A note about adjusting our COVID protocols |
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Dear Parents,
You may have seen that the CDC has updated its guidance for K-12 schools to operate safely. Many of these new rules have loosened various restrictions, especially in places where community transmission is low.
In San Antonio, we are beginning to see other positive signs as well. The rate of community spread and numbers of COVID cases in San Antonio is currently trending downward, and more people are receiving the COVID vaccine. Starting next week, anyone over the age of 16 can sign up for vaccinations, and we strongly encourage upper school students who are eligible to to be vaccinated.
In addition, the overwhelming majority of the Keystone Faculty/Staff have received vaccinations.
Even though the CDC guidance has changed, we will preserve many of our precautions that have allowed our community to remain safe. We will continue to:
- Require masks for all people on campus
- Require temperature and symptom checks before entering campus
- Maintain 6 feet of distance among students in classrooms, whenever feasible
- Require preventative quarantines after travelling, when circumstances warrant
- Require negative tests for students before returning to campus if they have travelled to a coronavirus hotspot
- Require students and faculty to isolate if they contract COVID
- Require students and faculty to quarantine after close exposure to COVID
In accordance with this newest set of guidelines from the CDC and in consultation with medical experts who are part of our community, we are making the following changes:
- Students may be within 3 feet of one another when outside, and they must remain masked.
- Our youngest students may play with blocks, but they should avoid congregating in large groups while playing with them and the blocks will be cleaned before and after use.
- Other students may use shared electronic devices, but they must be cleaned with an antibacterial wipe before passing along to another student.
- On campus tours for prospective families with Director of Enrollment Management Andrea Banks will resume during the school day. Prospective families must go through a temperature and symptom check, and must wear masks while on campus. This will allow these students and families to understand what makes Keystone unique in a way that we have chosen not to do so far this year.
- Prospective students in Middle and Upper School will be allowed to observe classes in person after having their temperature taken and undergoing symptom checks, provided there is sufficient room in the classrooms. They must wear masks and maintain physical distancing from teachers and other students.
- Adults should maintain a 6-foot distance from students when inside buildings.
- Field trips may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. Transportation must comply with school safety protocols, including distancing and masking.
Although the new CDC recommendations would allow us to revise our safety protocols even more, we will proceed cautiously and make some changes while keeping our community as safe as possible.
If the community-spread numbers begin to increase and we see another spike in cases, we may return to our earlier precautions. In the meantime, we hope that the spread of COVID goes down and the number of vaccinations goes up.
Together, we’re getting through this.
With hope,
Billy Handmaker
Head of School
Penny Moyer, LVN
Monica Gutierrez, RN
School Nurses
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Fourth grader receives award for mask design contest |
Thanks to fourth-grader Isabella, Keystone is the happy recipient of 1,000 face masks featuring her design.
Community First Health Plans, which sponsored the contest, came to campus after school to present Isa with an award for her achievement. Her parents and older sister, Abby, were on hand to cheer her on.
Isa's design was voted as the “Most Favorite.”
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Announcing our Spring Fundraiser |
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Instead of an in-person gala, our Spring Fundraiser this year invites you to support Keystone with a great dinner at home! Special thanks to Keystone parents Chad and Kate Carey, owners of Barbaro, for this wonderful partnership.
Follow these three simple steps:
- Vegetarian Eggplant Bolognese lasagna with salad, focaccia, and dessert
- Porchetta over creamy polenta with salad, focaccia, and dessert
- Choice of two pizzas, salad, and dessert.
Add a bottle of wine (red, white or rosé) for $10
Decide what time and day you want to pick up your order.
Step 2: Pick up your order from Barbaro
Step 3: Take your order home and enjoy!
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Philosophy professor visits with Practical Ethics class |
This week, Dr. Armentrout's Practical Ethics class hosted a distinguished vistor -- Prof. Serife Tekin, of the UTSA philosophy department.
Prof. Tekin discussed her work in ethics, psychiatry/psychology, feminist ethics, and artificial intelligence.
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Little School hosts police officers |
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The Little School hosted members of the San Antonio Police Department, who explained their work and how they protect our community.
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West Coast alumni meet virtually |
This week brought a virtual meeting of Keystone alumni living in the Western states.
They visited with Mr. Handmaker and received a report of how the school has weathered the events of the past year, among other topics.
Years after graduation, these Cobra alumni are making a difference in many ways.
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Registration open for Keystone summer camps |
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Registration for Camp Cobra is full and accepting names for a waitlist. A few spots are open for Camp Hollywood and for the online math enrichment for rising 5th and 6th graders.
Click on the flier below to register.
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Billy's Blog - From our Head of School |
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“Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.”
--James Cromwell
Among the many joys of morning drop-off is when a family approaches the front of school, and there’s a dog in the car. Similarly, when a parent and child walk to school with a dog on a leash, there’s a completely different dynamic than if it’s only a parent and a child. We know that drop-off will take a few moments longer while administrators ooh and ahh over the dog.
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Important events and notes |
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Virtual visit with UT Austin - March 6
From Ms. Christiansen:
This is a visit specifically for Keystone students who are interested in learning more about UT Austin and meeting our admissions representative. We host a small number of college visitors each spring.
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Keystone gear available at Vivroux Sports |
Get your Keystone gear with a quick visit to Vivroux Sports.
On their retail floor, they have:
- White and Black Adidas hats
- White Comfort Color t-shirts in all sizes adult and youth
- Adidas grey and white t-shirts some youth and adult sizes
- Cardinal and black full and 1/4 zip Adidas jackets in select adult sizes
- And a few Adidas black polos
Vivroux Sports is open 10am-5pm Monday-Friday, at 2222 Breezewood, just off New Braunfels Ave. north of the McNay Museum.
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Plan your hot lunch schedule |
For more information, including how to load your account go to:
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Support Keystone while you shop |
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If you're purchasing items from Amazon, please consider supporting Keystone with your purchases and use AmazonSmile. Just designate Keystone as the beneficiary and a portion of your purchases will go to the school.
Make sure to install the Smilematic browser extension. It works with Firefox, Chrome and Safari and automatically redirects users to AmazonSmile when they visit Amazon. Here's the tool: https://couponfollow.com/smilematic.
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We want to hear from you! |
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Follow Keystone on social media |
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