Tiger Time News
News from the O.C. Taylor Principal, Lisa Young
Young@Heart, February 19, 2017
Click here to see the digital version of Tiger Time News.
On behalf of the OCT faculty and staff, I thank PTA and our OCT parents for the staff Valentine treats! We felt so loved and appreciated. The candies, cookies, cakes, fruit, and snacks were amazing! Thank you for thinking of us! We have the best families! #octlove
As always, my email inbox is open. Let me know what your little Tiger needs!
To the greatest of days,
Principal Young
Email: lisa.young@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=16665
Location: 5300 Pool Road, Colleyville, TX, United States
Phone: (817) 305-4870
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OC-Taylor-Elementary-School-361871583888299/
Twitter: @OCTYoung
Monday, February 20
NO SCHOOL for kids. Teachers and staff will be learning and developing ourselves to better meet the needs of your children.
Tuesday, February 21
5:15 p.m. CMS and CTMS Showcase/Open House at both campuses (5th Graders)
Wednesday, February 22
3:00-3:55 Yearbook (Group A)
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Fundraiser... bring your family and come eat dinner with us!
Thursday, February 23
2:55-4:00 Choir
Friday, February 24
2:55 Spirit Shop
3:10-4:00 Running Club
Monday, February 27
3:00-4:00 Chess Club (Learning Commons)
3:10-4:30 Campus Excellence Committee (B7)
Tuesday, February 28
Spring Pictures - Group Pictures
Wednesday, March 1
Boosterthon Kick-off
3:00-3:55 Yearbook (Group B)
6:00-6:40 GMS STEM for 5th graders
Thursday, March 2
Dr. Seuss' Birthday and Read Across America Day
2:55-4:00 Choir
Friday, March 3
Kindergarten Art Awareness
2:00 Kindergarten Rodeo
3:10-4:00 Running Club
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Fundraiser, Weds., Feb. 22
Read Across America Day, Thurs., March 2
Students at O. C. Taylor will join millions of their peers across the country to celebrate the sixteenth annual National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America Day on
Monday, March 2, 2017.
NEA's Read Across America Day, which celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday and the joys of reading, expects more than 45 million readers, both young and old, to pick up a book and read.
To honor the good doctor and celebrate the fun and value of reading, we are asking you to join NEA and many of America's leading literacy, youth, and civic groups in bringing a nation of readers together under one hat -- the red and white stovepipe made famous by the Cat in the Hat -- for a flurry of reading excitement!
Our goal is to show our children the joy of reading and build a community of readers -- on March 2nd and every day.
Mark Your Calendar!
We will be hosting O.C. Taylor’s Portrait of a Graduate Community Showcase (formerly Open House) on Thursday, March 9! More information to come. Make plans to attend this exciting evening.
O. C. Taylor Winners of the GCISD "Love Your Device" Contest
Technology Services appreciates the time our students took on their "Love Your Device" contest. Congratulations to our OCT contest winners:
- Tanya Devireddy: Best Elementary Poster
- Sophia Alfaro, Annie Clark and Kyra Dolgin: Multimedia Winner
- Angela McCullough: partner-movie
- William Scoggins: slideshow
- Olivia Holt, Emma & Victoria: Pic Collage
Click here to see all GCISD contest winners.
OCT UPDATES
Yearbook Sales and Yearbook Ads Message from Mr. K
If you missed out on yearbook sales, you can still go online at www.community.pictavo.com to order your yearbook. I will leave this open until we ship off the final draft of our yearbook. Also, yearbook is looking for pictures of last year's Field Day, last year's Egg Drop, and any field trip, party, or candid pics from your child's grade. Go to community.pictavo.com and share them in the appropriate folder. You can also email them to corey.kowalewski@gcisd.net.
Yearbook ads are here! Yearbook ads will be running from February 6th-February 20th. Yearbook ads are a message you send to your child regarding how proud you are of them, how awesome they are, or some other endearing statement, along with whatever computer design you wish to embellish the ad with. Yearbook ads should be formatted in a .gif or .jpeg format in the highest resolution you can provide. Squares will be 2.25 inches x 2.25 inches and will cost $15 a square. We can sell multiple squares in various vertical and horizontal combinations.
There will be 12 total squares per page. Email Mr. K with your ad and send your check in made out to OCT. No ads will go in without the check for payment. Ads will be placed on a first paid, first placed basis. Any questions you have regarding ads can be directed to corey.kowalewski@gcisd.net.
A Note From Our Nurse Katy
To healthy kids and healthy homes,
Nurse Katy
A Note From Our Librarian, Mrs. Bonacci
Would you like FREE audio books for your family?
Studies show the importance of building vocabulary to improve reading proficiency and student achievement. In fact the root cause of reading problems is a lack of vocabulary. Students who are read to for five minutes each day add approximately 282,000 words to their vocabulary per year. Compare this to the 1,800,000 words per year that students are exposed to when they are read to for 20 minutes every day and you can see the obvious advantage these students have over their peers!
Audiobooks are a great way students can increase their vocabulary. Click here to learn how you and your family can access free audiobooks.
A Note From Our Gifted-Talented Teacher, Mrs. Griffin
A Note From Our Counselor, Mrs. Whisman
Technology Tip for Week of February 19: Learn the Lingo
Kids today have their own online language, and you can't decode a text or instant message. If you still don't know what LOL means, time to learn! Need a cheat sheet? Stay informed with this long list of Teen Chat Room Acronyms or get help from this article on Interpreting Internet Slang and Symbols.
Cross Timbers Middle School and Colleyville Middle School Showcase and Open House, February 21
GCISD DISTRICT FLYERS & INFORMATION
Transfer Process
On Monday, January 23, Trustees approved changes to local board policies that impact the GCISD student transfer process for residents and nonresidents. In previous years, families interested in applying for a transfer were admitted based on the order in which the application was received and if they met specific board criteria for the transfer. During the week of April 24, GCISD will livestream the lottery on the district website. There will be a delay in an official notification, but families can check their lottery number to see if it was pulled for a more efficient notification. Once a specific date and time for the lottery has been determined, that information will be shared on the district website and in the district's e-newsletter, The LEADer. It is important to note this lottery is separate from the special programs lottery for one of the district's special programs located at a designated campus.
Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, families that reside within GCISD boundaries or live in the cities of Colleyville and Grapevine but are zoned for another school district, may apply for the transfer lottery.
"By moving to a lottery system, we are making the process more equitable for families that wish to have their student transfer to another campus," said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Rick Westfall. "Our goal with this adjustment to the transfer process is to create a system that simplifies the process for our families and removes the ambiguity from the transfer process."
From March 20 - April 21, families may submit their transfer application for the lottery. While the district will accept all transfer applications, students will only be granted transfers to campuses and grade-levels that can accept more students without going over capacity. Decisions about capacity will be made later in the semester and throughout summer depending on student registration and enrollment projections. In order to apply for the lottery, the student requesting the transfer must meet the following criteria:
Another benefit to the newly revised policies is that nonresident transfers no longer have to reapply every school year. Instead, both residents and nonresidents will only need to reapply when they are changing a level (i.e. from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school).
For more information about the GCISD transfer lottery, please visit the district website.
GCISD Pre-Kindergarten Registration 2017-18, April 17-21 (Late hours on April 18)
You are invited to GCISD Pre-K Registration for the 2017-18 school year on April 17- 21 from 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. or on April 18 (late hours) 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Language Assessment Center
3050 Timberline Drive
Grapevine, TX 76051
817-251-5231
GCISD is Now Hiring! Join the GCISD TEAM!
Many opportunities are available in our auxiliary departments:
- Nutrition Specialists -PT w/ benefits – work while your students are in school!
- Kidzu Site Aide – PT w/benefits – this schedule works well for local college students!
- Night Custodians
- Bus Drivers & Monitors
- Maintenance Engineers
Apply online at: www.gcisd-k12.org
GCISD Reads District-wide Program
https://www.smore.com/cyf5c-gcisd-reads
School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)
GCISD - Building Excellent Schools Together
GCISD LEAD 2021- BUILDING EXCELLENT SCHOOLS TOGETHER!
The mission of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is to be THE BEST and through the district’s strategic plan, called LEAD 2021, we continue building on the foundation started in 2011-2012. LEAD stands for Leading Excellence – Action Driven. For more information about LEAD 2021, please visit the district website. There are some exciting educational experiences going on in GCISD!
GCISD’s WHY?
Redefining Education because your future matters today!
GCISD’s Portrait of a Graduate
Skilled Problem Solvers
Communicators
Global Citizens
Self-regulated Learners
Collaborators
O.C. Taylor PTA Website
PTA Website: Please visit the PTA website – www.octaylorpta.com.