2/24/25 OG NEWS

Since 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education has sponsored the Those Who Excel & Teacher of the Year program to honor educators who have made significant contributions to our state's public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. Awards are presented in multiple categories. This year, Oak Grove will have 4 staff members recognized at this prestigious event in May! We are extremely proud of Heather McCarty, Logan Farris, Melissa Ostach, and Becky Jakubowski!

Every Spring, the universal screener SAEBRS (Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener) is administered. Students in grades 3-8 participate in this screener by answering questions related to Social, Academic, and Emotional behavior. The data gathered from those surveys, along with information from staff members and parents, help to identify students in need of social-emotional interventions. The surveys will be completed next week.

This is a reminder to participate in the parent survey supplement, part of the Illinois 5 Essentials Survey administration. We guarantee that survey responses will never be connected to your or your child's identity. School reports will only present aggregated information on how parents and students responded as a whole. A parent survey report will be generated only if at least 20 percent of parents respond to the survey. As a reminder, students in grades 4 - 8 will complete the survey during the week of March 10th.

To complete the survey, click HERE
For more information, click HERE

This is just a reminder that Wednesday, February 26, will be an early release day, with dismissal at 1:00 pm. Please note that lunch will be provided to all students on the early release day prior to dismissal. Also, there will be no student attendance on March 6 and 7.

Attention all 5th - 8th graders. Oak Grove School is hosting the Noetic Math Contest in early April. It is open to all 5th- 8th graders and is free. The contest will be taken during the school day on laptops, and information can be found at: https://www.noetic-learning.com/mathcontest/

Students, please let your math teacher know if you are interested and want to sign up. All students must be registered by March 12.

Dates of the contest:
5th and 6th grade - April 14
7th grade - April 15
8th grade - April 16

Families can expect to receive CogAT reports via email next week.

We are excited to announce that we started our Chromebook implementation with all the students in Mr. Eckhorn-Martinez’s 3rd-grade classroom. It was impressive to see them navigate the Chromebook through the touchpad and keyboard. The real magic happened when the students helped each other, sharing their discoveries and problem-solving strategies. Next steps: learning keyboard shortcuts! While students will continue to use iPads throughout the year, this implementation will help us prepare next year’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and their teachers to transition to Chromebooks.

Tickets are now on sale for this year's 8th Grade Musical, Willy Wonka JR. Go to ogschool.seatyourself.biz to buy your tickets and pick your seats. Tickets purchased at the door will be cash only. Contact Deb Greer (debgreer2003@yahoo.com) with any questions or handicapped seating needs.

The PE and Health Team will host a cosmic bowling event to raise awareness for cancer. This is a great opportunity for our community to come together and support an important cause. As part of the day we are asking students to fill out the attached sign to honor someone who has fought or is currently fighting cancer. The signs will be hung up in the gyms to create a wall of honor on the day of the event. Here is the sign that needs to be printed and brought back.

This event will take place during PE on Wednesday, February 26, for Mrs. Cummins and Mr. Izenstark's classes and on March 5, for Mr. Callahan, Miss Kurtz, and Mr. Mayer's classes. We are looking forward to this bowling event during our PE time!

Get ready for a glowing good time with music, games, and fun! Wear your best neon outfit and let’s light up the night!

Save the Date!
Neon Glow 5th Grade Hangout
March 14, 2025
After School
$10 per student in Rev Track.

Oak Grove 5th and 6th graders will be attending a presentation on March 13 by author Nicole Hewitt. She will be talking about her career as an author and her new book The Song of Orphan's Garden. All families are welcome to purchase an autographed copy of her book by completing the form found in the virtual backpack. Questions? email Mrs. Osterman osterman@ogschool.org

Join us for an exciting Chicago Wolves game on April 13 at 3:00 PM, featuring performances by our talented elementary and junior high choirs! Come out to cheer them on and support OGSEF—a portion of your ticket cost will go straight back to the Foundation to fund fine arts grants. It’s a win-win: an awesome game and a chance to support our school! Grab your tickets here: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/oakgroveschool

Spring Conferences will take place on March 6 from 1:00 - 8:00 pm. Virtual conferences are available from 1:00 - 4:00 pm, and in-person conferences are available from 4:00 - 8:00 pm. Please note that there will be no childcare option for conferences. Please contact Dave Huber at huber@ogschool.org with any questions.

Lake County Tech Campus is excited to announce this year’s Future Quest middle school career exploration days! This is an opportunity for 7th and 8th graders to experience career opportunities. The event will be on either April 8th, 9th, or 10th, depending on availability for the majority of interested students. If your child is interested in attending, please fill out this form to help us begin the planning process. Formal registration will follow in early March.

Please see this document with descriptions of all the Summer Camps that will be offered to students this summer. Registration will begin on March 10th through the Oak Grove Web Store (Revtrak). Please contact Assistant Principal Joe O’Malley, with any questions at omalley@ogschool.org

The JH library is looking for donations of new or gently used (high quality) jigsaw puzzles (500-1000 pieces) and board games. If you have any questions please reach out to Alyssa Osterman at osterman@ogschool.org

Please click HERE for the February 2025 issue of the Fine & Applied Arts Newsletter!

Please click HERE for the February 2025 issue of the PE/Health Newsletter!

2/26/25 - Early Release (1:00)

2/27/25 - 8th-grade musical at 7:00 pm in the JH gym

2/28/25 - 8th-grade musical at 7:00 pm in the JH gym

3/6/25 - No student attendance & spring conferences

3/7/25 - No student attendance

Games of the Week-

2/25/25 - 7th (4:15 pm) and 8th (5:15 pm) Grade Boys Volleyball Vs Neal
3/1/25 - 7th and 8th Grade Boys Volleyball Feeder Tourney starting at 1:00 pm & IESA Class A Wrestling Sectionals at Caruso Middle School

Athletics

Looking for information about upcoming games or events? Please check the Oak Grove Athletics Calendar or contact our Athletic Director, Dave Karolewicz, at karolewicz@ogschool.org.

Band

Please see our web page for dates and links. For the most updated information, visit the Oak Grove band website.

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.