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8/18/25
8/18/25
First, let us introduce ourselves! For those who may not know, the Ockley Green Supporters is Ockley Green Middle School's version of a PTA, but we are an independent non-profit. OG Supporters strives to support and advocate for all our children by partnering with staff, families, and the wider community to create a positive learning environment where students can realize their full potential.
Meet your 2025/26 OG Supporter Board:
President: Kate Koehler Lefco
Kate has a seventh grader at Ockley and two future dragons. She previously served on the Beach Community Union board and is the school social worker at Peninsula Elementary.
Treasurer: Bethany Wofford
Bethany previously served as Treasurer and then Staff Appreciation Chair on the Woodlawn PTA, and is the parent of a 7th grader.
Secretary: Robin Champieux
Robin has a 7th grader at Ockley and likes to take long walks around North Portland.
Communications Coordinator: Amber Elf Wagner
Amber has two kiddos at Ockley, a 6th and an 8th grader, and has to write everything down because she remembers nothing.
As the year begins, what we really want is to hear from YOU! What do you hope for/need/dream of when you think of building community and getting/giving support in your school? Please email us or post to our facebook or instagram with your thoughts/opinions/ideas! You can also talk to us in person at the 6th Grade Ice Cream Social, the first day of school for 6th graders, and back to school night (just for a start)!
Finally, we'd love to have more people to be involved in any way that works for them! From helping with staff appreciation, setting up restaurant nights, or just donating a little time here and there, there's all sorts of ways you can support the OG Supporters in supporting Ockley Green support the kids which supports the future. You want to support the future, don't you? Yes you do! So email us at president@ogsupporters.org to learn more.
Looking forward to getting to know you all,
The OG Supporters Team
9/1/25
9/1/25
Eek, September! Here we go again! The OG Supporters got to meet a lot of the incoming 6th grade families at the ice cream social and on the first day of school for 6th. We asked what they hope to see the OG Supporters focus on in the coming year, and the most popular choices were: Community Building, Volunteering, and Teacher Support. We have lots of planning ahead, but here's what's in the works in these areas so far:
Community Building:
>Getting the OG band back together again- in person! OG Supporters meetings moved online in 2020, and mostly stayed that way. This year we're committed to having three in-person gatherings at the school. The first will be on Oct. 7th- we'll have details on the time and shape of it soon! We're also exploring other fun ideas to build a greater sense of community at Ockley and we hope to make everyone a part of that.
Volunteering:
>We're working on ways to communicate the many big and small ways the OG community can get involved at the school. This is an evolving process, but in the meantime, one thing you can do to make sure you are "game ready" is to pass the PPS background check! Click the LINK to be taken to the form- it's easy, free, and valid for three years. (Also, word to the wise- the scholastic book fair is coming up and will need volunteers. Yeah, that's right, BOOK FAIR. #livingthedream)
Teacher Support/Staff Appreciation:
>This is closely tied to volunteering, but we have offered and continue to offer mini-grants to teachers, do our best to make sure there are good eats at staff events, and generally find ways to support the OG staff. We're also in the process of getting feedback from staff about where they have the most need and incorporating information into our plans. If you have ideas for tangible and/or intangible ways to show support, please share them with us!
You can find additional details about all of these things and more at the OG Supporters website so come check it out!
Feeling left out? We definitely want to hear from our 7th and 8th grade families! We'll be at back-to-school night on September 18th, and we can always be reached on facebook, instagram, or by email at president@ogsupporters.org.
See you next time!
The OG Supporters
9/14/25
9/14/25
This time around we thought we'd introduce you to our website. OG Fam, meet ogsupporters.org! It has a few things you may find handy as the school year gets underway.
The landing page has the most immediate upcoming events we think you'll want to know about (think picture day, for example), as well as the OG Supporters mission and goals.
You'll also find more details on OG Supporter meetings, fundraising events (restaurant nights are coming!), volunteer opportunities, and staff appreciation. You'll even find an archive of the OG Supporters Corner, so the thing you're reading now is telling you about a place where you can go to read the thing you are already reading. It's very meta.
So come check it out, and be sure to let us know if you think there's anything missing that would help make ogsupporters.org even better!
See you next time,
The OG Supporters
9/28/25
9/28/25
OG Supporters Community Wide Meeting is next week on Oct 7th!
Join us and your other OGMS Peeps for our first community meeting of the year. We'll start at 5:45 with pizza (because everything is better with pizza) before diving into a brief overview of this years spending plan, an Ainsworth traffic safety presentation by PDOT, and then Principal Julie will share some tips from her and the Ockley counseling staff for helping kids thrive at Ockley, followed by a Q&A.
Just the Facts:
Who: You!
What: OG Supporters Community Wide Meeting
Where: OGMS Library
When: Oct. 7th 5:45-7ish
Why: Growing our community & strengthening our school!
10/12/25
10/12/25
Thank you to everyone who came to our first in-person Community Wide Meeting since we don't know when! It was a great event and we can't wait to do it again (on January 13th)! It was great to meet other parents, share how the OG Supporters... supports... the community, hear from the city regarding their proposal to make Ainsworth safer, and learn more from principal Rierson about the role of school counselors in supporting our students. (Note to self, learn more words.)
If you weren't able to make it, don't worry, you can enjoy the slideshow HERE and we'll catch you next time!
And good news- there are two "we don't have to cook" dates coming up! Restaurant Nights are back, so mark your calendars.
October 28th: Atlas Pizza on Killingsworth.
November 12th: ¡Por Que No! on Mississippi.
Restaurant nights are a wonderful way to have fabulous food, show love to community businesses, and *checks notes* support your school.
See you next time,
The OG Supporters
10/26/25
10/26/25
This week is all about fundraising!
Hopefully you already know about our upcoming restaurant night, but if not here are the details: On Tuesday, Oct. 28th, from 4pm-close, Atlas Pizza on Killingsworth will donate 40% of all in house orders- that's any order placed in person, over the phone, or at atlaspizzapdx.com. (Orders placed through third party apps DO NOT count, so please don't use those!). Tell your friends and family! Make it a party!
Our November Restaurant night will be Nov. 12th at ¡Por Que No!- more details to come!
Here's a crazy fact- you can also support us everytime you shop at Fred Meyer, and it's completely free to you. Click this LINK to see how.
You can also make direct donations (and if you ever do, remember to check and see if your company does corporate matching).
Are you interested in donating your bottle deposits? Email Rebecca Halbig at rhalbig@pps.net to see about picking up donation stickers and bags. FYI, those funds go directly to the Dragon Leaders!
Reading about all the ways to donate and wondering, "hey, where exactly does this money go?" We have a link for that! Click HERE to see this year's budget! (Slide #6)
Lastly, keep your ear out for plant sales, wreath sales, and if we're lucky, a repeat of last year's awesome bingo night!** As ever, you can find more information about all of the above and more at ogsupporters.org
See you next time,
The OG Supporters
**We need help organizing that! If you love bingo or party planning in general, give us a shout!
11/9/25
11/9/25
So last week was all about fundraising, and as it turns out, so is this week. It's been a rollercoaster of a start fto November for a lot of our families at OGMS and in the wider community, and so many of you have reached out asking how you can help. As you probably know, Oregon has gone ahead and made sure that SNAP benefits have been fully funded and loaded onto Oregon Trail cards, which is wonderful news for so many.
That said, there is still a lot of need and uncertainty in our community, and we want to do what we can to help. First, let us share that the OG Supporters voted at our Nov. 4th board meeting to allocate funds to buy grocery gift cards for Ockley Green families. Those are already in the hands of the school social workers to be passed along to families in need. In addition, we have the option to donate to an OGS fund specifically for purchasing groceries and grocery gift cards for OGfamilies. The school wellness team will identify and distribute the cards to families in need. You can find that fund here.
To donate money to the SEI/SUN food pantry, you can go here. This is a general donation portal. If you want your donation to be funneled to the Ockley Green Food Pantry site, you can make note of it by that name in the comments. The food pantry serves the wider community, and is not limited to Ockley Green families.
To donate perishable and nonperishable goods to the SEI Food Pantry, you can bring them to Portable 152 on Thursdays from 11-3.
Most needed perishables are:
Eggs
Meat
Bread
Milk
Most needed nonperishables are:
Canned food
Sauces
Coffee/Tea
Salt/Pepper
Sugar
Flour
You can also donate:
Diapers
Hygiene Products
Pet Food
Please give if you can.
We do want to shout out a couple other fun OG Supporter fundraisers:
The OG Supporters Annual Wreath Sale is happening now! peninsulaoptimistclub.org to select the wreath (or other item) of your choice, pick "Ockely Green Supporters" as your non-profit, and voila! (You'll pick up your purchase at the tree lot on N. Lombard & N. Chautauqua. Date of pickup is determined by your order date.) Orders can be placed until Dec. 14th.
This coming Wednesday, Nov. 12th, is our restaurant day at ¿Por Qué No?
10% of sales from the whole day (up to $1000!), will be donated to the OG Supporters. So if you're craving some amazing Mexican food with a side of school spirit, stop by!
P.S. Taco Tuesday specifically wanted us to tell you it's totally cool to eat tacos on Wednesday!
You can find more details on everything here, plus additional resources and ways to help at ogsupporters.org
See you next time,
The OG Supporters
Extra Extra
Extra Extra
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, we want to take a minute to say thank you to all of you for the way you've been showing up for your community! We've seen families turn out for restaurant nights, email in asking how they can help with food pantries, line the sidewalks to keep kids safe, donate to various fundraisers, and generally be amazing. You all make us thankful every day.
If you are able to give, or if you need support while schools are closed, here are some wonderful organizations to check out (plus more links are available on the OGS website):
For those of you who've already mentally moved on to Christmas (stop looking at me), we have options for you! Swing by the Optimist Lot (N. Lombard & N. Chautauqua) with our special digital DONATION coupon, and $10 from your Christmas Tree purchase will go to the OG Supporters.
SPECIAL PRE-THANKSGIVING HOURS (for 3'-8' Nobles ONLY):
Wednesday, Nov. 26: Now – 6 PM
And of course, after Thanksgiving too:
Friday, Nov. 28: 3 – 9 PM
Plus, the OG Supporters Annual Wreath Sale is already underway. Go to peninsulaoptimistclub.org to select the wreath (or other item) of your choice, pick "Ockley Green Supporters" as your non-profit, and voila! (You'll pick up your purchase at the tree lot on N. Lombard & N. Chautauqua. Date of pickup is determined by your order date.) Orders can be placed until Dec. 14th.
We hope you have an amazing holiday,
See you next time,
The OG Supporters
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