Oak Grove News

Reminder

This Friday, October 9th, is a non-attendance day for students as it is a Teachers Institute Day. Students will not be assigned work or need to log in for any Google Meets. Monday, October 12th is Columbus Day and there will be no school. We hope that everyone has a fun and safe 4 day weekend!

Bus Evacuation Drill

Every year as a school we must conduct a variety of drills with the students and this year is no exception. In the past, we have worked with the bus company to have a bus at the school so that ALL students could participate in the bus evacuation drill. This year, with the guidance of the Regional Office of Education, we will be showing ALL students, @school and @home, a video on how to properly evacuate a bus. Teachers will be showing the video during the school day next week. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

We held our student council officer election on Friday, October 2. Our elected officers for the 2020-2021 school year are:

President: Aaron Skarbek

Vice-President: Lena Dogadalski

Treasurer: Delaney McConnell

Secretary: Katie Griffin

A very special thanks to all of the students who ran for an office. We are looking forward to a wonderful year of service to our school and community with some strong leadership.

It’s that time of year again, October. The month of pumpkin spice, falling leaves and feeling the weight of the school year. How did we get here so fast? You may even hear October being referred to as “Shakedown” month. What is “Shakedown” month, you ask? It is when the newest of the year has worn off, introductions of classmates have faded away and content becomes more of the focus of the school day. Now more than ever, we are all feeling cooked, stressed, frazzled, and tired of being stretched to think about school in a new way.

Now the important question, how can we help our students and ourselves overcome “Shakedown” month?

• Start by identifying it. If you know what your child is feeling, it’s easier to help them problem solve solutions to help work through these feelings.

• Share your own examples. If you can share when there was a time that you were feeling overwhelmed or in a rut and how you worked through it, it could be a great model for your children to learn from.

• Ask them about their zone. During their weekly SEL lessons, Mr. Murray has been sharing tips and activities to help students become more aware of their social emotional wellness. A way to start the conversation would be to ask, “Have you tried any of the mindful activities you've learned in SEL?”

• Get moving. Physical movement, even just 5 jumping jacks, is a great way to reduce stress. Get those synapses firing and it will increase your endorphins so that you can put yourself in a more positive headspace. Try taking family walks or time each other running up and down the stairs. A little friendly competition could go a long way to encouraging some physical activity.

For more tips to help with “Shakedown” month, check out the full article by Susan Kruger, 9/29/2020.

PTO Meeting

Please join us for the September PTO meeting, this Wednesday at 11:30am. Zoom meeting details below. Please review the meeting minutes from the September meeting for approval. The agenda and minutes are in the virtual backpack.

Join 10/7/2020 PTO Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88539638765?pwd=M1JxSVZWMmY5OGlrYXkvdFRQQVFRdz09

Dial In: 312-626-6799

Meeting ID: 885 3963 8765

Passcode: 147287

Our CommUNITY Rocks!
Whether we are Eagles@Home or Eagles@School, our commUNITY rocks! The PTO thought it would be fun to paint kindness rocks and hide them around our community. Get creative, and get outside! Please see the Virtual Backpack for a flier with complete details for tagging your rock, and keep an eye on OGS social media to see when your rock has been found!

Caramel Apple Fundraiser

Happy Fall! Don’t forget to place your orders this week for the yummiest caramel apples! The last day to order is Friday, October 9th.

Please remember all purchases made must be paid by 10/12. If you did not receive a PayPal invoice after ordering your Rocky Mountain Apples, please contact Laura Reutzel @ sandersL7@hotmail.com. Thank you!

Rocky Mountain Caramel Apple Fundraiser

The Mental Health team at Oak Grove, consisting of two School Social Workers, two School Psychologists, and the Social Emotional Learning Coordinator, will be providing you information on several social emotional topics throughout the 2020-21 school year. Twice a month, we will provide you with a brief overview of a topic as well as at least one resource for additional information. Please feel free to reach out Ryan Murray, SEL Coordinator, if you have questions or need help finding more information.

This week's topic is Depression in Children. All children experience feelings of sadness or isolation at times; these are typical human feelings. However, if you notice that your child is increasingly sad and upset or if the bad days outnumber the good ones, it may be time to talk to your child or reach out for help. Depression looks different in children than it does in adults. For children, some common signs of depression are the following:

• Increasing irritable or angry mood,
• Lack of energy/lethargy,
• Bad attitude/increasingly disrespectful,
• Difficulty with concentration,
• Changes in sleep or appetite,
• Loss of interest in favored activities.

Please remember there should be no shame in asking for help if your child is struggling with any mental health concern.

Additional Resources:

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/understanding-depression.html#catfeelings

https://www.childrens.com/health-wellness/signs-of-depression-in-children

https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/major-depression-children

http://elyssasmission.org/hotlines/

DID YOU MISS CHOIR?

We had our first rehearsal last week but you can still join! Junior High choir meets on Tuesdays and 4th and 5th grade choir meets on Thursdays. Rehearsals are from 3:30-4:00pm. Join at rehearsal time using the google meet code: OGChoir

Can’t wait to see you this week!

Weekly Lesson Schedule - Just a friendly reminder the lesson schedule is posted in the Google Classroom at the top of the “Classwork” tab. Parents, please help your child set a weekly reminder on any device to keep their allotted lesson time. Missed lessons can be made up in the same week. Lesson & rehearsal attendance is a part of the grade we assign each term.

Mr. Frankowski and I have some time built into our schedules to lend a helping hand to any of our band students. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or need help. We want this to be your most successful year yet.

Concert Band - Concert Band is up and running! We meet Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning from 7:30-8:00 am; the Google meet code is: OGCBand. The students should be working on the concert Bb scale in the yellow book #147 and working on #109 Bottom Bass Boogie, and #118 Theme from New World Symphony. We did our first recording last week and it went well; we are working on not stopping when we run into a problem. We are hoping to record many more songs in the future.

Symphonic Band - Symphonic Band has been meeting as a full ensemble on Mondays, and as instrument families on Tuesday or Wednesday at 7:30-8:00 am. The meet code is: OGBand.

This week, the students are working on a film, movie or Broadway favorite, and one technical piece from the Accent Book 3. Those will be due next Tuesday and Thursday. (Oct 13 & 15) You should hear some fun music around the house this week!

ILMEA auditions - Auditionees need to get their first recording done this week and submitted to me via email to go through the process and identify any areas that need attention. Oct.15th is the very last day audition recordings can be submitted and uploaded.

Jazz Band -The Jazz Band is up and running! We meet Thursday, and Friday morning from 7:30-8:00 am; the Google meet code is: OGJazz. The Jazz Band is working on learning to solo over the Bb blues scale and putting our first piece together. There are recorded background tracks to practice soloing over the Bb blues scale and “Jammin’ with Charlie” in the Google Classroom.

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