1. WELCOME: Welcome to the 2021-22 school year! We are excited to bring energy and a laser focus to goal-setting this school year! This year's theme, "Eye of the Tiger, Rising Up" points us to setting goals and rising above our expectations.

2. OCT MISSION AND VISION: Five years ago, we had a dedicated Vision Committee who revised our OCT Vision and Mission. In order to see our vision and mission to fruition, we will continue to offer Future Explorations. The inaugural implementation of our Future Explorations began four years ago. This year our students will experience career clusters embedded in the curriculum. We believe the students at O.C. Taylor are our leaders of tomorrow. We want to give them all of the tools we can to develop, prepare, and inspire them. (More information to come soon!)

3. CONTINUED SAFETY PROCEDURES: In the next few weeks, we will be communicating more about our safety and emergency management. When any visitor comes to campus, he or she will need to bring and present their driver's license to be scanned in our system in order to be admitted onto the campus. Also, our door to the office will be locked, and Ms. Gene or Ms. Betty will be conducting a visual check before unlocking the door.

4. CURRICULUM NIGHTS: Please make arrangements to attend our grade level Curriculum Nights from 5:00-6:15 p.m. on the following designated days: = PreK, K, and 1st grade, = 2nd and 3rd grades, and 8 = 4th and 5th grades. This is a very important time for you to get an overview of our curriculum, classroom management plans, learning philosophies, and student/parent expectations. If you are unable to get a babysitter, you may bring your child if you let your teacher know in advance.

5. PTA: Please join and get involved with our PTA! Our OCT Parent-Teacher Association provides many extras for our school and for your child. It takes all of us getting involved to have the BEST school as we do! You can donate your time, talents, and/or treasures to OCT. THANK YOU, parents, for all you do! Be sure to read the PTA section of the Tiger Times News for OCT PTA Updates. 100% of O.C. Taylor faculty and staff have joined! Let's make it 100% of our parents as well!

6. STAAR Results & House Bill 4545 - Given the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year, the 87th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 4545, signed on June 16, 2021, which provides additional learning opportunities for students who did not meet standards on the STAAR exam in the form of extra tutoring.

For Families of Students Who Did Not Perform Satisfactorily on STAAR Exams - If a student does not perform satisfactorily on a STAAR, STAAR End of Course (EOC), or STAAR Alt exam, in any STAAR assessed grade levels and subjects, the District will provide accelerated instruction.For a student who does not perform satisfactorily on the math or reading assessment in grades 3, 5, or 8, the District will establish an Accelerated Learning Committee (ALC), which includes the student’s parent, to develop an educational plan for accelerated instruction to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the next school year. Accelerated instruction entails delivering supplemental instruction (i.e., tutoring) before or after school, or embedded in the school day and meeting HB 4545 requirements.

For Families of Students Who Did Not Take STAAR Exams for the 2020-2021 School Year- For students who were absent or otherwise unable to take the STAAR or STAAR EOC for the 2020-2021 school year, the district may administer an assessment to determine student grade level proficiency on the state standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). If the student earns a passing score, then the student can be exempted from the House Bill 4545 tutoring requirement.

GCISD will also provide more information to parents as we work with and gather additional insight from TEA to support our students with HB 4545 requirements.

Additional information on HB 4545 can be found at https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/house-bill-4545-implementation-overview

7. SOCIAL MEDIA: Please look below for all of our social media accounts. Signing up for our Principal "Remind" text notifications may help to remind you of important school events and tasks. We know how busy you are and want to assist in any way possible.

Finally, I end my communications with "To the BEST of days." BEST stands for "Building Excellent Schools Together!" Elementary school is a brief time in your child's life....I would argue it is the best of years. Seize the day and savor these fleeting moments. Cherish each and every sad, happy, tearful, gleeful moment; you will miss them one day.

See you at the BooHoo/Yahoo Breakfast!

To the BEST of days,

Principal Pedevilla

1. CONVEY TO YOUR CHILD THE DAILY PICK UP PLAN: Now is a good time to establish the morning routine of telling your child how he/she will be going home at the end of the school day: bus rider, daycare rider, car rider, or independent walker/bike rider. Please do not instruct your child to call you after school. Our teachers and front office staff are responsible for many children and are required to be at an after-school duty. They are unable to assist your child with phone calls.

2. CHECKING OUT A STUDENT EARLY: If you decide to come to school to check out your child before the 2:55 p.m. GCISD elementary dismissal time, please allow us plenty of time to locate your child. It takes a while to locate students in a building as they are not always in their classroom. If you send a note requesting an early dismissal with your student in the morning, you will help eliminate the time spent waiting for us to locate your student. Also, we kindly ask if you need to pick up a child before our 2:55 p.m. dismissal, please do so before 2:30 p.m.

3. CHANGE IN DISMISSAL OR PICK UP: If you find your child must go home a different way than planned, please notify the office by a phone call by at least 2:00 p.m. Teachers and our front office staff do not always have access to email or are busy teaching or helping others. A phone call is required. Sometimes we have only one person in the front office, so we want to provide ample time to be able to meet your needs.

4. PRE-K and KINDERGARTEN INDEPENDENCE DAY: Independence Day is Wednesday, August 25th. On August 25th, Independence Day, your little one has the opportunity to show their independence (or to learn how to be independent). We will have extra assistance from teachers and 5th grade student leaders. Before you arrive at school, talk with your child about the procedures. Prepare them that when you all get to the school door, you will give them a quick hug then need to leave so the other parents and students can get in the building. When you arrive at the school door, give a hug, and then we kindly request you leave. There may be some tears, but it will be easier on your child, other children, teachers, and administrators if parents do not linger. We are here for you and your child!

5. VOLUNTEER BACKGROUND CHECK: Our school runs on our amazing volunteers. In order to volunteer at the school, one must complete the District's Volunteer Background Check Application for the 2021-2022 school year. Also, please read and sign the Volunteer Handbook included in the link as well. As a reminder, all volunteers are required to reapply each year. https://www.gcisd.net/cms/one.aspx?pageId=195550

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September Music Update:

We will start this star-spangled school year with all students making historical and personal connections to our national anthem, our state song and our school song. Ask YOUR Tiger to tell you what they know about these important songs!

Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade students are working on understanding the difference between beat and rhythm by moving to the steady beat and writing, reading and performing simple rhythm patterns on our drums.

3rd and 4th grade students will begin preparing patriotic songs for the Veterans Day program. Mark your calendars...Thursday, November 11 at 8:30 a.m. because you won't want to miss the most beautiful and special program of the school year.

Our talented 5th graders are remembering and reviewing what they know about rhythm and pitch as we prepare to play the recorder! My biggest hope for these students is for them to feel comfortable and confident reading, writing and performing music before they move on to middle school!

4th and 5th grade students are invited to sing with the Taylor Tiger Choir. We meet every Thursday afternoon from 2:55-4 p.m. in the OCT Music room beginning Thursday, Sept. 2. Choir Permission Form

Please visit my web page or the Taylor Tiger Choir web page for more information.