School reopening update
Earlier this week, Mr. Handmaker sent a message to parents about when we might return to campus. We're reprinting the letter here.
Dear Parents,
As we move into our second week of distance learning, I want to thank you and commend you on your dedication to helping make this process smooth and productive. Our students and teachers are learning at a high level and demonstrating the strength and resilience of our community. We can all take pride in the work our students are doing, and the creativity and dedication of the Keystone faculty and staff.
I also want to share an update with you about when students may return to campus. Because federal social distancing guidelines have been extended until April 30, we will continue in distance learning mode through the end of this month. This would have us returning to school on May 4 at the earliest.
However, based on the research that the members of our Safety Committee are seeing from public health experts on the current trajectory of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we should be prepared to be in distance learning mode for the rest of this school year.
We hope that we can return to campus in some way in May, but we must continue to be prepared for all contingencies.
No matter what the coming weeks present, we know that the Keystone faculty and staff will work tirelessly to provide a world-class education for our students, now in a distance learning mode. Outside of class, I know our students, faculty, staff, and parents will continue to extend our school’s sense of community into the digital world.
I couldn’t be more proud of our community and how we are navigating this challenge together.
With gratitude,
Billy Handmaker
William B. Handmaker
Head of School
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Keystone students create, display Cardboard Kids
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Keystone students came through in an inspiring way this week, offering 30 different works of art as part of Cardboard Kids, a city-wide public awareness campaign to draw attention to the pervasiveness of child abuse. The artwork was unveiled on Thursday to commemorate Reveal Day.
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Open letter from a senior
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Senior Isabella recently wrote an open letter to the Keystone community. With her permission, we're printing it here.
Today is Tuesday, March 24th. I began quarantine on Saturday March 13th, so this is day eleven. The reality of not going to school didn’t sink in until last night, and I broke down in hysterics while watching Netflix. My emotions were overwhelming and uncontrollable, and I couldn’t stop images from the last eleven years flashing through my mind: how my friendship with Stephanie started in the un-remodeled lunchroom, spending off periods in the quad with Iris and Beril, and waving to Mrs. Lavelle’s class when they walked to Library. All of these moments are now in the past, and it’s unsure if they will ever again be in my present.
Obviously, all high school students across the country are missing school right now, or their friends at least, especially seniors. Though I know my thoughts are brimming with self pity, I feel like my and my classmates’ current experience is different than others’. Sure, every highschooler has had a few of the same childhood friends since he was young, maybe the same friend group, or maybe the same one soulmate-best friend. Most highschoolers have had some long stretch of consistency that was abruptly disrupted by Corona, and seniors’ final moments in their childhood have been ripped away. But not most highschoolers have grown up the way I and my classmates have.
I’ve been at Keystone for eleven years. That sounds both long and short: a long time to be at one school with the same people but not that long in the large picture of life. It feels that way to me too. Too much time with some of the same problems, the same stressors, but not enough time with the people who have been monumental in my life, my development, in creating me. I’ve seen the kids older than me grow and leave, and I’ve seen the littles on campus arrive and develop. Since second grade, I’ve looked forward to things, poor word, I know, that only Keystone can really offer. I’ve wanted to be a mentor for younger kids, and this senior year, I was finally in a position to officially start a club for that. I’ve gotten to work in a preschool, which few kids my age can say they’ve done and enjoyed, with some of the best children I know. I’ve gotten to bond with my teachers, develop strengths in and out of the classroom, and create family-like bonds with many people around campus. My life everyday, though burdened with a ridiculous amount of work, has been amazing. Some days are worse than others-- like the days where we have a physics and calculus test, government and English reading quiz in four consecutive periods-- and some days are more fun than others-- like the days where Dr. Caraway makes us play a video game on gerrymandering-- but I truly can say that throughout all my years at Keystone, I’ve had an amazing, blessed experience. This unique and special experience is more than the college preparation, excelled curriculum, and science fair awards. My amazing childhood has been shaped by the people that I’m surrounded by, both my blood family and my second family at Keystone.
Keystone often boasts about its strength in academics (although our reputation is a STEM school, I think some of the best programs are in the English and History departments), but fails to equally promote what truly makes it the amazing institution it is: the community. This community has fostered my attachment and love for Keystone, and the lack of it has fostered my recent feelings of loss and unfulfillment. In moments of sadness, I am overwhelmed with memories of getting ready for dances together since 6th grade, and the buzz of excitement and relief among our class on the Friday afternoon of a “hell week,” upset that I most likely won’t get to experience either of these again. In moments of happiness, I reminisce about the Summer Moon runs with my fellow coffee addicts, and my journey from being a new student in Ms. Stryck’s second grade class to becoming a big sister figure for a second grader today. Though it’s hard to focus on the positives with a loss the size of eleven years and hundreds of people, I will forever be grateful for all that Keystone has given me. This experience has been more than academic, and has given me more than strong SAT scores and a solid GPA. I’ve been gifted with the intangibles, skills and experiences that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life. Nothing can ever replace the community I’ve failed, celebrated, struggled, and loved with that I’ve found at Keystone School.
Sincerely,
Isabella
Class of 2020
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Middle Schoolers have virtual Field Day
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After two weeks of distance learning, Middle School students did something even more audacious: virtual Field Day.
Believe it. Dr. Wivagg and Mrs. Mlcak organized activities that students played in their homes and worked together, such as a scavenger hunt, building obstacle courses either in their own homes or back yards and finding items in their own homes and submitting it as quickly as possible.
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Seventh-grader interviewed online for his work in hip-hop
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Congratulations to seventh-grader Franco -- otherwise known as hip-hop artist Z Ray -- on handling his first television interview with grace, composure and lots of energy.
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Seventh-grader featured in news story
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Seventh-grader Mara is featured in a story in the
Rivard Report,
a local news website.
The story focuses on how working parents are balancing their own careers and helping their children with their homework.
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Billy's Blog: From the Head of School
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“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
Maya Angelou
As we finish our second week of distance learning at Keystone, and it appears that the end of the COVID-19 situation is far off, the discussions educators have held for years on how to build resilience in children may be more pertinent than ever. For almost a decade, writers and speakers have called for schools and parents to teach a generation of youngsters grit, “stick-to-itness,” and determination. The TED talk from “Grit” author Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania has had almost 20 million views since it came out seven years ago.
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Important Events and Notes
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This week's morning messages
Every school day begins with a short video from Mr. Handmaker. If you missed any, here are this week's messages:
Link to "Texas Women: A New History of Abstract Art" at the San Antonio Museum of Art:
List of museums that you can visit virtually:
1957 BBC report on a spaghetti harvest:
Explanations of the spaghetti harvest hoax:
Story about Tally’s Electric Theater:
"The Great Train Robbery" silent film:
The New York Times video of an hawk fitted with a camera:
Video of Peregrine Falcon hunting:
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Sign up to volunteer for 2020-21 PTO
From PTO President Tracey Smith:
Many of you have already contacted us about volunteering for a particular PTO Council role next year, and we are so excited! If you are interested in serving on the PTO Council, please notify Kelle Acock at
kelle_sutton@yahoo.com
for additional information. We are thinking of you, and hope that you and your families are taking good care and remaining well. Our Keystone family bond remains strong.
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Keystone part of Big Give Emergency Relief fundraiser
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In this unprecedented time, many of you have asked how you can help. All members of the faculty and staff have been working with the goal of helping our students be successful despite the unforeseen circumstances of COVID-19.
If you are in position to give back at this time, please consider honoring all of Keystone’s faculty and staff with a generous gift that is most comfortable for you. Your support will go towards Keystone’s operating budget and the school's commitment to academic excellence in this fluid and rapidly-changing situation.
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Keystone apparel available online
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Classes may take place online, but you can get physical merchandise through
Vivroux Sports.
Or visit the company's store at
2222 Breezewood Blvd. in Alamo Heights to shop in person.
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Covert twins named SMU Tower Scholars
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Congratulations to Daniel (upper left) and Jackson (lower left) Covert, both of the Class of 2019, on their selection into the highly competitive Tower Scholar Program at Southern Methodist University.
The program is a selective, multidisciplinary minor in Public Policy and International Affairs that enables students from a variety of academic backgrounds to combine their academic interests with experience in the real world of public policy.
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Support Keystone while you shop on Amazon
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Now that you're probably ordering more 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.
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We want to hear from you!
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If you have news to share about the students, alumni, faculty or staff at Keystone School, please send it to:
etijerina@keystoneschool.org
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Follow Keystone on social media
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