OCT Tiger Time News
News from the O.C. Taylor Principal, Lisa Pedevilla
January 20-24, 2020
(BE SURE AND SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS NEWSLETTER AND READ THE OCT PTA SECTION!)
Dear OCT Families,
Happy Sunday and Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tomorrow. We will not have school tomorrow. As I reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr., he believed that all human beings, regardless of color, creed or economic status, had value and deserved both dignity and respect. I hope today we all continue to teach our children principles that, like our O.C. Taylor vision states, create a better tomorrow.
My personal favorite quote of Dr. King was published in Strength to Love in 1963, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." May we all strive to be strong in love.
To the BEST of days,
Principal Pedevilla
Stay Connected at O. C. Taylor Elementary School
We have a number of ways to keep in touch with our school. Be sure to read, subscribe to and join these resources to get all the latest news.
Facebook: If you’re a Facebook member be sure to join the O.C. Taylor Elementary Facebook Group to get updates in your feed. This group is meant to provide another way to get news and updates.
Website: The school’s website has the latest news, updates, and calendars, as well as general information about the school, resources for parents, volunteer opportunity information, event information and ways to donate.
Twitter: We regularly post events and upcoming news on Twitter. Follow me on Twitter: @OCTYoung and follow our hashtag #OCT4U.
Email: lisa.pedevilla@gcisd.net
Website: https://oct.gcisd.net/
Location: 5300 Pool Road, Colleyville, TX, United States
Phone: (817) 305-4870
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OC-Taylor-Elementary-School-361871583888299/
Twitter: @OCTYoung
OCT Vision: To empower our children today to create a better tomorrow.
OCT Mission: To create life-long learners and develop servant leaders through authentic, real-world experiences.
Upcoming Events
Monday, January 20
MLK Day - No School/Student & Staff Holiday
Tuesday, January 21
11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Hopdoddy Spirit Day (Correction)
Wednesday, January 22
2:55 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Yearbook
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Talent Show Rehearsal
Thursday, January 23
Play it Safe
2:55 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Choir
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Talent Show Rehearsal
Friday, January 24
National Compliment Day
Saturday, January 25
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Snow Day/Pancake Breakfast with Dads' Club (see PTA section below)
Monday, January 27
Tuesday, January 28
Wednesday, January 29
8:30 a.m. Geography Bee (cafeteria)
2:55 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Yearbook
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. NEHS
Thursday, January 30
2:55 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Choir
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Talent Show Dress Rehearsal
Friday, January 31
8:30 a.m. Talent Show
6:30 p.m. PTA Meeting and Talent Show
Monday, February 3
8:15 a.m. PTA Executive Board Meeting
National School Counselors Week
Tuesday, February 4
100th Day of School
5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Spring Creek BBQ, Grapevine
Wednesday, February 5
2:55 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Yearbook
Thursday, February 6
2:55 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Choir
Friday, February 7
National Go Red Day
Positive Proof
3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Running Club
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Sock Hop
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Grade Level Newsletters
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Important Links
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OCT and GCISD Updates
Assistant Principal Points from Mrs. Bailey
ABSENCES/ATTENDANCE
Regular school attendance is essential for a student to make the most of his or her education—to benefit from teacher-led and school activities, to build each day’s learning on the previous day’s, and to grow as an individual. Absences from class may result in serious disruption of a student’s mastery of the instructional materials; therefore, the student and parent should make every effort to avoid unnecessary absences. Two state laws—one dealing with the required presence of school-aged children in school, e.g., compulsory attendance, the other with how a student’s attendance affects the award of a student’s final grade or course credit—are of special interest to students and parents. They are discussed below:
Between Ages 6 and 19
State law requires that a student between the ages of six and 18 attend school, as well as any applicable accelerated instruction program, extended year program, or tutorial session, unless the student is otherwise excused from attendance or legally exempt.
When a student between ages 6 and 19 incurs unexcused absences for three or more days or parts of days (this includes any amount of missed time that is 15 minutes or greater after the school day begins or before the end of the school day) within a four-week period, the school will send a notice to the student’s parent, as required by law, to remind the parent that it is the parent’s duty to monitor the student’s attendance and to require the student to come to school. The notice will also inform the parent that the district will initiate truancy prevention measures and request a conference between school administrators and the parent. These measures will include a behavior improvement plan, school-based community service, or referrals to either in-school or out-of-school counseling or other social services. Any other measures considered appropriate by the district will also be initiated.
We love our Tigers, and classes are not the same when they are not at school. Thank you for helping your Tiger attend school daily and be on time, every time.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns,
Assistant Principal Bailey
(817) 305-4870
@OCTBailey
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Updates from Counseling and Guidance, Mrs. Whisman
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Updates from Learning Commons, Mrs. Bonacci
O. C. Taylor Families,
Studies show that a student who reads just 20 minutes per day will be exposed to approximately 1,800,000 words per year! Just 20 minutes per day can make a huge difference in your child’s life. The purpose of the GCISD Reads Challenge is to encourage students to love reading.
It is important to help children find “just right” books. Reading a book that is “too easy” may lead a child to believe reading is boring. Reading a book that is “too hard” may lead children to believe reading is too difficult. My mission is to learn each child’s individual interests and help them find “just right” books that they will love to read, but no one knows your child as well as you. If you would like to help your child select books you can access our library collection catalog here. If you have any questions please email me at dawn.bonacci@gcisd.net (AKA- Mrs. Help).
For more information about the challenges and the Recording Documents for the 20192020 GCISD Reads can be found at https://www.smore.com/n06z7-2019-2020-gcisd-reads-challenge
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Updates from our Nurse Katy
- THANK YOU! We want to thank our OCT families for all of the beautiful Christmas cards and goodies given to us during the busy month of December. We appreciate your kindness! HaPPy NeW YeaR from the office staff! :)
- If your child is sick: Please keep students at home until they are fever and/or symptom-free for at least 24 hours without any medication. In GCISD, a temperature of 100 degrees is considered to be a fever. Encourage healthy habits at home to help prevent the spread of illnesses. Washing hands with soap and water (sing Happy Birthday song or ABCs twice!) Coughing and sneezing into elbows or a Kleenex instead of hands. Not touching the face- especially the T-zone. Getting plenty of rest. Staying hydrated.
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Hopdoddy Spirit Night , Tues., Jan. 21
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Spring Creek BBQ Spirit Night - Tues., Feb. 4
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Yearbook Order Information
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Doodle 4 Google 2020
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O.C. Taylor Staff Shout-Outs for Jan. 21
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GCISD Holding Inaugural Career Expo, Feb. 5
All middle and high school students are invited to GCISD’s inaugural Career Expo on February 5. Additionally, the District is looking for local professionals to participate.
Sign-Up Form for Professionals
GCISD will host its inaugural Career Expo on Wednesday, February 5, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Grapevine High School. All GCISD secondary students and families are invited to this event, and local professionals are asked to sign up and be a part of the event. The event is organized by GCISD DECA (a Career and Technical Student Organization) and GCISD CTE (Career and Technical Education) students.
Information for Students
Join fellow students and families for a night filled with many activities geared at preparing you for a successful career. Students will have the opportunity to speak with professionals from various industries about careers and educational pathways.
The expo will also include breakout sessions that explore entrepreneurship, employability skills human resource professionals value, and dressing for success presented by Men’s Warehouse.
Additionally, GCISD Career and Technical Education will host an open house for students and parents to learn about the programs offered to high school students at the Technology Education and Career Center (TECC).
Information for Professionals
GCISD DECA and GCISD CTE are seeking individuals and businesses to host informational tables to educate students about different career pathways and opportunities. To take part in this special event, please complete this short sign-up form.
Each presenter will be provided with a 6-foot table and two chairs and will be separated into career pathways to share information about careers, education required, certifications, job perks, interactive demos, summer job, and internship opportunities.
It’s not always easy for students to connect their daily core classes, electives, and extracurricular activities with possible jobs and career paths of the future. We believe that the more we expose our students to the many different trades, jobs, and careers that are available, the better informed they’ll be to set goals towards them.
We would like to ask professionals in our community to share their knowledge and expertise with all of our students!
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Take Care of Texas Art Contest
2020 Take Care of Texas Kids Art Contest (Elementary Only)
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Texas Chemical Council are excited to kick off the 2020 Take Care of Texas Kids Art Contest. Sixteen students—and one lucky teacher—will win a tablet or laptop! Prizes are provided by Texas Chemical Council.
To enter, K-5th grade students should create a unique piece of artwork portraying the positive ways people can Take Care of Texas by keeping the air and water clean, conserving water and energy, and reducing waste. You can see the winning artwork from previous years.
All entries must be postmarked on or before March 6, 2020 to be eligible. Please read our contest rules and complete the entry form to return with the artwork. Winners will be announced on April 15, 2020.
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"For the Future Candidate Forum on Public Education"
The GCISD Council of PTAs and Raise Your Hand Texas are hosting the "For the Future Candidate Forum on Public Education" at the Colleyville Center on Wednesday, January 29 at 6:30 PM. Texas House District 92 & 98 candidates will be answering questions on school safety, teacher pay, school finance, and accountability as well as taking written questions from the floor as time allows.
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GCISD Finance and Budget Team
This Spring, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD will form a Finance and Budget Team comprised of community members, parents, teachers, Trustees and administrators to gain knowledge about school finance as it pertains to GCISD. Click here to learn more about the team. GCISD will select two at-large members through a random lottery process. The application will be available on Monday, January 27, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m on the District’s website https://www.gcisd.net/. Each application will be time-stamped and numbered with two applications selected through a random number generator. If you have any questions regarding applying for the Finance and Budget Team, please email the District at info@gcisd.net.
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Not Just Blowing Smoke presented by Chandler's Hope, Jan. 29th
Wednesday, January 29th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Rawlins Lecture Hall at White's Chapel. This is a free event.
Nearly one in three high school seniors have tried vaping in the past year.
What can parents do to prevent vaping? Be equipped with facts. Learn about e-cigarettes, current trends, local data and tobacco cessation presented by Tobacco Prevention Specialist Ashley Paramore.
It is important for parents to have information about threats to their children in order to prevent health and addiction issues.
For more information, visit:
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GCISD Walk of Honor
The GCISD Walk of Honor seeks to identify and recognize individuals who have become an important part of the GCISD story. Anyone may complete a nomination form and submit the required documents to the Walk of Honor Selection Committee. Each fall, new honorees are honored at a recognition event, and a permanent display of all honorees is housed at Mustang Panther Stadium in the Walk of Honor area. Nominations for next year’s class of honorees are now being accepted. The deadline to submit a nomination for consideration is April 30, 2020. Please visit the Nominate page for details.
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GET TO KNOW THE O.C. TAYLOR STAFF
OCT 1st Grade Team
Ms. Cindy Davis
Her greatest strength as a teacher is knowing her students and helping them grow from where they are. She says her greatest award she has received was being named O.C. Taylor's Teacher of the Year!
Ms. Davis has a son and daughter-in-law and three grandkids (ages 5, 3, and 6 months) who live in Des Moines and a daughter who lives in Washington D.C. She enjoys reading and is currently reading Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. She loves her books!
Her advice for parents is to encourage reading and conversation with your kids as much as possible. She says, "Allow your children to develop independence at each stage. Let them experience simple setbacks and natural consequences; it helps them so much in the long run. Remember that these years are fleeting; the things that sometimes seem like big things usually aren't."
Her favorite childhood memory is her teachers reading to the class great books and going to the library as much as possible. She loved checking out biographies and learning about interesting people! She listens to NPR and audiobooks. If she could have only one meal for the rest of her life, she would have tacos because there are so many options to tacos!
We value Ms. Davis and her experience and expertise she brings to O.C. Taylor!
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Mrs. Ashley Duncan
Her greatest strength as a teacher is looking at the whole child in all of her students. She builds a community of growth-minded, empathetic, and compassionate children. Like Ms. Davis, Mrs. Duncan also feels her greatest award is when she was named O.C. Taylor Teacher of the Year in 2016-17.
4-Wheeling with my husband is something she likes to do in her spare time. She has two fur babies: one Rhodesian Ridgeback named Walter who is two years old and one rescue lab mix named Honey B who is one year old. She also enjoys reading and is currently reading, “Leaders Eat Last,” by Simon Sinek.
One cool and interesting fact about Ms. Duncan is she is a former OCT Tiger and CHHS graduate, a fine product of GCISD. She is so thankful to be able to come back and give to a community that shaped her into who she is today. Her favorite childhood memory was going to Sky Ranch with her school friends!
If she could have one meal for the rest of her life, she would have....Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches (no pickles). If she could have one superhero power, she would like the ability to read minds. She said, "Of course, I always want to know what my students are thinking. "
We are thankful you came back to where you first learned to read! Welcome home!
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United States 2020 Census
The 2020 Census is closer than you think! The census counts every person living in the U.S. once, only once and in the right place. It's mandated by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2: The U.S. has counted its population every 10 years since 1790. For more information and how to complete the census, visit 2020census.gov.
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Follow OCT on Twitter
School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)
We think your kids are..... G-G-G-G-reat!
Snow Day/Pancake Breakfast with Dads' Club - Saturday, January 25th!
Bring the entire family to enjoy a morning of Breakfast + Sledding. Breakfast will be served by the Dads’ Club and we will have two sledding lanes to enjoy.
Space is limited, and the demand will be high, so hurry and get your reservations in early!
You must sign up in advance by this TUESDAY, January 21st as no walk-ups will be accepted this year!
Saturday, January 25th
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Breakfast Served from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Snow Hill will be open during the entire event!
Breakfast includes Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage and Juice/Milk.
All-You-Can-Take Sledding on the Double Snow Hill!
Reservations/Payment Forms are in the front office if you can't find your form that was sent home!
New Online Directory!
The PTA is very excited to launch our NEW online class directory and app. We are using the software from Membership Toolkit. Parents are asked to create an account and enter your information for your children. You are allowed to designate what information is seen by others (address, phone numbers, emails), and you can edit your own information at any time. Information on setting up an account is included in the below link, and printed directions will go home next week.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbI60Fjp8kTIn9v94fkuCbQoFkMofPEX/view?usp=sharing
Sara Stricherz, Paw Prints Directory Chair
Thank you to everyone that was able to attend the Tuesday advocacy meeting to provide input and thank you to those that have offered to help in various capacities with the upcoming Candidate Forum on 1/29! Your time is appreciated!
Please see attached and below.
Thank you!
Advocating “For the Future”
· The Texas Primary Elections are March 3, 2020
· GCISD Council of PTAs will be hosting a Candidate Forum for Districts 92 & 98 candidates
· January 29, 2020 Colleyville Center @ 6:30 PM
· The Honorable Mayor, Laura Hill, will be the moderator for the event
Dads' Club Golf Tournament February 28th!
Registration is open - $400 per foursome or $100 for individual player. Hole sponsorships are available.
Registration includes cart rental, lunch, dinner, raffle tickets. Signup link here.
Game On - Thursday February 27th
Game On is Thursday, February 27th from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the CMS South Gym! This is such a fun event! Purchase your child’s spot to play in the Second Chance Auction. Students in PreK through 2nd grade will play fun games of Trash Your Neighbor's Yard, and the 3rd through 5th graders will face off in games of Newcomb! Do you have a 6th-8th grade student who wants to come back and challenge their favorite OCT teacher?!?! Purchase a spot for them in the alumni game! We hope to see you there.
3rd Annual Dads' Club Golf Tournament
On Friday, February 28th, the Dads' Club will host the 3rd Annual Dads' Club Golf Tournament. The Tournament will be held at the Texas Star Golf Course.
Holes are available to purchase for sponsorship! For more information, please contact Brad Haga, Dads' Club Golf Tournament Chair at brad.carlton.haga@gmail.com.
World Wear Donation Bin
Box Tops
It's a new semester, so we're starting a new Racing to Recess Challenge. New collection bags will be sent home this week. Keep clipping those Box Tops when you see them. If you haven't already, be sure to download the Box Tops App so that you can scan your receipts and earn money for our school instantly! We're only a little more than $250 away from raising $1000 in Box Tops this year!!
AMAZON SMILE
Be sure to shop smileamazon.com so that .5% of all your purchases will go to the OC Taylor PTA. Log on to smileamazon.com and select PTA Texas Congress 1610 O C Taylor Elementary as your preferred charity. It's an amazingly easy way to earn money for our school!! Remember, you must log on to smileamazon.com every time you shop Amazon to ensure that your purchases earn money for our school.
Tom Thumb Good Neighbor Program
You can now earn money for our school simply by shopping for groceries at Tom Thumb or Albertson's! Designate O.C. Taylor PTA as your organization by completing a Reward Application at any courtesy booth. Fill in the top portion and the "Good Neighbor Program" section, indicating account number 8332 to link your grocery purchases to O.C. Taylor. If you already have a Rewards Card, simply stop by a courtesy desk to link our school to your existing account. Pharmacy, fuel, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products do not count toward the purchase amount credited to the Good Neighbor Program accounts. 1% of all eligible purchases made at Tom Thumb & Albertson's will be given back to our school! So far this year we've raised over $70 for our school just by shopping for groceries!
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Stay Connected at O. C. Taylor Elementary School
We have a number of ways to keep in touch with our school. Be sure to read, subscribe to and join these resources to get all the latest news.
Facebook: If you’re a Facebook member be sure to join the O.C. Taylor Elementary Facebook Group to get updates in your feed. This group is meant to provide another way to get news and updates.
Website: The school’s website has the latest news, updates, and calendars, as well as general information about the school, resources for parents, volunteer opportunity information, event information and ways to donate.
Twitter: We regularly post events and upcoming news on Twitter. Follow me on Twitter: @OCTYoung and follow our hashtag #OCT4U.