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October 2009
News from the Head of School
We have had such a wonderful “back to school” time this year! The children settled into their routines quickly and dove right into their new academic challenges. Because most of the children know their teachers from previous years, we are really able to get right to the curriculum here at the Taylor School.
I am excited to report that we have just launched our new website! The site was designed by Association Development Group, Inc. (ADG), which is owned by Joe and Kathy Van De Loo. Jon Briccetti was also involved as he has provided tech support and his company, Troy Web Consulting, designed our previous website. Alisha Clark provided the spectacular photographs that really show our students celebrating their learning at the school. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this new website possible.
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News from the Academic Director
The school year is off to a successful start! The children, from youngest to oldest,  have settled comfortably into the rhythms and routines of the Taylor School. The combination of familiar and new - friends, teachers, and experiences- has resulted in a palpable excitement as the children embark on their learning adventures for the 2009 – 2010 school year.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new families. I hope that our community will join me in making our new members feel part of the Taylor School. To all community members – please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Open communication is an important part of a positive school experience.
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News from Preschool
The school year is off to a great start. Our curriculum focus has been somewhat  secondary to the important tasks of getting adjusted to school. Much of what we are doing reinforces the acquisition and understanding of school routines and expectations as well as developing individual peer relationships and appropriate group behavior. We are working to establish a foundation to build on during the remainder of the year. Also, introducing materials slowly allows children to learn to use them correctly and independently. The children are a delight, and their energy and enthusiasm are endless.
We are having such fun with them!
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News from Pre-K
What a wonderful month September was. We watched monarch caterpillars munch  and grow, turn into chrysalises, and then enclose (emerge) as colorful adults. We look forward to sending the last ones off on their long journey to Mexico soon as we celebrate our annual Monarch Release Day. We have collected a few wooly bear caterpillars (the larvae of Isabella Tiger Moths) and are over-wintering them to observe their metamorphosis in the spring. So much to wonder about these fascinating creatures’ life cycles!
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News from Kindergarten
Welcome Back!
During the month of September we explored the classroom. We have discovered  where all the materials and learning tools in the classroom can be found. We used many of these materials while learning what it is like to be a kindergartener. We learned and sang many new songs. We have shared the story The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and made our own kissing hands. We talked about our hopes and dreams and what we would like to learn about this year.
Our theme this month is apples! We have talked a great deal about the different parts of an apple. We have made a class graph called, “What is Our Favorite Kind of Apple?” Each of us colored our favorite kind of apple and added it to the graph. We were surprised to see how many of us like the same kind of apples.
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News from the 1-2 Class
The 1-2 class is blasting off our year! These past few weeks we’ve been building our community. Everyone has written their hopes and goals for the year. We created our class rules to help us reach our goals. To make sure we know how to behave, we’ve been modeling the correct way to interact with one another, collecting kind words, and learning the difference between toys and tools for learning. Another way we’ve been building our community is by assigning jobs to each member of our class. This added responsibility allows for each child to feel directly connected to our classroom. To learn more about each other, each member of the community brought in a paper bag with five items in it. The class had to guess who the items belonged to.
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News From The 3 – 4 Class
We have had an eventful and fantastic beginning to our school year. We are really  excited to begin our scientific investigations into the “Wonderful World of Weather!” During our trip to the Capital News 9 studios, the students had a great time trying out weather forecasting on the actual set used by our local meteorologists. We found that it is not as easy as it looks trying to point out areas in front of the “green screen.” We also learned that if one wears green clothing, their body becomes invisible. This was a lot of fun!
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News from the 5-6 Class
What a pleasure it is to work with this amazing group of children! The students’  unique personalities and talents make this 5/6 class a true delight to teach.
During the first month of school the 5/6 class has been busy learning new routines and curriculum. They have engaged in many exciting word skill activities, launched their writer’s notebooks, started a genre study on realistic fiction, and began a comprehensive unit on the novel, The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson. The students have been working very diligently, and have shown tremendous enthusiasm and effort in all areas of literacy. I am very pleased with their dedication to learning.
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