Keystone Newsletter #25
Dear Keystone Families,
Hello Keystone Families,
It is hard to believe that it will be March this Friday! Hopefully that means that nice weather will be around the corner!
This week the fifth-graders at Mill Creek, Brookwood, and Keystone will be attending a trip to see the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory play, that will be taking place at Truman High School. Many thanks to Mr. Marlow (from Armstrong), Ms. Gatte (from Truman), and Ms. Williams (Transportation Department), for helping to organize such a fantastic opportunity for our learners. We greatly appreciate all the time and effort that went into planning this trip, in addition to all the hard work that the Truman drama department and students have put forth in creating, what I am sure to be, a spectacular performance!
Thank you for everyone that has participated in the Gertrude Hawk fundraiser so far! The fundraiser is still going on until March 1st. Please visit https://fundraising.gertrudehawkchocolates.com/ to set up an account to order and to share with family and friends.
Be safe and be well!
Respectfully,
Mrs. Smith-Herman
Important Dates to Remember
✏️Every Tuesday✏️
Smencil Sales ($1.25 each)
🥨Every Thursday🥨
Pre-Order Pretzels
👕Every Friday👕
Wear Paw Shirts
📚Read for the House Program📚
All of February
PTO Meeting
February 29th
National Social Worker Week
March 3rd-March 9th
Walnut Street Theater Visits Keystone for Grades 3, 4, 5
March 4, 2024
Early Dismissal- 1:15pm
March 13th
Professional Development in PM for School Staff
End of 2nd Trimester
March 13th
Elementary Conferences- 1:15pm Dismissal
March 20th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, and 26th
Late Night Conferences- Wednesday, March 20th
Rock Your Socks Day- Wear Your Craziest Pair of Socks
March 21st
🌷Spring Break- No School💐
March 28th-April 1st
Looking Ahead
📚Scholastic Book Fair📚
April 15th-19th
PSSA Testing at Keystone Elementary School
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
🏈5th Grade Spirit Day⚽
Wednesday, May 8th, 2024
Rain Date- Thursday, May 9th, 2024
It will take place in the stadium at Truman High School.
🎵Spring Music Concert🎵
Wednesday, May 15th at 7 pm
👕Field Day⚽
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
Revised 2023-2024 District Calendar
2024-2025 District Calendar
Community Events
Keystone Staff Member Spotlight
Amy Coleman
Position: Chief Academic officer, director of curriculum & instruction
Worked at Bristol Township School District Since: July 2021
Strengths: Listening and baking
Pets: Marley, a golden doodle, he’s almost 13
Hobbies: Reading, learning new things, spending time with my family
Favorite Color(s): Blue
Favorite Snack: Popcorn
Favorite Sports' Team: None really, but I cheer for the Philly teams
Three Fun Facts:
1. I lived in Kansas City, MO for a year
2. I have 2 young adult children
3. I’ve been to 2 Taylor Swift concerts, but not the Eras tour
Additional Facts:
Eras Tour
Student Spotlight
By: Grayson Norris
More Kindness Activities at Keystone
Mrs. Claudio and Ms. Burgess' Students
Mrs. Claudio and Ms. Burgess' students worked together to complete a fun activity together!
More 100th Day of School and Valentines Activities
Girls on the Run
Gertrude Hawk Fundraiser
Help support Keystone Elementary School! Starting today, you can order from our Gertrude Hawk fundraiser, until March 1st. The expected delivery will be prior to spring break, before the last week in March.
Thank you all for your continued support!
How Do I Get Started Link
Read Across America- March 4th-8th
FABLab Summer Camp
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Truman High School
Spring musical tickets go on sale February 12 and will be online only!
Ticket sales for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - and all Truman Drama productions moving forward - will be sold online only, and sales will end one hour prior to each performance. There will be no door sales or contacting Truman to hold/reserve tickets.
Tickets are $12. Showtimes are February 29 at 7:30 p.m., March 1 at 7:30 p.m., and March 2 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Purchase tickets here.
Results from Last Poll
Thank you for all who have participating in our newsletter's weekly poll! It looks like most people's favorite pet is a dog.
❄️Something Fun!❄️
What is your favorite month?
Read for The House Program
The Read for the House Program is a service-learning project for children of any age that raises funds to support Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Philadelphia Region. In addition to helping our guest families, the program promotes the value of community service and improves reading comprehension.
PROGRAM TIMELINE:
JANUARY 2024: Readers watch our online video to learn about the program, create their personal fundraising pages, and seek family and friends to pledge any amount of money for each minute they read during February.
FEBRUARY 2024: Reading begins on February 1! Readers keep track of how many minutes they read using the calendar we provide.
MARCH 2024: Readers reach out to their family and friends and collect their donations through their online fundraising page. They can feel good knowing every dollar they raised directly helps families in need!
Readers will earn prizes! Not only will they have the satisfaction of knowing they are helping families when they need it the most, but readers can also earn fun prizes based on their fundraising totals!
Read for The House Link- Please Click Below to Register
Order Your Yearbooks
Yearbook Ordering Link
Ordering Online Access Code Needed:
Access Code: 11702YBDeadline to Order: April 22nd, 2024
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
Fresh fruits an vegetables are sampled at school on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Fridays.
The students in grades K-5 had the opportunity to sample kumquats and Persian cucumbers last week.
Many thanks and gratitude to the students and staff in room A208 and A112 for continuing to providing the delivery of the fresh fruits and vegetables to the classrooms at Keystone Elementary School. You are all doing a fantastic job and we are very appreciative! Thanks!
January Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Calendar
March Stories and Videos
Women's History Month
International Woman's Day
Pi Day
Read Across America
Social Emotional Learning Tips of the Week
BTSD Opt out procedure for PSSA and Keystones
Section 4.4 of Chapter 4 of the State Board of Education regulations provides for the right of any parents or guardians to excuse their child from the state assessment if, upon inspection of the testing materials, they find the assessment to be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Please note that this is the only basis for a parent or guardian to excuse his or her child from the statewide assessments.
Parents/guardians requesting that their child be excused from the PSSA or Keystone Exam must adhere to the following procedural guidelines:
Within two weeks of the date the child is to participate in the PSSA or Keystone exams, parents/guardians must contact the Chief Academic Officer, Mrs. Amy Coleman, to arrange an appointment to review the assessment(s) by completing this survey.
Survey Link: PSSA REQUEST TO REVIEW
For more information, please visit: https://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter4/s4.4.html
Dismissal Plans
In order to maintain the safety of all our learners, we are asking that families alert teachers, in writing, for any transportation/dismissal plan changes prior to 9am each morning.
We do understand that emergencies may arise throughout the day that requires a change to a child's dismissal plan for that particular day. For those situations, please make sure you are alerting the office staff as soon as possible, so they can communicate the change to the teachers as soon as possible.
We thank you for your support in helping us ensure the safety and wellbeing of each of our learners.
Snack and Birthday Celebration Policy
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.
23-24 Weather Emergency Information
Link to Elementary Remote Learning Overview: (Click here)
For additional information please visit https://www.bristoltwpsd.org/cms/one.aspx?portalId=377235&pageId=51110003
Title 1 Teachers
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.
Helpful Links and Resources
Report Form for Complaints of Harassment/Bullying/Cyber-Bullying
Mr. Pierce- Anti-Bullying Climate Specialist
Email: steve.pierce@bristoltwpsd.org.
Breakfast and Lunch Menus- February
We encourage each student and staff member to wear their Keystone Paw Shirts every Friday.
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.
Office Staff
School Principal: Mr. Mark Wilicki
Email: mark.wilicki@bristoltwpsd.org
Assistant Principal: Crystal Smith-Herman
Email: crystal.smith-herman@bristoltwpsd.org
Special Education Supervisor: Justina Garofalo
Email: justina.garofalo@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