Halloween tradition continues -- differently
As one of Keystone’s most beloved traditions, Halloween continues even during a pandemic. But things are different.

Foreign Language Club enjoys tasty virtual lesson
The Foreign Language Club held its first meeting last week, and Sra. Fierro shared with the students how to make a Mexican classic, enchiladas verdes.

Volleyball team finishes season on a high note
Congratulations to our varsity volleyball team on a strong season. They learned a lot, came together well and set themselves up for future success during their pandemic-shortened season.

What's more -- the girls finished their season with a home win!

NHS volunteers at SA Food Bank
Last weekend, members of National Honor Society spent the weekend packaging food at a warehouse for the San Antonio Food Bank.

In addition to their high GPAs, NHS members must demonstrate leadership, service and character.
Junior leading peanut butter drive
A junior, Gabe, is leading a drive to collect smooth peanut butter for Snack Pak 4 Kids, an organization that provides weekend food supplements to serve the needs of chronically hungry children, and address the correlation between food insecurity and learning. 

The drive runs Nov. 2-13. Watch for the bins: in front of the school for Lower School; in Stevens for Upper School and Shadfan for Middle School.

The organization is looking for 16-18 ounce plastic jars of creamy peanut butter.

Catch the 7th/8th Grade Theatre Production
At the heart of the creative process is the ability to work around limits, and so instead of a stage production, Ms. G and the 7th and 8th graders created a video production of "10 Ways to Survive Life in A Quarantine."

Here's a private link for the Keystone community: https://youtu.be/D_j44YoRVBs
Happy ending for Keystone chicken
The brief story of the Keystone chicken has a happy ending, with the chicken going to good home.

In case you're not familiar with the tale, the bird showed up outside North Hall and made a home for several days, captivating students who wanted to sneak a peek.

The family of two Keystone students -- 6th grader Audrey and 11th grader Antoine -- has adopted the bird. It may actually be a rooster, but it's too early to tell.

The bird is happily settled on a family farm outside Blanco, owned by an aunt and uncle of the Keystone students.

The bird will have plenty of space to run around and Audrey’s uncle has promised to keep it as a pet (and egg layer, if it turns out to be a chicken) and to let it live a long, natural life. Its species is a Golden Lace Wyandotte, one of the more iconic and beautiful chicken species. Audrey plans to visit it regularly.
Annual Fund Update
A note from Mrs. Villafranca:

On the last day of the Keystone Annual Fund parent drive, we are at 95.64% parent participation! We are thankful to see our Keystone community rallying together during these challenging times.

Our captains are leading the effort through their amazing support and hard work while our parents are coming in as best as possible. With everyone’s help, we can close even higher.

Your donation, big or small, is crucial to help offset the additional expenses of the pandemic, and to the future of our school. If you have yet to participate, please do so today by making a gift or pledge at https://www.keystoneschool.org/donate/.
 
Big shout out to the Little School, Kinder, 1st, 2nd, 5th and 11th grades for reaching 100% parent participation! Thank you for your continuing support of the Annual Fund, and Go Cobras!

Adriana Villafranca
Director of Development
Billy's Blog - From our Head of School
“The only way we'll know where we're going is to look at the past and to remember who we were through ceremonies and rituals”
-- Laura Esquivel

If a picture tells a thousand words, this photograph speaks volumes. In it, a row of sweaty senior Keystone soccer players in uniform pose while taking a knee after their final home game; standing proudly behind them and celebrating their years of play are their parents and coaches. Senior Night is a long-running ritual here at Keystone and this picture will take its place among other years. The only difference is that everyone is wearing a mask, the defining mark of 2020.

The next night, upper school students, teachers, and administrators gathered to celebrate another Keystone ritual, the celebration of creative talents during Stone Soul.

College Visits
Due to the pandemic, college representatives are visiting Keystone virtually. Here are the visits for this week:

Wed., Nov 4
6th Period: Iowa State University 

Thurs., Nov 5
6th Period: Mini-College Fair with representatives from Northwestern Qatar, Rollins, Sewanee, Santa Clara U, Chapman, Lynn, University of Tampa, Johnson & Wales. It is recommended to register ahead of time at https://engage.sewanee.edu/register/?id=4aaae032-33a5-4bfc-b381-e7765be64995
 
6-8PM: San Antonio Private School Virtual College Fair (register at https://falltacrao.swoogo.com/2020virtual). It is recommended to register ahead of time. You can visit the website now to view which colleges will be in attendance, watch info sessions, and learn more about the schools. College representatives will be available to interact with Keystone students from 6-8pm on Thurs., Nov 5 for our scheduled college fair time. Ms. Christiansen will share more details with high school families by email.

College visits to Keystone are intended for students only. Links for the visits are accessible through Naviance 15 minutes prior to the visit. Please see Ms. Christiansen for assistance.
Important events and notes
Treat the Truck - Oct. 31
If you're near Keystone on Halloween, take a moment and visit our Monte Vista neighbors at Christ Episcopal Church.

They're hosting an event that offers a place for people to drop off food donations for the San Antonio Food Bank, and then keep going to trick or treat in the neighborhood.

It runs from 5-7 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 510 Belknap. Costumes are recommended, and all participants and volunteers will be masked.
Texas Book Festival - Oct. 31- Nov. 14

Keystone families will want to attend the Texas Book Festival, which runs from Oct. 31-14. Usually it's in Austin, but this year it's virtual - and it's free.

The sessions for kids' books runs Nov. 2-6. Download a Virtual Pass for the kids' portion here.

Message for Keystone alumni, parents and grandparents
 
Would you like to create a legacy at Keystone School? How about honoring a friend or family member for years to come? Join us for an information session on Wednesday, October 28 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST to learn how you can benefit through creative, flexible estate and planned giving options. 

When you make a charitable gift through your estate, you are often able to make a bigger impact than you ever thought possible. Presenters include Keystone’s Head of School Mr. Billy Handmaker, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy John Benage, and Legacy Circle Member Class of ’67 Carolyn Brown Langenkamp. Please register for the Zoom meeting at avillafranca@keystoneschool.org
Hot lunches now available
Cafeteria procedures may have changed, but hot lunch is still available.

Now it's packaged in to-go containers and students eat either in their classrooms or outside.



For more information, including how to load your account go to:
Support Keystone while you shop
If you're getting school supplies or adding to your home office from either Office Max or Office Depot, please mention Keystone. As part of the Give Back to Schools program, the stores give 5% of the purchase price of qualifying school supplies in credits to Keystone for office supplies. Be sure to include the school's ID number when you make your purchase. Keystone's school number is: 70100727.
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.
We want to hear from you!
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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