Oak Grove News
Weekly Update ~ November 16, 2020
ALICE Drill on November 18th
Trimester 1 Report Cards and iReady Reports
Parent/Teacher Conference Reminder
Transitioning our Eagles @School to Learning @Home
Eagles @Home Library Book Drop-off
Curriculum Corner
Beginning Thursday, December 3rd all students will begin their second reading and mathematics i-Ready Diagnostic. All students whether they are an Eagle@Home or an Eagle@School (at home) will take the first 30 minutes of each diagnostic with their teacher. The rest of the diagnostic will be taken independently throughout the remainder of the week and completed by Friday, December 11th. Your child’s teachers need to know what our students already know and what they still need to learn so we can plan how to teach them best. The i-Ready Diagnostic can help us get this information for each child, but only if students give it their best effort without anyone else helping with the answers.
Partnering with you to make this successful is essential! We would like all parents to do a few things to help our students:
Please watch this less than 2 minute video for parents about i-Ready
Help by finding a quiet space and confirming the technology is working properly.
Motivate your child by explaining how doing their best will help their teachers know what to teach them next.
Support, but do not help by encouraging your child to stay focused and not helping with the answers.
Celebrate your child’s effort once you have confirmed they have completed the assessment.
Thank you for your support! If you would like more tips you can visit: https://i-readycentral.com/FamilyCenter/ and our Oak Grove website, Assessment Information.
Also noteworthy, the fall data reports will be sent home with your child’s report card on November 20th. For a sample report to help walk you through the data, see our school website - iReady section or contact your child’s teacher.
For families of students in grades 5 through 8 (laptop students)
We have a new tool to help students stay on-task while using their devices. Relay Classroom allows teachers to view the student’s screen and redirect their online location to remain focused. See this video for more information. Students will be informed this week at school that we will start using Relay district wide on Dec. 1st. You can also check out the Community Tutorials page for lots of videos to help you and your student/s while at home. If you have questions, please contact Ryan Murray, murray@ogschool.org.
Oak Grove School Education Foundation
The Oak Grove School Education Foundation (OGSEF) is a non-profit, 501c3 organization made up of volunteers including parents, teacher representatives, and school administration. OGSEF relies on a variety of fundraisers to be financially stable. Donated funds are invested in Oak Grove School by issuing grants to teacher-initiated program requests. These grants focus on development of the whole child and enable teachers to differentiate programming in areas such as STEM, Arts & Language, Social & Emotional Learning, Physical Activity, and Innovation & Creativity. We also award several $1,000 annual scholarships to Oak Grove alumni who are Libertyville High School seniors helping them continue their education.
So far this year, OGSEF funded more than $32,000 in grant requests and scholarships!
OGSEF needs your help to continue our mission. We accept online donations, matching donations from employers, and you can even purchase brick pavers with special engraved messages that are displayed at the school. Find our more at our website www.ogsef.org.
You can also visit smile.amazon.com and select OGSEF to receive donations from eligible purchases. On your first visit, search and designate the "Oak Grove School Education Foundation" as your charity of choice. Then, purchases made through smile.amazon.com helps OGSEF!
Monday Mental Health Minute
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 Family Stress during the Holiday Season. Many factors, including unrealistic expectations, financial pressures, and excessive commitments can cause stress and anxiety at holiday time. Certain people may feel anxious or depressed around the winter holidays due to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), sometimes referred to as seasonal depression. Holiday stress statistics show that up to 69 percent of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time,” 69 percent are stressed by perceiving a “lack of money,” and 51 percent are stressed out about the “pressure to give or get gifts.”
Holiday family get-togethers can be stressful. All of those old childhood wounds can get reopened, and, in some families, new issues are created. You can relax and enjoy your family this holiday season with a few simple tips.
- Prepare a “Self-Care” Plan- Decide how long you want to interact with difficult family members and determine your boundaries. Another might be for you to determine what topics you want to avoid.
- Practice Answers to Triggers- One way is to “redirect,” which is simply the strategy of changing the topic of conversation
- Let Go of Resentments- Decide what grievances you’ll let go of for the day.
- Practice Mindfulness- Focus on your needs and what is happening at this very moment and enjoy it.
- You’re Not the Only One- Remember, others are hurting too. You aren’t the only one feeling stress or getting triggered.
- Set Your Sites on What You Enjoy- Have something to look forward to.
Additional Resources:
Dealing with Family Dysfunction
Overcoming Holiday Stress and Anxiety
Coping with Holiday Family Gatherings and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Erin's Law
Dear Oak Grove families,
This letter is to inform you about Erin's Law, an Illinois state requirement and unit within our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum. During the week of December 7th - 11th, all students in kindergarten through eighth grade will be receiving instruction focused on the requirements of Erin’s Law. This will be our sixth year of covering these requirements.
Erin’s Law requires that all public schools in Illinois implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program which teaches:
- Students in grades pre-K – 8th grade age-appropriate techniques to recognize child sexual abuse and tell a trusted adult
- All school personnel about child sexual abuse
- All families about the warning signs of child sexual abuse, information to support sexually abused children, and where to find support
- Oak Grove implementation infographic
If you are interested in additional resources please follow the links to Child Lures, Safe At Last, or the Oak Grove website. If you have any questions about how Erin’s Law is being implemented or do not want your child(ren) to participate, please contact Ryan Murray at murray@ogschool.org or 847-367-4120 ext. 2708. Thank you for your support in addressing this sensitive topic with your child(ren).
Sincerely,
Ryan Murray
SEL and Behavior Coordinator
PTO News
PTO Meeting Minutes
Please find the minutes from the November 4th PTO Meeting HERE.
20 DAYS OF GIVING - STARTS TODAY!
Use our calendar to send your student(s) on a scavenger hunt to collect food & household items to support the Libertyville Food Pantry! Check your email today for more details.
Let us know if you’ll be participating and guess our success for a Chance to Win!
TEACHER WISH LISTS
Thank you to everyone who has purchased an item from a teacher wish list. Please make sure to add a gift receipt to your order. This ensures it goes to the correct teacher and she/he knows who it is from! If you have any questions, please reach out to Laura Reutzel at sandersL7@hotmail.com. Teacher Amazon Wish Lists HERE.
MY TEACHER’S FAVORITE THINGS
As there are no K-4 Room Parents and we won’t be in-person to distribute gifts, the PTO is organizing a list of teacher’s favorite things to help parents who may want to give a gift to their child’s teacher this holiday season. Keep an eye out in a future OG News for the link!
K-8 VIRTUAL SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Last week to order! Oak Grove will earn 25% back which will be used to purchase books for our own library. Free shipping, straight to your home, on all book-only purchases over $25. All purchases will arrive before the holidays!
Teacher Wish List - You can shop our Teacher Wish List to show your appreciation and help them expand their classroom libraries. Sign up to purchase a book from their "Wish List” here:
Once the Wish List books have been delivered to you, label the book with the teacher’s name. Drop the books off at 1420 Allyson Court (there will be a bin on the front porch).
Raffle - Each family who places an order can enter to win a $25 Pizzaria Deville gift card and a basket full of books and goodies! To be entered, please enter your family name and order number: Raffle Entry
**In order for Oak Grove to receive full credit for all purchases, please shop through this link to our own Oak Grove fair website: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/ogschool
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