Important Dates
Fourth Quarter Events
-3/30 Report Cards (Progress Book)
-3/31 Registration/Payments DUE for
Camp Kern
-4/1 OMEA Junior High Solo and
Ensemble Competition
-4/10-4/13 8th grade D.C. Trip
-4/14-4/21 Spring Break
-4/24-4/26 Camp Kern
-4/28 Splash Into Science Dance 6:45p
-5/4, 5/6, 5/7 Willy Wonka Jr. Play
-5/12 Mother/Son-Father/Daughter
Dance 7p
-5/19 Grades 5 & 6 grade Awards 8a
-5/20 7th & 8 th grade Music in the
Parks
-5/22 Grade 7 Awards 8a
-5/23 Character Awards (recipients
will receive an invitation) 8a
-5/24 Band Concert 7p
-5/25 Grade 8 Awards 1:15p
-5/26 Field Day (K-8)
-5/29 No School/Memorial Day
-5/30 Choir Concert 6:30p
-6/1 Students’ Last Day of School
-6/13-6/16 Summer Art Camp (K-5)
-6/15-6/19 Splash Into Science Trip
-6/26-6/28 Boys Soccer Camp (gr. 4-6)
-7/10-7/14 Children’s Theater
-7/10-7/13 Girls Soccer Camp (gr.5-8)
-8/10 Back to School Fest 4p
-8/17 Students’ First Day Back to the
2017-2018 School Year
Chess Club meets at 2:45p on
Mondays for students in grades 7-9
and on Wednesdays for grades 5/6.
PTO meets on the 2nd Monday of the
month at 7:00p.
For details of events/times/location,
visit the TMS Google Calendar on the
district webpage:
www.threeriversschools.org
*Da tes are s ubject to change throughout
the quarter. If you have questions, please
rea ch out to the building secretary, Ki m
Mi nk a t 513.467.3500.
If you ha ve questions about Ta ylor Mi ddle
School Band or Choir, visit:
http://www.yellowjacketbands.com/
To s ee what is happening on campus,
fol l ow us on
Fa cebook:https://www.facebook.com/thr
eeri versschools/
CONTACT TAYLOR MIDDLE SCHOOL: 513.467.3500
Principal, Holly Simms – [email protected] – ext. 1122
Dean of Students, Beth Jackson – [email protected] – ext. 1124
Secretary, Kim Mink – [email protected] – ext. 1106
Counselor, Dave Henderson – [email protected] – ext. 1120
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that we are now in the fourth
quarter and our year is drawing to a close. What a
wonderful year we have had so far with many of
our students being able to take part in so many
exciting activities; the incredibly successful
MATHCOUNTS club, our undefeated 7th grade
boys’ basketball team, band and choir concerts,
Destination Imagination, Chess Club, all athletic
teams, and 5th and 6th grade Book Battle, the
Middle School is always bustling with activity and
energy. A big thank you goes out to all of the
parents and teachers that work to ensure that
these opportunities happen and continue to
evolve.
As the weather changes, please keep in mind that
your child should come to school wearing proper
school attire. We encourage students to wear
appropriate “school wear” rather than “beach
wear.” Taylor Middle School is air conditioned and
the temperature in the classrooms is set at a
comfortable level.
Our state-wide testing will begin April 3, 2017. The
testing schedule is on page four of this
newsletter. It is important that your child comes to
school each of his/her scheduled testing days.
Students who are present all days of testing will
receive a reward.
-Principal, Holly Simms
Taylor Middle School 2017 Book Battle
First place team:
Matthew Buhrmann
Kylie Davis
Ethan Schmidt
Grant Booth
Second place team:
Austin Childs
Bailey Gratz
Corey McAdams
Jonathan Douglas
Third place team:
Jaylen Howard
Brady Volk
Abby Dawson
Shelby Matthes
Siara Michels
MATHCOUNTS TEAM
Taylor Middle School’s Math Club reached Gold
Level Status in The National Math Club this year.
Lee Garber-Ford, a seventh grader, qualified for the
state tournament for MathCounts. Lee finished in
seventh at the Cincinnati regional to qualify. In
Columbus, he finished 26th in the competition!
In March, the team of Lee Garber-Ford, Brandon
McCollum, Nick Buirley, and Liam Qiu finished
seventh out of 48 teams in the Cincinnati area.
Brandon McCollum finished in the top 25% of the
competition.
Destination Imagination
Congratulations to all of our Three
Rivers Destination Imagination
teams! In March, Three Rivers
Educational Campus hosted the Ohio
and Kentucky regional DI
tournament. Three Rivers APT teams
represented our district very well.
Two teams, 6th grade team “Glow ‘In Snowmen” and 5th
grade team, “Mystery Makers”, both qualified for the state
tournament! The “Glow ‘In Snowmen” team came in first in
the Engineering Challenge, creating a structure to hold weight
and presenting a story about two nations with the same world
problem. Students who are members of this team are: Emmy
Servaites, Graysen Evans, Karlie Burdick, Delana Hinman,
Grant Booth, and Peyton Tenhundfeld. The 5th grade team,
“Mystery Makers”, came in second place of a competitive
challenge, Science. They had to decode a word right in the
middle of their script and also had to create a technical
gadget and have a disguised character! Team members
include: Keaton McCollum, Grace Bailey, Jonathan Douglas,
Xavier Bell, and Callie Steinmann.
The Taylor Middle School students are always achieving great
things. Follow us:
http://www.threeriversschools.org/taylor-middle-school/
On March 25, 2017 18 students from Three Rivers School
District from 2nd grade up to 7th grade represented the
16th Annual Queen City Classic Chess Tournament, which
was held at the Paul Brown Stadium. At this year's
tournament there were around 700 students in
attendance from 120 different schools.
Our After-School Three Rivers Chess Club brought home 3
trophies. Both Casey Bracken (Grade 5) and Lee GarberFord (Grade 7) were awarded individually for winning 3.5+
matches. Our 7th grade team brought home the 3rd
overall trophy!
INITIATIVE AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Aidan Luallen, Ava Schaffer, Lillian Winkler, Brooklyn Yetter, Abby Brettschneider, Emma Brown, Graysen Evans, Haley
Feltner, Kiley Herrmann, Anthony Kuhr, Nevaeh Lee, Alyssa Ochs, Ethan Schmidt, Brynn Stokes, Michael Hodge, Anna
Kalbli, Chase McCreary, Brent Stutzman, Gavin Tenkotte, Sophia Thoma, Jasmine Rocha-Torres, Ava Westrich,
Andrew Anderson, Rylan Deaton, Julia Gooding, Natalie Miller, Jayden Rauen, Robert Sprague, Joshua Vogelpohl,
Peyton Wells
JUSTICE AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Draven Nixon, Elayna Bender, Aubryn Wells, Estrella Lopez, Maura Taylor, Elizabeth Miller, Olivia Fries, David Gerth,
Trenton Brunswick, Niki Lippert, Donna Bundy, Katherine Cruze, Cameron Moening, Elizabeth Otto, Juliann Scott,
Logan Heller, Joshua Mounce, Jacob Mansu, Christina Stolz, Andrew Bartholomew, Julia Gooding, Braydon Spivey
THOROUGHNESS AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Braelyn Ausdenmoore, Elayna Bender, Kendall Cox, Brooklyn Howarth, Camrynn Linneman, Jackson Pearson, Layna
Richards, Morgan Rolfes, Alexis Weiss, Emerson Xie, Donna Bundy, Zachary Howard, Drew Kantz, Siara Michels,
Cameron Moening, Syndle Walton, Jordan Webb, William Forbes, Leona McKinney, Lena Pitzer, Santiago Rocha,
Emmalee Ulm, Kylie Groppe-Unthank, Collin Baines, Raegen Bass, Kaitlin Bucher, Jackson Gargano, Danielle Gerth,
Mackenzie Heidkamp, Ellie Herbert, Katarina Hofmeyer, Jacob Mansu, Braydon Spivey, Christina Stolz
On March 15, six members of the Three Rivers Character Team traveled to a ceremony entitled, “Heroes of
Character”. Our very own Logan Baines (6th grade student) was recognized for his display of tremendous character as he
worked/fought his way back from a severe spinal injury. His mother, father, brother, and aunt were also part of the group
cheering when his name was called and he was able to walk to the stage and receive his award. We are all very proud of
Logan and his accomplishments.
The 5th grade Character Education class continues to work on all things character. We begin class with the students having
an opportunity to share what actions they have recently done that exemplifies good character. Their assignment each week
is to accomplish a minimum of 5 positive character actions. Some examples are, holding the door for others, carrying
groceries in from the car, helping with dishes, finding money and catching up to the owner to return it! We discuss how
pleased the recipient must feel and then also how good we all feel after helping someone out. You, as a parent, can help
with this project by pointing out when your child has displayed good character; a little praise can go a long way!
Application update: we plan to begin the actual “signing up” phase of our planned application to become a recognized
“School of Character”. This is a process that requires a great deal of time and energy spent by many dedicated people,
compiling data, collecting examples and assembling it all so that it makes sense! I would like to publicly thank all that have
worked so hard up to this point to get us where we are; it will all be worth it once we have submitted our
application. “Good character is not taught, it is caught”.
-Taylor Middle School Counselor, Dave Henderson
Wow! I cannot believe it is already the 4th quarter; with it comes testing and spring-like weather. Testing is going to
be in full swing in the classrooms and the nurse’s office would like to help remind the kids and their parents the
importance of being our BEST at being healthy! Please remind your kids to wash their hands after using the restroom
and before eating. Hand washing is the most effective way to stay healthy. Another reminder is for your child to get a
good night’s sleep and eat a healthy and cumbersome breakfast each day, especially the night prior, and morning of,
a test. I often tell the students that our bodies are like cars and without fuel the car doesn’t like to work properly.
With the spring-like weather it brings allergies, the common cold, and can exacerbate students with asthma.
Remember, for students who need or use an inhaler, need a doctor’s order to be provided to the school for this to be
administered during school hours.
Parents of students who will be in the 7th grade for the 2017-2018 school year, remember that these students need
the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccination prior to the school year beginning. That documentation needs to be sent
into the nurse’s office ASAP; it can be faxed to 513-715-0289. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this,
please call me at 513-824-7500 or email me at [email protected].
Happy spring, Nurse Jen
Taylor Middle School will soon begin the process of scheduling. We will not be
accepting requests for teachers or teaching teams. As mentioned in previous
newsletters, students in the 7th and 8th grades are scheduled into English and
math classes based on their MAP scores. The final MAP assessment will be
administered to all students in grades 1-8 by May 10. Your child will receive their
results for the final MAP assessment in the middle of May. If you have questions
regarding those results, please speak directly to your child’s teacher.
Exploratory classes for grades 5 and 6 will be assigned. All students in grade 6
must choose between band and choir. Students in grades 7 and 8 will receive a
course selection guide for exploratory classes in the beginning of May. Should
you have any questions, please feel free to contact Holly Simms or Dave
Henderson.
I would like to thank you for your continued support of academics, character
education, and extracurricular activities. Our partnership with parents and
families is vital to our students, the school, and the community’s growth and
success. Also a huge thank you goes out to our PTO for supporting and providing
our students with opportunities within the school as well as outside of the
building. Your time and dedication to the Taylor Middle School students is greatly
appreciated.
Sincerely, Holly Simms
Over the past few months, I have spoken to middle school
students about kindness and how it can impact classrooms,
our school, our community, and our world. Students have
shared their ideas; they explained what they believe
kindness really is. Students were able to express that
kindness is simply helping others in need. We took time
talking about paying it forward and the “ripple effect” that
kindness has on others. Kindness impacts the giver, the
receiver, and all those who see the act of kindness.
One fifth grade class asked if we could decorate lockers with
positive notes. Students were creative with their words and
took the time to sprinkle kindness on every fifth grade
locker. “I care about you”- “You are a good friend”-“You
have a nice smile” were some of the messages they took the
time to write and share. After the messages were posted, a
high school teacher walked through the hallway and saw the
kindness notes and the impact these had on the students
who were at their lockers reading them. She decided to do
the same thing for her students in the high school. She put a
kindness note on each of her students’ lockers. These same
students chose to target the bus drivers next. They wrote
thank you notes to the bus drivers to thank them for getting
them to school and home each day safely. One student
shared that his driver always helps his little brother tie his
shoes after school. I believe that when you carry out acts of
kindness, you get a wonderful feeling inside, and seeing the
fifth grade class earn that feeling is what we all ought to
experience regularly.
Kindness has other advantages too. Teaching kindness
reduces bullying. Instead of teaching what kids CANNOT do,
we need to teach them what they CAN do! This will result in
a positive change in our schools.
Teaching and encouraging kindness is related to many of the following
outcomes:
• Happy children! When we do acts of kindness, we gain a natural,
good feeling that results in happy and compassionate kids that
don’t need to bully.
• Improved mental health. When we do acts of kindness we increase
our serotonin levels, which are the brain chemicals that work to
improve our moods. When you have an unhappy child, try to
encourage him or her to be kind to someone else.
• Improved academic success. The increased serotonin levels also
help to increase concentration and memory which greatly impacts
learning.
• More friends. Being accepted and liked by peers is usually desired
and very important to all children of all ages. Kindness increases
our connections to others.
• Higher self-esteem. The “helper’s high” that comes from
endorphins in the brain when we do something kind and provides a
sense of belonging. Children realize the great impact they have on
their community.
One of the best ways for us to teach our children how to show kindness is to
model it ourselves. For more information on teaching kindness and
empathy, refer to this website for free resources and a video playlist about
the power of kindness: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festivalkindness-empathy-connection
Beth Jackson, Dean of Students
AIR Testing Tips for Students and Families
Testing is used in schools for two main purposes. The first is to find out how
well an individual student is learning in the classroom, and the second is to
find out how well the school is meeting local and national benchmarks for
student achievement. Here are a few ways students and families can
prepare for testing:
• Familiarize your student and family with the testing schedule and
format, so that the student knows what to expect. Talk through
what will happen each day and brainstorm solutions to problems
that may arise during testing (i.e. if student feels nervous or sick,
they can take slow breaths or sip water).
• Provide short, extra practice times on taking tests (practicing test
questions and studying new words) and extra practice on skills in
areas that your child has struggled with in the past.
• Talk to your child about test taking tricks that will help boost
confidence. Some good strategies include:
→ read directions and questions twice
→ underline important vocabulary in questions
→ complete answers the student knows first
→ eliminate any obvious incorrect answers on multiple choice questions
→ answer all questions, even if you have to guess
→ do not change answers unless you know you made a mistake (first
answer is usually right)
→ check over work before turning in test
• Make sure your child has the needed supplies to take the test. Check
to see if your child needs number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils
allowed on tests), erasers, paper, calculator, etc.
• Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy
breakfast to ensure the student is working at full capacity.
• Practice some relaxation techniques at home with your child if
he/she appear nervous (deep breaths, counting to 10 slowly,
listening to soft music, positive imagery, such as picturing
themselves taking the test well, etc.)
• Stay calm and be positive during test week. Remember tests are just
one way to measure what a student knows. Too much focus on
testing at home can cause undue pressure and stress. Provide extra
nurturing and comfort during this week to help your student feel
secure and confident.
-Shannon McCormack
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AIR TESTING SCHEDULE:
4/4 – ELA (gr. 5, 6)
4/5 – ELA (gr. 5, 6)
4/6 – ELA (gr. 7, 8)
4/7 – ELA (gr. 7, 8)
4/7 – 4/13 Make up testing/ELA
5/2 – Math (gr. 5, 6, 8)
5/3 Math (gr. 5, 6, 7, 8)
5/4 – Math (gr. 7), Science (gr. 5 & 8),
and Social Studies (gr. 6)
If your child loves art, don’t miss out on the Three Rivers Summer Art Camp. Camp
runs June 13-16. Download the registration form by visiting:
http://www.threeriversschools.org/taylor-middle-school/forms-24/ or pick one up
at campus.
Three Rivers Children’s Theater is a fun 5 day event to prepare students to take
the stage! This camp is for students in grades K-8 and runs from July 10-14.
Back to School Ready Fest will kick off the second annual bash on August 10, 2017.
You won’t want to miss this fun event that will provide Three Rivers’ students and
parents with an opportunity to get to know staff, learn about various parent
resources, sign up for raffles, win free prizes, and much more. Keep an eye on our
district Facebook page ( @threeriversschools) for more information.
5/5 – 5/11 Make up testing