Happy Sunday OCT Families,

As we reach the halfway point of the school year, I want to take a moment to share how incredibly lucky I feel to be part of the OCT community. Your partnership, patience, and support during this first part of the year have meant so much to me, and I am truly grateful. Together, we’ve created a strong foundation, and I’m excited to finish the year with even more growth and success.

One of my favorite parts of each day is seeing your children walk through our doors each morning, eager to learn and excited to see their friends and teachers. Their smiles and energy are a daily reminder of the joy and potential in every moment. I also have the unique privilege of seeing the incredible learning that happens in our classrooms. We are so fortunate to have the best teachers who work tirelessly to provide engaging, meaningful, and enriching experiences for our students.

I hope this holiday season you were able to  enjoy all the magic this time of year brings and that you and your family were able to cherish every moment with your child and make memories that will last a lifetime. When we return, we’ll hit the ground running, so a little preparation to ensure your child is rested, ready to learn, and excited to come back will go a long way. Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep and is ready to come back on Wednesday 1/8/2025!!

Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for being such an integral part of our OCT family.  Excited to kick off the new year with our little tigers. 

It's a great day to be a tiger!

Mrs.Priesand

Reminder: After-School Pick-Up Procedures 

We wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of a few important procedures to help our after-school pick-up line run smoothly and efficiently.

1. Car Tags: Please ensure your car tag is visible and hanging from your rearview mirror while in the pick-up line. Stopping to search for it slows down the process for everyone.

2. Kinder Parents: Over the holiday break, please take some time to practice with your child on buckling themselves into their car seat or booster. This small step helps tremendously in keeping the line moving.

3. PreK Parents: We kindly ask that you remain in your car during pick-up. A teacher will bring your child to you to ensure a safe and efficient process.

By following these guidelines, we can work together to ensure a safe and timely pick-up for all. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in making this process as smooth as possible.

Important Announcement: State Testing Days

Mark your calendars! Below are the dates for state testing. The upcoming interim test will serve as a practice STAAR test, and it is crucial that we treat it as if it were the actual STAAR. This practice provides valuable information to our teachers before the real test takes place.

Please make sure to schedule any appointments around these important dates.

Thank you for your partnership

STAAR Interim dates: 

January 23rd-ELAR

January 28th- Science

January 29th-Math 

STAAR dates:

April 9th- ELAR

April 22nd- Science

April 29th-Math

Happy January,

It is crazy to believe that the first semester has already come and gone. The spring semester is always full of "new" which can be both exciting and challenging. Thankfully your kiddo is surrounded by some of the best educators. We are here to support your family in any way that you may need. 

This month we will be learning about PERSEVERANCE during your child's class counseling time. Our mindfulness strategy this month will be PINWHEEL BREATHING. At the end of the month I will attach a few of the resources that we used during the month.

Important Information and Dates:

February 24th- Play it Safe **You will need to complete the opt in/out form in Skyward for your child by February 17th. 

Please click here for more information. 

Mackenzie Holley

email: mackenzie.holley@gcisd.net

phone: (817) 305-4880

X: @OCTHolley

I hope everyone had a great extended weekend! I know I enjoyed the extra time to read some great stories to add to our wonderful OC Taylor Library 📚📖❄️

This week, Kinder through 2nd grade will get a story about Humpty Dumpty and a chance to team up with their classmates to use different Makerspace items to build a wall that will protect their (plastic) egg. 3rd-5th grade friends will get a digital literacy lesson on how to identify and assess the components of a website to determine the legitimacy of the page's information. 

Every student who returns their library book will get to place a sticker on the Mystery Poster to finish the picture. Until January 17th, I will still honor any logs that were completed during break for those tigers who wish to put on extra stickers when they come back into the library.

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

O.C. Taylor Specials Update, January 2025

Music Update - January 2025

Happy New Year, Tigers! I hope you enjoyed a relaxing and FUN winter break. I can’t wait to get back to work creating beautiful music with you in the OCT music room. Parents, please mark your calendars for several upcoming grade level performances.

Kindergarten:  Students will begin working on songs and dances for their Kindergarten Rodeo, Friday, February 28 at 2 p.m. in the OCT cafeteria. Parents, mark your calendar for this rootin’, tootin’ good time! Students will also continue composing/reading/playing simple rhythm patterns using walk (quarter note), run run (barred eighth notes) and rest (quarter rest).

1st/2nd Grade:  Students will continue working on composing/reading/performing rhythm patterns and playing basic melodies on classroom percussion instruments. They will also begin learning music for their grade level program: 1st Grade Music In Our Schools Month Celebration, Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. and 2nd Grade Festival of Friends, Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m.

3rd Grade: Students will use what they know about rhythm and add it to the treble clef staff to give it pitch. Students will identify line/space notes from the treble clef staff and play simple melodies on Orff instruments.

4th Grade: During the second semester of 4th grade, students will focus on reading rhythms and melodies from the treble clef staff while playing the recorder. We will follow the Recorder Karate method with students earning recorder belts as they learn and play each song in their method book. Parents, encourage your child to play for you as they learn their songs. Students are expected to bring their recorder and method book to music EVERY day!

5th Grade: We will review the 4 instrument families and how sound is produced in each family. Students will work to identify instruments by sight and sound as they prepare for recruiting visits from the CMS and CTMS band programs. My hope is that my  5th graders feel confident and fully prepared if they decide to choose band or choir as their middle school elective. If your child is attending CTMS, please open this link for more information regarding the CTMS Band Program. 

 Taylor Tiger Choir:  The Taylor Tiger Choir meets every Thursday from 3-4 p.m. in the OCT music room.  All 4th and 5th grade students are welcome to join! Our first rehearsal of the new semester is Thursday, January 16. 

Many thanks to our generous OCT families and PTA for showering us with gifts during the month of December. I cannot thank you enough for your love and support. I wish you lots of love, happiness and good health in the new year!

Mrs. Vencill

bethany.vencill@gcisd.net

bethany.vencill@gcisd.net

O.C. Taylor Specials Update, January 2025

PE - January Update

See you in the gym!

Coach Mester

jason.mester@gcisd.net

O.C. Taylor Specials Update, January 2025

Art Update - January 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