Tiger Time News
News from the O.C. Taylor Principal, Lisa Pedevilla
October 19-23, 2020
Dear O.C. Taylor Families,
We invite you to support our OCT PTA by purchasing a Boo Bucket for your child! We also invite you to purchase a class shirt this year for your child and for yourself to show your Tiger Spirit. (See PTA section below for more information.)
Tomorrow is our "Third 1st Day of School!" If you are just now attending your first day of school, please let us know upon arrival tomorrow. We want to warmly greet you! There will be teachers assisting and directing students where to go. You may want to leave earlier in the morning since we will be having more cars and students.
If you have not already, be sure to read our 2NW Remote Plan and our 2NW In-Person Plan. We want your child to have the best experience possible despite our current conditions.
To the BEST of days,
Principal Pedevilla
Email: lisa.pedevilla@gcisd.net
Website: http://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
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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.
Important Dates
Monday, October 19
Third 1st Day of School
Wednesday, October 21
National Unity Day - wear orange
Breast Cancer Awareness Day - wear pink
Monday, October 26 - Red Ribbon Week
O.C. Taylor is "PAWS"-ITIVELY Drug Free! Wear your tiger gear or OCT colors!
Tuesday, October 27 - Red Ribbon Week
Follow your dreams! SAY No To Drugs! Wear your school-appropriate PJ's!
Spring Creek BBQ Spirit Night Fundraiser - Please see flier below for more details.
Wednesday, October 28 - Red Ribbon Week
O.C. Taylor Tigers TEAM UP Against Drugs - Wear your favorite sports jersey (or team colors)
Thursday, October 29 - Red Ribbon Week
Our Future is so BRIGHT! Wear college shirts and/or sunglasses.
Friday, October 30 - Red Ribbon Week
Show good CHARACTER! Wear your favorite storybook character costume!
(We will NOT be having our annual parade this year)
November 2-18
CogAT Testing Window for 2nd and 5th
November 2 & 3
Student Holiday/Staff Development
Assistant Principal Points from Mrs. Bailey
- PreK/ECSE, Kindergarten, and their siblings need to be dropped off and picked up in the Bus Loop. If your child needs assistance, a parent may park and exit their vehicle to help their child.
- 1st - 5th graders need to be dropped off and picked up in the front Tiger Loop.
- Place your school-issued dismissal sign in the front dashboard of your vehicle, so that staff members can easily verify the name(s) of the child(ren).
- Please remain in your vehicle at all times, unless you are assisting your child in the Bus Loop only.
- Parking lots remain closed to all visitors.
Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students and staff safe and healthy!! We love all of our Tigers!
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Attendance
In an ongoing effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to provide families with the opportunity to make health and safety decisions based on real-time data, we have permitted students who selected in-person learning to move to remote at any time by simply contacting their counselor. While there are families that have made this adjustment for health and safety reasons, our campuses have experienced an influx in students not reporting for in-person instruction for a variety of other reasons. At the elementary level not all classes are blended, so when a student is absent it puts a high level of strain on our teachers ability to instruct the in-person and the remote student at the same time.
Beginning with the second-nine week grading period, the following attendance changes will be implemented:
If a student misses five consecutive days of in-person instruction, or five days total during a three-week period, they will be moved into remote instruction for the remainder of that grading period.
If a student is unable to attend school they will be required to complete their work asynchronously.
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Saving Work in Seesaw
You have the opportunity to download any or all of your Tiger's activities from Seesaw! The end of each nine weeks would be a prime time to do so to capture the entire quarter's worth of work and to prevent any possibility of losing any during the roll-over into the next nine weeks. At this time, you are guaranteed access and the ability to save archived (completed) student activities today through Tuesday night, 10/20/20. The directions to do so are included HERE!
Please let Mrs. Whisman know if you have any further questions regarding the second nine weeks! She can be reached at stacy.whisman@gcisd.net and 817-305-4880.
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Thank - A - Teacher
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GCISD Assessment Guidelines 2020-21
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Updates from the Clinic, Nurse Katy
- What can I expect if my child gets sick at school?: If your child becomes sick during the school day (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc), they will be assessed in the Isolation Room. Our OCT Isolation Room is a large conference room in the front office, across the hall from Principal Pedevilla. I will wait with your student in the Isolation Room until you are able to pick them up. When you arrive at the school, you can call the front office or ring the bell and Iet us know you are here picking up. I will then escort your child out to your vehicle, but you will not see us coming out the front doors. In efforts to keep potentially contagious students away from healthy students and staff members, we will exit out the back doors that are closest to the Isolation Room and walk around to the front of the school.
- GCISD Health Services Reopening Guidelines: Please take the time to review these important slides. There are frequently asked questions/answers and other detailed information that you and your child need to know.
Health Screening for Students
All of our in-person learners' parents must pre-screen their student for signs and symptoms associated with COVID-19 before bringing your student to school. The signs and symptoms are to screen for are:
Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
Loss of taste or smell
Cough
Difficulty breathing
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Headache
Chills
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Shaking or exaggerated shivering
Significant muscle pain or ache
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
If your child demonstrates any of the above signs or symptoms, they must stay home, and you need to report to the campus nurse the signs or symptoms your child is exhibiting. In the event that your child has a fever, they must be kept home from school until they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. Please do not give fever-reducing medication and send your child to school. Additionally, please do not send your child to school if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are test-confirmed with COVID-19.
Face Masks/Face Shields
Students should have masks on before they get out of the car in the morning. If they are walkers, they should put their mask on before stepping onto school property. In the event students do forget their masks, they should have a back-up mask available in their backpack.
Masks are a required face covering: proper covering of nose and mouth. A gaiter (2-ply) fits this description
Shields are only allowed with approval as an alternative if the student has a mask exemption.
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Spring Creek BBQ Spirit Night - October 27
We encourage each family to place your order at least 24 hours prior to our Spirit Night. You can order online at springcreekbarbeque.com.
Teachers will be working 30 minutes shifts and delivering meals at curbside pickup. Come see your teachers and support O.C. Taylor Elementary!
Please click here for the Spring Creek BBQ flier.
Please click here for the Spring creek Rewards Program.
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GCISD Reads!
Our Tigers read SO MUCH that some of them completed the GCISD Reads Challenge over the summer! If your child has completed one of the challenges please encourage them to continue to grow as readers by participating in another one.
Information about the GCISD Reads Challenge can be found HERE.
Biblionasium- Our Digital Reading Log
Click HERE for more information!
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Updates from the Counselor, Mrs. Whisman
For more information about our monthly topic or for ways to get in contact with me, please click here for my newsletter.
Red Ribbon Week - October 26 - 30
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Student Fall Survey
In our last newsletter, I shared information with you regarding a student survey that we would be using to help grow social and emotional skills. I have received some questions from parents regarding the contents of the survey, so I wanted to provide you with sample questions from each section of the survey:
Goals and Challenges
How often do you stay focused on the same goal for more than 3 months at a time?
If you fail at an important goal, how likely are you to try again?
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your life?
What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
Your Class
How sure are you that you can complete all the work that is assigned in your class?
How sure are you that you can do the hardest work that is assigned in your class?
How sure are you that you will remember what you learned in your current class, next year?
Performance in School
Whether a person does well or poorly in school may depend on a lot of different things. You may feel that some of these things are easier for you to change than others. In school, how possible is it for you to change:
Being Talented
Giving a lot of effort
Behaving well in class
Your Behavior
During the past 30 days:
How often were you polite to adults?
How often did you come to class prepared?
How well did you get along with students who are different from you?
When others disagreed with you, how respectful were you of their views?
Learning
When you get stuck while learning something new, how likely are you to try to learn it in a different way?
How sure are you that you can figure out a good way to get your schoolwork done well?
Before you start on a challenging project, how often do you think about the best way to do it?
If you have additional questions regarding the student survey, please contact me at stacy.whisman@gcisd.net.
Changing Instructional Model
As a reminder, parents are able to switch from in-person to remote learning at any point during the school year. In order to make this change, please contact the campus counselor.
For families that are wishing to change from remote to in-person learning, that may only be done at the end of a grading period. The process for changing to in-person learning requires parents to log in to Skyward Family Access and complete the changing instructional models form prior to the end of the nine-week grading period. Instructions on where to find the form and how to complete it can be found here.
Below is a schedule of when the form will become available, when the form must be received by the campus, and when the change will go into effect:
To change after the first nine weeks, parents must complete the form between September 20 and October 2. Your student would begin receiving in-person instruction on October 19.
To change after the second nine weeks, parents must complete the form between November 15 and December 4. Your student would begin receiving in-person instruction on January 6.
To change after the third nine weeks, parents must complete the form between February 14 and February 26. Your student would begin receiving in-person instruction on March 22.
If you have any questions regarding the timing of when parents may change the instructional model selected, or the associated process, please contact me at stacy.whisman@gcisd.net.
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Updates from Art, Music and PE
Specials reminders:
Remote learners may connect with Specials teachers one day a week through LIVE Webex meetings for the first 15-20 minutes of their Specials time. Webex links are shared in the Specials Seesaw class.
Tuesdays - Mrs. Morgan (Art)
Wednesdays-Coach Mester (PE)
Thursdays-Mrs. Vencill (Music)
Holiday Greeting Card Art Contest
Students are invited to participate in the GCISD Holiday Greeting Card Art Contest.
Theme: Tis' The Season
Artwork size should be 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches or 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Artwork needs to be 2D and easy to scan. Students are only creating the front page of a greeting card.
Please submit art pieces with the attached form to Mrs. Morgan or to the Fine Arts Building; 4344 Heritage Avenue, Building B, Grapevine Tx, 76051.
Entries are due Thursday, November 19th.
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FREE Lunches
In-Person Learners: The USDA has issued a nationwide waiver, allowing Grapevine-Colleyville ISD to offer meals FREE at no charge through December 2020 at all elementary, middle school campuses, and Collegiate Academy.
On September 22, 2020, GCISD began providing free meals to students as part of the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program. Sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), this program will allow any student in elementary or middle school to receive a free breakfast and lunch meal in the school cafeteria.
Remote learners have the opportunity to pick up meals curbside every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at three locations: Cross Timbers Middle, Grapevine Middle, and Grapevine Elementary. All meals are free of charge until December 2020. For more information please visit www.gcisd.net or email child.nutrition@gcisd.net
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Elementary Parents
In order to be proactive in our delivery of education concerning human sexuality, our district uses several resources and programs for the elementary school health curriculum. These programs and resources will be presented throughout the school year. Parents may preview these programs during parent preview sessions.
For the Month of October, please click on the following link and use your student’s District Log In to access the appropriate video for your aged child.
4th Grade Girls: Just Around the Corner for Girls (2011)
https://safari.gcisd.net/?a=290066&d=45220AA
5th Grade Boys: Growing Up! For Boys
https://safari.gcisd.net/?a=290045&d=45315AA
5th Grade Girls: Growing Up! For Girls
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OCT PTA
Please be sure to visit the O.C. Taylor PTA website where you'll be able to fill out some important forms as well as pay your Homeroom Fund Fee (just $10), which helps pay for things during the year like Winter and Valentine's parties and an end of the year gift for the teachers. Our partnership with the PTA is critical for maintaining the exceptional culture we have here at O.C. Taylor!