Taft's week at a glance

Students in circle looking at a hedgehog.

Former Taft Students came to visit a third grade class with their pet hedgehog! Mrs. Pagan is a teaching assistant in Mrs. Neville’s third grade class and her daughters are former Taft students and they wanted to share their special pet with the class. The students all enjoyed the visit of this little friend! They learned about its life span which five to seven years in captivity. They learned about the typical diet which consists of bugs and fruit often dried. They learned that hedgehogs are nocturnal and that they do need exercise and the best way to accomplish that while in captivity is via the use of a wheel similar to a large hamster wheel. They also learned that they have poor vision and rely heavily on their sense of smell and taste. They learned that there are different breeds of hedgehogs - this one is an African Pygmy which is native to Africa. Also, her defense mechanism is to first hiss as a warning and then curl into a ball raising up all her quills.

Ms. Sortos fourth grade class participated in a mini publishing party! Students displayed the figurative writing examples and informational writing pieces they were proud of from Writers Workshop. Then, everyone in class had a chance to do a writing tour around the room. We are so proud of our fourth grade writers!

Students working together in the classroom on a laptop.

Mrs. Czumak’s art classes are finishing up clay month. All their hard work in designing, forming and glazing their pinch pots has produced beautiful art.

Mrs. Czumak has also added some new signage to the art room to assist our Spanish speaking ELL students.

Kindergarten students took advantage of the tables near the playground on a beautiful day that were purchased by the PTA. They loved being outside for lunch!