Principal’s Otter Splash 11/5/2021 Versión en español aquí

Hello, Oak Grove family! We hope you had a wonderful weekend! As a reminder, everyone should set their clocks back on Sunday, November 7.

 

Track 1 & 2 Families should have received Quarter 2 Interim Reports on Friday, November 5. Please reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions.

 

As you know, this is a short week for us all - there is no school for students on Thursday, November 11, or Friday, November 12. We hope that you and your families enjoy a nice long weekend. Please know that our staff will also be spending these days resting, reflecting, and relaxing after Wednesday, November 10. They will be happy to get back to work and check their emails starting Monday, November 15th.

 

Wednesday, November 10, is Track-out Day for Track 2. Track 3 will return on Tuesday, November 16. Monday, November 15, is a school day for Track 1 and 4 students only.

 

This week, our staff elected our Teacher of the Year for 21-22 school year. Congratulations to Ms. Brittany Embler, Kindergarten teacher on Track 2. She describes teaching Kindergarten as a dream come true. We are so thankful for Ms. Embler and her impact on our entire school community!

 

Apex Leadership Fundraiser Update:

We’re raising funds for . . .  Reconnecting the Oak Grove Elementary Community, Technology Enhancements, Cultural Arts Programs, Teacher Appreciation, Continued Advocacy to OGE Families and so much more!

At the deadline for donations, Ms. Grabowski’s class won the “biggest jump challenge”. Ms. Swanson’s class won the “top pledging challenge”.  Ms. Grabowski’s and Ms. Swanson’s classes got to mummify Ms. Bias and Ms. Tysor. Thank you to the support from our Oak Grove families. So far, we have raised around $35,000 for our school.

 

Oak Grove PTA Spirit Wear:

We are excited to announce our new Spirit Store! It will operate a bit differently than our old store. You can shop for spirit items online from Monday, November 8th through Friday, November 19th. At the conclusion of the shopping window, all items will be printed and shipped to the school for distribution. We are offering a variety of products and colors for students and adults! All proceeds from our spirit sales benefit the PTA. You can find the store here: https://oakgrovespiritwearfall2021.itemorder.com/shop/sale/

 

PTA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Update:

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Oak Grove PTA invites all parents to join us for a one-hour virtual workshop, “How to Talk to Your Child About Race”, on Monday, November 15, at 7pm. Dr. MariaRosa Rangel and Stephanie Mitchell will be speaking to us about the benefits of talking to our children about race, and how you can have those conversations in effective and age-appropriate ways. This workshop has been presented at other Wake County elementary schools and received outstanding feedback, so we are really looking forward to learning about this topic together! To register, visit: https://bit.ly/3mBGyLp

 

PTA Partners with Local Artist:

The PTA has an exciting opportunity for you to remember your child’s time at Oak Grove. The local artist, Lew Wilson, has created a print of our beautiful school. You can even order an ornament! You can find the information here: https://bit.ly/3BjWXc7

 

COVID cases at school:

Please help us continue to keep our Otters safe by carefully monitoring any symptoms at home. Please do not send your Otter to school unless they are free of symptoms. Also, please encourage your Otter to appropriately wear a face covering as much as possible while indoors. The exception of exposure statement from the COVID team reads: Exceptions:  If face coverings were worn appropriately (over nose, mouth, and under chin) and consistently by both the person with COVID-19 and the potentially exposed person.

If we have a presumptive positive case at school, the school’s first step is to notify the COVID nurse/health department. We work with that agency to conduct contact tracing. Individuals that are determined to have been in contact with the presumptive positive case are notified.

CDC considers someone exposed to COVID-19 if they were within 6 feet of an infected person, without a face covering, for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset or, for infected people without symptoms, 2 days before they had a sample collected to submit for COVID-19 testing.

WCPSS no longer sends out an email to the entire school when there is a presumptive positive case. Instead, the School District will update the WCPSS COVID Metrics website daily to list schools where someone reported to have COVID-19 was in the school. Information for employees is shared via WakeConnect.

All reporting and notifications must maintain confidentiality in accordance with FERPA, NCGS 130A-143, and all other state and federal laws.

 

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ms. Tysor or me with any questions you may have. We are happy to help.

 

All my best,

 

Stephanie Bias, Principal

 

Reminders:

• Join the PTA: https://oakgrove.memberhub.store/

• November 9-10: IOWA testing for 3^rd & 4^th Grade (Tracks 1 & 2)
• November 10: Track-out Day, Track 2
• November 11: No School, Veteran’s Day Holiday
• November 12: No School, Day of Reflection (Track 1, 2, & 4)
• November 15: No School, Day of Reflection (Track 3)
• November 15-19: Track 2 Summer Camp Week 3
• November 16: Track-In Day, Track 3
• November 17: Make-up Picture Day, Fall Pictures (Track 1 & 3)
• November 22-23: Track 2 Summer Camp Week 4