Hoo Knew?

That's right! Hootie is listening to Puerto Rican activist and hip hop artist, Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) this week. He sings in both Spanish and English, and has an international following.

When he was a little boy, Benito had to wear a bunny costume to school and he was not happy about it! A photo was taken of him with a grumpy face in the bunny suit. Later, when he was thinking of a stage name, he remembered this funny memory and chose "Bad Bunny".

Established in 2018, Bad Bunny's non-profit organization focuses on community development and the empowerment of youth in Puerto Rico. Its mission is to foster children's and young people's love for the arts, sports, and music.

• Annual toy drive: The foundation holds an annual "Bonita Tradición" event during the holidays. Bad Bunny and his team distribute thousands of toys, musical instruments, and sports equipment to children from limited-resource areas in Puerto Rico.
• Supporting disaster relief: The foundation helped with Hurricane Maria relief efforts and partnered with Marc Anthony's Maestro Cares Foundation to reconstruct baseball fields destroyed by the storms.

The books below celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage as part of our ongoing celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

¡Feliz viernes!

Me llamo Sra. Jess Ellett y soy la maestra del clase Desarrollo del Idioma Inglés aquí en OPE. Este es mi segundo año como maestra de ELD y mi quinto año trabajando en OPE. Mi parte favorita de la clase es trabajar con estudiantes durante más de un año. ¡Es increíble verlos mejorar! ¡Nuestras clases de ELD comenzaron esta semana! Fue tan bueno tener a todos de regreso en el salón de clases que los estudiantes estaban ansiosos por comenzar la clase. Este año compartiré en el boletín de OPE lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase y también consejos para practicar en casa. Si su hijo recibe servicios de ELD, esté atento a sus correos electrónicos y mensajes por Talking Points para recibir mensajes míos. ¡Y comuníquese con cualquier pregunta, inquietud o celebración!

Sinceramente,

Sra. Jess Ellett

_____________________________

Hi, my name is Mrs Jess Ellett, and I am the English Language Development teacher here at OPE. This is my second year as an ELD teacher, and my 5th year working at OPE. My favorite part of class is getting to work with students for more than just one year. It's amazing to see them improve!

Our ELD classes started up this week! It was so good to have everyone back in the classroom, the students were eager to start class. This year I will share in the OPE Newsletter about things we're learning in class, and tips for practicing at home, too.

If your child receives ELD services, keep and eye out in your emails and text reminders for messages from me. And please reach out with any questions, concerns or celebrations!

My best,

Mrs Jess Ellett

Parliament Definition:

A term for a group of owls, reflecting their association with wisdom and knowledge since ancient times.

The start of the school year means that Parliament embarks on the hard work of leading our school with passion, creativity, and a flair for fun. Our Owls are elected at their grade level each year to engage in small acts of leadership at Otto Petersen.

These feathered friends lead through:

• Setting up for monthly assemblies
• Designing grade level events like a Halloween Scavenger Hunt
• Planning the 6th Grade Dance

Last year, our 5th and 6th grade students were able to partner with SHS Leadership in several modules that resulted in a retreat at the high school focused on leadership development.

At this time of the year, our Owls are coming to the end of their elected term. This week, 6th Grade started thinking about small acts of leadership versus big acts. We started watching Drew Dudley's TedTalk and reflecting on his bottom line,

"As long as we make leadership something bigger than us, as long as we keep leadership beyond us and make it about changing the world, we give ourselves an excuse not to expect it every day, from ourselves and from each other"

We can't all be on the front line of saving the environment or advocating for world peace. What we can do at Otto Petersen is, "show up for each other when it's important" (CeCe S.), "remind people to pick up their trash" (Hayden H.), and "being safe, respectful, etc" (Clayton S.).

Stay tuned as we rise together and journey through some end of term leadership lessons together.

• Monday- Picture Day!!! Dress Your Best!

• Tuesday- Blend In or Stand Out: Dress in animal print or camo

• Wednesday- Gear Up & Game On: Wear sports gear or a jersey

• Thursday- Surfer or Tourist: wear your beach or travel gear

• Friday- School Spirit: Wear your Scappoose gear

At OPE, we offer two types of lunch groups. They are not counseling groups. They are set in room 207, where Ms. McKedy and Ms. Kinsman have offices. These are completely volunteer. Students can sign up with their teacher if they would like to attend. Students who are new to OPE are invited to come to the lunch group as well. This is designed to give them a space to meet other new students as well. Students eat lunch and have the option to play a game. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Library News from Mrs. Nudo is being delivered in a slightly different way this year. You can now access her newsletter by clicking on the Scappoose Library logo or you can click directly from the district newsletter - whatever is easiest for you! Thank you for supporting our school libraries and for reading all the amazing things we are doing district-wide!

Apparel Sale - Orders Coming Next Week!

Apparel should be coming home next week with students! Haven’t ordered yet? You can still get order online here, and we will get your order to you in a few weeks. If you have any questions, please contact us at seposcappoose@gmail.com.

Save the Date! Harvest Festival is on Saturday, October 25!

We are so excited for our annual FREE fall community event that is open to all! Families are encouraged to join us in costume and enjoy a wide variety of carnival type experiences. From spider toss, to goblin bowling, to candy bar hop - it is sure to be a great time!

Want to help? We will be needing day-of-volunteers to help run the games and activities. A sign up will be going out soon - in the mean time, please send us an email at seposcappoose@gmail.com if you are interested.