Edward E. Taylor Elementary School

Dear Families,

At Edward E. Taylor Elementary, our vision is to nurture a conducive learning environment that fosters student attendance, academic performance, and positive behavior. As we enter the month of October, we are excited to continue working together with our families and community stakeholders to ensure that every Raider has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed!

A special thank you to our amazing fathers who participated in our Donuts for Dads Podcast! Your involvement and support makes a meaningful difference in the lives of our students. We also want to give a big shout-out to the families who attended our Kindergarten Parent Workshops. We appreciate your partnership and commitment to your children's education.

Congratulations to our September Students of the Month, who demonstrated the character trait Honesty and students that earned House points in the Honest Hearts challenge! We are proud of the way our students continue to demonstrate positive character throughout the school. For October, we will focus on Cooperation: "Work and Play the Teamwork Way!" We encourage our students to practice cooperation by listening to others, sharing, helping, taking turns, and working together to accomplish common goals.

Our School Store is officially open for business! Students can earn Taylor Bucks by demonstrating our schoolwide expectations:

• We are respectful
• We are responsible
• We use our words to prevent and resolve conflict

Students can use their Taylor Bucks to participate in our school store and celebrate their positive choices!

Our Raiders continue to demonstrate teamwork and school spirit through our House System! Congratulations to our Houses for earning their points in September:

⬛Altruisimo - 128 points

🟦Reveur - 120 points

🟩Isibindi - 115 points

🟥Amistad - 79 points

We are proud of the enthusiasm, cooperation, and positive energy our students bring to their Houses!

On September 25th, during our first Early Release day, students participated in our first Advocacy Groups and House Party. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to build relationships, strengthen their sense of belonging, and celebrate being part of the E.E. Taylor family.

We would like to welcome two new members to our E.E. Taylor family: Mr. Cain (5th grade teacher) and Miss Danforth (3rd grade teacher)!

We are continuing our efforts to decrease our tardy rate and instruction begins at 7:30 a.m., and our breakfast doors close at 7:25 a.m. Beginning Monday, October 5th, students arriving between 7:30-7:45 a.m. will receive a Grab-and-Go breakfast. Morning breakfast will end at 7:45 a.m. Every minute of instructional time matters! We appreciate your partnership in helping students arrive on time and ready to learn.

We need our families' support in helping maintain a healthy school environment. Please do not send sodas with students to school. We appreciate your cooperation as we encourage healthy choices and support student wellness.

Our first School Improvement Council (SIC) meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20th. If you are interested in serving on the School Improvement Council, please contact the Front Office. Nominations for the SIC will be accepted up until the 7th and votes will take place on Wednesday, October 7th.

Thank you for your continued support, partnership, and commitment to Edward E. Taylor Elementary! Together, we will continue to create a school community where students are supported, celebrated, and empowered to reach their fullest potential!

Educationally yours,

Mrs. Tiffany Brooks

Principal

All In. All Year. All Together.

• TalkingPoints is the district platform for communication between home and school. If you have any difficulties accessing the information, please let the classroom teacher know.
• Students are tardy as of 7:25 a.m. and will need to be signed in at the Main Office by an adult.
• Dismissal begins at 2:20 p.m.; please ensure that students are picked up promptly as the office closes at 3:00 p.m.
• The cut off time for signing students out for early dismissal is 1:45 p.m.
• Contact the school to update the number of any parent/guardian of a student at E.E. Taylor.

Use the link to register for Boys & Girls Club (if interested).

National Principals Month

National Dropout Prevention Month

National Bullying Prevention Month

10/8: Early Dismissal for Students at 11:00 AM

• Parent-Teacher Conferences
• End of the First Quarter

10/9: No School for Students (Teacher Workday)

10/12 - 10/16: National School Lunch Week

10/15: 1st Grade Parent Workshop

10/20: School Improvement Council (SIC) Meeting at 3:30 p.m.

10/22: ELA Title I Night & Trunk or Treat at 5 p.m.

10/23 - 10/30: Red Ribbon Week

10/30: PBIS Celebration

House Shirts are available to purchase! Please submit the order form along with the money (CASH ONLY) to the teacher before Friday, October 16th.

If you are in need of an order form, please let the teacher know.

The character trait for the month of October is Cooperation, which means to play together or work well with others to accomplish a common goal.

Each month during the school year, we share a character trait and recognize the students that demonstrated the character trait throughout the month. Congratulations to the following students who demonstrated Honesty during the month of September:

• Miss Stout: Journei Mayo & Zion King
• Dr. Moore: Royal Felder & Amun Morton
• Ms. Cura: Dream Thames & Ricardo White
• Mr. Brown: Wynter Alston & Stephon Wise
• Mrs. LaCosta: Shavone Corley & Logan High
• Mrs. Primus: Peighton Lonon & Ja'Seon Foster
• Miss Danforth: Allison Carson & Tyree Nelson
• Miss Jones: Harmony Tucker & Micah Findley
• Mrs. Brissett: Kennedi Brown & Zaire McDonald
• Mrs. Francis: Ja'Nyla Caldwell & Aaron Kruckrow-Remsburg
• Mr. Cain: Morgan Craig & Noah Johnson
• Ms. McIntyre: Karie Shipmon & Noah Sosa Sifonte
• Ms. Hodges: Colton Creighton

💬SEL Tip for Families

• Practice kindness at home. Encourage your child to say kind things to siblings or neighbors and recognize their kin actions out loud.

📆Attendance Tip for Families

• Keep up healthy habits - sleep, handwashing, and staying hydrated can help reduce sick days.

Below is the Attendance Excuse form for any absence of a student. Please complete it any time your child is absent from school. Thank you for your cooperation!

When you come across an unfamiliar word, don't skip it! Use pictures, clues, reread the sentence, or break the word into smaller parts to figure out its meaning. Every new word you learn makes you a better reader.

Family Math Tip 🧮

Math is everywhere! While shopping, let your child help compare prices, estimate the total cost, or count change. These everyday activities build number sense and problem-solving skills in a fun way.

Family Science Tip 🔬

Encourage curiosity by asking your child to observe the world around them. Notice the weather, plants, or animals inn your neighborhood and discuss what changes they see. Asking questions and making observations are important skills real scientists use every day!

"Together, math and science become more meaningful when children see them connected to everyday life!"

Prisma Health will offer free flu shots for children and adults Saturday, October 3 from 9 am - 1 pm at Lower Richland High School. This will be a drive-through flu shot clinic. Wear loose-fitting clothing that can easily roll up.

For more information: https://prismahealth.org/fight-the-flu/free-flu-shots-in-the-midlands

On Thursday, October 15, the Parent and Family Engagement Specialist will host a parent workshop with the 1st grade parents and the first grade teachers, Mr. Brown and Mrs. LaCosta.

This workshop is designed to help parents build strong partnerships with the school and community. Parents will learn strategies to support their children's learning at home, including educational activities, ways to encourage literacy, and tips for building a home library.

The teachers will also provide information about the daily classroom structure, academic expectations, and ways families can stay involved in their child's education.

We look forward to partnering with our families to support student success and strengthen the home-school connection. Stay tuned for more information about the workshop!

Mrs. Hawkins

Parent & Family Engagement Specialist