Taylor Mills School September Highlights

The following highlights are submitted by Irene Policastro, the Secretary to Superintendent John J. Marciante of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District.

Parent Involvement / School Spirit /School Safety

Upon returning to school after a long summer, the students of Taylor Mills geared up for a busy month! In addition to settling back into their routines and getting to know their new teachers and classmates, our students had the opportunity to show their school spirit and celebrate being back at Taylor Mills School with our annual School Spirit Walk-A-Thon. 

The event, which kicked off our PTA’s fundraising efforts, was a huge success!  In addition to student celebrations, our parents were also given the opportunity to be active participants in the school community. We held our first PTA meeting of the year on the morning of September 20 and had a wonderful turnout.

Our Back to School Night on October 3 will give us the opportunity to showcase all of the wonderful events from the past year and provide the chance to look ahead to the change and growth that this year will bring.

Lastly, our population had several opportunities to practice our emergency management drills this month, including fire drills, a secondary evacuation, and a lockdown. Based on the updated school safety legislation our district will now have the opportunity to strengthen our preparedness with all types of safety and security drills. 

Johnny Appleseed Meets the Common Core Content Standards!

In first grade, our students spend time studying about the seasons, plants, and important historical figures. This month provided the perfect opportunity to learn about Autumn, Johnny Appleseed, and apples. On September 27th, the entire day was devoted to activities that integrated all of our core subjects including Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social Studies into one Fall theme. 

First grade teachers used this exciting mini-unit to apply the Common Core Standards in multiple areas. Students used the literacy standards regarding text features to locate key facts in informational / non-fiction text. After explaining that students can read the news just as their parents do, students read from Scholastic News to find out how apples get from the tree to our stores so we can buy and enjoy them.

Students used their listening and visual skills while watching a short Scholastic "Crunch" video which explained how an apple grows (science). To incorporate math, each child was asked to bring in an apple. Students then had the opportunity to count the apples and divide them by color. Students engaged in discussions about which apple colors had more, less, or equal amounts. They graphed their results. 

In a shared reading experience, the teachers read Johnny Appleseed aloud.  Students learned about John Chapman, a pioneer who traveled the East Coast planting apple seeds (Social Studies). The children created a web of what they learned about John Chapman and began writing about the important character traits they observed. All of their work will be compiled in a class book to share with fellow students and parents.

To top it all off, students had the opportunity to taste their apples, but they had to use adjectives to describe what they tasted like! With all of the leftover apples, students helped to make fresh apple sauce and apple pizzas. Our first graders were very lucky to be a part of such a fun and purposeful day!