I hope everyone had a fantastic first fall week of November!

Thank you for everyone that came out this week to assist with or support the fall Scholastic Book Fair. We hope that you found some engaging, fun, and interesting books to add to your collection! There will be two more days of the book fair left, November 13th for any student who has library on "E" days, and a make-up day for anyone who missed the opportunity to shop during their scheduled day, on November 14th.

Thank you to all the staff that helped support Keystone's family engagement night this week and to our fantastic Title 1 and ELD teachers for organizing this event! We hope everyone had a fun-filled night of games and learned a bit more about our curriculum, MTSS, SWPBIS, iReady, Talking Points, and Infinite Campus.

As always, if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to reach out!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Smith-Herman, Assistant Principal

Smencil Sales ($1.25 each)

November 6th-November 14th

Stuffed Animal Day

(Donate a $1 or more to bring a stuffed animal to class for the day)

Wednesday, November 22nd

November 23rd & 24th

November 28th- 4:00-10:00pm

November 30th- 4:30pm

December 6th

Wednesday, December 6th

December 13th-19th

Night Conferences will be held on December 14th

December 20th at 7:00pm

ELA- April 22nd, 24th, and 26th- Grades 3, 4, 5

Math- April 30th and May 1st- Grades 3, 4, 5

Science- May 2nd and May 3rd- Grade 4 Only

Thursday, June 6th- AM- K/1

Thursday, June 6th- PM- 2/3

Friday, June 7th- AM- 4/5

Rain Dates: June 10th and/or 11th

The game themed family engagement night hosted by the Title 1 Reading Specialists, Aimee Ramos and Stacy Cooke, along with the ELD specialists, Jackie Degregorio and Vicki Badgley, was a fun and successful event!

This night involved games and activities centered around literacy, math, and STEM. Families were greeted by the reading specialists dressed as dice. Followed by the SWPBIS team leaders helping to get the night started by speaking about the importance of the Keystone SWPBIS program and having the students recite the Keystone Tiger Pledge.

Students and their families had a blast creating their own games and activities such as Bam and Spin-it, and playing games such as Rolling First Sound Fluency, Car Blending, Tetra Tower, Uno, Headbanz, Yahtzee, Zingo, and much, much more- all of which students were able to take home and keep.

This event took months of preparation and planning, time, and support to help make this night fun and exciting for our Keystone families. A special shout out to our fantastic staff members: Mrs. Hebenstreit, Ms. Weber, Mrs. Surdo, Mrs. Como, Mrs. Schweiker, Ms. Rausch, Mrs. Reutlinger, Ms. Gulick, Ms. Gallager, Mr. Wilicki, Mrs. Smith- Herman, Mrs. Connie Storz, Mrs. Jess Storz, Mrs. Mehan, Ms. Hannah, Mrs. Mattis, and Mrs. Watkins for volunteering their time after school to help.

Also, a special thank you to Brandon and Jackie in food services for ordering snacks for our families to help make this night even more enjoyable, our fabulous secretaries for loaning us many supplies that were needed for the night, our wonderful custodians for beautifying our school in preparation for this event, and both of our Keystone after school program leaders for being flexible with the cafeteria space needed for this event. It truly takes a village... and this awesome community of people came together to help make this night exhilarating and engaging!

We hope all our Keystone families had a wonderful time at this event!

Bristol Township School District TalkingPoints is a messenger tool that allows teachers to connect and communicate with parents and families across any language. Teachers can communicate with parents via text messaging or via a phone or internet-connected device in their native language.

The following video was created for our district as well; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WFqE5ynppOz6PZa2-A7JTHoBKild3zid/view

Support Keystone's SWPBIS program by purchasing a soft pretzel. Each soft pretzel will cost $1 each. Students will be asked to preorder their pretzel each Thursday, for a pretzel delivery to take place on Fridays.

Pre-orders will take place on Thursdays.

"World Kindness Day is a global observance dedicated to promoting goodwill, empathy, and acts of kindness."

"Celebrated annually on November 13, the day serves as a reminder to prioritize compassion in our lives. It encourages individuals and communities to go beyond their routines and make a positive difference in the lives of others."

Perform random acts of kindness.

Examples:

• Compliment others
• Write an encouraging/positive note to someone
• Write a thank you note to someone
• Draw or color a picture and give it to someone
• Sit with someone new at lunch
• Allow a friend to go first in a game
• Offer to help someone with something
• Tell someone something positive about them

• “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” —Aesop
• “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” —Scott Adams
• “The world is full of kind people. If you can’t find one, be one.” —Unknown
• “Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give.” —Unknown

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude and togetherness. As you prepare to celebrate, prioritize safety and health.

• 30 Thanksgiving Activities for the Entire Family
  
• Your Guide to Perfect Portion Sizes for 10 Thanksgiving Dishes
• 7 Thanksgiving Safety Tips To Keep In Mind
  

We ask that students wear their paw shirts every Friday to show their school pride!

To ensure the safety and well being of our students, as per the District Wellness Policy, no outside foods may be brought in by students for classroom parties or birthday celebrations. Shared snacks are not permitted in district schools.

If you would like to send something in to celebrate your child's birthday or for a classroom party, you may send in non food items such as stickers, pencils, play dough etc.

Fresh fruits an vegetables are sampled at school on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Fridays.

The students in grades K-5 had the opportunity to sample cranberries and purple kohlrabi.

Many thanks to the students and staff in room A208 and A112 for providing the delivery of the fresh fruits and vegetables to the classrooms at Keystone Elementary School. You are doing a fantastic job! Thanks!

When your child doesn't see eye-to-eye with a peer, you can remind your child that sometimes friends don't agree on certain things — and that's okay. Even people who like each other a lot can have different opinions, likes or interests. But even when we disagree, we should always treat other people with respect and dignity. That means we DON'T call people names, ignore them, yell at them or hit them. That means we DO look for solutions that respect both parties, we do apologize when our actions hurt someone else and we do treat people with kindness.

https://www.pbs.org/parents/learn-grow/age-8/social-skills/social-problem-solving

Mrs. Stacy Cooke
stacy.cooke@bristoltwpsd.org

Mrs. Aimee Ramos
aimee.ramos@bristoltwpsd.org

What is Title I?

Title I is a project funded by the federal government under the Every Child Succeeds Act. The purpose of this Act is to provide all children with fair and equitable opportunity to succeed and close achievement gaps. Money is allocated by the federal government and distributed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to the Bristol Township School. District.

Title I funding is based on a complex formula. These funds are allocated to the states who in turn allocate a portion of that money to the individual school districts within each state. The school district’s share is based on the economic need within a school area, that is, by the number of low income families living there. In our district the number of free and reduced lunch students is used to determine the economic need of a particular school.

The Pennsylvania System of School Assessments

Bristol Township School District students will be taking the Pennsylvania System of State Assessments, also known as the PSSAs, in the spring. What are the PSSAs used for and why should your child participate in the assessment?

What are the PSSAs used for?

The Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA, requires students to take state tests in reading and math every year in third through eighth grade and once in high school. In Pennsylvania, students in third through eighth grade take the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in English language arts and math. Students in fourth and eighth grade also take a test in science. High school students take end-of-course tests known as the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, English, Biology/Chemistry, U.S. History, World History, Civics and Government.

Why should my child take the PSSAs?

The PSSAs focus on grade level material aligned to the state standards. It gives parents, teachers, and school district leaders information to make decisions that affect student achievements.

• Parents and students see how well their student performed at grade level
• Teachers make informed decisions regarding instruction.
• District Leaders can make decisions about student learning and achievement.
• State leaders can determine which schools require more resources and/or additional funding.

Spring 2024 PSSA Testing Window

English Language Arts- April 22-26th- Grades 3-8

Mathematics, Science, and Makeups- April 29th-May 3rd- Grades 3-8

Keystone Elementary Testing Dates:

ELA- April 22nd, 24th, and 26th- Grades 3, 4, 5

Math- April 30th and May 1st- Grades 3, 4, 5

Science- May 2nd and May 3rd- Grade 4 Only

Coming soon, our newsletter will spotlight different Keystone staff members.

Mr. Pierce will officially be starting with us Wednesday, November 8th. He can be contacted at steve.pierce@bristoltwpsd.org.

School Principal: Mr. Mark Wilicki

Email: mark.wilicki@bristoltwpsd.org

Assistant Principal: Crystal Smith-Herman

Email: crystal.smith-herman@bristoltwpsd.org

Special Education Supervisor: Jessica Kelch

Email: jessica.kelch@bristoltwpsd.org

Principal's Secretary: Mrs. Marianne Mensinger

Email: marianne.mensinger@bristoltwpsd.org

Assistant Principal's Secretary: Mrs. Donna Meehan

Email: donna.meehan@bristoltwpsd.org

School phone: 267-599-2470

School fax: 215-788-1041