Welcome Back to Taylor Elementary
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Welcome Back to Taylor Elementary

The school bus driver on route 607 opens the door, hops out of the bus and welcomes the children to the first day of school at Taylor Elementary with a high five.

The school bus driver on route 607 opens the door, hops out of the bus and welcomes the children to the first day of school at Taylor Elementary with a high five. Photo by Shirley Ruhe.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Children skip down the sidewalk, buses roll up and let off their passengers laden with backpacks, and the morning ritual of raising the flag begins. Tuesday, Sept. 5 was the first day of school at Taylor Elementary.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Principal Harold Pellegreen, in his fourth year at Taylor Elementary, says the first day for kindergarten and first grade is focused on getting the children to school, having lunch and accounting for how they will get home and getting them there safely. “Anything else is a bonus.” He says the first week is about establishing a routine.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

First grade teacher Lauren Lachewitz uses a glue gun to finish a sign for the wall that says “We Are Happy to Help.” She said that she loves her new small tables. “They are brand new and just fit in my classroom of 20, not like the large wooden tables we had in the past.” Principal Harold Pellegreen says the tables arrived last Friday unassembled so “I came at 6 a.m. this morning to put them together.”

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Second grade teacher Shannon Smith says she has taught everywhere from Florida to Michigan to Aruba. She says currently they are testing a “no homework” policy in second grade. She said this will be the second year, and they don’t have the final results yet. “However, last year both parental feedback and student data was overwhelmingly positive. It gave the kids more family time and they could just be a kid.”

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Meghan Reed, fifth grade teacher, points out the new flexible seating in her room. There are seat discs on the floor, pillows, stand up desks. Reed says research shows when the child can personalize their seating and have self choice, they are more focused and engaged in learning. Today’s lesson begins with a letter by each student to the teacher. It will give the teacher information about each student, then on to math. “We do fractions, long division, variables, and decimals is huge.”

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