Letter from the Principal Patriot

THE PATRIOT
Oak Grove Elementary School
479 Oak Drive • Lexington, SC 29073
(803) 821-0100
www.lexington1.net/oges
Issue 6 of 9: February 2016
Letter from the Principal Patriot
Dear Oak Grove Parents,
January was packed with exciting learning activities for your child! As always we continued the program “The Leader In Me”, the 7
Habits for leadership skills, and seminars with students. We also administered our winter MAP testing and sent home report cards.
Believe it or not, we also started registration for kindergarten 2016-17. We also honored all our school board members for School
Board Appreciation Month. Mrs. Cindy Smith, Lexington School Board Secretary, joined some of our fifth grade student leaders for
lunch. See the pictures on our OGES Face Book page under Oak Grove Patriots and below. We appreciate all our school board members! They work hard to help Lexington One and OGES be the best we can be!
Three of our staff members were recognized by the Lexington One School Board in January. Mrs. Beck and Mrs. Case were awarded a
Michelin Golden Apple Teacher Grant and Mrs. Sherban was awarded a grant through DonorsChoose.org Project Funding. We are so
proud of these ladies!
February is another exciting month at Oak Grove! On February 1 we will continue our study of seminars that helps our students with
their critical thinking skills and Chief Meteorologist Henry Rothenburg will be here to talk with our fourth grade students. On February 10 and 11 we invite all Dads to come in and enjoy “Donuts for Dads” in our cafeteria. February 12 and 15 is a holiday for students.
On February 18 we invite all parents to join us for Parent Leadership Night at 6:00 to see all our fabulous student leaders in action.
February 26 is our Leadership Day when educators across the state and several other states will visit to learn more about the OGES
Leadership program for students.
We are a Lighthouse School for Leadership with the Covey Corporation. We work hard
to teach our students how to be a leader through our study of the 7 Habits (Be Proactive, Begin With the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, Seek First to
Understand-Then to Be Understood, Synergize, and Sharpen the Saw). All of our classrooms have a poster listing these habits and also listing five affirmation statements
that help to clarify the meaning of each habit. Have a conversation with your child
about what these habits mean. If you would like to read more about the 7 Habits, take a look at this web site: http://
www.theleaderinme.org/. The following link will take you to a link just for parents: http://www.theleaderinme.org/for/parents/
parents-guide/. As a parent, you can reinforce these lessons on the 7 Habits and enjoy spending time with your child by participating
in the weekly Family Connections newsletter. It’s all about your children becoming great 21 st Century leaders and learners!
Thank you for being our partner in your child’s education and all that you do to help Oak Grove Elementary School be the best that it
can be!
Sherry P. Cariens
Sherry P. Cariens
Principal
In recognition of Board Member Appreciation
Month, the 5th grade Student Lighthouse Committee
members and Mrs. Cariens invited Lexington School
District One board member Mrs. Cindy Smith to
come to OGE where they hosted a wonderful lunch
to celebrate her and thank her for all that she does for
all students in the district and OGE.. Thank you Mrs.
Smith! OGE loves you!
Back clockwise: Mrs. Cariens, Mrs. Cindy Smith, Carlie Kneece, Navdeep
Kaur, Connor Clamp, Caleb Brumfield, Claire Hearn, Davon Bell, Ethan
Lauth.
MONDAY
February
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
1
2
3
4
5
8
9
10
11
12
Donuts for Dads
Donuts for Dads
Grades K, 2, 4 7:00 a.m.
Grades 1, 3, 5 7:00 a.m.
Chick-Fil-A Night
15
NO SCHOOL
22
16
17
18
19
LSD1 Board Meeting
Parent Leadership Night
7:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
23
24
25
NO SCHOOL
26
Interims Go Home
29
Literacy Week Begins
Fathers, Dads, Grandfathers, Father Figures are all welcome to
come have donuts with their children. February 10 is for grades
K, 2, and 4. February 11 is for grades 1, 3, and 5. Come anytime between 7-7:40 a.m. on these mornings. The cost is $2.25
for 2 donuts and choice of juice, coffee, or milk. Breakfast is
available for additional cost. Please come and share this special
time.
Parents are invited to attend the annual Parent Leadership Night on February
18. The evening will start at 6:00 p.m. with students welcoming parents to the
OGES wax museum showcasing 200 Years of Leadership. Students will showcase the 7 Habits that they have studied and the areas of leadership that they
have been a part of this year. Parents will get to see why OGE is so great due to
the great little leaders we have here. We look forward to having you join us this
special evening.
IS SOMEONE DIFFERENT PICKING UP YOUR CHILD FOR YOU?

In the case of other people picking up your child for you in the car line after
school or on early release days, they will need your car tag. Please take a moment to make sure that you give them your car tag to use on that day.
Thank you.
HALF DAYS / EARLY RELEASE DAYS

Parents, please take a moment to email your child’s teacher or send a note with
your child on early release days indicating how your child is to go home on that
day. Your child’s safety and getting home the correct way is our top priority and
appreciate your communication with your child’s teacher.
THANK YOU
Non Discrimination Statement
Lexington County School District One does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in
admission to, access to, treatment in or employment in its programs and activities. The
following people have been designated to
handle inquiries or complaints. The Chief Human Resources Officer handles inquiries/
complaints regarding Title IX. Inquiries/
complaints regarding Section 504 for elementary students go to the Coordinator of ESOL/
RtI and for secondary students to the Director
of Counseling and Advisement. The Mathematics Coordinator handles inquiries/
complaints regarding Title II. Contact these
people if you have questions regarding these
issues at 100 Tarrar Springs Road, Lexington,
SC 29072 and telephone number (803) 8211000.
Thank you for continuing to collect Box
Tops and Labels for Education turning
them in to your child’s class. Which class
can collect the most? It goes to help OGE
and your help is greatly appreciated.
Literacy Day was a success as children had fun celebrating literacy in a variety
of ways. Kindergarten had literacy stations based on the book “The Mitten” by
Jan Brett. First grade did a presentation dressed as book character. Second
grade presented Reader’s Theatre. Third grade had “Dictionary Day” activities
that they shared with parents. Fourth grade also dressed up as literacy characters and fifth grade had a wax museum of famous authors and book characters.
We hope you were able to join us for this great event. The children had a great
time and look forward to next year’s Literacy Day.
Feb. 12 & Feb. 15
Sources: carvisorsign.com; theleaderinme.org; boxtops4education.com; worldartsme.com