Happy Sunday OCT Families,

I hope you had a great weekend with family.  We just wrapped up our first week of testing; we are ready for another week with Science and Math interims. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to gather valuable data about student progress and will help inform our next steps as we near STAAR testing in April. 

A Few Important Reminders:

• Please ensure your student gets a good night’s rest and eats a healthy breakfast to start their day off right!

• It is imperative that students bring a charged Chromebook and any necessary headphones for testing.

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

Testing Snacks:

We are excited to support our students during testing days (Interim and STAAR) with snacks provided by the PTA. For this week's testing days your child will receive:

Tuesday 5th only (Science): pretzels, apple sauce, and mints 

Wednesday (3-5): goldfish,fruit snack,and mints 

If your child has a confirmed food allergy, your child’s teacher will coordinate with you to ensure an appropriate snack is provided from home. 

After testing, students may enjoy any additional snacks they bring from home. We kindly remind you to encourage your child to have a healthy breakfast and get a good night’s sleep to set them up for success.

Thank you for your continued support.

Friendly Reminder: Closed Campus Dates

This is a friendly reminder that the campus will be a closed campus on the dates listed below. No, volunteers, guest speakers, or parent lunches on these days. Please plan accordingly and adjust any volunteering projects that were scheduled for these days.

Note for Interim Only: Our usual lunch helpers will still be permitted for the lower grades.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

STAAR Interim dates: 

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 had a great time teaching our Tigers about Media Literacy and I hope they will remember to ask the important questions - who made this and why - to heart when they are watching or reading.

This week, Kinder through 2nd grade will learn about  Lunar New Year celebrations around the world. 3rd and 4th graders will get a fun group activity and lots of Makerspace to offset all the testing this week.

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

O.C. Taylor Specials Update, January 2025

Upcoming Grade Level Programs: All students are expected to attend the morning AND evening performances.

• Kindergarten Rodeo, Friday, February 28 at 2 p.m. in the OCT cafeteria. 

• 1st Grade Music In Our Schools Month Celebration, Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. 

• 2nd Grade:  2nd Grade Festival of Friends, Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m.

• 5th Grade: 5th Grade Rocks!, Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m.

4th Grade Recorders: 4th grade students will bring their recorder and Recorder Karate book to music EVERY day for the remainder of the school year. Parents, please encourage your student to play their Recorder Karate songs for you at home as we learn them in the classroom. They are such talented musicians!

5th Grade: If your child is attending CTMS, please open this link for more information regarding the CTMS Band Program. The CMS band directors will visit with 5th graders on Friday, Jan. 31 during their Specials time and will share information on the CMS band program. I will add this information to the newsletter as I receive it.

 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! 

Happy New Year, Tigers!

Mrs. Vencill

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