THE SCHOOL SCOOP
What's Going On In The World Of Taylor Middle School
March
TMS Yearbook
The window is now open for purchasing Taylor Middle School 2022 - 2023 yearbooks. There are only 100 yearbooks available at this time. The deadline has been extended to MARCH 10TH! You can preorder by clicking on the image to the right and following the instructions for purchase. The price will be $20 plus fees/taxes for a total of $23.83.
TMS Literacy Events
Taylor Middle School is celebrating Read Across America with the rest of the nation, February 27th through March 3rd. Ten students signed up to read an excerpt from the Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You'll Go during morning and afternoon announcements each day.
In ELA classes on February 27th, students created and decorated bookmarks in the theme of our core value of Kindness emphasized in our Capturing Kids Hearts program.
TMS Students used positive affirmations, stickers with kindness quotes and personal creativity as they worked on their bookmarks. The bookmarks will be delivered later in the week to students at Sixth Grade Academy.
Science Olympiad
TMS Science Olympiad team was led out of town by LPD on Friday, February 24th. Ms. Huerta and the team, as well as LHS and Sixth Grade Academy teams, traveled to the State Competition held in Socorro, New Mexico. Select the picture to the left for a video from this past weekend!
Final Results: TMS was 12th overall out of 22 teams.
Codebusters - 7th Place
Valeria Martinez
Sebastian Gryder
Experimental Design - 7th Place
Jadyn Lackey
Alexis Delgado
Forestry - 9th Place
Jair Mendoza
Jesus Esparza
Meteorology - 9th Place
Diego Fuentes
Alexis Delgado
Rocks & Minerals - 10th Place
Wyatt Zarate
Marshal Arroyo
Storm the Castle - 3rd Place
Valeria Nevarez
Sebastian Gryder
Congratulations to the TMS SciOly Team & their coaches, Ms. Huerta & Ms. Stock!
English Expo
This year's English Expo will be the first of many for TMS students. The NMAA sponsored event was held Saturday, February 25th via Zoom. Some of the contests included those shown in the picture to the right.
The TMS English Expo Team had 15 competitors in their inaugural season. Our students won 13 medals in all, including TWO State Champions pictured below, Elida Garcia (Business Letters) and Ayleen Varela (Literature)!
The final results of the English Expo were announced as follows:
Posters:
5th Place - Alan Navarro
Written Presentation:
3rd Place - Diana Tavarez
4th Place - Jose Romero
Social Notes:
2nd Place - Leigha Vavak
Business Letter:
1st Place - Elida Garcia
5th Place - Leigha Vavak
Short Story Fantasy:
2nd Place- Valeria Najera
Literature:
1st Place - Ayleen Varela
2nd Place - Gabby Castillo
Listening:
2nd Place - Valeria Najera
4th Place - Ayleen Vavak
5th Place - Isaac Palomino
Vocabulary:
2nd Place - Jose Romero
Congratulations to these hard-working students and their awesome sponsors, Mrs. Starkey and Mrs. Velasquez! Thank you also to Mrs. Pillado for help judging the competition.
Tutoring
Lovington High School National Honor Society members are volunteering their time to help tutor TMS students on Wednesday afternoons. There was a good turnout for the first tutoring session on February 22nd and students reported that the help they received was really beneficial! Students are able to sign up for tutoring sessions by seeing Ms. Turnacliff. Availability is limited so students are encouraged to sign up early!
Valentine's Day
February 14th was a fun day at TMS! Teachers and students sported clothing of pink and red to celebrate Valentine's Day. There were lots of smiles and small gifts exchanged between students and their classmates.
Platinum Club
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOMS?
TMS Choir
The TMS Choir Concert is Thursday, March 2nd at Pannell Auditorium. The concert starts at 7:00 PM.
Mrs. Tiner and the TMS choir will be traveling to Artesia Wednesday, March 8 to compete in the Southeast Regional MPA competition. Good luck, Wildcats!
Advisory - Mindful Journaling
The TMS Advisory lesson of the week included Mindful Journaling this past week. Mindful journaling can improve students’ mental health. It can help shift their focus, explore what brings meaning to them, and clarify values and priorities.
Benefits include:
- Anxiety reduction
- Relief of depression and other mood disorders
- Stress management
- Eating disorder recovery
- Emotional expressions
- Improved clarity and problem-solving
- Healthy habit formation
- Goal setting and vision creation
This past week teachers selected three journaling prompts to write on a whiteboard. Students were encouraged to freewrite, a technique in which you write thoughts quickly and continuously, without worrying about form, style, or even grammar.
Mrs. Crawford - Science
Recently TMS 8th grade science students in Mrs. Crawford's class participated in a lab that investigated chemical reactions.
Ms. Castellanos and Mrs. Starkey - ELA / Advisory
Ms. Castellanos and Mrs. Starkey's 7th grade ELA classes collaborated on a fun team-building activity this past week during Advisory. These are vital skills for success beyond the halls of Taylor Middle School.
Career Exploration Classes
Students in Mr. Gomez's and Mr. York's career exploration classes have been enjoying guest speakers each week. The Career Chats are guests from our community speaking about their personal career path, education or training, and current occupations.
We are grateful to the following community members for sharing their stories with our students:
February 2 - Mrs. Karina Hernandez, Taylor Middle School - School Social Worker
February 7 - Mrs. Joann Miller, Allstate Insurance Agency - Owner
February 14 - Lonny Voyles, Chief Battalion and Members of Lovington Fire Dept.
February 24 - Jonathan Cabello, Graphic Design Nor-Lea
Thank you for sharing your time and story with our students!
Ms. Castellanos - ELA
Students in Ms. Castellanos' ELA classes are reading the book titled, Stand Tall by Joan Bauer. Tree, a six-foot-three-inch twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school.
TMS SPORTS
Cheer
The Taylor Cheer Team earned two Championship plaques at the Clovis and Artesia competitions these past few weeks. Their performances in Game Day and Cheer with Music were awesome!
Congratulations to the coaches and athletes on an undefeated season! Way to go, Wildcats!
At Clovis Competition
At Artesia Competition
Track & Field
TMS track and field season is under way as practices began February 6th. The first meet for our Wildcats was scheduled for February 28th at Clovis, but was canceled due to a transportation issue. We are looking forward to a great season of growth and improvement of times, heights and distances from TMS athletes. Good luck to the coaches and track athletes this spring!
TMS CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Media Club
Mr. Cabello and the TMS Media Club participants are looking for new members! Anyone interested is welcome to attend! Please contact Mr. Cabello with any questions.
The Media Club members have been streaming our Career Exploration Career Chats to the TMS YouTube channel. Thank you for all your help Trey Robinson, Rolando Rodriguez and Jordan Jurado!
Spanish Club
Members of the TMS Spanish Club together to study and prepare for the Spanish Spelling Bee. Sponsors Mrs. Delgado, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Aceves provided a list of words and assistance for the students. Good luck to all on March 7th!
Caring Cats
TMS Caring Cats met to assemble some special goodies for students and teachers. The members shared some love throughout the school on Valentine's Day.
COMING SOON...STAY TUNED!
Spanish Spelling Bee - March 7
Scholastic Book Fair - March 20 - 24
March to April - State Testing dates to be determined soon.
TMS Talent Show - April 21
Students interested in signing up may see Ms. Pillado for rules and details!
Scholastic Book Fair
Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them to become Bolder, Prouder, and Stronger Readers. AND—as always—every book they buy earns rewards for our school.
Here’s what you need to know about the Fair, which will take place from March 20-March 24 at Taylor Middle School Library. This year, say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy.
If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Online Book Fair. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Your online orders will also benefit our school.
Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping:
Taylor Middle School Scholastic Book Fair.
The countdown to more Bookjoy is on! Catch you at the Fair! Happy Reading!
WIDA Testing
TMS completed the WIDA testing this past week. Thank you to Mrs. Stacy Reeder, Mrs. Karla Campos, and Mrs. Torrie Astudillo for all of their hard work on the WIDA testing!
DATES TO REMEMBER
End of Grading Period
March 10 - End of 3rd Nine Weeks
Spring Break
March 13 - 17 - Spring Break - No School. School Resumes March 20.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 22 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - No School for Students