Tiger Time News
February 3 - February 7, 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mr. Schilleci
OCT Families,
We had an amazing week last week at OCT finishing up interim testing and having a blast at Snow Hill on Saturday! A huge thank you to the Dad's Club for organizing such an awesome event for our tigers!
We are looking forward to our first full week in February! Please continue to keep an eye on your Tiger's health and follow Nurse Katy's recommendations for when they are sick. We had a very high amount of students and staff out last week.
Thank you to everyone that volunteered to sub and help around our campus last week while we were short handed! You really made a difference and we appreciate you!
Best,
Principal Schilleci
Principal Schilleci's Weekly News
SCHOOL START TIME REMINDER: School starts at 7:40. It is important that the students are in their classrooms at 7:40 for the beginning of instructional time. Our staff who is holding doors open have students waiting on them in their classrooms so they will be closing the doors right at 7:40 to get to their students.
Please enter through the front doors at the tiger loop and check in through the front office if you arrive at 7:40 or later. Thank you!
NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELORS' WEEK: Let's celebrate our awesome counselor Ms. Holley and all of the amazing things she does for OCT this week by wearing the following:
Monday- Team Attire
Tuesday- Your Favorite Outfit That Represents You
Wednesday- Athletic Wear
Thursday- PJs
Friday- OCT Gear
*And make sure you tell Ms. Holley Happy School Counselors' Week!!!
VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES, 2/13: We will not be signing up for FAST Passes this year for Valentine's Day Parties. We typically end of throwing half of them away due to them not being claimed. Please feel free to stop by anytime leading up to February 13th to get your ID badge from a Kiosk. Otherwise you may end up having to wait in line on February 13th.
The parties will begin a 2:00 on February 13th in your student's classrooms or designated location which will be communicated by your PTA GLC or classroom teacher.
FOR KINDER PARENTS, 2/4: The 100th Day of School is approaching! We will celebrate with our annual 100th Day of School Parade this Tuesday, February 4th beginning at 7:50 AM.
We will not be using a FAST Pass this year. And we will keep a close eye on the weather as we approach the 4th. For now, we are planning on parading outside. Please see this map to show where you can post up to see your tiger in the parade.
BAD WEATHER MAKE UP DAY, 2/14: Please make note that Friday, February 14th is a bad weather make up day! There will be no school for students or staff
RECOGNIZE EXCELLENCE WITH STARS OF GCISD: Do you know a GCISD employee who goes above and beyond? Nominate them for the next Star of GCISD award! Each month, we celebrate outstanding team members for their passion and dedication to GCISD. Nominate today at www.GCISD.net/StarsOfGCISD and help us honor the people who make GCISD shine!
REPEATED ITEMS:
SICK STUDENTS: It is cold and flu season and there are many illnesses going around at OCT. We have had a pretty dramatic rise in absences this past two weeks due to this both in our student and staff populations. Please do not send your students to school with a temperature over 100 degrees. This really helps with allowing your tiger to heal and feel better while also not spreading whatever they have to the rest of our tigers and staff. Scroll down to Nurse Katy's section to read more information and guidance on this.
ATTENDANCE REMINDER- If your student is going to be absent for any reason, please either fill out an Absence Request in Skyward or email paola.cervantes@gcisd.net, no need to call the office. Thank you so much!
EDP Is Enrolling New Students: EDP is accepting new students for the new year! Sign up today!
OCT PTA- Do not forget to scroll all the way to the bottom of this Tiger Time News and read the OCT PTA section! Information about upcoming events will be there as well as fundraising opportunities and more!
GRADE LEVEL NEWSLETTERS
Please read your child's grade level newsletter by clicking on the grade to the right.
Upcoming Important Dates
2/4 - 100th Day of School
2/5 - 3:00 - 3:45 Yearbook
2/7 - 3:15 - 4:00 Run Club
2/14 - Bad Weather Make Up Day
2/17 - Professional Development/No School
2/18 - 3:15 - 4:30 Faculty Meeting
2/19 - 3:00 - 3:45 Friends of the Library
2/19 - 3:00 - 3:45 Yearbook
2/21 - 3:15 - 4:00 Run Club
2/24 - 3:00 - 3:45 Student Council
2/26 - 3:00 - 3:45 Yearbook
2/28 - 2:00 - 2:55 Kinder Rodeo
Mrs. Priesand
Assistant Principal Priesand Updates
Happy Sunday OCT Families,
I hope you had a great weekend with family. We just wrapped up our interim testing and it went great! We are very proud of your tigers and the focus and hard work they put in to be prepared for the interims! Our next step will be for our teachers to spend time analyzing this data to help inform their instruction and prepare for STAAR testing in April.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thank you for your continued support!
It's a great day to be a tiger!
Mrs.Priesand
STAAR dates:
April 9th- ELAR
April 22nd- Science
April 29th-Math
Holley's Herald
Happy February,
This month we will be learning about HONESTY during your child's class counseling time. Our mindfulness strategy this month will be COLOR BREATHING. At the end of the month I will attach a few of the resources that we used during the month.
Character Trait: Honesty
**We will now be looking for GREAT Tigers to recognize based on the character trait of the month. This month the teachers will be looking for students who are always demonstrating honesty and integrity!
Breathing Technique: Color Breathing
Important Information and Dates:
February 5th- Middle School Experience "Field Trip" for 5th grade
February 24th- Play it Safe
**You will need to complete the opt in/out form in Skyward for your child by Feb 17th.
Please click here for more information.
Mackenzie Holley
email: mackenzie.holley@gcisd.net
phone: (817) 305-4880
__________________________________________________________________________________
Resources from the month of January:
Nurse Katy
PARENTS OF 5TH GRADE GIRLS: OCT Spinal Screening Day will be held during Specials on Tuesday February 11th. Please make sure your student is wearing a bra/sports bra/bathing suit top on this day.
COLD WEATHER GUIDELINES: The WeatherBug app will be used to determine Wind Chill or Feels Like temperature during the school day.
*Wind Chill 41 degrees or above: Students can comfortably play outside for 30 minutes.
*Wind Chill 33-40 degrees: Monitor conditions during 20-30 minute recess. Students should be dressed appropriately for the weather.
*Wind Chill 32 degrees or below: NO outdoor play.
Repeated information:
WHEN TO STAY HOME: Students must stay home from school if any of the following are present:
● fever of 100 degrees or higher in the past 24 hours
● vomiting and/or diarrhea in the past 24 hours
● itchy, red eyes with discharge
● unknown rash
● jaundice
● ringworm of the scalp (until treatment has begun)
GCISD has a 24-hour policy related to stomach illness or fever. Students may not return to school until free of fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea for a minimum of 24 hours without the aid of any medication. If your student is sent home from school with fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, you must still abide by the 24-hour policy, and keep your child home for a minimum of 24 hours after symptoms have subsided without the aid of medication.
1ST PLACE
SPELLING BEE WINNER!
CONGRATULATIONS ALAYNA!
Mrs. Water's GT News
Important Dates:
K- 4th GT testing: January 8th - 31st No classes in January
Please return the progress report envelope with your signature. You can keep the progress report.
Supplies Needed: toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, and pencils
What are we learning in GT LEAD 2nd nine weeks?
1st Grade - Authentic Research
2nd Grade - Simple Machines
3rd Grade - 3D Discoveries
4th Grade - Detective School
5th Grade - Independent Research
SAGE: Please consider joining this wonderful organization of GCISD parents and teachers, supporting gifted scholars K-12. They work with local and state programs to ensure the needs of this population are fully met. Strong membership also supports my job, which I love very much! SAGE will share articles and learning strategies to assist you in your classroom. I would appreciate your membership. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Supporting & Advocating for Gifted Education
Resources:
Byrdseed Articles
A video of me talking about why gifted kids are different than just “smart kids”
Related: how being repeatedly called “smart” can become a burden.
Does your child seem anxious? This is common.
Why your gifted kid shouldn’t be tutoring other students in class.
Gifted kids can be squirmy, fidgety, have high energy… and that’s ok!
Be thoughtful about how you praise kids.
Books
Mrs. Quinn's Corner 📚
It was a good week in the library learning about Lunar New Year traditions, making origami snakes, playing hot dumpling (hot potato) and creating funny stories with MadLibs 🤓
This week, Kinder through 2nd grade will get a story and themed Makerspace activities centered around the 100th day of school. 5th graders will get a fun group activity and lots of Makerspace to offset all the testing from the last 2 weeks.
Every student who returns their library book will get to place a sticker on the Mystery Poster to finish the picture. The picture is really coming along!🦋
This year Literati will keep the online fair open all school year long. Until May 22nd, any purchases through our school's online fair link will credit our school 10% of all sales.
You can find out more about the library policies (including how many books each grade can checkout) on the school webpage.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, would like to volunteer or donate books and supplies please feel free to contact me! I do accept gently used books so if you are cleaning out your child's room and find there are stories that could live in the OCT Library, send them my way 🤩 The most requested picture book titles are video game characters, mermaids, Disney Princesses, superheroes and popular tv characters (like Paw Patrol, Bluey, Peppa Pig, etc), but I'll be happy to accept whatever you'd like to give!
Johanna Quinn
email: johanna.quinn@gcisd.net
phone: (817) 305-4885
X: @OCTQuinn
Instagram: @octquinn
Mrs. Vencill
Vencill's Voice
O.C. Taylor Specials Update, February 2025
Beautiful music fills the air in the O.C. Taylor Music room!!! Our talented Tigers continue to impress me every day with all they can learn, create and perform when they work together and use a growth mindset. Our minds are definitely growing in lots of exciting ways.
Kindergarten: Our Kinder Tigers are working together to practice their folk dances and cowboy/cowgirl songs for the Kindergarten Rodeo. We hope to see all Kindergarten parents in the OCT cafeteria Friday, February 28 at 2 p.m. for a rootin', tootin' good time.
1st Grade: Our first graders have the important job of performing in the Music In Our Schools Celebration Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m.. This program celebrates MUSIC education and all of the important things music adds to our lives. 1st graders are not only learning lots of fun songs and dances, they are also learning what it means to be a good performer. EVERY 1st grade student is expected to participate in the daytime AND evening performance.
2nd Grade: Our 2nd graders continue remembering what they know about note/rest value and learning how to add pitch to their rhythms. We will connect what we're learning about rhythm and pitch to songs from around the world as we begin preparing for the 2nd Grade Festival of Friends program on Thursday, April 24 at 8:30 a.m. (students/teachers) 6:30 p.m. (parents/guests) in the OCT cafeteria. EVERY 2nd grade student is expected to participate in the daytime AND evening performance.
3rd Grade: Third graders are working hard to become more comfortable and confident reading notes from the treble clef staff. Reading music is an important skill they will carry through 4th and 5th grade. We will use Orff instruments to play simple melodic patterns.
4th Grade: 4th grade students continue working towards earning a new Recorder Karate belt each week by learning and playing new songs on our recorders. As we learn to play the recorder, we are strengthening our skills in reading pitch and rhythm from the treble clef staff and following basic music symbols. Ask your child to play their recorder for you!
5th Grade: As we prepare our 5th graders to meet with the middle school counselors, we will remember and review the 4 instrument families. I want any student who chooses to play in the middle school band to make a smart, confident choice when choosing an instrument. For those students attending CTMS next year, you can find CTMS Band Program here.I will add information for the CMS band program when I receive it. 5th graders will also begin brainstorming for the BEST show of the year, 5th Grade Rocks! Parents, please click the link to find details on this performance and mark your calendars. EVERY 5th grade student is expected to participate in the daytime AND evening performance.
See you in the Music room!
Mrs. Vencill
bethany.vencill@gcisd.net
Coach Mester
Mester's PE Press
O.C. Taylor Specials Update, February 2025
PE - February Update
See you in the gym!
Coach Mester
jason.mester@gcisd.net
Mrs. Morgan
Morgan's Art Message
O.C. Taylor Specials Update, February 2025
Art Update - February 2025
Welcome Back! I hope everyone had a great Winter Break!
For the month of January, students will be learning about famous artists, the art of weaving, printmaking and sculpture!
Kindergarten will learn about the artist Grandma Moses to create a winter collage landscape. Students will review the terms horizon line, foreground and background. They will also learn how to weave using patterns, as well as cut out a variety of shapes.
1st grade will learn about the artist Henri Matisse and observe his paintings and paper cut outs. Students will then learn about organic and geometric shapes to create a Goldfish Still Life with cut outs.
2nd grade will learn about radial symmetry. Students will then create a paper plate radial weaving using yarn. Students will learn the terms loom, weft, warp and the pattern over/under.
3rd grade will learn about the process and history of printmaking. Students will review the artist Wayne Thiebaud and his paintings of food and everyday objects. Students will create three prints that are inspired by his work.
4th grade will learn how to create sculptures of their choice by using recycled materials as an armature and learn about the artist Claes Oldenburg. Students will learn how to apply plaster strips to make it stable.
5th grade will learn about different types of sculpture. Students will learn clay techniques like coil, pinch pot, slab, and scoring. Students will create a pinch pot animal/ creature of their choice.
January Artist of the Month:
Mary Blair
O.C. Taylor Yearbooks are on Sale!
You can order a yearbook and create an ad/ dedication page online at yearbookordercenter.com. Our order number for O.C. Taylor is 17833.
We are offering both softcover and hardcover yearbooks this year!
Last day to order an ad/ dedication page is March 15th.
Last day to pre-order a yearbook is April 12th.
Keep on Creating!
Mrs. Morgan
cristie.morgan@gcisd.net
OCT Cafeteria
Nutrition News
GCISD NUTRITION SERVICES: Click here to see the school menus.
FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH APPLICATIONS: Starting on July 10, 2024, free and reduced-price meal applications were made available to fill out for the 2024-2025 school year. Families are encouraged to complete the Application for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals available online at www.schoollunchapp.com. A paper copy may be downloaded from the website or requested at any campus or Nutrition Services office.
The application will determine a child’s eligibility for free and reduced-price meals and may assist in the determination of eligibility for other state or federal benefits. Only one application needs to be completed per household. Schools will notify the household of the child’s eligibility. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) administers school nutrition programs in Texas and offers an eligibility calculator at www.SquareMeals.org/ProgramEligibility.
Decisions regarding payment for school meals are made at the national-government level, not by the school nutrition team or TDA. The dedicated staff in Nutrition Services is looking forward to serving healthy, balanced meals to students in the new school year. If you have any questions, please call 817-251-5617 or email child.nutrition@gcisd.net.
Texas legislation has approved a 2024-25 biennium budget, which includes $3.3 million per year to cover the cost of school breakfasts for students eligible for reduced price meals. Students that are approved for reduced-priced meals may eat breakfast at no cost this school year. Lunch price is $0.40.
PROCEDURE FOR FAMILIES WITH UNPAID MEAL CHARGES: Parents/Guardians shall monitor their student’s school meal account to ensure that they always have a positive balance. In the event that a student does not have a positive balance, the student may charge up to 6 meals to their account. Only reimbursable meals may be charged. A la carte items may not be charged. Communication about a negative meal balance will be sent to parents/guardians via email. Students who have exceeded the 6 charged meal limit, will be offered an alternative meal that will be charged to the student’s account.
O.C. Taylor PTA
PTA News
WELCOME TO O.C. TAYLOR PTA!
Our goal is to connect with our school community by hosting fun events such as Tiger Fest, Grandparents' Day, Neon Night and so much more. We provide classroom needs and support our teachers in any way we can. We partner 100% with our wonderful school to make it the very best! We continue to raise funds for much-needed upgrades to our outdoor play area.
We hope you'll join us in our efforts to make O.C. Taylor the best it can be!
PTA WEBSITE & PURCHASES
For 2024-2025 our Back to School PTA forms will continue to be all digital! Visit https://octaylorpta.membershiptoolkit.com/ for all your PTA needs & purchases!
TEACHER FAVORITES
SAVE THE DATE!
2/3 8:15 a.m. PTA Executive Board Meeting
2/6 Spirit Shop Valentine's Pop-up Market
2/11 Staff Appreciation Event / We LOVE Our OCT Staff!
2/13 2:00 - 3:00 Class Valentine’s Day Parties
2/14 Bad Weather Day
2/17 Professional Development Day
2/28 7:45 a.m. Kinder Rodeo Parade, 2:00 p.m. Kindergarten Rodeo
BIRTHDAYS AT O.C. TAYLOR
We love to celebrate birthdays BIG at O.C. Taylor! We provide two options to purchase through our PTA to help celebrate:
Name In Lights - Your child's name on our marquee for the day - $25
Tiger Gram with Taylor the Tiger - Have Taylor the Tiger deliver a goody bag and balloons to your child's classroom - $40
Save $5 and purchase BOTH for $60.
Please purchase these AT LEAST two weeks in advance. We cannot promise our availability if not purchased in advance. Purchase on our website https://octaylorpta.membershiptoolkit.com/
If you have any questions or need assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Looking forward to a GRRREAT year!
Jessica Schmulen
President / O.C. Taylor PTA
octaylorptapresident@gmail.com
O.C. Taylor Dad's Club
Dad's Club News
Questions? Contact oc.taylor.dads.club@gmail.com
