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From local leaders and hometown heroes to breaking stories and in-depth conversations, the KMAS Podcast brings you the voices that matter in Mason County, Washington. Hosted by longtime broadcaster Jeff Slakey, each episode dives into what’s happening around the Hood Canal—government, education, small business, the outdoors, and everything in between.
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Well, everybody, welcome here to Oakland Bay Junior High. My name is Jeff Slakey with KMAS radio.
And once again, we are here for an open kind of roundtable forum to talk about the schools here in the Shelton School District. This is our fifth school that we have. We'll have two more in 2026 early at the high school, Shelton High School, and then Choice and Cedar combined.
And again, here we are at Oakland Bay, and I'm with Principal Marianne Marshall, seventh grade ELA teacher Andrea Smith, and Superintendent Wyeth Jessee. Thank you so much for sitting with me a little bit to talk about the school here. Again, this is just a conversation for folks and families to learn more a little bit about what's going on in the past few months as this school year has unfolded.
So we'll start with you, Marianne. This is your second year here as principal at OBJH. But you've been in the district for many years.
So I just kind of want you to give me an overview of the junior high, the makeup, the amount of kids, all of the things that go into here. All right. Well, here at Oakland Bay, we have about 553 students.
So we have a larger population of seventh grade than we do eighth grade and junior hires. You know, they're they're really fun to work with. But one of the things that we focus in on here at the Bay is making our routines predictable.
And we teach those routines so students know what it looks like and sounds like to be successful, not only in our common areas, but inside of our classrooms. And that's a big focus here at the Bay this year is that shared responsibility. We don't work in silos that it takes every single person to do this job.
And we'll ask you about what that looks like in a particular classroom. But what are some of the things we're here in the common area where lunch is held and things like that? So what do the students know to expect when they come in here during passing period or during lunch? All right. Well, one of the things we have is visuals are super helpful for our students.
So what does it sound like, look like and feel like inside of the commons area? You know, we always say walking feet. So if you're in the commons, you're walking, you're picking up your trash, you're being helpful. And when students are struggling with making good choices, we remind them of those expectations.
And oftentimes at this point of the year, because we've taught it so much, it's really a nonverbal redirect. You know, check out the expectations on the wall. Let me know if I can help you.
And then, Andrea, how does that move into the classroom? Yeah. So the great thing about being at OBJH is that students get to have a variety of teachers in all their classes. But one thing that we really try and have is common language.
So students know that when they come into the classroom, there's a do now activity up on the board. That's something that they can get their brain working, something they do right away. They know where their materials are in each of their classes.
And we teach the expectations and advisory. And we're going to do a reteach again in January. And where do the students, where had they come from to get to OBJH in sixth grade? Like location wise? So we have students that come to us from Olympic Middle School.
But we also have a feeder school, our South Side students. So we have eighth graders that come in from South Side. OK.
How do these kind of daily reminders and affirmations play into kind of what you guys talk about at the board and district level, strategic plan and all that stuff? Yeah. So, you know, like you're referring to safe and welcoming environment, right? That's one of our four priorities. When you think of a junior high like this and what students are trying on for size.
That's exactly where we have to start the structures and routines. I tell parents all the time I love this age group, but a lot of parents think that they know. Oh, my gosh, my student, you know, he's like six foot tall or she could be six foot tall, too, because the girls get so advanced.
We're like, yeah, but they're really little kids like they're in identity formation. This is a key time where their kids are testing on new boundaries, new things for themselves. The learning gets a lot harder there.
They're held to different standards. And then you throw in independence and social media like that's a tricky thing for them to navigate. And so by having a place for them to have visuals that are reminders because they don't like to be told what to do.
But if you could show them what to do in a nice way, that works a lot better. If you can already have things structured and they're clear on what they have to do. That way you don't have to redirect them or when they get out of tasks that you have to further, you know, have any kind of reprimands.
So those are the things that you're just trying to stay away from. It's a tenuous balance at this age, no matter wherever you're at. It is my first love.
I was a junior high teacher for a 7-8 model myself. And I love this age group just because especially eighth graders for the first semester. But we'll keep that on a whole other level.
It's just because that group of kids really start to, you can just see that like, whoa, you've got your personality kind of down, right? Because they're no longer kind of mirroring their parents. Sometimes they're just like so quiet because they're trying things on and you really start to see some neat perspectives for them. But again, coming all the way back, safe and welcome environment is the foundation to that, honestly.
Because if kids don't feel safe here, that they can try on some things without having to push too many boundaries with either the adults or other peers. That way they can both have an enjoying experience as they learn about themselves and the content that's being provided by the teachers here. Marianne, this is your second year here.
What can you tell me about how the school has kind of changed over those two years? A lot of folks have memories and heard stories about things at OBJH or whatever. And Wyeth, you've been here on the district for five years, so you've heard some of these from a school district level. But I'm interested to know, too, how this new year's cell phone policy has worked to stave off any sort of different behavioral issues that have happened over these last years.
Or what can you tell me from your first year here to this year here? Yeah, I think of the first step we took, you mentioned the cell phone policy. And we saw, I believe, looking at my data here at the Bay, a drastic change in our discipline once that went down. Students weren't distracted.
They were focused on what they needed to focus on. And we spent that year teaching that expectation. And we had to do reminders.
And so as we go into the second year of no cell phones, we're always going to have to remind students. But it's just the way we do things at the Bay. And we had to bring it back down to brass tacks, right? There's a lot of things that need to happen here at the Bay.
But focusing in on those predictable routines and the shared responsibilities. So getting everyone rowing in the same direction. So our focus is on predictable routines as it relates to entering the classroom.
What does that look like? So students come in. Teachers are at the door. They have their microphone on.
They're sharing with students what they need to do. The do now. And then we have the exit, right? So that's where we've started as a staff.
And we just had a staff meeting the other day where we came back and we looked at our shared commitments. What does that look like right now? And then how do we need to refine that when we come back in January and reteach everything? So I think it was just press pause. Let's look at our data.
What are our families telling us? What are our students telling us? And let's just focus in on a few things and do that well. So the cell phone policy started here last year and then implemented district-wide at the beginning of this school year for the high school and others. Can I jump in quickly about the cell phone? So two years ago I worked at OMS and they had the cell phone policy in place.
And one thing that's really exciting about the seventh graders this year is it didn't even feel like that big of an ask for them to put their cell phones away because this was the third year they had been told this. So the unification between OMS and OBJH, I felt like it was pretty seamless because they were told the same thing. The expectation was the same.
So they really rose to the challenge. And at the beginning of the year it wasn't a huge ask of them. And that's kind of what we've talked about at all these other elementary schools.
They all have unique attributes that make them special. But the way the learning progresses over the years really funnels them into when they get here they know what the expectations are. When they get to the high school they'll know when they get there.
I think you're telling me, Jeff. Yes, that's correct. I was just making sure I was paying attention the last five.
I'll keep it there. That is absolutely correct. We are a system.
We are not a collection of eight schools. And when you get up to the older grades here and the staff that are here in the crowd, they know that. They know when kids walk in and they know what's expected.
Because if you have to take a month, and I've said this at other roundtables, when you have to take a month to teach or reteach things, that's lost instructional time that you just don't have. And so the more we can carry things all the way through, we're about ready to announce, for example, a brand-new engagement poster. So here are different ways we can engage students during the lesson.
And if everybody uses those same things, by the time they get up here to the junior high, they're like, no one's going to teach it. Like, oh, yeah. Turn and talk.
Cold call. Got it. All right.
Phone a friend. Need it. Like, that way they're just using that same language.
Staff, well, very well, they are correct. They are correct in that, like, we don't have enough time. But if you waste a lot of time having to teach just basic structures and routines, you can't get to the content.
And so that's why this is just fundamental for educators. Because I'm sure Ms. Smith doesn't want to waste the first, you know, September about structure routines. How do you get a book and how do you check it out and how do you turn and talk? And if you had to teach that every time, you know, and write jots or whatever, like, you're going to be, like, exhausted by the first month alone.
And then you can finally get to the other things. She just doesn't have that time to waste, especially when we're trying to accelerate our learners. Let's talk about the classroom a little bit more.
And when they come in, they see their Do Now project. After that's concluded, what are the next steps that you go through on a daily basis? What are some of the, I guess, books or different levels of reading that you're seeing as a 7th grader comes into the classroom? And then what are you hoping to expect as they leave your classroom and move into 8th grade over the summer? Yeah, that's a great question. So we have a structured routine that every single day we follow.
So they come in with the Do Now. We do a 5 to 10 minute mini lesson, which is about a specific skill that they can apply to their book. Then I model it with my own book.
And then the last half of class is 30 minutes of reading and applying that skill. And during those 30 minutes, I am meeting with students individually, talking with a specific goal and reading and writing goal. One thing that I've been really encouraged by this year is that our students are really good goal makers.
And they are really good at carrying out the goals. So when I'm meeting with a student, they are setting goals for their reading level. I don't sugarcoat the reading level when it comes to 7th grade.
In 7th grade, I think it's really important that students know what grade level they actually are reading at. So they can set attainable goals for how to progress and move. Because we want to set them up in 8th grade and high school to be as close to the target as possible and accelerating past that.
And so students know what level they are reading at. And depending on what level they are reading at, we are giving them attainable next steps in their books. So most of my students are reading a lot of fantasy, adventure, science fiction.
And as we are reading together, depending on what their reading level is, they are all doing the same skills of finding theme, central idea, textual evidence. And we are seeing it in their scores and in their essays. They know how to communicate what they are reading.
In addition to ELA, what are the other classes that the students go through here on a daily basis? Math, science, or whatever? Right, so you will have your core academics with your English class, your science class, your math class, your history class. And then there is a choice of electives. So we have engineering, we have physical education, we have art, we have 3D printing.
We have a new class in CTE that is called Intro to Sound. So it teaches kids how to do audio work over video, which is really cool. So they just have a circle table of choices.
Oh, we also offer band. So we have advanced band and beginning band. And how do the same goals and guidelines in an ELA class that Andrea has move into those other, how is the structure in those other classes? So just as she shared, everyone has that same entry routine.
So all the teachers have the same entry routine. It might look different class to class depending on what materials they need to come in and get. But they will come in, they will sit down, they will do their due now.
And then they will go into that 10 to 12 minute of instruction time. And then they will do what we do, just like ELA does. And then release the students to practice that skill.
Why I have mentioned this a little bit, but this age group, 7th, 8th graders, they are starting to really come into their own, find their own independence. How do you, as a staff, work to encourage themselves to have that independence and kind of find their voice? While at the same time, I guess, respecting the overall kind of social norms and rules that you would want in a school? I think with junior high students, and this could be students just in general, right, is building that relationship. And what I find with junior hires is that, to be a great listener, right? So giving them their opportunity to say, okay, what happened? You know, give me context around what happened in that situation.
But then we bring it back, right, to our student handbook, to our rules. So it's really important you give the student an opportunity to tell their story. But then you bring it back to the expectations every time.
And are these something that you go over in that first couple days of school, right, when they get in, the expectations, the rule books or the guide books and things like that? Yeah, so the first week of school, we chunked the information out and went through the student handbook with the students and gave them time to ask questions. And then we had them take those student handbooks home. Parents went through them, signed them, and they returned.
And then when there's long breaks, like we're going on a winter break, we will come back and we'll go back and refresh and go over those again. We have, like you mentioned here, a larger 7th grade population. How does that, does that change any of the adjustments that you have coming in here? One of the major adjustments that we made is before we had three lunches.
And so we took it back down to two lunches. And so we'll have that first lunch and then a 25-minute break. And then we go into our next lunch.
We really, and we try to keep, one side of the building is 8th grade, the other side is 7th grade. Of course, they're going to cross over. But reducing the amount of time that the 8th grade and 7th grade are interacting with each other throughout the day so they can build that community.
What are some of the things that you do or through some of the outreach or through clubs or things like that that help students who are maybe not fully adjusting? We've been in for a few months now, so maybe it's starting to settle down. But in those first couple months of a new school, a new whole system, you know, it can be overwhelming and sometimes hard for students to kind of get into a groove, into a routine. If there is the need for someone to talk to or something like that, how does that work? So our counselors will go in and introduce themselves and share with students during our advisory time how they can reach out.
But the first step that the admin team made is we built the relationship with our students coming from Olympic Middle School. So Ms. G and I, my assistant principal, we went down to OMS and we hung out at lunch. We went inside of the classrooms.
We got to know the students before they came here. And then we met with the admin there. We talked about students.
What are their strengths? What are things that they still need to work on? And so those students that came from Olympic Middle School that might need that extra bit of attention, we reached out to their families. We had them come in. We met the students early.
So if it was just like they were overwhelmed by the school and how large it is, we brought them in. We did a tour. We had them meet their teachers early.
So we got in front of it before the actual first day of school. Wyeth, you said this 7th, 8th is your favorite. So when you come and do your site visits and you're walking around, what are some of the things that either remind you of how the kids were when you were teaching and then also some of the good things that you're seeing around this school? Well, I don't know.
There's like probably like a dozen fans I got here. They want to get into a conversation with me about all sorts of things. I've been not like a real fan, but like, hey, I want to like I want to have a conversation with you about something they're very interested in.
It's just, again, they're trying on different things and interests like, hey, let's, you know, like some kids I'll talk about reading and talk about friendships, talk about like some of their own interest. Some like to dare me. They really want to have a race with me sometimes.
Like, it's weird. OK, but I like it. Like, it's quirky.
It's it's that's if you if you get this grade level or grade levels, you understand exactly what I mean when I say, like, just does not really one thing to define the relationship. But it is when I come here, the excitement on their face, trying on something new. If you welcome them and you're trying to build the relationship.
And I know some of these kids when they were in elementary school. So, you know, I've had these things where like, what are you trying on? You know, especially around first of all, a lot of students all talk about their books. What are you interested? What are you reading? And then we roll into another conversation, whether that's sports or in activities, band, choir.
What's going on in your home life? You know, a lot of times I tackle them also for their food and drink choices. You know, I don't like the energy drinks. I don't know.
And I what do you what are you doing? What are you eating and stuff like that, too? So it's a little bit of everything. Just a good fun. You're able to have a good interaction, kind of maybe even a more not adult conversations, but closer for sure than in the elementary levels, I suppose.
At least they think they they're willing to give you more than the high schoolers for sure. So I this is a it's a great part. Why would you why do you think that is? What is it about this age group that seventh graders and eighth graders want to be known, whether they will admit that or not? And so any breadcrumb they leave is something that they want you to notice.
And so oftentimes, like when I'm talking about a book, they'll focus on something in that book that they're latching on to. That's actually relating to their life that they want to talk about. And I think that's the same thing in the hallways.
If you can really find that thing that they're talking about, that they are wearing, that they're talking about with their friends. It usually says something about what they're interested in and what they maybe want to be like because they're not entirely sure. And they can't really put words to it.
So you kind of have to give them the language for that. What do you see that gives you that opening? I mean, you mentioned that they'll kind of go, oh, man, Johnny's wearing a baseball uniform in our story. And you go, oh, yeah, well, you like baseball or something.
And then they go off, perhaps on a diet ride. But if there is there something else that you recognize when you're trying to make these connections to help bring, especially students who may not be wanting to open up, but you get them hooked and then they kind of really start blossoming. I think the big thing with being a junior high teacher and a middle school teacher is that you have to make the first step for students.
And it's up to them whether they take it. And you have to offer that olive branch a lot to them. There's a lot of students that all engage in conversations with whether it's about school or not school.
And they will turn me down or say, yeah, nothing. It's not that big of a deal. And you have to be OK with that answer.
You don't want to push because they're really fragile at this age. If you push too hard, then they close up the rest of the year. So I think it's just giving them a lot of opportunities to showcase and being OK when they're not ready.
I think sometimes we come in too hard with seventh and eighth grade and just being OK with their answer, but giving them lots of opportunities to show themselves. Yeah, especially differentiating your approach. Like there's some students that I can tell they're not having such a good day.
And, you know, if you come up alongside them and I sit down on a bent knee and you really kind of get their levels, hey, what's going on? You know, like this. And a lot of times I'll tell you the truth, too. They're like, I'm having a really crappy day or I really hate this class or, you know, like I'm struggling right now with my friendships.
Right. Like they'll they'll open up. You just have to you have to be very cautious and walk softly.
But they're there. And, yeah, I just I find this is really refreshing because a lot of times they will lay it out and they can be very articulate in sharing what their needs are. Whether that's something that's going really well for them or also something that's not because their struggles tend to, especially at this grade level, seem to weigh a little bit heavier on their shoulders.
Marian, is there testing that's going on right now? Will you be able to look back at this first half of the year and kind of get a metric of where things are and then look again at the end of the year as you kind of game out how what you would like to see as a student body in the way they're advancing? Yeah. So we just did some interim testing, both in math and ELA, and we just sat down in teams and unpack that. So what were the strengths of our students in those tests, as well as what were the opportunities for growth? And then we go back and we have some time before we move on to winter break to do some reteach with students.
So we do that regularly. We have our multi tiered systems of support team for academics that meets every two weeks. And we're looking at the data that's available to us.
And then we're also coming back and having conversations about any interventions that we've done with students and checking in to see how that's going. So it's always happening here at the Bay. Reflection and growth.
What are some of the things or do you have like a leadership team here? Like so there's, you know, like clamber crew up at the high school or kids that will do the things that kind of better welcome in people or they're the ones leading an assembly or what? What is it like to have if you do something like that in this in the school to help the whole body? So we do have an ASB team here at the Bay. And so they help with our socials as well as our assemblies. But we also have our students like we have a mascot.
So one of the things that we instituted here is giving students leadership opportunities. Last year we did competition with come be to me the T wolf. Right.
So students tried out and we have four different students that every time we have a sporting activity or we have an assembly, they rotate and those students come in and they dresses to me the T wolf. And they'd help to just spark that excitement inside of the school. That's awesome.
Yeah. And we also last year we wanted students to take ownership. This is their building.
So we had them name the hallways. So just finding those little things throughout the day, things that we do here to insert those leadership opportunities. I'm interested to learn a little bit more about the extracurriculars you have here.
You know, most folks will go through the kind of standard classrooms. But for many students, it's finding that extra part of their day that they enjoy that really keeps them latched in to the rest of the day. You know, whether or not it's band or choir or 3D printing or sound design.
If they find something that they like, it seems to me they're more apt to be engaged throughout the rest of the day knowing that that's kind of like the cherry on top. So what has it been like to roll out all of these different extracurriculars and get the student body involved and excited about that? One of the things I noticed is when students feel belonging inside of the building, they're connected through like a sports activity or a club. We are less likely to see opportunities for them to learn how to showcase appropriate behaviors.
That makes a lot of sense. Since we just have a couple minutes left here in this and at each one of these, I've given you an opportunity to kind of explain the levy situation when it comes to the different schools. And here at the junior high, it's a little different than the elementaries because there are these additional clubs and we know that a lot of it is not part of the general education.
So can you explain that part of it here at OBJH specifically? Yeah, so the state gives us $85 million. But unfortunately, that is not all basic ed dollars. It's not just free to use.
Actually, half of those dollars are restricted. So they're really for special programs like Title I, special education, or CTE. And then 12.5% come from the levy and the levy match.
So the levy is, in terms of purposes, is really $10 million and $10 million out of $85 is a lot. It funds an incredible number of things for them. So whether you're going to have extra opportunities for band and they go on trips, it's the clubs that they have here, all of the athletics, basic ed dollars cannot be used for athletics.
It strictly has to come from the levy or boosters and that's it. And so, like you said, those clubs and activities are essential. There's one thing that I always like to say, especially for junior high, I go, wow, if you're having a hard time thinking about wanting to pay for the levy, I go, what do you think 13, 14 year olds do to entertain themselves if they're not in school and they don't have a club or athletics? That's when you make that really squirmish looking emoji.
You're like, I don't know, but I don't want to know. And I do. I happen to know.
Having worked with this population for 25 years, that does not lead to good outcomes. They will entertain themselves, as we like to say, whether it's school or out of school. And if you're not giving them, again, those structured routines, a way to make connections, try on their social skills.
They are social human beings. They'll try some other things out. And for some students, that is just right here, you know, they will literally throw rocks right through windows.
We had over $100,000 worth of damage last year. I'm not trying to identify that particular student or former student, but what I am trying to say is, you know, a lot of kids, again, come from traumatic backgrounds. They have a hard time dealing with things.
We want them to develop pro-social skills. Clubs and athletics are the, to me, my own professional opinion, are the best areas to develop social skills. You have to learn how to be a team member.
You know how to strive for a goal. You know you have to figure out how to get along with others in order to stay yourself in the game or in the activity. And that is magical.
And the levy does fund those things, plus interventions that go on, whether that's a nurse, counselors, library, all those things, the levy does support right here at Oakland Bay. We're getting close to the winter break, as was mentioned. So as we look into 2026 and start the second half of the year, what are some of the things that the junior high does? Are there annual or monthly parent teacher meetings? Are there things, ways parents can get more involved in the school? What's happening next year? So every week we have a family newsletter that goes out.
So please, all of our families, please read that. We're asking for volunteers. So in that family newsletter, it tells you exactly what you need to do.
You can call the school. Teachers always need help with bulletin boards and printing things. We want to hear from our families.
We have some families that have already shown up. They're coming in. They're volunteering.
And when we can work with our families, that helps our students. So that's really our focus, is getting more volunteers in here. We're going to come back.
We're going to refresh and go over our structures and routines. Again, it's brass tacks. We're keeping it simple.
We're focused in on entry, exit, our do-nows, and our academic talk inside of the classroom. And you're okay with volunteers coming into the classroom? I love it. I've had parents read books to kids.
I've had parents come in and talk about how they use reading in their occupations. We love it. It's the best.
What are some of the goals? Do you have, like, the student should finish blank book by the end of the year, blank many books? Or what do you, how do you look towards the end of the school year when it comes to more reading happening? So one of the things that I really try to do, and our whole ELA department tries to do, is we find ways to celebrate students. So one of the easy ways that I do it in my class is if a student finishes a book, they get their picture taken with the book, and it goes actually up on our wall. We set a goal on the first day of school that we would read 500 books by the end of the year collectively.
We're already at 223. So the students are at the halfway point, almost the halfway point of 500 books. There's even some books I haven't counted yet.
So I bet we're at 250. But students are loving reading. They just need the kind of motivation to get there.
I think another big thing is just recognizing being that warm demander for them and making sure that we are setting high expectations. Kids know when you're setting low expectations, and they will only rise as much as you are setting it. And so the expectations here are high, and students are rising to them.
And so I'm excited to see how they do that. We've talked about that before, Wyeth, where if you set good, firm, high expectations, the students will rise to that challenge more often than not. Yeah, this is a great opportunity because we do talk about when we do these roundtables about what's unique for this school and what's going on, some of the history.
And so in 21-22, I walked into school. I was very nervous. I say that all the time.
I was nervous. I know I got some staff that were here, too. It was hard.
It was hard to walk in. What does that mean? Hard to walk in. It just didn't lack the structures.
I mean, there was kids just pushing way too many boundaries, open containers, a lot of swearing, not getting to class, a lot of oppositional defiant kind of behavior towards staff and not taking direction, staff wondering about what are the structures and routines for themselves, what are we going to follow, what are you not going to follow. You know, it was hard because a lot of people were getting hired over time. And, you know, how do you center yourselves around some things? So this population will take advantage, again, of things when there are not structures and routines and there are not a commitment to building a relationship.
This building has been transformed. I invite anyone who's listening to come here to the Bay and check it out for yourself. When I got here, there was not a week that went by for the first three years of being in this district that I did not get an email about OBJ, flat out.
I did not get those emails anymore. I don't get any of those emails or phone calls. In fact, actually, what I get to do is come out here and see all the great work the staff have done in combination with the students.
You know, that is, it is the lunchroom, totally transformed. That was also a nervous place that I would just be nervous. Kids are up making a mess.
Like staff just trying to even get their attention, had to really raise their voice. Those are things that you just don't want. This place is so different.
I come here, lunch is, like, very pleasant. Like, you can come down and sit and have a lunch with them and enjoy yourself. It's really nice.
You go walk through the halls. Kids are going where they're at. Staff, I just was here last week.
Staff are working, teaming together, right on a couple kids that needed it. They weren't angry, but they just, you know, they're kind of fidgety, forgetting things, typical for this age group. Working, troubleshooting a couple things, so it just didn't get out of control.
Way more preventative, way more on it. When you walk in the classroom, there's a do now task. Like, kids are engaged in learning, so, and the staff have worked on commitments.
Here's our procedures that we had to follow. It's really nice for them to know, too, to go, oh, okay, so this is what my part is. Then I know when I have an issue, I know where to hand that off to so that it can get addressed.
So, those are beautiful things that are going to obey, and I will just reiterate, come check it out. Walk the hallway. See what's going on.
When the board directors come here, they're like, oh, yeah, this is really transformed. Like, I see what's going on here. I see the efforts, because they've sent their kids here, and I continue to invite others, because whatever somebody who's listening thought of the reputation here just even five years ago, this is not the same school, and I invite you to put a smile on your face.
Think of really good things about OBJH, because there are really good things going on here for kids up and down the hallways, both floors, all over, every classroom, that I think is just, it's just so much better. It's a place that should operate with a lot of pride. Well, that's the home of the Timberwolves, Oakland Bay Junior High, 553 strong.
Thank you so much. Seventh grade teacher for ELA, Andrea Smith, Principal Marianne Marshall, and Superintendent Jessie for some time. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thanks for having us.