IMPORTANT DATES IN DECEMBER

WINTER HOLIDAYS

December 19-January 2 - NO SCHOOL

STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL Tuesday, January 3

As winter approaches, please be aware

of severe weather threats! If it becomes

necessary to cancel school or close school

early, this will be announced on the School

District’s website at www.cherokeek12.net

as well as district Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Information is also broadcast on all metro Atlanta

television stations and most radio stations.

If you have not signed up for text reminders from

Oak Grove, be sure to do so, and you will receive

notice of school closings due to inclement weather as

well as reminders of other important school events.

Simply text @ogesf to (206) 922-4587 to join us on

Remind101.

THE EAGLE EYE OAK GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Fine Arts Academy 6118 Woodstock Road, Acworth, GA 30102

770-721-8550 Fax: 770-975-9292

http://cherokeek12.net/oakgrovees/

Penny Valle, Principal Carrie O’Bryant, Assistant Principal

JUNIOR BETA CLUB CANNED FOOD DRIVE

November 7 - December 14

The Oak Grove Junior Beta Club is collecting non-perishable food for needy families.

We have a school goal of 500 cans! The number of cans will be marked on the Big Can in the front lobby, so you can see how

close we are to our goal!

Cookies and Cocoa with Santa

Friday, December 9 - 4:00-6:00 p.m.

The Holiday Shop will be open

with gifts for all the family!

DECEMBER 2016

11/7-12/14 Junior Beta Club Canned Food Drive

12/1 E-Club Continues - Every Thursday from 2:30-4:30 p.m. for Selected Students

12/2 PBIS Store

12/2 Hat Day - $1

12/9 PTA School Store - 7:00-7:30 a.m.

12/9-15 PTA Holiday Shop - 7:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. - Performance Room

12/9 PTA Holiday Shop - 3:30-6:30 p.m. - Performance Room - Cookies and Cocoa with Santa from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

12/13 Zaxby’s Spirit Night

12/14 Menchie’s Spirit Night

12/15 2nd Grade Play - “The Littlest Christmas Tree” - 9:00 a.m. in the Gym

12/15 PTA Holiday Shop open till 6:00 p.m. during Media Center Extended Hours

12/15 Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night

12/16 Polar Express Day and Pajama Day - Wear your pajamas for $1

12/16 Holiday Assembly - School-Wide Sing-Along at 9:00 a.m. in the Gym

12/19-1/2 Winter Holidays - NO SCHOOL

1/3 Students Return to School

1/6 Report Cards Go Home

Notes from Nurse McGill

Remember that any child with a temperature of 100° or higher, vomiting, or diarrhea should not attend school. Please do not send children to school if they feel ill; this is in everyone’s best interest. Guidelines are:

Fever - Keep your child home until there is no fever for 24 hours, without using fever-reducing medication, and symptoms subside.

Vomiting - Keep your child home until he has not vomited for at least 24 hours.

Diarrhea - Keep your child home until he has not had diarrhea for at least 24 hours.

If diarrhea or vomiting occur often or occur with a fever, rash, or general weakness, call your child’s doctor.

Just a reminder…If a student requires medication while at school, please be sure that it is brought directly to the nurse or to the office along with a completed Medication Authorization Form. This form can be printed from the school’s website and is available in the office. Medications should NOT be transported on the school bus. It should be in its original package or prescription bottle. This includes ANY medication such as cough drops, inhalers, eye or ear drops, topical creams, or any oral medication.

Thank you,

Vicki McGill, RN

School Nurse, Oak Grove ES

Congratulations to the students chosen for the

2016-2017 Reading Bowl Team Jackson Craven, Joshua Lerman, Zachary Lerman, Sammy Lopez, Michelle Mahabir, Fallon Rushing,

Lillian Schwartz, and Amaya Whitfield

These students are preparing for the county competition on Tuesday, January 17th at

Freedom Middle School in Canton. Our Reading Bowl Coaches are Shirley

Baker, Amy McCravy, and April Bryant.

GEORGIA PARENT SURVEY

The annual Georgia Parent Survey for

the Cherokee County School

District has opened and will remain

open through Friday, March 3, 2017.

All parents are encouraged to participate in the 24-

question survey; responses are anonymous and will

be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of

Education for analysis. Parents may complete the

survey using their personal computer, smartphone, or

tablet.

You can find the survey at: http://apps.gadoe.org/

schoolclimate/parents.nsf/Survey.xsp

POTENTIAL WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS

Please be aware as you make plans for Winter Break in February 2017 that February 22, 23, and 24 have been designated as potential weather

makeup days if needed. Please plan accordingly.

ORDER YOUR OAK GROVE YEARBOOK!

$23 each through January 31, 2017

LOST AND FOUND

Please check our lost and found in the hall near the gym for any items that belong to you. Any items left after December 16th will be donated to

charity during the Winter Holidays.

CONGRATULATIONS to our NOVEMBER

“SOARING with Character” Award Winners!

Jonathan Torres Valerie Gonzalez Jonathan Hart Max Hernandez Daniel Lisiuk Natalie Matthews Jayden Enriquez Mendoza Dagmara Avalos Maribel Castillo-Lozano Jaiden Cooper Miguel Elizalde Delgadillo Natalie Soto Chavez

CAFETERIA NEWS

Parents of students in Preschool and

Grades 1, 3, and 4 are invited to a special

Winter Holiday Lunch in the cafeteria on

Tuesday, December 13. All students will receive this

special meal. (Parents of students in the other grades were

invited to Thanksgiving Lunch in November.) The cost for

adult lunches will be $5.00.

December News from the

Oak Grove PTA

Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings from Oak Grove PTA!

Thank you to all those who came out for the Dr. Seuss Carnival. It was a great night and a lot of fun!! A

BIG thank you to our volunteers…we could not have done it without your help and support!!

The School Store will be open on Friday December 9th and popcorn sales will continue on Fridays.

Please return your child’s Popcorn form and money to their homeroom teacher each Thursday if you

want to buy popcorn.

Ho Ho Ho!! Our HOLIDAY SHOP is coming!! The Holiday Shop will be open December

9th through the 15th from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Students may come before school, during

their recess time, or at the teacher’s discretion. We will be sending an email asking for

volunteer Elves to run the shop and help kids pick presents. Thank you for your help!!

Join us for COOKIES AND COCOA WITH SANTA on Friday afternoon, December 9, from 4:00 to 6:00

p.m.!! The Holiday Shop will be open from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and Santa will be visiting from 4:00 to

6:00 p.m. Watch for more information about this fun afternoon!

December 13th – Zaxby’s Spirit Night from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Help support the PTA and enjoy a delicious meal.

IT'S BACK!! Penny Wars will return in January, 2017. Stayed tuned for the BIG reveal of the theme and

prizes. In the meantime, check out our Throwback Thursday video of our FIRST EVER Penny Wars from

2012 by visiting our website at: www.oges.my-pta.org or on our Facebook page: Oak Grove ES Fine

Arts Academy. And start saving those pennies!! Also, please continue to send in those Box Tops!

Wishing our Oak Grove Family a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

The Six Flags “Read to Succeed” reading logs went home in November. Take advantage of vacation time to get started! Books read for a book report or an assignment cannot be included, but any book, magazine, and digital books which are read for pleasure, such as the books they read for AR, should be included on the “Read

to Succeed” reading log. Students should turn in the Reading Log to their homeroom teacher no later than Friday, February 10. If your child reads 600 minutes, they will earn a free ticket to Six Flags which they will receive in May.

Let me remind you that that the media center will be closed for extended hours during the winter holidays. We will resume our normal schedule on Thursday, January 5.

I hope you and your family have a safe & joyful holiday!

-Shirley Baker, Media Specialist

CHARACTER EDUCATION AT OAK GROVE FINE ARTS ACADEMY WORDS OF THE WEEK FOR DECEMBER

December 5 – Kindness: Consideration and willingness to help others.

December 12 – Commitment: Being dedicated to a cause or activity.

SPECIALS NEWS

Art Congratulations to Faith Freeman for winning in PTA’s Reflections “What’s Your Story?” Photography Category. Kindergarten is learning about textures and printmaking, with one of my favorite artists and writers Eric Carl.

Some of Eric Carle’s artwork is currently on display at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta until January 2017. 1

st Grade is learning about Georges Seurat and Pointillism. Did you know Seurat’s famous “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1886) covers an entire wall with 3,456,000 dots and took 2 years to paint!

2nd

Grade recently finished their positive and negative hands on warm/cool backgrounds. 3

rd Grade is learning about folk art using patterns, foreground, middle ground, and background to create landscapes.

4th

Grade finished their artwork using Notan designs. Ask your child what Notan means. 5

th Grade is creating silhouettes using cityscapes and landscapes on monochromatic backgrounds they painted.

Stop by the Specials display case at the end of the 1st

grade hallway to see artwork featuring Kindergarten’s sunshines using lines and shapes, as well as 1

st grade’s art on leaves using warm and cool watercolors.

The Art Room is in need of clean and emptied egg cartons as well as empty paper towel rolls. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @ogesart and if you’d like to help in the Art Room, email at april.lammers@cherokee.k12.ga.us

Music

Kindergarten – Melodic direction through listening, singing and moving. Celebration songs and meter in 2. Playing xylophones with proper technique and recognizing high and low sounds and notes.

1st

Grade – Staff, treble clef, and mallet technique. Solfege with signing and syllables so, me, and la and recognizing aural and spatial relationships.

2nd

Grade – Folk music including instruments and dance from this genre and two-part partner songs. Melodic direction and melodic phrases, the pentatonic scale, tones, and historical importance. Students will write skits on the computers.

3rd

Grade – Working on rhythms in all classes. The students will write notes and beats to play on classroom instruments and learn mezzo forte, mezzo piano, and sforzando.

4th and 5

th Grade – Playing the Recorder: Fingerings for G, A, and B, reading music, and breath control.

All students are working on sight reading using letter names as well as solfege singing with sign language. All classes will be using the MAC computers in the coming weeks to practice the skills learned in class.

Eagle Chorus Performance Dates (Details about events are on Mrs. Johnson’s Website and information has been given to the chorus students): December 6-Governor’s Mansion; December 11-Atlanta Gladiators Hockey Game; December 16- Performance in the gym for the school

Computer Lab Kindergarten is working on IReady Math and learning where to locate letters on the keyboard. We are using

the program Keyboard Climber to help the students with this skill. 1st

grade is working on IReady Math and starting a mini lesson on PowerPoint. 2nd grade is working on animal habitats and putting information into a class PowerPoint. They are learning how to add new slides, pictures, and different slide layouts.

3rd

grade is finishing the Famous American PowerPoints and sharing with the class. We will also be working on constructed response. 4

th grade will research a state that they are assigned. They will then put the

information they learn about that state into a brochure using Publisher. 5th grade will work on animal

classification and put their information into a brochure using Publisher.

Physical Education Please have your child wear sneakers on their PE days as they are much easier to be active in and are safer for all involved. There has been an increase in the number of students wearing the wrong shoes to PE; please help by reminding your child.

Students in grades 3-5 will participate in a variety of games that increase fitness and strength. We are working towards training for the Fitnessgram Pre-Test which will take place in January. Fitnessgram is a great assessment tool that will help you to understand your child’s overall fitness level. This test does not require any athletic ability; it simply measures your child’s strength, flexibility, BMI, and cardiovascular endurance.

Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be participating in a variety of activities which work on both fine and gross motor skills. Music and movement will be incorporated into P.E. during skills stations, in which the gym is divided into 3 areas to work on specific skills while playing with equipment. We will also be participating in games which have a “holiday” theme to help our students get excited about the spirit and joy of the holiday season!!

Warm wishes for a fantastic holiday season and a healthy new year!!