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Ollie chosen as the name of Oakdale owl By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Dec 09, 2022 04:01 PM A A Emiliano Lara, 2, of Medford, greets Oakdale Middle School's new owl mascot when he was introduced in October. This week the owl’s name was announced — Ollie. [Photo by Denise Baratta] The owl chosen as the mascot of Medford’s new middle school now has a name — Ollie. The name of the future furry face of Oakdale Middle School was chosen after a survey Nov. 16 to Dec. 5 of campus community members. “When they start seeing the owl at events, they’ll know it by name,” said Karina Chavez Rizo, the middle school’s incoming principal. “It gives (the owl) a voice and a persona.” Ollie, Oakley and Oscar were the finalists among names suggested in the survey. “When you see Ollie, it’s supposed to represent something really great — our school,” Rizo said. “It’s also excitement. You go to University of Oregon, and you see the duck and everyone starts to cheer. We want the same thing here, to bring that school spirit and togetherness and have students be proud of being an owl.” The survey brought in 76 name suggestions and 409 votes. Ollie got 37.1% of the vote, Oakley got 35.4% and Oscar achieved a distant 27.5%. “There wasn’t one (in which people said), ‘It had to be this one choice.’ They all got lots of votes,” Rizo said. “I would have been happy with any of them.” The incoming principal noted she also was happy with the level of survey participation, which suggests to her “we’re already starting to build a positive climate and culture for Oakdale.” In October, the campus community held an event at the school, at 815 S. Oakdale Ave., to unveil the new mascot. Focus groups, which included students, had a choice between an oxen, coyote, owl and bear. Rizo said there was a slight gap between the unveiling of the mascot and the start of the naming survey because school officials are working each month to host a different event for Oakdale constituents to drum up support for the school, set to open in time for the 2023-24 school year. The next event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, featuring Santa. Oakdale will be Medford School District’s third middle school when it opens next fall, joining Hedrick and McLoughlin middle schools. The school was added in response to overcrowding within the district’s elementary schools and eliminated the need to build a new one. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.