Saturday, May 2, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
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.”