10. For reading my newsletters. 😉

9. For the positive feedback and gratitude you have shown me, since I have started at Keystone.

8. For inspiring hope, igniting the imagination, and for instilling a love of learning.

7. For giving your child(ren) the gift of your time and attention.

6. For continuing to play an important role in ensuing that your child(ren) get the best education.

5. For being patient and understanding for transportation delays.

4. For being supportive of the school, the staff, and the students.

3. For entrusting us with the privilege of educating and nurturing your child(ren).

2. For all the sacrifices you have made to care for your child(ren).

1. For supporting your child(ren) to be the best they can be.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Smith-Herman, Assistant Principal

10. For warming welcoming me to Keystone, providing support, positive feedback, and making me feel part of the team. (....and for reading the weekly newsletter.... 😉)

9. For being generous with their time, energy, and resources.

8. For finding ways to help students discover their individual strengths.

7. For showing, kindness, patience, and understanding.

6. For being able to multi-task and take on many roles.

5. For being creative in the ways they take the time to create welcoming, warm, and safe learning environments for our learners.

4. For providing inspiration, hope and guidance.

3. For setting high expectations, while providing provide feedback, support, and encouragement.

2. For instilling a love of learning, kindness, compassion, patience, and acceptance.

1. For making a profound impact on the lives of each and every student that they come across.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Respectfully,

Mrs. Smith-Herman, Assistant Principal

Smencil Sales ($1.25 each)

Pre-Order Pretzels

Wear Paw Shirts

November 22nd

$1 donation to SWPBIS

Wednesday, November 22nd

November 23rd & 24th

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

November 30th- 4:30pm

December 6th

Wednesday, December 6th

December 12th- 15th

December 18th-22nd

50 cents each

December 13th-19th

Night Conferences will be held on December 14th

December 20th at 7:00pm

December 22nd

$1 to participate

December 22nd

December 23rd- January 1st

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

Did you know that wild turkeys are smart, stealthy, and great at escaping when someone spots them? They are also one of the fastest running land birds in North America. Check it out with this wild turkey video from the Wild Kratts.

Keystone Elementary was so excited to host the Fab Lab mobile STEM lab last week (November 13-17). We learned so much!

A special thank you to Mr. Hayden, who guided our 3rd graders to fabricate a pop-up ocean food web and fossil buttons complete with a QR code for a dinosaur website; guided our 4th graders to code a model of the circulatory system with Finch robots; and guided both our intermediate grade leveled student in Ms. Formacola's classroom and our enrichment 4th and 5th graders in exploring robotics using cubelets (they are awesome!).

Thank you Ms. Gallagher for organizing this awesome opportunity for our learners and for creating

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

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
  

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 gold kiwi, persimmons, and green luobo radish. .

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!

Being kind is a skill that we can practice just like math, science, or reading.

It starts by helping our children recognize when a friend or family member is upset or needs help. Then, we can encourage kind behavior by suggesting ways to be kind and compassionate — and make the situation better. (“Miss Whitney next door fell and sprained her wrist. Ouch! Let’s water her flowers for her until she feels better.” “Hmmm, it seems like your little brother might be feeling left out of our game of catch. Let’s ask him to play with us — or find something we all want do!”)

Help your child learn to be kind by reading picture books about compassion, pointing out when someone is kind to you and your family, and encouraging your child to explore all the wonderful ways we can be nice to others.

Information from above can be found at https://www.pbs.org/parents/being-kind

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In the latest article in her hot topics series, Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer, debunks the top 10 myths and misconceptions in literacy today, their origins and explains why they are problematic and what the latest and greatest thinking on them is. She also offers top sources for supporting their abandonment.

https://www.95percentgroup.com/insights/hot-topics-debunking-the-top-10-myths-misconceptions-in-literacy-today/

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