Friday, April 24, 2015

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Working on area and circumference


Sixth Grade Academy students in Mr. Collins’ fourth-hour have been working on area and circumference of circles. 

The culminating activity is to make concentric circles using a compass.  One circle as a radius of ¼-inch and the other has a radius of 2-1/2 inches.  Students then have to come up with creative band names and song names with a mathematical theme. The entire class went above and beyond my usual high expectations.


Here are Kaycee Khuat, Hannah McAllister, and Elizabeth Nnangobya ...









Following is Laiba Chohan and Afaq Chohan and their projects.  The CDs are the culminating activity from a unit on area and circumference of circles.






RANDALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Time to plaster the principal!


Ready, set, throw … and paint the principal!

Students who sold at least 10 items during the school fundraiser received a recent chance to plaster Ms. Meszaros, the principal at Randall Elementary School.

On a warm day during the first week in April, the students lined up outside and threw foam balls, rolled in paint. The students aimed at the principal and loaded her up with paint.

One kindergartener was worried he was going to make Ms. Meszaros “sad” by getting paint on her, but was reassured that she was OK with the new paint job.

… The things principals do to make it fun for the students. Thanks to Ms. Meszaros. The staff at the school loves you!









SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Many thanks for the help!


The Sixth Grade Academy Drama teachers and students who participate in drama would like to send out a big "Thank You" to the Drama Teachers at Truman High School for letting our school borrow the costumes for "The Wizard of Oz "play.


Drama Teachers SGA: Angie Kinasz and Deb O’Connor.

TAYLOR PARKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: AR program shows success stories



The Accelerated Reader (AR) is an on-going program at Taylor Parks Elementary School to encourage students to not only read more but to comprehend what they have read. 

Students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 participate. After finishing a book (fiction or non-fiction), the student takes an Accelerated Reader quiz on the computer. Quizzes can be taken during regular classroom reading time, while in our library, or other times as arranged. Students earn points for every book read.  Each book that has a quiz is labeled with a reading level to help students choose the right book.

Mrs. Schmitt-Miller, second-grade teacher, has seen her students grow leaps and bounds because of the program.

"Students are so excited when they take their quiz and see the instant results of their efforts,” she said.

Students are tested every two months in her class and all are amazed at the growth in the level of reading.

After the quiz, the students are able to see their progress by the growing of a flower at the completion.

"The kids love that part" states Mrs. Schmitt-Miller.

Since the introduction of the Accelerated Reading program, students are reading more, reluctant readers are finding books to read and there are dramatic “turn-around” stories of students in all grade levels. 

Everyone at Taylor Parks applauds the efforts of every student who participates in the Accelerated Reader program.


HOLLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Happy Earth Day!


Happy Earth Day from Mrs. Madden's kindergarten friends at Holland Elementary School!



Thursday, April 23, 2015

ADVANCED EXTERNAL REVIEW TEAM says Taylor schools will earn accreditation across the board for the first time in the history of the district


According to an announcement by AdvancED External Review Team yesterday, all schools in the Taylor School District will be nominated for national accreditation. According to Supt. Diane Allen, it marks for the first in the district’s history that all schools will be accredited.

“This is a proud moment in my career,” she said yesterday.

The district welcomed six members of the AdvancEd External Review Team to the district April 19-22.  The six members were comprised of educators from Michigan, Florida, and Missouri.  The Taylor School District has spent the past two years preparing for AdvancED District Accreditation and their visit was the last step before earning accreditation. 

The panel spent endless hours interviewing students, teachers, administrators and others. The schools were numerically ranked in several key categories, and thus rankings compared favorably to the average rankings of schools across the nation previous accredited by the reviewers.

Accreditation allows all schools to have a common language of school improvement and supports a common accountability of requirements.  

The external review process ended Wednesday with a report to staffers, the Board of Education and others, and gave the district recognition of Powerful Practices, Opportunities for Improvement and Improvement Priorities. 

Talking Taylor Schools will post more, including photos of the presentation and The News-Herald Newspapers’ coverage of the event, in the very near future.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Class visits Holocaust Museum


The World Language classes from the Sixth Grade Academy recently were able to visit the Holocaust Museum in Southfield. The field trip was paid for by a grant from ADK. Thanks to Mrs. Evans, the World Language teacher, for planning this field trip.










ROTARY CLUB: Sweet Charities Auction is planned


TAYLOR PARKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Enjoying technology


Mrs. Abramas' class at Taylor Parks Elementary School enjoyed a technology lesson with Mr. Kaunelis, Taylor School District “Tech Guru.”  They explored different apps and learned to create a story using stickers, while recording their own voices.





TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL: DECA fundraiser scheduled

Check out this Truman High School DECA fundraiser: McTeachers Night at the '50s McDonald's, 4145 S. Telegraph. on May 5. Portions of the profits go to DECA and the Northwest Little League!


Sunday, April 19, 2015

EUREKA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Brainstormer session is popular


Here are scenes from the “Brainstormer” assembly at Eureka Heights Elementary School showcasing six students’ stories.






TnT 280: Robotics team is making waves!


Congratulations to Taylor’s robotics team, TnT 280.

The team have done an excellent job during this year's competition season, winning the district Chairman's Award and being named as Alliance Captains at both of their district events.

The team will be traveling to St. Louis to attend the FRC Championship event at the end of April to compete against 600 other teams from countries all over the world.

What is FRC? FRC stands for FIRST robotics competition, which is the high school version of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) program.

FRC asks students build a robot in six weeks that does a certain task. This year, the robot is required to play a game called Recycle Rush. In the game, the robot must stack totes and place a recycling bin on top of the stack, they can also put a pool noodle inside of the recycling bin for more points.

Good luck to Team TnT 280!.   
To learn more about the world of robotics, check out the

Also:


MCDOWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Acting out stories on bullying


The “Brainstormers” group recently returned to act out McDowell Elementary School’s five stories that were submitted about bullying. Students wrote about being safe, responsible and respectful. Everyone loved the showcasing of the students' talents.