SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Yet more fun during Spirit Week!

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: More Spirit Week photos

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Spirit, let's hear it!

The students and staff at Sixth Grade Academy had loads of fun during Spirit Week.

SGA had Twin Day, Sports Shirt Day, Crazy Hair Day, Mismatch and Crazy Sock Day. The week ended with the Staff & Student basketball game.

There were also Minute-To-Win-It activities.

As usual the staff came out the winners of the basketball game.

HOOVER MIDDLE SCHOOL: Photos from the Hoover Garden Club

HOOVER MIDDLE SCHOOL: Mother's Day Sale begins this week

MCDOWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Mining for chocolate

McDowell Elementary School has been mining for chocolate!

Recently third-graders in Mrs. VanDerworp's class received an introduction into what a miner had to do to extract a precious metal from a rock. They were the lucky ones when they got to eat their project afterward!

MCDOWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Pupils witness chicks' birth

McDowell Elementary School has some new arrivals of the feathered kind!

This week in Ms. Bochenek's kindergarten class, the students got to witness chicks hatching out of their eggs. Some were black and some were yellow and all of them looked soft and cuddly.

Thanks to a grandparent of a student, the class has been able to see the cycle of a chick's birth right in their classroom.

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: April Fool's!

Here are two photos of what Ms. Evans’ World Language classes did on April 1. Poisson d' Avril in France is when kids stick paper fish on adults for an April fool’s trick. Students at the Sixth Grade Academy kids stuck fish on each other, as well. 

SIXTH GRADE ACADEMY: Thinking about Popsicle bridges ...

They have been thinking about Popsicles in Ms. Collins’ math class at the Sixth Grade Academy.

The Popsicle bridge lesson allows students to explore how engineering has impacted the development of bridges over time.  Students are encouraged to come up with innovative designs and challenged with creating their bridge. 

Primary bridge designs were studied and some of this learning was applied to the students' construction.  Students learned about civil engineering, planning and construction, working in groups and teamwork.

Evan Miller, Jacob Richardson, and Wyatt von Hoffman (and their almost completed bridge) and Chloe Krapohl, Brianna Yandrasitch and Aijalon Muhammad.

Afaq Chohan, Laiba Chohan, Kaycee Khuat, along with their nearly completed STEM bridge project. The second group of students is Robbie Hudzinski, Tatiana Howell, and Paige Nettleton.

RANDALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: PBIS winners dance the day away

At Randall Elementary School, last month’s PBIS Incentive was a grade-level class dance with a DJ.

Each grade came to the gymnasium on schedule and danced to the music. Everyone had fun – even the adults.

KINYON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: School welcomes 'Ladies of Harley' and poster contest victory

Kinyon Elementary School welcomed “The Ladies of Harley” recently to thank them for their donations to the Kinyon ASD Program.

Kinyon first- and second-graders, as well as the Kinyon Student Council, won the poster contest hosted by The Council for a Drug Free Taylor!

All Kinyon posters were on display at the annual Taylor Drug Free Day.

FROM THE NEWS-HERALD: Story on accreditation, plus photos from the presentation

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is The News-Herald Newspapers' story on the accreditation of the schools in the district, authored by Anne Runkle. Also included are photos from the event.)

A review team has recommended that seven Taylor School District elementary buildings receive accreditation and all other district schools receive re-accreditation.



The recommendation by the team from AdvancED virtually assures the district’s schools will receive accreditation or re-accreditation by every major organization that grants that distinction, said Kathy Reifschneider, lead evaluator for AdvancED.



Supt. Diane Allen said the district’s high schools and middle schools, along with Randall and Myers elementary schools, were already accredited. She was pleased to be able to seek that distinction for the other seven elementary schools.



Wednesday’s recommendation, which was announced at the district offices before principals and other school administrators, marks the first time that all Taylor schools will be accredited.



“As you go through your career, you have those proud moments. This is certainly one of those proud moments,” Allen said at the conclusion of the review team’s presentation. Allen is retiring in June after 43 years of service to Taylor schools.



“It’s always nice when people from the outside come and tell us what a great job we’re doing. We already know that,” said John Reilly, Board of Education president.



Allen said she pursued accreditation as principal at Randall, a post she held until she became superintendent three years ago.



The AdvancED team visited 57 classrooms in six Taylor schools. The team looked at student performance, instructional quality, family engagement in education and other factors.



The review team scored Taylor schools above average in teaching and learning impact.



The team noted that the district could improve on long-range planning on budgets, facilities and other areas.



The team also said the district needs to improve communication with the community.



In addition to high praise for the district’s teachers, Reifschneider also wanted to compliment its children.



“We can’t say enough about your students,” she said. “They were polite; they were respectful.”