Roadrunner Update

This poem describes the impact that educators have on their students. Do you remember a teacher from your past? Why do you think of that teacher in particular?

Know that your work is the most valuable work in the world. Education creates the future.

A poem by Bill Knott

Many decades after graduation the students sneak back onto the school grounds at night

And within the pane-lit windows, catch me, their teacher at the desk.

Someone has erased their youth and as they crouch closer to see more, it grows darker and more quiet

The lesson they never learned surrounds them: why have they come?

Is there any more to memorize now?

What is it they peer at through the shades?

Do they mock me? Forever?

Out there my past has risen in the eyes of all my former pupils

But I wonder if behind them others younger and younger stretch away to a day whose dawn will never ring its end

Hi there Roadrunners and families!! I have loved and gotten to know the students of Mt. Taylor! I appreciate the support I have received from families I have gotten on the drop off lane, phone conversations, and at PTO meetings. Again, thank you to Tannis Spencer, who created beautiful artistic posters to encourage students through testing! Students have been getting through assessments, and trying very hard to show all they know on their state tests! It is springtime with the weather warming up.

I have a couple of reminders. Please be cautious and watch for students while driving to and from school. We have students walking to school and back home. Please pull all the way forward on the drop off/pick-up lane so we can try to get all cars through as safely and quickly as possible. Pulling all the way forward to let out seven vehicles is safer than a car dropping off and passing around traffic. Thank you, and we do appreciate parents for your understanding and working together! The second reminder is as the weather warms up, we see students wanting to dress for the warm weather in various fashions. While we do understand fashion, identity, and self- expression, we hope that you do please work with your child to adhere to the school and district dress code. We do not want an outfit to interfere or take focus away from the educational process of learning.

We have a lot of fun activities coming up in these last weeks of school and I am so excited to see the students make lasting memories together with their peers! Please be sure your child or their teacher has shared with you the plan for activities and trips coming up, if not please reach out and be sure permission slips have been signed. We hope to see your child participating in the Mt. Taylor Fun Run! This is a big fundraiser for our school so we need your help in sponsoring your child.

Thank you,

Mrs. Valdez

Assistant Principal

3rd to 6th grade will be taking the State assessments in Reading and Math.

5th grade will also be taking the Science State assessment.

The FUN RUN will begin at 1 o'clock

Track & Field will be at GHS.

Parents/Families are welcome to come watch their child preform with their classmates!

Dances from Around the World

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade will preform at 8:30 am in the Gym

K- La Raspa (The Mexican Hat Dance)

1st - Sashay the Donut ( American Folk Dance)

2nd - Arirang (Korean Folk Dance)

3rd - The Chimes of Dunkirk (Scottish Reel)

4th - The Sasha (Russian Folk Dance)

Shadow Puppet Theater

5th and 6th Grade will preform at 9:30 in the Library

5th - Anansi the Spider (West African/ Ghana folktale)

6th - Dona Flor (Mexican folktale)

Graduating Seniors who attended Mt. Taylor will visit our campus.

Students in 2nd and 6th Grade will enjoy the GCCS AG Day at the Rodeo Grounds.

Students who signed up will have 10 extra days of learning.

FIrst grade is reviewing the standards that have been taught through the year in reading. Please read with your child every night for 20 minutes. We have a lot of students who are working to meet their A.R. goal for the last 9 weeks. In math, we will be working on length and measurement. We will also be practicing math facts to ten in addition and subtraction.

We will be starting our Egg to Chick unit soon. This is always a fun unit for spring!

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DONATED EGGS FOR OUR EGG HUNT!

Please remember to send a jacket everyday. It is still cool outside for lunch.

We have enjoyed your children this school year and would like to say thank you

for helping to make this a successful year. This year would not have been the same

without your hard work and dedication. Make sure your children continue to read

and work on math over the break so that they continue to keep their minds sharp.

Working on addition, subtraction, money, time, and starting to memorize times

tables will be key to being ready for 3rd grade. The public library has a great

summer program to keep kids motivated to read. We want to wish all our students

well this summer and next year in 3rd grade!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

Mrs. Munson, Mrs. Tafoya, and Ms. Regina

ELA:

We are quickly approaching the second half of the 4th quarter! Your child has one more opportunity to make his/her A.R. Goal. Students have been busy reading their books so they can achieve their goal one last time!

3rd grade classrooms are still currently using CKLA for Language Arts instruction. In Unit 10 we will be learning about Colonial America and more specifically about the aspects of life in each colony. We will continue learning about adjectives using the suffixes -er and -est as well as more and most.

Math:

In math we will be focusing on module 6 Collecting and Explaining Data as well as module 7 Geometry and Measurement. As our school year starts coming to an end, please continue to work with your child at home so that they can continue to progress on mastering their multiplication and division facts.

Science:

We will finish out the year learning about Objects and Motion, Electric and Magnetic Forces, Ecology, and Weather/Climate.

Social Studies:

We will finish out the year learning about Colonial America in conjunction with ELA/CKLA, the 5 main US Regions, and the 7 Continents

*Students should be reading for at least 15-20 minutes daily.

Mrs. Small/ELA - Testing has been completed and we are ready to get started on our last unit.
This unit will focus on reviewing many of the skills they learned throughout the year and learning how all these parts all work together to create the story. They will focus on summarizing several different forms of writing including poetry, and non-fiction. Students are still asked to read at home every night for 20-30 minutes.

Mrs. Sandoval/Math - In math, fifth grade will finish working on classifying and sorting two-dimensional figures by properties. We will begin reviewing all topics from earlier in the year, including multiplying fractions by whole numbers and mixed numbers, interpreting division expressions as fractions, dividing unit fractions by fractions and whole numbers, and multiplying and dividing decimals. We want to be sure our fifth graders head to sixth grade with all the skills they need!

Mrs. Covey/Science & Social Studies - In Social Studies students will be learning about the

Road to War, Great Britain Parliament, Boston Massacre this includes Boston Tea Party, Sending mail by horseback (Paul Revere), Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Revolution: Declaration of Independence, and the Battle of Monmouth.

In Science students will be learning about Fossils,

Extinction, Water, Conservation of Matter, Transfer of Energy, Variation of Traits, Balance and unbalanced forces, and the Brain Process of Senses.

Mrs. Kori selected three students, including me, to taste food provided by 2 different companies at Grants High School. We went to go test-taste food because the schools were trying to select a company to provide lunch and breakfast for the schools. The two companies were both delicious, but I did prefer one more than the other. One had more of a Mexican style of food, the other had a style that almost anyone would like. The company I liked had salad, chicken wings, a breakfast smoothie, etc. The other company had a moist taco, a green chile enchilada, and a bowl of chili. I was looking for more of a fresh-tasting meal, so that is why I favored that company. I hope the company I prefer is selected to produce food for the schools.

-Emma Munson

The local science fair took place at St.Teresa from 7:00 am - 9:30, 2/25/23 - 2/26/23. In order to do a science fair you must have Research, Hypothesis, Procedure/ Method, Data, and Conclusion. When the judge came to me I was nervous (I was scared) but after a while, I wasn’t as nervous (scared) anymore. In different categories, there were different judges. In the category I was in there were 3 judges. The judges asked me “Why did I choose this project?”, “ What was the project about?”, and “Did I have fun?”.

From 7:00 am - 9:30, the Junior Division, then from 9:30 am - 12:00 the Senior division was doing the science fair. The students from Mt. Taylor Elementary School was Sebastian Griego, Emma Munson, and Rhiannon Patel. There were many categories in the science fair, Emma, Sebastian, and Rhiannon were all in different categories. Then the next day the judges gave the award and the medals, Emma Munson got 1st place in her division!! Sebastian and Rhiannon did not place but they still had fun! I hope you enjoyed the article!

-Rhiannon Patel

Dr. Ayala visited Mrs. Sarracino's classroom where students shared some things they have been working on! Jayden was so excited about reading that he requested to read to Dr. Ayala 😁CJ was excited about his persuasive letter to Dr. Ayala.