A huge THANK YOU to everyone for a successful Book Fair and Literacy Week! Parents, teachers, students, PTA volunteers, and our librarian, Mrs. Tall, made the week "out of this world!" Thank you!
We are now also on Instagram! Follow us on the social media platform of your choice to stay in the loop of all things Taylor Elementary! Instagram: @taylorelementary.centervilleut
We will have our student Halloween Parade on Thursday, October 31, from 9:00-9:30 am. Please carefully read the following message from our principal Dr. Denhalter, and JSSC for October 2024.
Dear J. A. Taylor Elementary Parents,
Our Joint Staff School Committee (JSSC -representative school employee leadership team) decided again this year to hold a student Halloween costume parade. We held a successful parade last year and felt we could again rely on students and families to be “Safe, Kind, and Reliable.”
Our Halloween Parade will happen first thing in the morning on Tuesday, October 31. We plan to begin by 9:10 and expect the parade will last about 20 minutes. Students will parade for each other indoors and will parade for parents outdoors, next to the building around the playground courtyard. We would like parents and guests to keep about 10 feet clear of the exterior walls of the school, where students will parade.
For those who choose to participate, please have the students come to school on October 31 dressed in their costumes. They will need to remove their costumes after the parade. Students who choose to not dress up may choose to walk with their class in the parade or stay in their classrooms. Classes may have class parties later that day.
There are a few guidelines that must be followed -basically, keep things fun and positive for everyone. Please avoid potentially offensive costumes from ethnic or cultural groups, those which may cause political or other controversy, and avoid extreme gore, masks, and costume makeup. School dress standards still apply (https://taylor.davis.k12.ut.us/o/taes/page/policies).
We appreciate your support and working together to create a positive school experience and memory for the children.
Thank you,
Dr. Denhalter and the Joint Staff School Committee
Today is the last day of the Book Fair! Please come today between 3:30-5:00 pm. We would love to see you! We have all sorts of books available for purchase.
Today for Literacy Lunch Galaxy Games, we read a story about launching rockets and then we launched one with the help of Captain Supernova! Don't forget to wear your favorite planet, stars, or tie-dye shirt tomorrow for the "Outer Space Outfit Day."
There are two days left for the book fair! (Today, October 9 and tomorrow, October 10 from 3:30 -5:00 pm) Make sure to come and have a look at a book! We are grateful to our librarian, Mrs. Tall, and the PTA for all their hard work in making this happen.
Happy fall y'all! Next week is the end of first term, fall break, a teacher professional development day, and the beginning of second term. There will be early out dismissal (1:30 pm) on Wednesday, October 16. There will be no school on Thursday and Friday for fall break. There will be no school on Monday, October 21, for a teacher professional development day. School resumes on Tuesday, October 22 for the beginning of second term!
During class today, students participated in the PTA sponsored, "Books, Blankets, Blastoff!" reading activity. Here are students from Mrs. Palmer's class getting cozy to read.
Galaxy Games at lunch today included finding out your astronaut name, like Radar Countdown, Nebula Supernova, and Stellar Moonbeam. These readers are out of this world! Thank you, PTA, for having such fun activities for us!
Have you met our office staff? When you come in to the school, you will first be met with one of these friendly faces. They are happy to help students be successful and to help parents and families with their needs. Pictured from left to right: Clayton Reid, Melissa Stoneman, Nikki Beckstrand, Heather Story, Katy Gamble, and Dr. Darryl Denhalter.
Clayton Reid is our administrative intern. This is his first year at Taylor but has been in school administration for seven years. He says that he "has been blown away by the kindness and compassion" of the teachers at Taylor Elementary. He is happy to be at Taylor and to help in any way that he can.
Melissa Stoneman has been the health clerk for the last three years. She is the first stop for students when they are sick or injured (band-aids and ice packs are her specialties). She is great at calming the students and documenting and contacting parents as needed.
Nikki Beckstrand is the office assistant. She helps the administration, staff, students, and parents with all sorts of needs. She monitors attendance, teacher supplies, and all the comings and goings of students, visitors, and volunteers.
Heather Story is the school nurse. She writes all the health plans for students, trains staff members on any medical needs, and helps assess injuries at school.
Katy Gamble is the office manager. She has been doing this for ten years; six of those here at Taylor. She makes sure that the whole school stays afloat by taking care of student registration/enrollments/withdrawals, scheduling, yearbooks, payroll, answering phones, helping to make the daily chaos a bit more manageable, and much more.
Dr. Darryl Denhalter is our principal. This is his third year at Taylor and has been in school administration for over 21 years. He says that his responsibilities at the school are to "play with the kids at recess and sometimes eat lunch with them," but we know he does a lot more than just that. We appreciate the care that he shows for each student and to create a safe and caring space for learning.
We love our office staff!
We have a new school counselor this year, Dawn Larson! On our school website, there is page dedicated as the "Counselor Corner" with resources for parents and students. Dawn offers support and guidance to help students improve their social skills, manage emotions, and navigate school life. With it being National Bullying Prevention Month and World Mental Health Day around the corner (October 10), check out the Counselor Corner for some great resources to support you and your family. Taylor website > Menu > School Information > Counselor Corner: https://taylor.davis.k12.ut.us/o/taes/page/counselor-corner
It is National Custodian Appreciation Day, and we appreciate James Heninger and his crew of Kaleb, Jace, and Justin! James has been the Facility Manager at Taylor Elementary School for the last three years. He and his crew do their part to protect the health and safety of our students and staff by cleaning and maintaining the school. From sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, and vacuuming, to moving furniture, fix-it repairs, and locking up the building, we appreciate all that the custodial staff do for us!
Reminders: This Wednesday and Thursday are Parent Teacher Conferences. The teachers are excited to meet you and to have your child share what they have been learning. School is dismissed at 1:30 pm this week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please make sure your child knows the plan for early out dismissal. See you soon!
Community Nursing Services (CNS) has partnered with Davis Schools to protect against the flu. CNS clinical staff will be at Taylor Elementary School on Thursday, October 3 from 3:00-7:00 pm, providing flu vaccinations. Reduced and no-cost flu vaccines will be available to individuals and families who are uninsured and unable to pay. CNS is able to bill many insurance providers for no co-pay for the insured. See www.cns-cares.org for more information.
Picture Day will be on Tuesday, October 1. Send your students to school with a smile! A flyer with photo package information from Bell photography will be coming home today. Order your students photos online at bellphoto.com. Picture retakes will be on Tuesday, December 3.
Our annual vision screening will be next Thursday, September 26, for grades 1, 3, 5, Kindergarten, and Essential Elements. Make sure your student is at school to participate in the screening. If you have questions, please reach out to our school nurse, Heather Story, at hstory@dsdmail.net
Today is National I.T. Professionals Day! A big shout out to our very own School Technology Specialist (STS), Heather Gray! We appreciate all the behind-the-scenes work that she does to keep our students, faculty, and staff connected and advancing in technology. She is always ready to provide technology training, troubleshoot when there are errors, ensure our devices are up to date, and provides the always gentle reminder to restart our computers. With laptops, tablets, desktop computers, TVs, projectors, printers, and more, we have nearly 900 devices that Heather manages! She does her very best to make sure that all those devices are up to date, functioning properly, and replaced at the proper time. This is Heather's fifth year as a Taylor Mustang, and we love having her! Thank you, Heather! Best STS ever!
Reminders for today:
Lock-Down Drill conducted by Centerville Police Department. If you need to check your children out early today, please check them out by 2:30 P.M. The school may not be accessible from 2:30-3:30 pm.
Little Mermaid Production Parent Meeting: 3:45 pm in the gym. Come and get all the information about registration, auditions, practice, and performances. The theatre production is available for students in grade 3-6.
Monday, September 2 is Labor Day; there is no school. We will see you again on Tuesday!
