March 2014 Taylor Elementary

Taylor Times

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Music & Kindergarten…………..2-3

Art & First Grade………………….4-5

Second & Third Grade …….…....6-7

Fourth & Fifth Grade …….….…..8-9

P.E. & K Registration……...……10-11

Preschool & Library ………….…12-13

PBIS & Counselor Corner…....14-15

Lunch Menu…………………....…….16

MARCH EVENTS

4– Healthy Families Night

5:50-7:30 p.m.

5– Kindergarten field trip to

Mercy Medical

6– Make-up date for Jan 7

6– 3rd grade Clay field trip to

Coe 1:00-2:00

14– K/1 Music Program 2:50

18– PTA Meeting 4:00

20-28 Spring Break

APRIL EVENTS

2-Preschool Open House for

2014-15 11:00-1:00

2-11– Iowa Assessments

(formerly ITBS)

9– Early Dismissal 1:30

30– Early Dismissal 1:30

CHECK OUT PAGE 11 FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT KINDERGARTEN & PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION FOR NEXT YEAR

March 4, 2014, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Bring the whole family for healthy, fun educational

activities, a soup supper, door prizes and a chance to win a

grand prize! All food and activities are free of charge!

Prizes include: YMCA Family membership, tickets to a Titan’s football game, an overnight stay at the Cedar Rapids Marriot, sports equipment, books, games, and much more.

MUSIC NEWS

2

Third-Fifth graders have been working on specific

Student Learning Expectations with Recorders

during the Month of February. These include- “I

can play rhythms on instruments in beat patterns of

two and three”, “I can play music on instruments

with appropriate dynamics, tempos, and phrasing”,

and “I can play the pitches of the C Major scale.”

Breath control, posture, and proper hand position

were an important focus as well.

We are now starting a unit with the xylophones and

glocks, referred to as “Orff” instruments after Mr.

Carl Orff.

*Reminder*

Kindergarten/First Grade

Music Program 2:50 p.m.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Taylor Gym

Kindergarten students enjoyed fun parties on

Valentine’s Day. We would like to thank all the

parents who provided treats and came in to

help with our parties. We appreciate your

support!

3

KINDERGARTEN

The Illusion of Space

4th and 5th grade stu-

dents are creating art

work based on the ideas of

Artists Bridget Riley

and MC Escher

All 3rd grade students will be taking a

Field Trip on March 6th, to Coe College to

see our 3RD GRADE CLAY EXHIBIT. If

you would like to Chaperone, please

contact your child’s teacher or Ms.

Crawford @ Ext. 1972

3rd Grade News

FIRST GRADE

Watch It Go!

First grade students have been busy

reading, writing, and studying about

different forms of transportation! In the

pictures below, first grade students show

off their team created models of

transportation.

SECOND GRADE

6

The 2nd graders took part in an Immigration Simulation. The

students became immigrants and got a glimpse of what it

must have been like for them on their long, difficult journey to

America. They visited stations like Registration, Baggage,

Medical, Interview, Passport Room, etc. At each stop, they

were interviewed by an immigration officer (staff member)

and then if everything checked out, their passport was

stamped and they were allowed to continue on and

eventually make it to America. Some got to experience what

it was like to be deported instead. (pictures coming next month!)

School Policy Reminder (from the School Handbook calendar)

Leave Electronics at Home

We are asking that no electronic devices be brought to school like gaming devices (Nintendo DS,

etc.), MP3 players, cell phones, etc. and we appreciate the help of parents in making sure these

valuable items stay at home. When these types of items are brought to school, it usually only results in

bad things happening: interruption to instruction, theft, damage to the item and such. If an electronic

item is brought to school, it will be collected by staff and secured in the office. The item will be

available to be picked up by the student or a parent after the school day has ended. Students will not

be allowed to use cell phones during the school hours. If any electronic device is missing, the school

district is not responsible.

7

Beach

day in

Mrs.

Lucas-

Carr’s

class. They earned 25

paws applauses. Way to

go being ready,

respectful, and

responsible. Learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation

on the laptops in Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s class with Mr.

Drew’s help. We know how to add slides, text,

pictures, and color!

8

Jefferson basketball player, Lucas

Larson, teaching about respecting

others’ point of view.

Q

U

A

L

I

T

Y

9

Mock Rocks

Will someone please turn off the freezer

outside!!!!!!!

P.E.

10

GYM SHORTS

Taylor Students enjoyed fun with scooters and jump roping during the month of February in PE.

REMINDER-

DON’T FORGET TO SEND STUDENTS TO SCHOOL WITH GYM SHOES ON P.E. DAYS!

KINDERGARTEN AND PRE SCHOOL REGISTRATION

DATE: Friday, March 7, 2014

TIME: 7 am – 7 pm

LOCATION TO REGISTER: Cedar Rapids Community School District

Educational Learning Services Center

2500 Edgewood Road NW, Cedar Rapids, IA.

Registering your kindergarten or preschool age student is a bit different this year. In the past you have been asked to report to your neighborhood elementary school to register however this March the Cedar Rapids Community School District is inviting families to the Educational Learning Services Center to register your kindergartener or preschooler for the 2014/2015 school year.

The process for registering is as follows:

Kindergarten Registration:

If your child is 5 years old or will be 5 on or before September 15, 2014 and you would like to register them for the 2014/2015 school year as a kindergartener, you will need to have with you your child’s birth certificate and immunization record and report to the Educational Learning Services Center, located at 2500 Edgewood Road NW, Cedar Rapids, between 7 am and 7 pm. FYI: Cindy will be at the ELSC between 5 pm and 7 pm.

Preschool Registration:

If your child is 3 or 4 years old or will be 3 or 4 on or before September 15, 2014, Cedar Rapids Early Learning Preschool will have registration materials available at the Education Learning Services Center, Friday, March 7, 2014 for the 2014/2015 school year. You will need to bring with you the child’s birth certificate, immunization record and proof of income. Priority enrollment will be given to families qualifying as low income.

Documents you will need to have for registration:

Birth Certificate Immunization record Proof of income (preschool only)

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PRESCHOOL

12

In February we learned about different feelings and cele-brated Valentines Day. Our party was a big success. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered. Students had fun

playing balloon toss, musical hearts, Valentine BINGO, bowling, and decorated a heart.

Upcoming Events

Preschool and Kindergarten Registration will be on Friday,

March 7th at the Educational Leadership and Support Center.

On March 14th, we will be taking a field trip to the Iowa

Children’s Museum in Coralville.

13

MESSAGE IN A MINUTE FROM THE

TAYLOR LIBRARY!

K & 1st-Digital Citizenship and staying safe online have been our focus the last few of weeks!

In a neat Disney video, Timon and Pumba “shared” some important topics with the

students including what kinds of items should and shouldn’t be shared online, being kind

online and more! After several other lessons regarding this topic students were able to

“show what they know” by holding up a smiley face for something they should share online

and a sad face for something they shouldn’t. Several electronic and print books were read

to the students about being a good digital citizen as well as books related to classroom

topics.

2nd-3rd-Second graders have started a collaborative, country research project in relation to

an immigration unit being taught. Third graders have also begun research with a partner

on a habitat of their choice which allows students to further explore a topic previously and

become more knowledgeable prior to animal home topics coming soon. Students are using

the Super 3 research process (Plan-Do-Review). They have completed several lessons in

preparation for research including one lesson on plagiarism and one using various features

such as the table of contents, index, headings and more in print and online resources.

4th-Students in fourth grade learned a song to help them become familiar with the Big 6

research process. They also used Ipads for a collaborative lesson using plagiarism

scenarios. Soon we will begin using the skills learned in a research project.

5th-Fifth graders have also been learning about being good digital citizens. Commonsense-

media.com has some neat videos and activities that we have discussed and worked on. We

have also been reading sections of fiction books from various genres to generate interest in

reading a variety of books.

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Dylan Patrick

Isaiah Pearson

Jazall Pearson

Jazmarie Pearson

Destri Pledge

Kesean Pledge

Lena Randle

Allison Riley

Autumn Riley

Emily Shireman

Tylor Shireman

Dominic Souza

Gideon Thompson

Franklin Varner

Ariana Villa

Michael Walford

Alieyah Walter

Star Wegner

Sheri Werth

Ayden Williams

Samuel Williams

Samantha Wilson

Ian Woods

David Young

Kemonee Zeigler

2nd Trimester Attendance Awards

Perfect Attendance

(0 absences, 0 tardies, enrolled 61 days)

Amira Abdallah

Jae Amos

Mason Bahls

Cynthia Beltz

Orhian Benford

Christina Curd

Hunter Edwards

Niklas Erickson

Alaysia Fulton

Antonio Gales-Woods

Shaunie Harden

Dane Harvey

Trey Hesler

Jaden Hodges

Jermane Keener

Emma Mixdorf

Trevor Nash

Jeremy Olhauser

Desmon Rathje

Alexander Scaglione

Keirsten Sloan

Shamir Stevens

Tyler Walters

Shanya Watson

Avery Williams

Ashanti Bivens

Trinitee Brown

Tristan Bond

Riley Clements

Landon Condon

Madisen Cooper

Michael Daniels

Aidan DeJesus

Ethan DeJesus

Gavin DeWitt

Nolan Drager

Aaron Etheridge

Brody Edwards

LaKhiya Hardeman

Jazmin Haynes

Josephine Hernandez

Avonus Hodges

Molly Jones

Sarah Jordan

Ekrem Malikic

Samuel Miranda

Sydney Munz

Harley Murray

Aiden Osborn

Cheyenne Patrick

Excellent Attendance

(1 absence, 2 or less tardies)

15

Non-Discrimination Statement

It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319-558-2421; jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. Students and others should contact Ken Morris, Manager of Student Equity, 319-558-1504; kmorris@cr.k12.ia.us. The District mailing address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.

COUNSELOR CORNER We’ve been studying Kindness this month at Taylor School. In a recent guidance lesson

we watched a short video. Below is a reflection from a student. Check it out!

I think that this story was about a person that made other peoples life better when

he did not have his own life. He cared for others and did things to make their life better

like giving other homeless people things like coffee, money, and hope. He really cared

about these people, when he did not have a home or money. But he really made a

change in other peoples life. Hopefully one day the same will happen to him.

I felt that if I were in his shoes I would do the same. He took risks when he did

not have his own things. The thing that I learned is that no matter what you have you

can change the world. That’s what he did.

by Kayla Wallace

Link to the Movie:

http://www.flickspire.com/

m/share_this/

ChangeForADollar