Visit Keystone 2021 brings prospective families |
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This past Sunday, Visit Keystone, our new admissions event, offered tours from students and chances for parents and students who are interested in attending our school to ask about specific programs and offerings.
At the Little School, parents came in a staggered schedule to ensure that each family had time to look around and ask questions.
If you know of people who are interested in Keystone, please have them visit our website or directly contact Director of Enrollment Management Andrea Banks at abanks@keystoneschool.org.
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2nd graders make goodie bags for nonprofits |
Second grader Khavir and his family invited all second grade students to join them in creating Halloween goody bags to be donated to Respite Care Of San Antonio and Boysville.
Khavir let us know that he spent some of his own money to purchase the candy for the bags. Second grade teacher Mrs. Trivizo reports that the students made the bags last Friday.
What a wonderful and meaningful project!
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Middle School teams enter tournaments as top seeds |
Congratulations to the Middle School soccer team of 7th and 8th graders on an undefeated regular season!
The soccer team heads to the ISAL Tournament with an 8-0 record as the No. 1 seed.
Their first tournament game takes place at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at Olmos Basin Park as our boys take on St. George Episcopal.
And congratulations to the 8th grade volleyball team for heading to their tournament as the No. 1 seed. They begin their tournament on Tuesday. The 7th grade team heads to the tournament as the No. 3 seed. More details are coming soon.
If the soccer team wins Tuesday, then on Thursday they face the winner of the game between TMI Black and KIPP Aspire.
Let's go Cobras!
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Lower Schoolers represent Sikh community at City Council prayer |
Two Keystone Lower School students, first-grader Savreen and kindergartener Jasreen helped lead an opening prayer before a City Council session.
The children received an invitation from Councilman Manny Palaez' office and Mayor Ron Nirenberg to represent the Sikh Community.
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Middle Schoolers take Outdoor Education day trips |
This week, Middle School students went out on Outdoor Education day trips. Eighth graders went on Wednesday, fifth and sixth graders on Thursday and seventh graders went out on Friday.
Students and teachers traveled to the T Bar M Camp near New Braunfels for a day of team building exercises.
Next semester, they're planning on taking overnight Outdoor Education trips.
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Upper Schoolers present A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Congratulations to the Upper School students who delivered an outstanding rendition of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Students gave a special performance for faculty and staff on Thursday, with regular performances on Friday and Saturday.
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Little School families gather at Hemisfair |
Parents and children in the Busy Bugs class at the Little School gathered over the weekend at the Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair.
Even outside of school, the feeling of community builds.
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Picture Day returns to campus |
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After a year that saw many students submit school photos taken at home, or delayed because of the pandemic, it was wonderful to see Picture Day return to campus, with all our students here in person.
After students took individual photos, their classes gathered for group photos in front of Founders Hall.
To order your photos, visit https://my.lifetouch.com and enter Picture Day ID code EVTJRJQCM. They should arrive within the next month.
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From Keystone Librarian Mrs. Vilagi:
How does reading give you freedom?
The new all-ages Keystone Library is opening gradually. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new light fixtures and tables for downstairs. In the meantime, we are working with temporary tables and lighting so that we can welcome our 7-12 grade students and give them a quiet place to study and read in the coming week.
When work crews have not been in the library, K-6 classes have been held upstairs. During fourth grade classes, I shared a nonfiction picture book about Mary Walker, titled The Oldest Student. Disbelief filled the room when they learned about Mary learning to read so very late in her life. Born a slave, Mary had a very hard life, yet continued to show grit and persevere through it. We agreed that when you put your mind to something, you can accomplish your goals! As a post-reading reflection activity, I posed 5 questions to the students. After writing their answers on post it notes, they hung them up around the library on chart paper. One of those questions was “Does reading give you freedom?” Here are some of their answers:
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Billy's Blog - From our Head of School |
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“Know first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”
--Epictetus
Among the many joys of working in schools is observing students discover and clarify their identity. This may be even more true in a school where children range in age from 3 years old to graduating seniors. Much of who they are and who they will be plays itself out right in front of us at school.
At the same time that children master concepts, develop skills, and challenge themselves intellectually, they also travel a winding path of self-invention and refinement. On any day, they decide to change themselves radically and become an entirely new person. This can take place over a year, or it can happen overnight. As parents and educators, we can help them in this journey if we have patience and perspective.
I considered yet again how we aid students in the process of self-exploration while studying the new art installation in the Upper School commons (aka the fishbowl.)
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Here are the visits from college representatives this week:
Monday, Oct 25
4th Period: Lewis & Clark College (OR) - Virtual
5th Period: Olin College of Engineering (MA) - Virtual
6th Period: 12th Brown Bag
8th Period: Kalamazoo College (MI) - In-person
Wednesday, Oct 27
6th Period: Trinity College Dublin - Virtual
8th Period: Southwestern University (TX) - In-person
College visits to Keystone are intended for students only. Links for the virtual visits are accessible through Naviance 15 minutes prior to the visit. Please see Ms. Christiansen for assistance.
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Important events and notes |
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Halloween Parade - Oct. 29 |
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For this year's Halloween celebration, Lower School students are having their costume parade outside -- and their parents can come watch in person!
Yes, parents of Lower School students are invited to come onto campus from 7:45 a.m. until 9 a.m. to see their children in the parade. A parent coffee takes place in the Theatre Garden from 7:45-8:35 a.m., with the parade running from 8:45 a.m.-9 a.m.
As an added bonus, the PTO is providing temporary hand tattoos for students.
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From Mrs. Villafranca:
We are only ONE week away from wrapping up Keystone’s Annual Fund parent drive.
The Little School of Keystone is in the lead with PreK3 at 83.87% and PreK4 at 82.35%. Second grade is a close third at 79.41%. Who will be the first class to reach 100% parent participation?
Please help make a difference at Keystone with a donation or pledge at https://www.keystoneschool.org/donate/ You can pledge now and have until May 31, 2022 to fulfill your commitment. Any dollar amount counts!
Your commitment to Keystone will help support items such as ongoing maintenance and facilities, new and upgraded technology, professional development and training opportunities for faculty and staff, tuition assistance to support our families throughout the year, and much more!
Get ready to cheer on the Annual Fund Captains at drop off on Tuesday, October 26. They will be on hand to encourage families to support Keystone. Go Cobras!
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Girls on the Run program launches at Keystone |
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From Ms. Golando:
Keystone is very excited to bring the Girls On The Run program to our school for Spring 2022 for 3rd through 5th grade students.
The Girls On The Run Bexar County Fall 2021 5K happens on Saturday, November 20th, and we are invited to join the festivities at Comanche Park. If you are curious about what this wonderful program has to offer, I invite you to experience it first hand! Families can register to run the 5k. There are also various volunteer opportunities. This is a wonderful event and a great way to learn more about Girls On The Run!
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The Keystone Book Fair happens November 8-12 in the new K-12 Library.
Students in grades K-6 will visit during their class times and students in grades 7-12 may visit during their free periods.
There will be a sign-up opportunity for parents to accompany their children after school.
More information to follow in the coming weeks.
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Keystone online store now open |
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We are working with Follett, which provides fanwear and other merchandise to colleges, universities and K-12 schools. Place your orders with Follett, and your merchandise will ship directly to your house.
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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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