TAYLOR ELEMENTARY

PTA UPDATE


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UPCOMING EVENTS

Mark your Calendar!


Upcoming Dates



November 6 – Student Council Elections


November 6 – Last Day of First Quarter


November 7 – NO SCHOOL for Students (Grade Prep Day)


November 8 – Square 1 Art – Order Deadline


November 10 – NO SCHOOL (Veterans Day)


November 16 – Kindergarten Songfest


November 17 – School Portrait Retakes


November 17 – Spirit Day: Dress in your best outdoor gear


November 20 – Neighborhood Walk to School Day


November 21 – STEAM Day


November 22-25 – NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break Holiday


November 29 – PTA Reflection entries due


November 29 – APS Music Pyramid Concert


 

WELCOME

In this week's issue:



Square 1 Art Fundraiser


Student Council Election Volunteers Needed


Spirit Wear Store Is Open


Let's Walk To School


Steam Day Support Needed


No Frills Campaign


Taylor Facilities Advocacy Group


Join the PTA!


Community News


Taylor Listserv Sign up





HAPPENING AT TAYLOR

TAYLOR STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TODAY!

 

Parents, you won't be the only ones heading to the polls this November! All Taylor students will be voting in the Student Council election TODAY and we need your help to make the election a success. Voting will take place on the stage in the Multipurpose room via computer. The picture and name of each candidate will be provided to help our younger voters. Please sign up for a shift – they are only about 30 minutes each. You must be a registered volunteer with Taylor in order to help out. If you have any questions, please contact Campbell Hutton at elections@taylorpta.org.


Thank you for coming out in droves to support the Taylor PTA at Cowboy Cafe on Sunday, October 29th. We raised an amazing $668 for the Taylor PTA! Our next fundraising meal is on Monday, November 27 at the Simple Greek. More details to come!

Square 1 Art Fundraiser – Deadline Extended to Nov. 8!

 

Square 1 Art is a Taylor tradition where our students prepare unique art that can be ordered as keepsakes and gifts, while supporting PTA efforts. Order sheets are coming home with your students this week and, in order to receive before the holiday season, the online order deadline is Wednesday November 8. 

 

If you don’t receive your order forms, please follow up with your homeroom teachers. Any additional questions, please reach out to kristinaboehk@yahoo.com. Thank you for supporting this fundraiser and our young artists!

 

The Taylor Spirit Wear Store is OPEN!



Wow, was it chilly last week! Were you thinking it would be nice to have a Taylor hoodie to bundle up your students? How about a paw print hat? I know, you were looking for some warm flannel pajamas! Well, look no further your one stop shop for all Taylor gear is here!


The fun facts:

The store is open from now until 11/13/2023 at midnight.

Orders can ship to your home for a fee or to Taylor for free.

Orders will arrive before the holiday break.

Some items have a minimum, so if you really want that hat be sure to convince others to buy it as well!

This is a fundraiser for the PTA.

Any other questions? Please feel free to reach out to spiritwear@taylorpta.org


The annual Taylor “No Frills” Fundraiser is upon us

and we need your support!


 

We are almost to $5,500 and inching closer to our school goal of $30,000. Please support Taylor by donating today!  

 


This campaign is our major fundraising event of the year

and is designed to keep things simple for busy families.

You will not be asked to buy or sell anything.

 

Our goal is 100% participation from Taylor families.

No amount is too small!

 

100% of your donation is tax-deductible and supports programs

for all the children, such as STEAM programs, field trips, Art in the Classroom and more.  

For the 2023-2024 school year, we are focusing these funds on new and durable recess equipment, 

flexible seating for our pod classrooms, and cosmetic and acoustic updates to the cafeteria. 

 

If we meet or exceed our goal of raising $30,000, we will be having

a school wide ice cream social for Taylor students!!

 

To make a donation, we are offering three convenient options:

1. Click or Scan the QR Code below. 

2. Online via Taylor PTA Website

3. Write a check! Checks can be made payable to Taylor PTA. Please mail checks to Taylor PTA No Frills @ 2600 N. Stuart Street Arlington, VA 22207.

LET’S WALK TO SCHOOL TAYLOR COMMUNITY!

 

Calling Active Volunteers! Neighborhood Walk-to-School Day will kick off on Monday, November 20th (rain date of Tuesday, November 21st). What's involved? We are looking for 1-2 parents/guardians from each neighborhood served by Taylor who would be willing to walk with a group of kids to school in the morning. The purpose is to get more of our kids (and adults!) active - and to show our kids that it's possible (and fun!) to use their feet as transportation instead of cars. That next Sunday morning Dunkin Donuts visit can turn into a walking outing instead of everyone piling into the car!

If you're interested, please contact Taylor parent Kate Marden (katemarden@gmail.com). If there's enough interest in this inaugural walking day, we'll do it again in 2024!

 

STEAM DAY SUPPORTED NEEDED

 

Our first STEAM Day for the 2023-2024 school year is Tuesday, November 21st, 2023. All students will be rotating between four problem based challenges that focus on the 4 C’s (21st Century Skills). The 4 C’s are Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity. You can support this event in three ways:

1.   Donate NEWSPAPER in the main lobby starting on Monday, October 30th.

2.   “At Home Volunteers” to cut materials by Monday, November 13th. 

3.   “Day Of Volunteers” to support students as they participate in challenges. Volunteers will be assigned to support one specific challenge and all students from each grade level will rotate through each challenge.

Sign Up to be a “At Home Volunteer” and/or “Day Of Volunteer” HERE

 

Upcoming STEAM Dates:

STEAM Day: Tuesday, November 21st

STEAM Day: Wednesday, February 7th (early release)

Career Day: Tuesday, April 9th 

STEAM Day: Wednesday, June 5th (early release)

Taylor MS Boundaries Committee Update

 

The Taylor PTA recently submitted the following letter regarding the current Boundaries Policy, B-2.1, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing proximity and walkability. The School Board is in the beginning stages of revising their Boundaries Policy. The first phase was public comment on the current policy, which ended November 1. While the timeline of the remaining policy revision has not been released, there are plenty of ways to get involved: school board office hours, board meetings, etc. If you're interested in participating, or have any questions please reach out to Caroline Simms, chbsimms@gmail.com

Facilities Advocacy Committee

 

On Friday, October 27th, APS sent out its weekly "Friday Five" communication. The first topic was devoted to an update on Facilities Planning for the school system. With a focus on providing optimal learning environments for students, APS Facilities and Operations and the Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Programs (FAC) assessed all 41 school facilities across APS using a wide variety of metrics. These assessments and the workbook with all of the detailed indicators can be found via this link:

https://www.apsva.us/departments/facilities-operations/long-range-plan-to-renovate-existing-school-facilities/

 

An info session between the FAC and Arlington's JFAC was held on Monday, October 30 to deliver the results (the workbook). The outcome of this project is to enable APS/JFAC to better prioritize projects and funding across the school system. Taylor is currently included on a short list out of the 41 schools needing significant attention. 

 

We will be heavily involved in the remaining meetings this month to keep Taylor's needs on that list and learn more about the scope and timing of potential projects. 

 

If you have any questions or would like to support this effort, please contact Erin Parker at erinmccantsparker@gmail.com .

ACTL UPDATE

 

What is ACTL? The Advisory Council on Teaching and Learning (ACTL) is an advisory group to the School Board. ACTL includes parent reps from each school. ACTL meets monthly with leadership from the APS Office of Academics. 

Elementary Literacy: APS is in the second year of using the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum as part of the shift towards the “Science of Reading” approach in elementary school. This year they have added additional writing lessons for grades K, 1, 3, and 5 and have added explicit writing instruction for K-2 on mechanics, grammar, and punctuation. They've also added end of unit quick checks for grades 3-5 to give teachers immediate data that they can use to support student learning and intervention. See attached slide 3. Please provide feedback here by November 30, 2023. 

 

Boundaries policy revision

APS reviews its policies every five years. Policy B-2.1 Boundaries has just entered the first stage of the review process, which is the opportunity to give input on the existing policy. School Board Member Mary Kadera recently discussed these issues at the September PTA meeting. 

 

ACTL is considering an input statement that "supporting the Instructional Vision" or a similar phrase should be included in the policy. Please share your thoughts with Taylor’s MS Boundary Committee Chair, Caroline Simms (at chbsimms@gmail.com) and Katie Sunderland (at katherine.a.sunderland@gmail.com), Taylor’s ACTL. The presentation can be viewed here.

Calling all Student Artists - Explore the Arts, and Express Yourself!


Taylor is proud to be participating in the National PTA Reflections program this year and supports our school’s long-standing commitment to arts education. The Reflections program provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts which boost student confidence and success in the arts and in life. Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. This 50+ year-old program helps them explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.


This year’s theme is I am Hopeful Because

How to Participate:



All documents can be found here.



Join the Taylor PTA

Membership for the 2023-24 school is now open! Visit https://www.taylorpta.org/join to join online. $20 for the year for a family/$10 for individuals/$5 for teachers

Sign up for Taylor Listserv

Sign up here to connect with other parents on topics surrounding APS, Taylor curriculum, extracurriculur activities and much more!

Stay engaged with the Taylor PTA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and remember to join the Taylor Facebook group.

COMMUNITY NEWS


Stay engaged with the Taylor PTA! 


Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and remember to join the Taylor Facebook group.


Please check the Taylor PTA website for more information!

 

TAYLOR ELEMENTARY

PRINCIPAL KATIE MADIGAN

703-228-6275

REPORT ABSENCES THROUGH PARENTVUE

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