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Classes were long over, but the Houck Middle School lunchroom buzzed with excitement as hundreds of girls ate fettuccine, had their hair braided and eyed prize baskets on display.
The school on Thursday, Jan. 30, hosted a day-long celebration “You Go Girl,” intended to give Houck’s girls a chance to connect with one another, set goals and learn to manage big emotions.
Magda Romero, the school’s principal, organized the event to address challenges the students have had with conflict this year.
She said teen boys often fight, but the impacts are short-lived.
“They’re fine 30 seconds later but for the girls it lingers,” she said.

The evening event came after a day of guest speakers and special activities organized at the southeast Salem middle school. Though designed for female Houck students, it was open to all, with some parents, younger siblings and boys also sitting at lunch tables enjoying free dinner.
Berenice Ramos, Valeria Ceja and Kianna Tellez, all in seventh grade, came as a group. The trio described the school year so far as difficult, both academically and because of girls not getting along, and said they appreciated the school giving students a place to go in the evening.
Ramos said having a chance to interact with classmates she otherwise might not see at school due to differing schedules was one draw for attending.
Angela Williams of Huggins Insurance gave a brief keynote speech, encouraging girls to find commonalities and not let others make them feel bad about themselves.
“Middle school’s hard. The things that you kids are going through is normal,” she said.

Students could check in at about a dozen stations, doing everything from potting plants to take home to getting photos taken.
Visiting enough stations got them an entry in a prize drawing for gift baskets filled with Squishmallows, young adult books and other comfort items.
“I’m hopeful that every activity just makes them feel more and more loved,” Romero said.
Faith Lecuyer, an 8th grade student, was one of the first to sit for hair braiding. She said fights and bullying have been issued at Houck, and described an incident where girls she and a friend didn’t know came up and started arguing with them on the way home from school.
Lecuyer said she was skeptical that an evening event could address those issues.
“I feel like most girls are here for the food stuff,” she said. As for middle school drama, “you just gotta get through it.”

Jaylean Olalde was one of about five students with businesses represented at the event. She folds roses out of ribbons and turns those into handcrafted teddy bears and other items, which she sold from a table while explaining the process to classmates and parents.
Romero said she wanted space for students to show their creative abilities and the work they do.
“They’re entrepreneurs — they bring snacks and sell them to each other,” she said.
Romero came to the school this fall and is Houck’s third principal in five years. She worked with teacher Mary Higgins over about two months to organize activities and speakers, with many other Houck employees staffing activity booths for students.
Romero said the event will be part of an ongoing effort to encourage girls to relate to one another and themselves in more positive ways.
“I just wish they would turn to each other and say something nice,” she said.




Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.