OG Dragon Newsletter
PUMP IT UP
An Ockley Green MIddle School Student Publication
Issue ii October/November 2019
NEWS
Everything You Need To Know
How climate change affects our health
By Amelia Jost
Climate change can give people worse allergies than they already have. Children, pregnant women, and elderly people are at a higher risk. People with prescribed medication are at more risk as well because of the heat waves. Climate change can affect more than just our planet. Life will get a lot less comfortable than it is now. It will eventually cause the extinction of human life in a few hundred years or less.
How Climate Change is Caused
We cause climate change by creating pollution. Pollution is caused by factories, cars, and forest fires. Therefore the climate gets hotter and hotter. As that happens the ice in the poles melts, the oceans rise in elevation. Therefore cities like Miami, New York and New Orleans will eventually be underwater. If we keep burning fossil fuels indefinitely, global warming will eventually melt all the ice at the poles and on mountaintops, raising sea level by 216 feet. There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all.
Climate Strike Walkout
By Mico O'Brien
A student walkout happened for climate strike on September 20th, 2019. Thousands of students and residents of Portland, marched on the streets in Downtown in front of City Hall. The march started by City Hall at Chapman Square, where students gave speeches related to climate change, then the march went down Madison St. all the way across the Hawthorne bridge and to OMSI. Protesters gathered by there and had a festival for climate change. This was done so that people would go on strike until our government changes its ways. This event was started by Greta Thunberg a teenager who has been protesting climate change for a better future for her and her children.
*side note* On the same day, the “area 51 raid” event happened. It was started on facebook and 2 million people signed up for the event. About 150 people showed up at the gates and 2 were arrested after months of speculation of what would happen.What is Climate Change?
By Amelia Jost
Events at Ockley
Dragon Auction
By DeOndre Cary, Landon Downs, Rafael Francisco
The Ockley Green Dragon auction will be happening on Friday October 18 (10/18). How the auction works is each grade level is called down to the auditorium throughout the school day and sits with their class. The auctioneer goes through what the prizes are and how many of each of them there are. Then the bidding starts. The students can bid on whatever prizes they want using their on points, which are kind of like currency to the students, but once , they've got a prize they can't get another one during that auction. Some of the sixth grade prizes are:
One really big poster of your choice from Mrs. Graham
A cookie a day for a week from Mr. Bennett
One of Mr. Signorrelli's framed photos (two winners)
A squishy from Ms. Curtis (six winners)
A healthy organic snack from Ms. Kate for ten days
One beats and rhymes during lunch from Mr. Riser and you can bring 3 friends
18 Cup Noodles from Mr. Jonas-Closs
School climate specialist for a day with Ms. Brown
Principal for a day from Mrs. Howard
International Potluck
Date:10/24/19
Drop off food from 5:30-6:00 in the cafeteria
Eat from 6:00-7:00
Dance and Band performances from 7:00-8:00
Gather around and eat with your classmates to form a special bond by eating new foods from other places. Be sure to bring something special for everyone to enjoy or not.
This year we will have an extra special night because it will also be the Grand Opening of the Dragon Mart. To celebrate, the SUN school will be sponsoring a dessert table. (So people should not bring desserts to the potluck. )
A Bit Of Potluck History:
In 16th century English the work of Thomas Nashe, and now also means to have food brought by an unexpected guest but that maybe a bunch of nonsense because it may have originated in 1930 during the depression because not a lot of people could afford food.
We call it an International Potluck because we have so many different cultures at Ockley Green and it's fun to think of people bringing food that is significant to their family.
Important Dates
District Board Meeting: Tuesday, October 15th 6pm
Site Council: Wednesday, October 16th 5:00 - 7pm
Culture Committee Mtg: Thursday, October 17th 4pm - 7pm
International Potluck: Thursday, October 24th 7pm - 8pm
TAG Family Night: Thursday, October 24th 5:30-6pm
Coffee with Principal: Friday, October 25th 9:30am - 10:30am
District Board Meeting: Tuesday, October 29th 6pm
End of Quarter One: Tuesday, October 31st
No Sun School: Tuesday, October 31st
SEI Harvest Fest: Tuesday, October 31st 5pm - 6pm
Native American History Month: November 1st
No School: November 1st
HALLOWEEN DANCE
By: Karter Green
Indigenous Peoples Day
By: Annabelle Gresh
Spotlight on OG Students
A section dedicated to highlighting our fabulous student body! The Spotlight Crew picks a new student from each grade every issue. Maybe you will be next?!
Sarah Phommadouang
By Ilyarah Motley
Sarah Phommadouang is a thirteen-year-old girl 8th grader attending Ockley Green Middle School. She thinks if there were cooking classes, or she had more relatives here it would make the school more fun. Her favorite staff at the school are Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Stone because they have been helping her since she came to the school and she knows she can always count on them. She is thinking about going to Grant High School but she needs to experience it first. She thinks that middle school has helped her social skills, and she is excited to use them in high school. Her favorite part of Halloween is going trick-or-treating with her family, seeing everyone's costumes, and of course, the candy.
Amaya Rivera
Amaya is an 8th grader attending Ockley Green Middle School this year. She is planning on going to De La Salle North Catholic High School, but she wants to go to Benson High School too. Amaya moved here from Texas a few months ago. She lived here when she was little and came back, it wasn't as difficult for her. Comparing this school to the ones in Texas she thinks that Ockley Green is way less strict than her old school. In high school, Amaya is planning on playing basketball and that is what she does in her spare time. She thinks that dressing up in different costumes is fun, so that is why she is excited about Halloween. Her favorite memory she has of Halloween, is when she was walking with her brother, start laughing because her sister fell, dropped candy, and slid downhill.
Beka Huckans
By Annabelle Gresh and Amelia Mautz
Cam Downs
By Annabelle Gresh and Amelia Mautz
Ewan Hadley
By Annabelle Gresh and Amelia Mautz
Ewan Hadley is a 6th grader here at Ockley Green. He went to Chief Joseph Elementary School and enjoys science. This year, Ewan is excited to use his On Points at the auction. Ewan would like to go to Roosevelt for high school and be either an architect or an engineer when he grows up. His favorite song is Bohemian Rhapsody and and his favorite movie is Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. After school, Ewan likes to hang out with his family and he enjoys playing basketball. He has two sisters and two cats. Ewan’s favorite food is shrimp and if he could go anywhere in the world he would go to England.
Lyla Skow
By Annabelle Gresh and Amelia Mautz
Spotlight on OG Staff
A section dedicated to highlighting our unique, hardworking staff. Our Spotlight Crew picks new staff members to interview for each issue. Who will be next!?
Ms.Gonzalez
By Annabelle Gresh and Amelia Mautz
Mr. Signorelli
By: Daniel Hunt, Jason Ferguson and Mr. Signorelli
We interviewed Mr. Signorelli, an ELA teacher at Ockley Green Middle School. We asked him if he thought this school was going to get better over the years and he said yes.
Mr. Signorelli has been a teacher since 2006, and has taught over seas in South Korea, Oaklamd California, and has tutored since he was 18. The reason Mr. Signorelli became an ELA teacher was because of his mother. His mother is an 8th ELA teacher and he is a writer. Mr. Signorelli has traveled to 47 of the fifty states, South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Mexico. Mr. Signorelli speaks beginning Spanish, and is currently taking Spanish lessons. Mr. Signorelli also has lots of tattoos. We asked him what they meant and this is what he said, ̈ One from Indonesia which means we are all one one. I have a full arm sleeve of orangutans which is a piece to inform people about how we are killing our closest relative." Another tattoo is from Thailand that means peacefulness. The one from Indonesia that fights off negative energy and protects family. There is one original drawing from New York that represents his inner paradise, one tattoo from Korea in honor of friendship and love, and one full arm sleeve that represents his spirit animal and his astrology.
Health and Wellness
A section dedicated to the health and wellness of ourselves and our community. We believe in the power of self care. We believe in caring for each other and our community.
Spooky Season
Places to go in fall
You could go...
...to a local farm. There are many farms a short-ish drive away that have fun things to do. They usually serve fall foods such as: corn on the cob, sausages/hot dogs, apple cider, caramel apples, etc. There are a couple on Sauvie’s island.
...to the Japanese gardens.
...apple picking. Fall is apple picking season and it can be fun to get apple cider.
...for a bike ride. There are multiple great trails to go on like the Springwater Corridor, the Waterfront, and a lot more, depending on the length you want to ride.
...roller skating at Oaks Park, if you don’t want to go outside.
...to the Kennedy school to see a movie or swim in the heated pool.
...to a haunted house. If you like things like that, check out fright town around Halloween.
GROUP HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEAS:
By Sadie Dearborn.
Mean girls
Clueless
Hocus Pocus
Stranger things
Fruit salad
Ghostbusters
Inside out
DC VS Marvel
Guardians of the galaxy
Harry Potter
Star Wars
The Incredibles
Scooby - Doo
The wizard Of Oz
Care Bears
Smurfs
Toy Story
Candy
Sesame street
Winnie the pooh
Fall Themed Cookie Recipes
Pumpkin spice latte chocolate chip cookies:
https://sweetphi.com/pumpkin-spice-latte-chocolate-chip-cookies/
White chocolate chai snickerdoodles:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/white-chocolate-chai-snickerdoodles/
Brown butter salted caramel chocolate chunk cookies:
https://www.cloudykitchen.com/blog/brown-butter-salted-caramel-chocolate-chunk-cookies
White chocolate reeses pieces peanut butter chip cookies:
https://bakerbynature.com/white-chocolate-reeses-pieces-peanut-butter-chip-cookies/
Carrot cake sandwich cookies:
https://celebratingsweets.com/carrot-cake-sandwich-cookies/
Apple oatmeal cookies:
Library
A glance inside the world of books.
The Fortress
By Theo Vohs
The fortress is written by Jonathan Hillinger and is a story about growing up in Romania prior to and during World War 2 and a subsequent escape to Israel. Daniel goes from being a rich Jew to living in the “Fortress “, which is under a concert hall to escaping to the countryside with the street kids who lived in the concert hall. He befriends the street kids and is subsequently able to hide his family from the Nazis. When the “Fortress” is discovered by the Nazis the whole group moves to the countryside. Later fearing discovery one of the family decides to emigrate to Israel, the other families stay.The children in the family that moved away enlist in the army.
Guts
By Jerry Strohecker
Raina Telegemier is in 5th grade and she has some problems. It all began when Raina and her mom both came down with a stomach bug. She thought the artichoke she had the evening before made her sick. After that, Raina got sick every time she saw artichoke because she thought of vomit. She then went to therapy and talked to a therapist to find out what is going on. A couple weeks later she got diagnosed with IBS. It stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome which means when Raina gets nervous her stomach hurts. After she starts going through therapy she can eat artichokes again and it doesn’t make her stomach sick. A week later she tells her class about her IBS. Raina’s IBS gets better because she goes through therapy to help it. I think this book is good for young teenagers because it helps teens feel better about themselves who are going through the same thing.
Mr. MacDuffee
Mr. MacDuffee has been a library helper for 10 years. He has worked here for 4 years. His favorite author is Cornelia Funky. His favorite movie is Breaking bad. His favorite genre of book is fiction. He does all of the check in and check out and tries to help out around the library with making sure all of the books have barcodes, checks all of the books, and files them. It is very time consuming. He likes processing books. He enjoys student interaction because he is not a usual teacher. He has four daughters and they range from 18-40. We learned that the library was used for a girls gym and the teachers lounge was a boys gym. He was previously at Abernathy and Mount Tabor. He would want new carpet in the library and an espresso machine.
Comedy Corner
A section dedicated to laughter and good vibes. Got jokes? Submit them to the Comedy Crew!
Would You Rather
WYR go on a trip around the world with a friend or go to Hawaii with a pet?
WYR have your moms cooking or grandmas cooking?
WYR have Super speed or Super strength?
WYR live by a busy rail road or live by a by a busy airport?
Jokes
At Ockley Green Middle School kids enjoy a good laugh, and they have submitted their jokes to the comedy corner. These are some of the top 5 jokes, shout out to them for brightening up our day and hopefully everyone else’s.
1.Why did the scarecrow get Super Bowl MVP? Joke submitted by Kenan Johnson
2.I met a couple of short people today. they were cool, they were really down to earth. Joke submitted by Malaki Appel
Memes
INTERVIEW FOR MR.THARP
Q: So Mr. Tharp, what is your favorite thing to do outside of school?
A: Eat and play with my kids
Q: What was your favorite thing to do in school?
A: I liked to play soccer and learn about what I was interested in.
Q: What subjects have you taught?
A: I have taught math, science and STEM.
Q: So Mr. Tharp, if you had to pick your favorite student out of your 5 periods, who would it be?
A: I don’t have a favorite student. I love all of them.
Q: Do you have kids and if so, how many?
A: I have a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy.
Q: Why did you name your kids and what encouraged you to give them the name that they have?
A: My daughter’s first name is Japanese. It is Hiromi Gwyneth. My sons name is Zengo Blaidd. His second name means wolf.
Q: How long have you been teaching?
A: I have been teaching for 10 years, but I’ve been in education for 15 years.
Q: If you could pick a job besides being a teacher what job would you pick?
A: I would own a restaurant or have a job that helps people.
Q: What is one thing in your life that you desperately want?
A: A safe and healthy future for my kids.
Q: Who is your dream girl?
A: My wife.
Q: If you could say anything to people about science what would you say?
A: Learn as much as you can so we can solve the problems.
Q: What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you?
His answer: My name
Correct answer: Your name
Q: Say silk two times, say silk three times, say silk four times, what does a cow drink?
His answer: Milk
Correct answer: Water
Q: What has many keys, but can’t even open a single door?
His Answer: A piano
Correct answer: A piano
Opinions
A section dedicated to airing student concerns, praises, and ideas for the future. This section empowers student voices, so they may become vehicles for change. Anyone is welcome to submit their opinion for publication in future issues. Contact Ms. Kate, or write a note to our Opinion Crew and leave it in the box by room 213.
Plastic Free Breakfast
By Jerry Strohecker
So when you go to school in the morning you know how when you get a school breakfast and open it, the plastic wrapper crinkles. We need to stop it because we're adding plastic into the world. When you add plastic into the world it goes into creeks, rivers and oceans. And if the plastic from your plastic wrapper goes into the ocean fish can eat it. If fish eat the plastic they then feel full when there really not and do not eat which causes them to die. We need to make a new plastic anyone can eat. There is already a plastic that is made out of leaf. Right now a company called 4 Ocean is cleaning up plastic in the oceans. In conclusion, we should stop using plastic for the wrappers for school breakfast.
Lunch Time Dangers
by Elane Abebe
Recess, our break away from algebra, but what happens if one of us gets hit by a truck? That's right, delivery trucks and cars come through the pavement by the field and playground when we’re playing. These trucks could come anytime, so why during recess? This is a danger to us. The school should take precautions and create a better system for the deliveries and for staff parking.VSCO Clarification
It has been brought to our attention that some people may have found our “to-do list for being VSCO” offensive or even derogatory. The list was not intended to make anyone feel this way. VSCO is a photo editing app that many people use, at the same time it is also a popular and desirable aesthetic among young people. This aesthetic entails many cute and quirky accessories, with a certain style. Since many people want to achieve this aesthetic, we figured it would be helpful to make a checklist. We are sorry if that particular article upset anyone, and we will be more sensitive in the future in regards to how our writing could be interpreted. Thank you for the constructive criticism, we appreciate it, and always welcome your feedback.
Sincerely,
The News Paper Team
A Note from Ms. Kate!
This is our second issue of the OG Dragon Newsletter, and things are rolling along smoothly. We are excited to continue empowering student voices. If you have any events, feedback, or ideas for future editions, please do not hesitate to reach out! My email is klicitra@pps.net.