their names are put in for a weekly drawing to be recognized for being caught doing good! Here are this week's Spotlight students! Who will get caught next week?

Congratulations to Ms. Fanning's Kindergarten class for completing their goal of filling up their star jar. They got to bring a toy to school for a day in celebration of reaching this goal!

STEM teacher, Ms. Harmon, recently won the Golden Apple Michelin Grant. This grant will provide students with ball launchers for robots, which will be used in hands-on experiments and projects that explore concepts like physics, force, motion, and engineering design. The ball launchers will allow students to engage in interactive STEM lessons, fostering critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in a fun and dynamic way. We are excited to see the creative challenges and learning opportunities these new tools will bring to our STEM lab.

Students in 2nd grade recently learned to use the robot Bee-Bot in STEM class, combining coding with their math lessons. By applying the concept of combinations of 10, they programmed Bee-Bot to move to the correct square on a grid. This hands-on activity reinforced their math skills while introducing basic coding and problem-solving. The experience made learning fun and interactive, helping students strengthen their understanding of math in a creative and engaging way.

Car line drop off begins at 7:00. For the safety of your children, please do not drop them off in the parking lot area to cross traffic. Safety is top priority and why all students are to be dropped off at the breezeway where staff and safety patrol are available to assist. A secondary drop off location is the bus loop starting at 7:10.

Good Afternoon! Please click on the links below to see all of our Title I documents and a Parent Survey we would like you to complete and submit. If you have any questions, please contact Marie Lewis at mlewis@lexington1.net.

OGES Title I Parent Survey English 2024-25
OGES Title I Parent Survey Spanish 2024-25

Also, see below the links information on our Family Resource Center.

OGES Family Compact English 2024-25
OGES Family Compact Spanish 2024-25
Family Engagement Policy Highlights English 2024-25
​Family Engagement Policy Highlights​​​ Spanish 2024-25
Family Engagement Policy English 2024-25
Family Engagement Policy Spanish 2024-25
Parents' Right to Know English 2024-25
Parents Right to Know Spanish 2024-25

OGES has a Family Resource Center that is funded through our school's Title I parent and family engagement budget. The center serves to meet the individual needs of ALL families by connecting them with school and community resources, engaging with them in the learning process, and partnering together to ensure the success of ALL students. For more information on the center, contact mlewis@lexington1.net.

As published in the 2024–25 Student Handbook, a new state law in the form of a proviso included in the 2024–25 state budget requires the following:

“To receive state funds allocated for State Aid to Classrooms, a school district shall implement a policy adopted by the State Board of Education that prohibits access to personal electronic communication devices by students during the school day. For purposes of this provision, a personal electronic communication device is considered to be a device not authorized for classroom use by a student, utilized to access the Internet, wi-fi, or cellular telephone signals.”

During the month of September, the Lexington One principal, teacher, parent, student and support staff advisory councils will provide feedback on the draft cell phone policy presented to the S.C. Board of Education during their August Meeting.

This feedback will guide our district's new policy, which will be presented to the Lexington One Board of Trustees for first reading in October and final approval in November.

This timeline ensures ample time to prepare our students and families for the policy's January implementation.

Current Policy:

Lexington One will begin the 2024-25 school year following the district’s current cell phone policy, which is explained below. After the State Board of Education adopts a policy, district administrators will work with our School Board to update our district policy.

Cellular telephone and other personal communication devices are used for various reasons, including emergency use and parental communication.

Middle and high school students may possess a personal communication device in school according to the following guidelines:

The device remains silent and is not visible or in use during instructional time. Teachers may allow, however, the instructional use of personal communication devices at their discretion.

Personal communication devices are not permitted to be used in locker rooms, restrooms or other personal spaces.

Middle and high school students may use their personal communication device before and after school, during class changes and during their assigned lunch as long as the use does not disrupt the school environment.

Elementary school students may possess a personal communication device as long as the device remains off and is not visible during the school day. They are not permitted to use personal communication devices during the school day. Teachers may allow, however, the instructional use of personal communication devices at their discretion.

Students and parents should understand that possession of these devices could pose a risk of loss or theft. We encourage students to properly label their devices and take steps to keep them safe. The school/district will not be liable for lost or damaged devices.

The school principal reserves the right to limit and/or confiscate these devices if the use of these devices is causing a disruption to the school.

A person who finds a student in violation of this policy must report the student to the school principal or his/ her designee. Upon notification, the principal or his/her designee will follow these procedures:

Number of offense(s) . . . . . Consequence(s) 1st violation . . . . . . . . . . . . Student conference held. 2nd violation. . . . . . . . . . . . Student / Parent conference held.

3rd violation . . . . . . . . . . . . Student / Parent conference held. Student receives detention.

Additional violations . . . . . Student / Parent conference held. Student receives in-school or out-of-school suspension. Continued violations may result in a recommendation for expulsion.

Violations of the laws of the United States or of the State of South Carolina may subject students to criminal prosecution.

​

Families are allowed to come to visit their child for lunch. Parents will sign in with the front office with your drivers license, sit at reserved tables and enjoy lunch with their child. Friends are to remain with the class. Once lunch is finished, students will leave with their class and parents will sign out with the front office.

If your child's school fees have yet to be paid, we kindly ask that those be taken care of at this time. To pay school fees, follow the directions below to log into PowerSchool’s Parent Portal to view and pay school fees.

1. ​​​ ​​Log in to Parent Portal You must access Parent Portal on an Internet browser to pay fees. You can not pay fees using the Parent Portal app.
2. Under the Navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen click on the School Fees and Forms icon, which should be near the bottom of your screen.

​

If you applied for free/reduced lunch and received an approval email or letter, please bring it by the school or email it to Ms. Shealy at tlshealy@lexington1.net to waive school fees. If approval letter is not received, school fees are the responsibility of the parent/guardian to be paid online through the parent portal website.

When dismissing a student or visiting for lunch starting on August 28, a valid drivers license / photo ID is required and will be scanned in a national database. Information is not stored in the system and will be required every time.

Early Dismissals of a student will need to be before 2:00 pm and in person. We can not take any dismissal requests over the phone. A driver's license will be needed as well as be on the approved contact list in order to dismiss a student.

• Now - School Fees Due (See Above For Payment Link)

• September 15 - Hispanic Heritage Month
  

• September 17 - Constitution Day

• September 19 - Fall Picture Day

• September 20 - Fall Book Fair

• September 20 - POW/MIA Recognition Day

• September 25 - CP Day 11:20 Dismissal

• September 27 - PTO Chick-Fil-A Biscuits Sales 7AM

https://runhard.org

Run Hard is an 8 week after school kids running program that builds confident kids by training them to finish a 5k and teaching life values.

• Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria daily from 7:00-7:30. It will no longer be free to all students. If you choose to eat breakfast at school, the cost is $1.90 or $0.30 for reduced cost. If you are interested in applying to see if you qualify for free or reduced lunch, please see the information below in the newsletter.

◆ Breakfast - $1.90

Reduced breakfast - $0.30

Additional breakfast for students is $1.80

◆ Lunch - $3.40

Reduced lunch - $0.40

Additional lunch for students is $3.30

◆ Breakfast - $1.90

• Reduced breakfast - $0.30
• Additional breakfast for students is $1.80

◆ Lunch - $3.40

• Reduced lunch - $0.40
• Additional lunch for students is $3.30

Breakfast for a week will cost $9.50

Lunch for a week will cost $17

Thank you for making sure your child's account has money on it to avoid it going in the negative. You may send in money for the cafeteria, add money over the phone via card by calling (803) 821-0153 or by

Website: https://sc50000473.schoolwires.net/Page/45
Location: 479 Oak Drive, Lexington, 29073
Phone: (803) 821-0100
Facebook: facebook.com/oakgrovepatriots

PTO Facebook: Facebook.com/OGE Patriots Pto
X: @ogelementary

Instruction Begins 7:30 AM

Dismissal 2:20 PM

Lexington County School District One’s

Nondiscrimination Statement

Revised 06-02-2023

Lexington County School District One is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all students, parents/legal guardians, staff, visitors, personnel and community members who participate or seek to participate in its programs or activities. Therefore, the district does not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race or ethnicity, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth or any related medical conditions), color, physical or mental disability, age, ancestry, genetic information, national origin, immigrant status or English-speaking status, marital or family status, or any other protected characteristic as may be required by law.

The district will use the grievance procedures set forth in policy to respond to complaints based on alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008; and Titles I and II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The district designates specific individuals to handle inquiries or complaints. To find out whom to contact and how to contact them, please go to our website at http://www.lexington1.net/contact-us.