Tiger Time News
News from the O.C. Taylor Principal, Lisa Young
Young@Heart, February 12, 2017
Click here to see the digital version of Tiger Time News.
Here at O.C. Taylor, we Looooooove your children! We think they are GRRRRREAT! Thank you for reading our tweets about #OCTlove!
Our OCT Vision Committee visited two other campuses this week: Cannon Elementary's STEM campus and Dove Elementary's International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. Thank you to the parents that toured the schools with us. The Vision Committeewill not be meeting this week due to GCISD's Expo. We are rescheduling our meeting for Monday, March 30 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. and will finalize our vision statement. Our future is bright!
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
We LOVE your kids! #OCTlove
Pre-K
Kinder
1st
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
Specials
PPCD
Upcoming Events
Monday, February 13
8:30 Schroeder Orthodontics Visit PreK-2; 9:10 3rd-5th in gym
Superintendent Dr. Ryan visits
5:00-7:30 p.m. GCISD Special Programs EXPO... come hear about Pre-Kindergarten
CANCELLATION ... NO Vision Committee meeting due to GCISD EXPO
Tuesday, February 14
We LOOOOOOOOVE your kids!
1:55-2:55 Valentine parties K, 2-5;
1:00-1:45 First Grade Valentine Parties
10:00-10:40 PPCD AM Valentine Party
1:55 - 2:55 PPCD PM Valentine Party
Wednesday, February 15
3:00-3:55 Yearbook Group B
Thursday, February 16
Kindness Day wear Rachel’s Challenge shirt or blue or green shirt
2:55-4:00 Choir
Friday, February 17
1:45-2:45 5th Grade Adopt A Pilot (Cafeteria)
3:10-4:00 Running Club
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
3:10 Campus Excellence Committee
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
Running Club (3-4)
O.C. Taylor Tiger Update
GREAT NEWS!!! Thank you to our OCT Beautification Committee, and committee lead Betsy Dodson, for working on our beloved Tiger! The committee found a local artist who is able to refurbish our mascot, preserving the beauty and nostalgia of the beautiful mosaic tiles! Our Taylor Tiger will be out for at least a month, but will be back in full glory soon!
Once he returns, it will be *very important* that we ALL STRICKLY ADHERE to the NO TOUCHING/NO CLIMBING RULE going forward. The body/shell is made of only of fiberglass, which has slight give/flexibility, so any weight on the statue will cause the grout to crack and breakdown, which leads to loosening of the tiles. This MUST become our new expectation. Lets all help hold each other accountable to preserve him for many years!!
REQUEST- if anyone is in the landscaping and/or landscape design business, the committee is looking for help to re-design the landscape in the bed around the tiger! They also would love a resource for purchasing high-quality plants at a reasonable price! Please contact Betsy Dodson with suggestions. betsy.dodson@gmail.com
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.
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 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 February: Monitor ALL Online Activity Closely
When it comes to online safety for children and preteens, there is no substitute for good, old-fashioned parental vigilance. And at this age, safety is more important than privacy. It is your duty as a parent to protect your child. Please schedule time in your planner to regularly monitor your child's browser's web history. There are many different browsers available. Be sure to check them all: Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, or other browsers.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Fundraiser, Weds., Feb. 22
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 Special Programs EXPO, including GCISD Pre-K, February 13
Cross Timbers Middle School
2301 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
GCISD Kindness Day is February 16
This is the day we promote kindness and compassion across the district. We are encouraging everyone: students, staff, parents, board members, and community members to wear a Rachel's Challenge Shirt (or a green shirt) on this day.
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.