Oak Grove News
Weekly Update ~ March 23, 2015
Curriculum Corner
Hello Oak Grove Community,
We made it through PARCC week! With the exception of a few absent students who are completing make ups this week, the majority of our students in grades 3-8 completed the PBA (performance based assessment) round of PARCC with a smile, flexible attitude, and a few 3rd grade dance parties. Never underestimate the power of a quick dance party to get the brain flowing! With this being our first experience with the updated format, we knew there would be a few glitches but nothing our tech team and classroom teachers weren’t able to handle. And we’ve definitely learned some things that will not only make May’s EOY (End of Year) assessment go smoother but next year’s tests as well.
Grades 3-5: PARCC EOY will take place the week of May 4th. It will include 2 math and 2 ELA assessments that are all shorter in length from the tests we just finished. Make up’s will take place the following week.
Grades 6-8: PARCC EOY will take place both weeks, May 4th and May 11th in order to work around previously scheduled events. They also will only have 2 math and 2 ELA assessments and make ups will take place within the same two weeks.
The iPad Take Home is in full swing!
Click on the link to see the Week 1 update.
4th-5th Grade Intramural Basketball
Intramural basketball for 4th and 5th grades begins Monday, April 6th! The goal is for all students to improve their skills while having fun. No prior experience required!
Intramural basketball is open to all 4th-5th grade boys and girls, and meets every Monday & Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 pm on the following dates:
April 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, and 29
Other information about intramurals include:
- The cost is $10, so please make payments online through RevTrak on the Oak Grove websitewww.ogschool.org.
- Bring your permission slip (located on the Intramurals webpage on the Oak Grove website) to the first session.
- All sessions will be held in the Patt Gym except for April 15th which will be held in the Junior High Gym.
Coach Karolewicz and Coach Kurtz will lead the intramural basketball sessions and welcome all students to come! If you have any questions feel free to contact Coach Kurtz at kurtz@ogschool.org.
Track and Field
Who can join? Boys and Girls in grades 6-8
Will there be cuts? No way! No cuts!
Where is practice? We meet in the Junior High Gym (then we go outside)
When is practice? Four days per week, 3:30-4:30 pm
Who are the coaches? Coach Anna Crary, Coach Tara Baron, Coach Sara Castro
What do you need? Supportive running shoes and a current physical on file.
Visit the Oak Grove Track & Field website for more information.
http://ogstrackandfield.weebly.com
Email Coach Crary with any questions: crary@ogschool.org
Engineering for Kids
Thank you for enrolling your student in the first Engineering For Kids session at Oak Grove School. The next session will focus on Aerospace Engineering! Aerospace engineering is one of the newest disciplines of engineering, facilitated by the growth of the aviation industry. Aerospace engineers are responsible for the design of aircrafts and the subsequent assembly and construction process
The next session will begin on April 16th and end May 21st. There will be individual classes for Junior (K-2nd), Apprentice (3rd–5th) and Master Engineers (6th–8th). All classes will be held on Thursdays. Class times will remain the same. Please see the registration flyer in the Virtual Backpack for more information. Registration is currently open. Space is limited in each class, so register today if you are interested in this program. Please contact the EFK Lake County program director, Monte Turnage at lakecounty@engineeringforkids.net or 224-372-7805, if you have additional questions about this program.
PTO News
March 21, 2015
A Message from PTO Co-Presidents Joanie Sauers and Julie Goodman:
Hot Lunches this Week
Monday 3/23 – Fio’s Catering
Tuesday 3/24 - Panino
Wednesday 3/25 - Pizza
Thursday 3/26 – Jersey Mike’s
BOE Candidate Forum – Thank You!!!
Thank you Amy Frantz, Tony Giamis, Lane Hasler, Marty Jacobs and Elaine Vong Salton for participating in the BOE Candidate Forum. We appreciate your service and dedication to the Oak Grove community. Thank you Dr. Lemon, Oak Grove staff, Mr. Oesch and Mrs. Koehler for your help and support. Don’t forget to vote on or before April 7th!
4th/5th Grade Social – Thank You!!
The 4th/5th grade Social was held Saturday evening at Advocate Condell Centre Club. A terrific group of students attended and had a great time swimming, playing basketball and volleyball, eating pizza and socializing. Thank you to Lisa Kula for chairing this fun event and her many volunteers who assisted in making the night a success.
LOST & FOUND – There were some items left at the social (winter coat, shorts, pants, etc). These items will be in the Elementary Lost & Found on Tuesday.
Ice Cream Social – Wednesday
The Kindergarten and 2nd grade ice cream social is this Wednesday, March 25th in conjunction with the school Open House. We will be selling ice cream bars, popsicles and bottled water for $1.00 each. Please join us for some sweet treats!!
K-8 Field Day – May 15th - Tentative!!!
We are hoping to bring back Oak Grove K-8 Field Day on Friday, May 15th!
What is Field Day?
A morning spent with teachers, students and families playing various outdoor games with teams of K-8 students. It's a great opportunity to take advantage of our unique school system allowing the students to spend the day with peers of all grade levels.
What we need?
100 parent volunteers on May 15th 8am-11:30am.
What can you do?
Email Dana Huennekens at dlfranz@yahoo.com by Friday, April 10th if you can help.
Unfortunately, if we don't have enough volunteers by April 10th, we won't be able to host this fun morning! Please email Dana right away!
Meet the Board Candidates
Marty Jacobs -
Marty is a 30 year resident of Green Oaks. His three children are K-8 graduates of Oak Grove School, each having received an excellent education at the Grove. He has BA, MSEd, and JD Degrees and holds an Illinois Certificate in teaching and one in educational administration as well as an Illinois Attorney's License. In 2008 he retired after 33 years in public education. He wants to be a member of the school board because he feels it is his time to give back to the community that has given him so much. Marty believes he could bring to the board a career's worth of experience in the field of education. He wants to be a positive enhancement to an already outstanding school district. Marty would like to find ways to reward our fine staff of teachers, administrators, and support staff; and hopefully, make a good system even better.
Amy Frantz and her husband, Jeff, have lived in the District for the last eight years. They have a daughter in 2nd grade, and sons in 6th and 7th grade. Amy has served as a classroom and PTO volunteer, chaired PTO Committees, and was the PTO Secretary in 2012-2013. As an active member of the community, she wants to help Oak Grove continue to offer an excellent education in a nurturing environment.
Amy graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications. She has twelve years of experience working as a Project Manager in the Communications industry. She hopes to utilize her communications background to help define a clear process for communication inside and outside of the District.
Amy will leverage her project management experience to work with all stakeholders to maintain and improve our long-term strategic plan to meet the ever-changing requirements that will drive our vision for the future of Oak Grove School. She is confident that this vision will help the District prioritize its investments, reduce waste and improve our operational processes so that we can best meet the needs of our students, within the District’s available budget.
Lane Hasler is the current Board Vice-President seeking a second term. Lane and his wife Katie have two children, Julia who is in sixth grade and Owen who started at Oak Grove School in first grade and is now a junior at Libertyville High School. Lane is an attorney with his own practice specializing in corporate restructurings and construction.
During Lane's time on the Board, the Oak Grove School has undergone dramatic changes in Board operations, the School's Administration and in the building itself and the technology used in the classrooms. Lane assisted in the creation of the Board's Finance and Facilities Committees and served as the first chair for each.
- The Finance Committee developed review and reporting procedures in response to financial issues. Lane oversaw the replacement of the internal business manager position with an arrangement with District 70 (Libertyville) so both districts share the same business manager.
- The Facilities Committee introduced management and planning procedures, which formed the basis for a comprehensive building and grounds renovation and also provides the framework for future maintenance and improvement. Starting with a comprehensive study of the existing building, Lane led a five year program which will be completed this summer and included new Junior High science classrooms, cafeteria, and locker and restrooms, a professional development center, refurbishing the insides of classrooms, air-conditioning the entire building and new playgrounds.
- The Facilities Committee is now the Facilities and Tech Committee in recognition of the importance of technology in our classrooms. Starting with a comprehensive study of the existing technology and a separate study of how technology is used in education, Lane led the District's change in how it managed technology both in terms of personnel and how devices and applications are selected and implemented in the classrooms. Lane continues to chair this committee. During his tenure, Lane assisted in the selection of Superintendent Dr. Lemon and hiring of Curriculum Director Mrs. Cacciatore who have each brought positive change to Oak Grove School.
The Board is currently negotiating a renewal of the District's contract with the teaching staff. Lane serves as the Board's co-representative in working with the Union on reaching a new contract.
He appreciates the support he has received and would like to continue the current work and provide continuity for the Board and Oak Grove School.
Dr. Giamis and his wife Liz have lived in Libertyville with their two children, Zachary (Grade 7) and Christopher (Grade 5) since 2011. He works as a scientist/business manager for Integrated Science and Technology (iSAT) at Abbvie, where his primary role is to produce imaging agents for drug discovery. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Rochester Institute of Technology, a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Syracuse University. He worked at Emory University Hospital in the Nuclear Medicine Department. While at Emory, he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Fellow. This appointment allowed him to focus on “Best Practices” for curriculum development in the science and mathematics programs for undergraduates. In his spare time, he is active in Scouting. Currently he is the Scoutmaster for Troop 71 in Libertyville. He served as the Committee Chair for Oak Grove Pack 194 from 2011 to last month and has participated in several Scout Pack and District leadership roles over the last three years. It is his goal to work with the OGS administration, teachers, and parents to uphold and advance Oak Grove’s excellence in education. If elected, he would bring patience and teamwork to improve communications between the Board of Education and the community, use his experience with curriculum development to strengthen our programs, and provide analytics to address accountability.
Elaine Vong-Salton -
Elaine understands the importance of relational trust between stakeholders at Oak Grove School, which includes parents, teachers, administration and the School Board. Elaine views her responsibility as a board member to ensure this relational trust. She seeks to balance fiscal responsibility with OGS strategic needs to maintain Oak Grove School as an outstanding district. She will strive to work with the administration to define and clarify a change management process at OGS: curriculum selection, programs, facilities, etc. Lastly, by drawing upon her experience in business, she would work with fellow board members, administration and teachers to work to improve OGS using innovation in a cost effective manner.
Elaine has volunteered her time and expertise at Oak Grove in many ways: as a member of the 2013 Strategic Planning team; as a founding member of the school foundation, serving as Vice President 2006-2009; as a member of the Foreign Language Task Force 2011; as project manager for the Junior High playground renovation project 2009; as a member of the 21st Century Learning Team 2010; and art awareness volunteer for 13 years. She has also been a Girl Scout troop leader for 12 years.
Elaine and her husband Greg Salton have lived in Oak Grove School district since 2000. They have three children: Natalie (OGS class of 2009) who is a sophomore at the University of Michigan, William a 7th grader, and Eleanor 5th grade.
Elaine graduated from the University of Michigan with B. S. in Chemical Engineering and worked at Abbott Laboratories Diagnostic Division as a manager, process engineer, and project manager.
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