Principal’s Otter Splash 11/26/2021 Versión en español aquí

Hello, Oak Grove family! We hope you had a wonderful, long weekend! We hope all of our families had a happy and safe Thanksgiving Break (November 24-26). We will see Tracks 1, 3, and 4 back on Monday, November 29!

 

Upcoming School Visits:

Some of our partner middle schools have begun to share opportunities for our families to visit the school. Here are the schools that have contacted us so far:

1. Lufkin Road Middle School: Lufkin Road Middle School will be hosting school tours for our prospective rising 6th grade students. These tours will take place every Tuesday beginning 11/23 through 1/25. Please direct families to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4FADAB2BA2F58-toursto sign up for a tour. Our Spring rising 6th grade open house will be March 29th at 6:30pm. Families will also have an opportunity to tour the school on that night. Additional rising 6th grade information will be posted on our Lufkin Student Services website. That website can be found here: https://www.wcpss.net/domain/11710 
2. Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy: WYMLA has an excellent Early College program, and we would like all parents & students to have an opportunity to hear about us.  The Leadership Academies' application deadline is DEC 14th, so please forward this as soon as possible. 

Thank you for supporting all 5th-grade students, especially 1st generation college students, with various options for Middle School.

We will have in-person tours this year! CLICK HERE to sign up for a time.  

This link is also on our website. https://www.wcpss.net/wakeyoungmen

 

Instructional Assistant of the Year:

Please join us in congratulating Ms. Carol Redus, our Instructional Assistant of the Year. Ms. Redus serves our students in the ECS I classroom. She has been selected by her peers and recognized for her hard work and dedication to our Oak Grove Otters. We just love Ms. Redus!

 

Otters Holding Hands Holiday Assistance

As the holiday season approaches, we wanted to share opportunities for families to offer and receive support.  We are so thankful to the PTA for organizing this year's holiday assistance program.  If your family is in a time of need, please complete this brief form to request assistance.  If you are able to give, please sign up here for the type of gift card you plan to donate.  The deadline to deliver gift cards to school is December 10th.  Thank you all for your support!  

 

Spirit Night at The Burrito Shak:

Let’s have Taco Tuesday on a WEDNESDAY!! On Wednesday, December 8, the PTA has partnered with the Burrito Shak for an “eating out” night. If you purchase food that evening, a portion of the proceeds will come back to our PTA fund to support our school and teachers. Please see the flyer here: https://bit.ly/30EE0UX

 

PTA Partners with Local Artist (Update):

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!

UPDATE: The last day to order for delivery is 12/8. 

The last day to order for pick up is 12/15.

You can find the information here: https://bit.ly/3BjWXc7

 

PTA Partners to Provide Track-out Opportunity:

Over the Moon Play Space is offering play-based STEM and Art track-out camps this fall and winter, with both half-day and full-day available.  They are going to donate 10% of all camp revenue booked with code OGES to the OGES PTA!  This goes through winter track outs. Go to https://www.overthemoonplay.com/track-out-camps to learn about the camps and book a spot.

 

Chromebook UPDATE from Technology Services:

Technology Services has seen an increase in security issues due to WCPSS devices not being restarted regularly. Restarting a device allows updates for new security and productivity features. Students and staff should restart their WCPSS devices once per week. Consider setting a specific day for this, such as a Restart Wednesday or Restart Friday. (Important: Closing the lid only locks the device and does not shut it down.) Restarting also can resolve many other common issues impacting student devices. Always restart a WCPSS device before contacting the Help Desk.

 

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/

• December 3: Quarter 2 Interim reports go home (Track 3 & 4)
• December 3: Quarter 2 ends (Track 1)
• December 6-10: Track 1 Summer Camp Week 3
• December 7-8 IOWA testing for Tracks 3 & 4
• December 7: PTA General Meeting 6:30 PM
• December 8: Spirit Night, Burrito Shak beginning at 4:00 PM
• December 9: Fall Picture Make-up (Track 2 & 4)
• December 13-17: Track 1 Summer Camp Week 4
• December 22: Quarter 2 ends (Track 2, 3, 4)
• December 22-January 2: Winter Break
• January 3: First Day Quarter 3 (Track 1, 2, 3)
• January 3-7: Track 4 Summer Camp Week 3
• January 7: Quarter 2 Report Cards (Track 1, 2, 3)