February is a month filled with celebrations. We have President's Day, Valentine's Day, Black History Month, and Oregon's Birthday to observe. At Ockley Green, we have a very ambitous event planned. Our school is getting ready for our 3rd Annual Auction called "Bids, Bites, and Boogie". We are planning for this event to be our largest fundraiser ever. Our goal is to raise $7,000 to purchase Apple-iPads for Ockley Green students. This evening event will be filled with dancing, food and beverages, and tons of fun. The event will happen on April 27 at the Scottish Rite, 1512 SW Morrison. To purchase tickets go to bidsbitesandboogie.eventbrite.com or call 503-916-5660 for more information. More information will be coming way.

Ockley Green will be having our next Buddytime for students during February's Late Opening Day. Buddytime is when we plan fun activities for K-8 classes to do together. As a school with nine grade levels, we want to make sure our older students are learning with primary learners. It is awesome to see 8th graders partnering with a Kindergartener to complete an engaging project. This program is about building a helpful learning community.

We will begin state testing this month for 3rd-8th graders. Please remind your child to go to bed on time and to always do their best on the test. This test is important and we want your child to demonstrate all of their knowledge.

Our staff will be experiencing some slight changes. Our 7th-8th Temporary Spanish Teacher Mario O'Brien will be moving on. We are sharing him with Jefferson High School and they are changing there program so their change causes our program to change as well. He made a positive impact in  our school and we wish him well. His replacement will be John Carolan. He will start next Monday. Please help me welcome him to our school. Another change involves our Kindergarten Educational Assistant Robert Washburn. He decided to change careers and we wish him the best. His replacement will be named very soon.

The next Kindergarten Round-Up is February 16th at 5:30PM. Please spread the to word to families you know who are looking for an excellent Kindergarten program.

Conrad Hurdle