KINYON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Third-graders are ready for the Motor City Kitties!

Ms. Polidori and Mr. O'Neill's third-grade classes from Kinyon Elementary School showed off their spirit by wearing his or her Detroit Tiger's apparel.  

Go TIGERS!!!

HOLLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Musical rolls out the red carpet

Holland Elementary School first-graders performed like professionals recently!


The students put on an award-winning musical show for their parents and other guests. Students played rhythm instruments, xylophones, triangles and tambourines as they sang and danced to some well-known tunes.  

They performed a new version of "I'm a Little Teapot" and discovered that they were really sugar bowls. Parents and guests had a great time and it felt like a "Red Carpet" event with the paparazzi of cameras.

HOLLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Assembly forces students to do their homework

Who am I?

At the monthly Holland Elementary School-wide writing assembly, students, staff, parents and other guests had fun figuring out who each student wrote about, based on some great clues.

Each student did research to find out all they could about a famous person, from the past or currently living, and then wrote about the person.  

Famous people chosen included George Washington, Katy Perry, Mohammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks and Spongebob Squarepants.

It made for a very fun and topical event and the children really enjoyed the assembly!

HOLLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Storybook characters rock the luau!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 rock the "Literacy Luau."

Holland Elementary School was represented by some famous characters at the recent "Literacy Luau" sponsored by the Taylor School District.

The Cat in the Hat was at Holland's table with his side kicks, Thing 1 and Thing 2. They greeted everyone with a rhyme and an invitation to pick a prize from the table. They put a smile on every face that walked stopped by.

Holland's second grade pupils did an awesome job performing a few musical selections for the crowd. They sang, danced and played rhythm instruments with the second graders from McDowell Elementary School.

KINYON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: First-grade classes listen to the mayor

Mayor Rick Sollars spend a portion of Friday, March 28, at Kinyon Elementary School.  

As part of the "March is Reading Month" celebration at Kinyon, Mayor Sollars read "The Cat in a Hat" to three first-grade classes taught by Kristina Zwolenski, Jennifer Rosiak and Jody Seigel. 

The mayor was quizzed by the pupils after he read the book. They asked him questions like "How to you run the city?" and "How fun is your job?" and "How old are you?" and even "Are you Superman?" which received plenty of laughs. 

At the end of the mayor's presentation, Principal Susan Thurston-Dunckel led the first-graders in a rousing rendition of the Kinyon fight song.

TOMMIE SAYLOR: Yes, Natasha, I miss teaching too ...

“I miss learning.”  

Natasha Loomis

By Tommie Saylor

Kennedy High School Principal

Natasha, a charming young lady, made the above statement after experiencing her first few days of middle school. She is not a Taylor student, but the sentiment expresses a longing felt by millions of middle and high school students across our nation.  Schools today seem to be so caught up in the quagmire of unfunded mandates, constant standardized testing, and endless “red tape” in the name of accountability, that the primary focus of why we exist has been relegated to a secondary role. Well Natasha, I miss teaching, too.

Those of us in the field of education became teachers because we wanted to make a difference.  We envisioned rows of eager students sitting before us hanging on our every word, wanting nothing more but to absorb all our knowledge and wisdom.  We thought that teaching was about learning, and our responsibilities as teachers began and ended with lesson plans, seating charts, and curriculum.  What we got was much different.  

Today, schools are expected to raise the children of our communities. We feed them breakfast, lunch, and we even have after-school programs that feed them dinner.  We arrange for transportation, sometimes by bus, cab and sometimes we cart them around in our own vehicles.  We clothe those in need and offer medical, dental, and vision care. We offer counseling and social work services, and provide structure and discipline that most do not get at home.  We offer recreational opportunities, social gatherings like Prom and Homecoming, and trips to places that they would otherwise never have the chance to visit.  

We offer vocational training, career counseling, and in some cases employment; and when we must, we are their protectors and advocates. When we have the time, we try to squeeze in some learning.

I miss teaching. I miss spending my days focused on methodology, pedagogy and pacing guides.  Instead we spend so much of our time on supplementing vs. supplanting, sign-in/agendas/evaluations, etc. that we no longer have the time to worry about learning.

I feel your pain Natasha. I long for the days when a school was all about teachers teaching and students’ learning.  When quality was more important than quantity, when creativity was more important than standardization, when teachers were respected and treated as professionals.  I long for the days when calling home sent shocking waves of despair through a student’s heart. The day when showing a student that you were disappointed in them meant something, when students took ownership in their learning, and when parents believed what the teacher had to say trusting that they are trying very hard to look out for their child’s best interests.

I miss teaching. I miss schools having local control and not being dictated to by bureaucrats and politicians who have absolutely no expertise in how to educate today’s youth.  I miss education being a “sacred cow” as opposed to a political tool.  I miss the warm fuzzy feeling when a student’s eyes would light up as they finally got it, as opposed to the anxiety of waiting for MEAP/MME scores to finally arrive.

I miss being evaluated based on my own merits, as opposed to being judged by the efforts of others.

Simply Natasha, I understand. But please do not give up!  

Rest assured that there are many of us fighting for you, for all students, and we will not stop until we get this thing right, until no longer an empowered young lady filled with such promise and potential like yourself feels the urge to say … “I miss learning.”

Remember, their future is in our hands/ Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence by design.

KINYON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Student Council names its heroes

The Kinyon Elementary School Student Council participated in the Drug Free program. 

The theme this year is "Who is Your Hero?" 

The Student Council named Ms. Nancy and Ms. Colleen as their heroes! The two heroes work in the Kinyon cafeteria and help with the busses. 

The Drug Free program is in April.