Hello, Oak Grove Family, Versión en español aquí, النسخة باللغة العربية هنا, Toleo la Kiswahili hapa, Версия на русском здесь
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with rest, relaxation, and meaningful time with friends and family. It’s hard to believe we are quickly approaching the end of the first semester. Wow, the time has flown by! As winter break approaches, we encourage you to remind your child(ren) of our Otter Behavior expectations. This is such an exciting time of year, and we want to ensure that we continue fostering a positive learning environment while sharing in the joy and anticipation of the season.
With the Holidays approaching, we are now in our annual gift card drive. If you are able, please consider purchasing a gift card for our "Otters Helping Otters" gift card drive. These gift cards will be donated to families in need this holiday season. Please sign up for the gift card you want to purchase HERE. Bring purchased gift cards to the front office by December 2.
Please remind your student to check the lost and found for any missing items such as coats, jackets, lunchboxes, water bottles, and more. We currently have many unclaimed belongings, and all items not collected by December 20th will be packed up and donated to A Note in the Pocket and other local charities. We appreciate your help in ensuring that these items are returned to their owners before they are given to those in need.
A huge thank you to those who have submitted Staff Shout-Outs! 🎉 We are dedicated to recognizing the outstanding educators who positively impact our students. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to use this Google Form to submit your Otter Staff Shoutouts. Let’s continue to celebrate the great work happening at Oak Grove! You can also check our website regularly for updates and to see our staff members being recognized. 🦦🎉
Below is information about our Next Staff Shout Art, OGES Art Night, Breakfast with Books, Holiday Spirit Days in December, Fall Picture Retakes Track 4, the Yearbook Cover Contest for Grades 3-5 students, Yearbook Adds for 5th Grade Students Only, and PTA Updates.
As we continue the second quarter of the school year, we are committed to maintaining open lines of communication and working closely with you to provide the best possible education for every child at Oak Grove. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We look forward to a fantastic school year filled with learning, growth, and success for all our students!
Staff, School, and Club Wishlists
Warm Regards,
Ms. Benton
Otter Happenings (English Calendar) - Updated 11/1/24
Acontecimientos de nutria (Spanish Calendar) -Updated 11/1/24
Updated 11/1/24 حداث قضاعة Arabic Calendar
Matukio ya Otter (Swahili Calendar) - Updated 11/1/24
Выдровые события (Russian Calendar) - Updated 1/1/24
Staff Shout Out - Ms. Whelan
Thank you, Simona and Jonathan Willis, for shouting out Ms. Welan, our Otterly Amazing Third-Grade Teacher!
Please Join us for our Arts Night
Join us for an unforgettable evening of creativity and community at Art Night on Thursday, December 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM! Celebrate the artistic talents of our students with artwork displayed throughout the building and enjoy individual musical performances. Be there to cheer on our Reflections Contest winners as they are announced, and don’t miss the grand finale—a special concert by our Otter Singers! Families can also visit the book fair to purchase books and enjoy pizza, which is available for purchase in the cafeteria. We look forward to sharing this special evening with you!
Scholastic Book Fair - Breakfast and Books With Your Favorite Person
Our Scholastic Book Fair is just around the corner! It will run from December 2nd to December 13th, and the PTA will share more details in the coming weeks. This year, we are excited to continue our popular event, Breakfast and Books with Your Favorite Person! Students are welcome to bring a special guest—whether it’s a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or family friend—to enjoy breakfast together in the cafeteria and visit the Book Fair.
Event Details:
📅 Date: Tuesday, December 10th
🕰 Time: 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM
🍽 Menu: Southern Chicken Biscuit (a student favorite!), breakfast entree, cereal, and diced peaches
We kindly ask families to fill out the RSVP form to ensure Child Nutrition Services prepares enough food. We can’t wait to see you at this special event!
Holiday Spirit Fridays in December
Get ready to spread some holiday cheer with our Holiday Spirit Fridays throughout December! We invite all students to join the staff in celebrating the festive season as we gear up for Winter Break. Each Friday—December 6th, 13th, and 20th—will feature a fun and festive theme, so come dressed up and ready to show your holiday spirit. Let’s make the countdown to Winter Break a memorable and joyful time for everyone!
Fall Picture Retakes - Tracks 4
Fall Picture Retakes for Track 4 will occur on Wednesday, December 4th!
Yearbook Cover Contest - Students in Grades 3-5 - Mr. Carter
Attention All Oak Grove Elementary Artists from Grades 3, 4 & 5!
It is time for our annual YEARBOOK COVER DESIGN CONTEST! This is a unique opportunity to showcase your creativity in designing the cover for the 2024 - 2025 yearbook and leave your lasting mark on this year’s memories. The theme this year is ALL TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER. By involving students in this process, we are not just creating a memento but nurturing future designers, artists, and creative thinkers. We look forward to seeing our young artists' captivating creativeness this year. Your child may come to the office and get a contest page, or you may download them using the links below. The deadline for submissions is December 18th.
2024-2025 Yearbook Cover Contest English
2024-2025 Yearbook Cover Contest Spanish
Yearbook Adds - 5th Grade Parents/Guardians Only
They've made it! Celebrate your 5th grader with an Otter Wish in this year's yearbook. 🦦 Wishes offer parents and guardians a way to give a "shout out" 🎉 or say "congrats" 🎊 to their 5th grader, marking the end of their elementary school journey.
Please use THIS LINK to fill out your child’s information and to submit text/photos. Here is the PTA website, where you must pay $15 to purchase the ad.
⭐ PTA UPDATES⭐
🎉Volunteer Central- All your sign-up links are in one place!🎉
~Art Night- Help matte, label, and hang artwork in preparation for Art Night or sell concessions at the event
~ Book Fair- Help set up, work shifts, or take down the Book Fair
~ Otter Elves- Help the teachers by wrapping their gifts for their families or sending in wrapping supplies
~ Otters Helping Others- Help collect donations in carpool or drive the donated items to a collection center in Raleigh
~ Otters Helping Otters- Send in gift card donations to help our own otters have a happy holiday
🎻 ART NIGHT 🎨
Come see the work of our talented Otter Artists and Musicians!
5:30-6:45. Listen to student musicians in the lobby, browse the halls to view student art, shop at the book fair, and purchase pizza for dinner.
6:50 Celebrate Reflections participants and winners
7:00 Otter Singers perform
Volunteers are needed to help make this evening a success! Please sign up to help if you are able.
📚 BOOK FAIR 📚
Come shop for books at our annual book fair! Students will have a preview day to get an idea of the selection before their shopping day, and teachers will create wish lists as well. The Book Fair will be open on Tuesday, December 10th, during the Breakfast and Books event and on Thursday, December 6th, during Art Night for early and late family shopping opportunities!
Create an eWallet for easy, cash-free shopping! Scholastic now has a link that families can share through emails or social media to have others donate to their accounts. This would be an excellent option for extended families to contribute. Each child should have their own e-wallet (not family accounts).
Additionally, "Share the Fair" is a donation system for those in need of a free book. Families can now choose to donate through their e-wallet setup. Any extra money we raise will go to the library.
This event requires many volunteers! Please sign up to set up, work shifts, or clean up the fair.
🎁OTTER ELVES 🎁
Our wonderful staff will teach our students until Winter Break. Let's help them prepare for the holidays by doing their gift wrapping! Sign up to send in wrapping supplies or to wrap their gifts.
🦦 OTTERS HELPING OTHERS 🦦
We are continuing to support our neighbors in Western NC. For the month of November, please send cleaning supplies or shelf-stable Thanksgiving meal items. In December, we'll be collecting new and gently used toys. We are also looking for volunteers to drive the donations to Operation AirDrop in Raleigh, so please sign up if you can help with that! Sign up HERE!
Did you know the OGES PTA has a website? We encourage you to bookmark the site and check it often for up-to-date announcements and information!
