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February 2010
News from the Head of School
Happy February! Despite the cold, the children have been able to bundle up and be outside for recess most of the days in January. It does so much to brighten their moods and put roses in their cheeks. Please continue to send in their cold weather gear so that they can be comfortable outside.
The children all were ecstatic to be back in school and back to normal routines after winter break. Our new enrichment schedule has begun and the children are excited to have new options for afterschool learning. Much thanks to Kelly who is the mastermind of this schedule. It requires a lot of work and networking to be sure that we have the right offerings and a place to have them! I am excited that we have contracted with some outside community organizations for after school enrichment. Both the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) and the Arts Center of the Capital Region offer us much in their areas of expertise.
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News from the Academic Director
Dear Families,
As you read through this newsletter, I hope you take note of all the interesting and exciting learning adventures happening throughout the school. In each classroom, the children are engaged in expanding their knowledge and skills across a wide range of topics. The students at the Taylor School are very fortunate to have teachers who are dedicated to enriching their minds each and every day. And, the teachers are fortunate to be able to teach children who come from families that value the way we educate children. Thank you for your commitment to providing your child with an exceptional education.
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News from Preschool
Preschool is certainly a very busy place! The children continue to learn and grow and it is exciting to watch the new signs of maturity and independence emerging daily. There’s no holding these children back as they love to expand on everything we introduce. What fun we are having!
In the early days of February we will complete our study of forest animals and bears. Hopefully we’ll get some significant snow so we can tuck in some of the additional winter science experiments we’d planned for January. Valentine’s Day will be the next topic on the agenda and our dramatic play area will include the addition of a small Post Office. This always generates a lot of pre-writing/writing as the children create the mail for the Post Office.
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News from Pre-K
We begin our month focusing on colors and shapes as we learn about the art of  quilting. Our culminating project will be sewing small pillows to use for rest time (also known as “huggy pillows”, as former children have dubbed them). The children will choose their fabric, pin and cut the material, and use a real sewing machine. Taking apart the machine to see how it works is always interesting, except when there is a part left over after we put it back together! We also look forward to creating blocks for the Taylor School quilt that Nancy Maynard (Susan Odell Taylor’s sister) puts together annually for the silent auction. If you have any special family quilts that we could borrow for a day to enhance our learning, please bring them in sometime in the next week. We promise to treat them with great care.
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News from Kindergarten
The Kindergarten is buzzing with sight words! We continue to build our  understanding of sight words by engaging in many hands on activities. Recently we went “fishing” for sight words. During centers students took turns using a fishing pole with a magnet to catch fish with sight words on them. Pairs of students enjoyed working cooperatively together to fish sight words out of the pond and find the match for each word.
Singing and dancing is part of our daily routine. In the past couple weeks we have been using ribbon dancers to help sky write our numbers while singing Dr. Jean’s song “Chant and Write.” In math, we also continue to build on our understanding of patterns. This month the students used chain links to make more complicated patterns. Some of our chain link patterns were as long as our work tables and some as long as the room!
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News from the 1-2 Class
Are you ready for a thrilling voyage through the solar system? The 1-2 class sure  hopes so! The class will be performing the play “Vacation to Mars” in a few short weeks! The students have been busily designing and making their own costumes and practicing their roles. Being in a play is an exciting way to increase reading fluency and expression. It has been amazing to see some of the gains the young performers in the 1-2 Class have made since starting the play November. The students are now focusing on their stage presence and diction. These crucial public speaking skills are started in the first grade and reinforced throughout subsequent years at the Taylor School.
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News from the 3-4 Class
We have started our scientific study of the human body. We began with a close look at our senses. Through experimentation, we found out that the number and type of sensory receptor differs throughout our bodies. We found that as you move closer to your extremities, the more likely you are to feel different types of “touches.” We also learned about our sense of taste and where we can find sweet, sour, bitter, and salty taste receptors on our tongue. The students were also in engaged in a variety of vision, smelling and hearing activities. We will be reading a biography on Helen Keller and performing an experiment to mimic what she went through by not being able to see or hear. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be delving into the different systems of the body. The students will be choosing a system they would like to learn more about. They will then be researching, note-taking, organizing thoughts, and ultimately writing a non-fiction research paper with citations. We will be learning about writing essays and using paragraphs to organize our thoughts. I will also be introducing the students to microscopes as we look carefully at both plant cells and animal cells. Please remember to encourage the students to play the Healthy Lifestyles BINGO! These are due Friday, February 12th.
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News from the 5-6 Class
The New Year is moving along very rapidly! Winter is here in full swing, and the 5/6 class is busy learning lots of new and exciting things.
The students have been actively engaged in a genre study on biographies. They completed a comprehensive reading unit consisting of biographies about amazing individuals. The students also selected and read a biography about a famous person of their choice. While reading their biography, they collected extensive information about the individual they were studying. This month, the students will take the data they gathered and construct a timeline, informational tri-fold display and write a speech about their famous person. On February 10, the students’ dedication and hard work will be displayed at our class “Wax Museum.” On the day of the museum, the 5/6 students will dress and act the part of their famous individuals. They will present scripts and show their informational tri-fold displays to all the museum visitors. All members of the Taylor School community are welcome to come to our “Wax Museum.” It is going to be a wonderful learning opportunity for all!
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