Tiger Time News
News from the O.C. Taylor Principal, Lisa Young
Young@Heart, February 26, 2017
Click here to see the digital version of Tiger Time News.
Many parents have expressed the desire to have more time to come together as an OCT community to visit and socialize, especially due to the increased security and locked-down culture in the recent years. Our staff formed an Open House committee and decided to meet your request; we will be hosting O.C. Taylor’s Portrait of a Graduate Community Showcase on Thursday, March 9 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. We invite you to visit your child's classroom and see some of the learning occurring. In addition to seeing your child's classroom and some of their work, we invite you to visit all of OCT while socializing and communing with others in our wonderful school community. We want this to be a beneficial and memorable time for your child and for you. Click here to see the event flyer.
As always, my office door and email inbox are 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 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
Monday, March 6
8:15 PTA Executive Board Meeting;
8:30 - 9:00; 10:00 - 10:30; 5:00 - 5:30; Pre-K Tours (Tell your friends to come see our Pre-K.)
3:00 - 4:00 Chess Club (B7)
Tuesday, March 7
12:30 - 1:00; 2:00 - 2:30 Pre-K Tours (Tell your friends to come see our Pre-K program.)
Wednesday, March 8
2nd Grade Field Trip (Dallas World Aquarium)
2:55 - 3:40 TTT
3:00 - 3:55 Yearbook (Group B)
Thursday, March 9
2:55 - 4:00 Choir
5:30 - 6:30 4th Grade Sky Ranch Meeting (Learning Commons)
5:45 - 6:30 Social time in the front of the school... come visit with your friends, eat (we have a food truck coming), and socialize with the OCT community and your friends.
6:30 - 7:30 Portrait of a Graduate Showcase/Open House
Friday, March 10
Boosterthon Fun Run
4th Grade Puberty Film (Girls)
3:10 - 4:00 Running Club
Say "Cheese!"
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.
Come See and Hear About Our OCT Pre-K
- 8:30 - 9:00;
- 10:00 - 10:30; or
- 5:00 - 5:30.
- 12:30 - 1:00; or
- 2:00 - 2:30.
Portrait Of A Graduate Community Showcase / Open House
Thursday, Mar 9, 2017, 06:30 PM
O C Taylor Elementary School, Pool Road, Colleyville, TX, United States
Many parents have expressed the desire to have more time to come together as an OCT community to visit and socialize, especially due to the increased security and locked down culture in the recent years. Therefore, we will be hosting O.C. Taylor’s Portrait of a Graduate Community Showcase on Thursday, March 9. We invite you to visit your child's classroom and see some of the learning occurring. In addition to seeing your child's classroom and some of their learning, we invite you to visit all of OCT while socializing and communing with others in our wonderful school community.
O. C. Taylor is Open! Come on in and visit!
We would love for you to see all of the great things happening at O.C. Taylor. Visit your child’s classroom and the following grade levels to see how they exemplify GCISD’s Portrait of a Graduate.
Pre-K
K - Texas Celebration
1st - Chatterpix / Research Showcasing Inventors
2nd - Mini-Breakout EDU
3rd - Wax Museum from 6:40-7:10 in the cafeteria and gym
4th - Sky Ranch Preview
5th - 6:30 Live version of Taylor Tiger News in each classroom on the big screens
Photo Booth
Visit our #theOCTway photo booth in the upper-grade Science Lab.
Specials Teachers
Visit with our Specials teachers by the gym.
Green Screen Room
Experience our Green Screen Room and take a look at our set-up.
Virtual Reality Goggles
Stop by the Learning Commons to try out our Virtual Reality Goggles.
Parent Pride
Take a sticky and show your parent pride on our posters located in the front.
Boosterthon Table
Stop by the Boosterthon table and make your last donation.
Art Room
Check out our awesome artwork in the hallway and draw a “selfie.”
Music
Stop by and scan the Music QR code to sing our school song.
Astronomy
Take a look through the telescope out front and see some cool moon craters.
Food Truck
Enjoy some food while visiting with others out front (5:45 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) provided by the Lean Machine.
School Breakfast Week
Nominate A Student Hero!
Click here to read more and access nomination forms.
Who Would You Most Like To Have Dinner With?
Who would you most like to have dinner with? Ponder this question and then watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wfbY3i4FY0&feature=youtu.be
OCT UPDATES
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: Follow Social Media Guidelines
I agree with Graber. Unfortunately, I have seen with my own eyes some of the many dangers and pitfalls of allowing children to have social media accounts. If you would like to have a personal conversation with me about these pitfalls, please let me know. Childhood is but a short, sweet time. There is plenty of time these children will have to connect via social media. In the meantime, go outside and play, bake together, and most importantly... snuggle up and read! #ChildhoodIsFleeting
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.