A survey will generate suggestions for Oakdale Middle School, which will open in the fall of 2023
New courts have been built at the new Oakdale Middle School. The students are in the process of deciding what their mascot and school colors will be. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune]
As crews bring the new Oakdale High School to life by renovating the historic building it will inhabit, prospective students and community members are helping in another way: by brainstorming a mascot and school colors.
The Medford school district recently posted images on Facebook of a tour students took of the facility, at 815 S. Oakdale Ave., before sitting down to come up with ideas that will shape the school’s identity. It’s just one piece of a larger effort, in the form of a district-sponsored survey recently posted online.
“I think it’s easy to reach for something (ourselves), but that’s not what we want,” said Karina Chavez Rizo, Oakdale’s incoming principal. “We want them to have a good buy-in, and I think selecting the colors and the mascot will bring excitement to the students and the community. They can say they were part of the decision-making process. That will really help build ownership and belonging.”
The survey was sent out in late July and has produced about 50 responses so far, said Natalie Hurd, director of communications and community engagement for the district. There is currently no closing date for the survey.
Hurd emphasized Oakdale’s colors and mascot, to become the district’s third high school, will not be the decision of Superintendent Bret Champion or the school board.
“In the end, Karina and her team would make the final decision, but it won’t be made in a silo; all feedback they receive from the community and students will be reported,” Hurd said.
Rizo reported that student ideas have included: Owls, Otters, Bears, Sasquatch, Hellcats, Sloths, Rattlesnakes and Pioneers.
“(Students suggested) maybe something that starts with an ‘O,’ like ‘Oakdale,’ or an animal that represents the valley we live in,” Rizo said. “They gave us great ideas and suggestions that we hadn’t even thought of.”
During a recent meeting at the Oakdale site, students asked officials to show them what some of the mascots would look like in the proposed high school colors, which include teal, white and black, purple, navy and silver .
Planning for the eventual identity of Oakdale Middle School is another step that has Rizo, former principal of White Mountain Middle School in Eagle Point, excited about her new role.
“Anytime we can bring kids in to support something we’re doing or give us some new ideas, it just helps build excitement,” Rizo said. “To be able to take these kids and tell them that they are the first students to take a tour of the building, it really touched them and made them feel very special.”
Anyone who would like to suggest a mascot or colors for Oakdale can log in at this link: http://bitly.ws/tcRU.
Contact reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or kopsahl@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.
