The Owl Gazette

The Owl Gazette - Oct 23, 2026

Principal's Message:

Dear OPE Families,

Conferences are coming up on November 9th and 10th from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. November 9th will be in person, and November 10th will be virtual. Our teachers are excited to meet with families to talk about your child’s progress, celebrate their successes, and share ways to help them keep growing. Conferences are a great time to ask questions and work together to help your child do their best. We encourage all families to sign up for a conference. Sign-up information will be sent out next week. We look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

Principal Harder

Reminder's From The Office:

We are in need of clean, gently used pants, shorts, and shirts. If you have any that your student has outgrown, we would like to them off your hands! This will help our students when they have a spill and need a change of clothes. Thanks!
During morning drop off, please have your students exit the passenger side of the vehicle. This will help keep students safe! Thanks!
After school plan changes need to be communicated to the office BEFORE 1:00. Students are not allowed to change their own after school plans.
Please use the opeattendance@scappoose.k12.or.us email for all communication regarding change of plans or attendance. This will assure that we don't miss information.

Dates to Remember:

Oct 24, 2026 - SEPO Harvest Festival - 4:00 to 7:00 in the gym
Oct 29, 2026 - OPE Halloween Parties
Oct 30, 2026 - Teacher work day, No School
Oct 31, 2026 - Halloween
Nov 1, 2026 - Daylight Savings Ends, Move Clocks Back 1 Hour
Nov 5, 2026 - Picture Retakes
Nov 9 - 10, 2026 - Conferences
Nov 11, 2026 - Veterans Day, No School
Nov 17 - 21, 2026 - OPE Scholastic Book Fair
Nov 24 - 28, 2026 - Thanksgiving Break, No School

Fantastic 4th Grade:

Mrs. Longtain and Mrs. Hristov’s classes had a great trip to the Lelooska Cultural Center. They started the day learning about the craft of wood carving for masks, totem poles, and canoes. Following this they were told traditional stories by the Chief in the ceremonial house and concluded their trip by exploring the museum featuring artifacts from tribes across North America. This trip was an interactive experience to help kick off our studies around the Native Americans of Oregon.

Please be on the lookout for emails from your classroom teachers about Halloween parties. All teachers will be having their own parties in their classrooms on the afternoon of October 29th. Students are allowed to wear their costumes to school, but please keep in mind many classes still have PE so they need to be able to participate.

There is no school Friday, October 30th.

Fearless 5th Grade:

Your student may have told you we had a special guest in 5th grade this week. We welcomed The Bird Alliance of Oregon into our classrooms to learn about bats and owls. Students discussed the difference between mammals and birds and compared bats and owls. Then students had hands-on experiences with different bat and owl specimens.

Thank you to those of you who have signed up to send in snacks for our Halloween party. We could still use a few more boxes of juice. Here is the sign up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMFGOP7N0Tzd9w9CjUk27YwTBo1xY8WQt4cfDQmr5wzBH54A/viewform

If you are sending in party snacks please send them by Monday, October 26th so we can get a good count on all of the snacks.

With the party right around the corner we want to go over guidelines around costumes:

Costumes must follow school dress code guidelines
Bring backup clothing if you know you’ll be uncomfortable
Masks can only be worn during the class celebrations, with teacher permission
Gore and weapons are not allowed
You must be able to sit in your seat comfortably and participate in all school activities (like PE)
If we ask you to change/adjust your costume, please be respectful

Spectacular 6th Grade:

In ELA the 6th graders have begun work on their narrative writing unit where they’ll be learning about plot, dialogue, and figurative language.

In Science, students continue to focus on the Earth's layers and continental drift, while applying their knowledge of density and convection currents to help guide them through the material.

In Math all the classes have been working hard to prepare for their first tests of the year.

Social Studies will begin learning about the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution next week.

Parents please be on the lookout for emails asking you to help support our grade level Halloween party coming up next Thursday October 29th.We may still need some parent volunteers for the last hour of that day, and any food/snack items can be send any day of the coming week. Thanks!

Counselor's Corner:

College and Career Spirit Week: Parent Career Speakers Needed

We are excited to host College and Career Spirit Week from November 16–20! To give our students insight into various paths and possibilities, we invite parents to share their career experiences.

Format: 15-minute presentation
When: November 16–20
How to Participate: Please fill out the Google Form by October 26th.

Your real-world insights provide valuable inspiration for our students. We appreciate your time and look forward to partnering with you!

Music With Mr. Wilkins:

Our fifth grade students began work with their recorders again this week. If your musician ordered a recorder from the school, they received a loaner to use. I’ll exchange loaners with them when their regular instruments arrive from backorder during the first weeks of November. A handful of students in each class who indicated they were bringing a recorder from home forgot theirs - please check in with your musician about whether they have their instrument this weekend. I’ll follow up with individual families next week as needed.

The last day of the first quarter is Thursday, October 29, 2026. Any missing work should be turned in by the end of the day for inclusion in first quarter progress reports. Fall conferences are coming up on November 9-10. Mr. Wilkins will be available to meet with families during that time. I’ll share information about how to sign up for a conference time next week.

Intermural News:

OPE 4th–6th graders, it’s time to get creative and get competitive! We have two exciting intramurals competitions underway, and there’s still time to get involved in the fun!

OPE Costume Contest

Thank you to everyone who participated in our OPE Costume Contest! Students have been showing off their creativity and putting their design skills to the test.

A reminder that students who received the extension because they hoped to wear their student-designed costumes to the SEPO Harvest Festival must turn in their costumes no later than Monday morning. Costumes should be submitted on a hanger.

Our judges will be looking at creativity, design, and originality, using the rubrics provided to students. We can't wait to see everyone's hard work! Contest results will be announced at our next school assembly, so stay tuned to find out who our winners are!

Here is the flyer with more information.

🏆 2v2 Four Square Tournament

The competition is heating up! Round II (quarterfinals) is underway, and our competitors have been displaying great skill and sportsmanship throughout the tournament. It's been fantastic to see students competing hard while still showing respect for their opponents!

We're now heading into the semifinal matches, bringing us one step closer to crowning our 2v2 Foursquare champions. Matches are played during recess, and with only a few teams remaining, every match counts!

Good luck to our semifinalists, and keep up the great teamwork and sportsmanship. Go Owls!

PE News:

We are focusing on Volleyball skills - bumping, setting, and serving this week and next week. Remember that our monthly Pacer Test is next week on Tuesday, October 27th. Make sure comfortable running shoes are worn and bring a water bottle.

Woot! Woot!

Coach K & Coach Ski

News From The Library:

This week your student was tested on how well they know our library via a Scavenger Hunt! It was lots of fun for all and hopefully your student walks away with a better understanding of how the library works.

Emails will be going out next week to notify you, if your student has any overdue books. Please help your student check their room, closet, car and backpack for any library books that need to make their way back to school.

Please mark your calendar for OPE’s one and only Book Fair, November 16-20th. This is the week before Thanksgiving break. Volunteers will be needed and the sign up sheet will be out next week.

*A PUD coloring contest ice cream coupon was used as a bookmark and turned in to the library. If this is your child’s coupon, please let me know and I will return it to them.*

Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB):

LAST WEEK TO REGISTER FOR OBOB!

This fall, Otto Petersen students are invited to participate in Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB)! OBOB is a fun, team based reading competition that encourages students to:

📖 Read and discover new books

🧠 Build reading comprehension

💬 Talk and think about what they read

🤝 Work together as a team

🏆 Challenge themselves in a friendly competition

How does OBOB work?

Students form teams of four students. Team members read books from the OBOB reading list, discuss the books, and quiz one another on what they've read.

During a competition, teams work together to answer questions about the books in a quiz-show-style format. Some questions ask “In Which Book?” and require students to identify the book and author. Other questions are “Content” questions that ask about details from the books.

👨‍👩‍👧 Families: Before signing up, families are encouraged to review the OBOB book list with their student and discuss which books are a good fit for your family. Please review the book list by clicking here. Students do not need to read all of the books on the OBOB list to participate. Teams decide together which books they will read.

Ready to join?

Students who want to participate should complete the online OBOB Permission & Participation Form by October 30th, 2026.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Oregon Battle of the Books program, please contact Mrs. Richard, OPE’s OBOB coordinator (arichard@scappoose.k12.or.us)

SEPO News:

Harvest Festival:

We are so excited for our annual FREE fall community event that is open to all! We look forward to seeing our Warren, Grant Watts, and Otto Petersen students. Families are encouraged to join us in costume and enjoy a wide variety of carnival type experiences. From spider toss, to ghost dart board, to candy bar hop - it is sure to be a great time!

New this year, we will be joined by Scappoose Rural Fire Department and Scappoose Police Department, who will have a few vehicles out front for a Trunk or Treat!

Volunteers Needed! We can only make this event happen with the help of our amazing volunteers who run the games and activities; It takes nearly 100 throughout the evening! Times are spaced out so that you are able to run a game and enjoy the event with your family. This is also a great opportunity for middle school students, high school students, grandparents, extended family, and community members! Please Sign Up here and pass it on!

2026 - 2027 SEPO Events Calendar

Winter Wreath Sale

Wreaths, garland, and centerpieces from Sherwood Farms are now for sale. A portion of proceeds go to SEPO and into classrooms. Orders are due by Wednesday November 4th.

Please either order online here or hand in your order form to the office at your school.

Orders will be available for pick up in early December, or for a $5 donation we offer delivery within the Scappoose and Warren area.

Volunteer Opportunities!

If you are interested in volunteering this year, please fill out the SEPO Volunteer Interest Form. Did one last year? Please do a new one!

Filling out the interest form ensures that you are on the SEPO mailing lists for this school year. By indicating interest in an event, you are not committing to anything - rather it will make sure that you are on the event specific communications. We also know that you may have specific skills that could be helpful that don’t fit in a “box” - please let us know what they are and we will connect with you!

In addition to the SEPO form, a Scappoose School District Volunteer Application is required. This background check is valid for two years.

The Owl Gazette