Parent Teacher Organization

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Join in the fun! Battle of the Books! 

What is OBOB? 

OBOB is a statewide program intended to motivate young readers through teamwork and friendly competition.  It is an optional program we offer for 3rd-5th grade students at River Grove.

How does it work? 

Any 3rd – 5th grade students who are interested form teams of 4 students  to read a list of 16 novels selected by the OBOB committee. In February, teams will battle one another in a competition to answer an assortment of  questions on the 16 books.  The school’s winning team will have the opportunity to compete at a regional competition. 

When will teams sign up? 

Between now and Dec. 1st, students can sign up.   We need one “team parent” contact for each team. If your child wants to participate but does not have a team,  just let us know and we will help form teams of those students interested.  

Sign up using this Google Form

Details and suggestions for forming an OBOB team 

• Gather up a team of four (4) River Grove 3rd – 5th graders to make a team. Each student  may only be on ONE team. The team may be all one grade or any combination of 3rd – 5th graders. Teams may elect to have a 5th “alternate” teammate who will compete in the  battles ONLY if one of the other 4 cannot attend. 
• Divvy up the books. Most teams designate four (4) books to each teammate as his/her  “main” books. Each teammate is responsible for reading and knowing the details of their  four “main” books by the winter “battle” time. Typically, students read more than just  their main books to help out their teammates, and as a backup in case someone cannot  make the battles.  By joining a team, you are committing to reading your 4 OBOB books by the end of January.
• Memorize the authors. In the OBOB battles, half of the questions are in the form of “In  which book ____?” The students must respond with the correct book title AND author in order to receive the points. Start memorizing author names now!  Especially if you want to be the team spokesperson!
• Start early, reread later. To make it less overwhelming, start reading early! But be careful – the OBOB questions can get pretty specific. So, before the battles begin, do a quick reread  of your main books for details.
• Make it fun! Read as a family, form a book club with friends, and/or check out the local library’s resources!  Listening to OBOB books counts too!  RG Library has multiple copies of each book, as well as our local library, district online SORA account, and more!

Resources

• Lake Oswego Public Library
• River Grove Library
• Sora online for audio or ebook - Search by book titles or in “Elementary School OBOB” Collections

What does a battle look like?

• Two teams compete head to head for points
• Students compete in teams to correctly answer questions based on the books in a "quiz show" format
• Half of the questions will begin with the words "In Which Book" so that the answer will be a title and author and the other questions will be “Content” questions with the title of the book supplied
• There are 8 questions of each type per battle, double that in the final round one team will answer all odd questions and the other all even
• There are no steals in practice or pool battles
• Parent volunteers serve as moderators, scorekeepers and timers

When will practice battles take place?

TBD, but likely during lunch recess during the school day beginning in January. Parent volunteers serve as moderators, scorekeepers and timers.

What is pool play?

Pool play is an opportunity for each team to accumulate points by competing in 3 battles. There will be no stealing in pool play. The teams with the highest scores will advance to the River Grove Elementary tournament assembly in February.  Parent volunteers serve as moderators, scorekeepers and timers.  Pool play will begin after practice battles in January and will happen during the school day, likely lunch recess.

For more information, please visit www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org

It takes a village to make each year magical and we are so glad that you are part of our village! From volunteering at events to volunteering in your student’s classroom, from joining a committee to joining our board, there is something for everyone. For those interested in volunteering during school hours, please consider signing up for Art Literacy, the Garden Committee, or being a Classroom Parent. Outside of school hours there are lots of opportunities that range from helping at events to contributing to planning committees. All of our volunteer opportunities are great ways to make friends, create lasting memories, and get involved at school.

If you are interested in signing up for a volunteer opportunity that requires you to be in the school building or interacting with students outside of the school building during school hours (such as Art Literacy, Classroom Parent, Garden Team, chaperoning field trips, etc), you must complete the LOSD Volunteer Application (background check) and be cleared by the district prior to your scheduled volunteer time. Anytime you volunteer during the school day with students, you must sign-in at the Front Office through the Raptor system. You simply scan your driver's license and it will print a name label.

Volunteer Opportunities

All donations to River Grove PTO support the PTO’s effort to improve the educational, social, and individual experiences of each student, parent/guardian, teacher, and staff member of River Grove. River Grove is a Title 1-A school, which is a Department of Education designation that our school has a high percentage of low-income families, making your generosity even more critical to our success. Our school PTO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, any donations are tax deductible. Our tax ID number is 27-4994613.

Donate to River Grove PTO

Tax ID: 27-4994613

The River Grove PTO works hard each year to create meaningful and equitable experiences for all River Grove students. The student fee specifically covers the cost of field trips, Art Literacy, a shirt, and a yearbook for your student. Instead of asking families to pay for each of these things throughout the year as they come up, the River Grove PTO pays for all these items up front so that all students can have an equitable experience.

We ask families to contribute $75 per student or set up a recurring $5 monthly contribution.

We understand that not all families have the financial means to cover this cost, so we invite families who are able to consider sponsoring a student.

Pay your student fee
 

Our PTO General Meetings are open to all River Grove parents, guardians, teachers, and staff. They will occur each month at the River Grove Library and we will provide a Google Meet link for those who prefer to join remotely. Meeting Agendas will be posted ahead of each meeting and Meeting Minutes will be available after each meeting.

Past Meeting Minutes and Agendas

2024-2025 Minutes

2023-2024 Minutes

2022-2023 Minutes

Please note that our posted budget reflects our actuals as of the date listed on the budget. We do our best to update our budget on a monthly basis. If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

2024-2025 Budget Report

2024-2025 Expense Report Form

River Grove PTO By-Laws