On Friday, December 5 for the 12 Days Before Winter Break, the leadership team wishes you a Bundt'ch of Holiday Cheer! Click here to select the Bundt Cake flavor you would like to enjoy as a sweet treat by Monday, December 1 at noon. We cannot make any exceptions to the due date—so don’t miss out by completing the form today!
Ms. Lowe’s class has created the schoolwide
rule: For each period of the day, students
will receive a 10-minute in-class break.
To ensure fairness, each grade level will
receive three 10-minute breaks on Monday,
November 24. Please follow the expectations and the schedule below.
Expectations:
Students must remain seated and may engage in quiet activities such as drawing,
board games, or talking at a Level 1. Students may not use technology
from home, run around the classroom, watch movies, or engage in any loud or
disruptive activities.
Break Schedule:
|
Grade
Level |
Break #1 |
Break #2 |
Break #3 |
|
Y5s/Kinder |
9:55-10:05 |
11:20-11:30 |
2:55-3:05 |
|
1st Grade |
11:40-11:50 |
12:35-12:45 |
1:35-1:45 |
|
2nd Grade |
11:00-11:10 |
12:00-12:10 |
2:00-2:10 |
|
3rd Grade |
9:45-9:55 |
12:50-1:00 |
2:55-3:05 |
|
4th Grade |
9:45-9:55 |
11:20-11:30 |
2:55-3:05 |
|
5th Grade |
10:30-10:40 |
12:50-1:00 |
2:55-3:05 |
|
6th Grade |
10:35-10:45 |
1:35-1:45 |
3:00-3:10 |
|
7th Grade |
9:30-9:40 |
1:25-1:35 |
3:00-3:10 |
|
8th Grade |
9:30-9:40 |
1:25-1:35 |
3:00-3:10 |
Let’s make these breaks a
calm, joyful, and engaging part of the day for our students.
One of our Core Values is “Make our schools the best choice for parents and students.” Thank you for doing this EVERYDAY, especially
as we prepare for P-T conferences next week. Don’t forget to reference my email
regarding our expectations for discussing students’ academic performance,
attendance, retention, and scheduling.
As a reminder, all salary staff are expected to stay until 8:00 pm on
Monday and 4 PM on Tuesday, even if your last conference ends before those
times.
Staff must be in professional attire both
days. No dress down passes or comfy passes may be used when meeting with
families on Monday nor Tuesday.
On Wednesday, December 10, we have a ½ day for
our annual reunification training. All staff (hourly,
salary, SFE, and Aramark) need to attend to learn/review our reunification plan
and visit the reunification location. More information to come.
Just like the past 4 years, we are asking all
staff members to “unplug” from work over Thanksgiving break. We want you to use
this as an opportunity to relax, unwind, and enjoy a well-deserved break with
family and friends. Please set an out of office message (included below) at
4:00 pm on Tuesday and refrain from checking emails until Sunday night (at the
earliest).
Out of Office Message:
Thank you for your email. I am out of the building beginning Tuesday, November 25 at 4:00 pm. During this time, all Keystone staff members have been encouraged to prioritize their personal time with family and friends by temporarily disconnecting from work. I will be more than happy to respond to your email when I return to work on Monday, December 1. Thank you for your understanding and partnership.
Set an Out of Office
Message:
Open Outlook à Settingsà Account à Automatic replies. I copied the message in both boxes for “within the company”
and “outside of the company.”
We
set a goal of entering one positive behavior per student every trimester from
your homeroom. Thank you to everyone who met this expectation. As we begin
Trimester 2, don’t forget to have a plan in place to ensure that all students
receive one. As you know, this ongoing recognition not only
reinforces positive behaviors, but also helps build trust and partnership with
families, showing them that we notice and value their children’s efforts every
day.
A huge shout out to Ellen, Emma, Andria, Teri, Yasmeen, and Amanda, who each entered over 100 positive behaviors into MyNHA for Trimester 1, with an honorable mention to Jane for her 93 entries.
If you are considering retention for any of your students, you must have a conversation with the family by December 11. Please make sure that you give your dean the completed retention packet with the parent signature by Friday, December 12.
If you are having a classroom holiday party, it must be on December 19 for
the last hour of the day. Please remember to keep activities focused on winter, not Christmas, out of respect to all students.
It's important that you remind families of our policy regarding food items. In
our handbook it states, “…only items that are bought directly from the store
and with an ingredient list may be brought into school. No homemade treats may
be brought in for sharing due to potential allergen exposure.”
Steve
for thinking of me and providing me
with such a sweet treat once again! I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness—it
means a lot to me.
Leslie
for taking on an additional role out
of dedication to what’s best for our school. Your willingness to step in and
support our community does not go unnoticed and is truly appreciated.
Jen H and Kim J for bringing a little extra
sweetness to Keystone! Your idea for the Pie Potluck was creative, fun, and made
everyone smile.
Sally for masterminding such a fun
and memorable staff activity! The week-long turkey hunt had everyone searching,
teaming up, and sharing laughs—it was a fantastic way to bring some joy and
camaraderie to our school.
Taylor for volunteering to help with
Trimester 1 recess! Your willingness to jump in doesn’t go unnoticed.
Ellen for organizing such a
thoughtful and fun way for our Keystone family to support Jen while she’s out.
Your effort to bring a little joy and let her know we’re thinking of her truly
shows your care and dedication to our team.
Stephanie for taking charge of finding the
winter items for the front office. Your willingness to take on this extra task means
a lot to me.
Alex for the reminder! You
consistently go above and beyond to make sure I don’t forget anything and that
everything runs smoothly.
Stacey Ramirez for once again taking my vision
and making it a reality. Thanks for your creativity with the 12 Days Before Winter
Break flyer. I really appreciate all you do.
Jen D for your positivity and
willingness to try something new.
Stacey Reed for all the things that you do
behind the scenes that set me up for success.
Tameka, Robyn, and Sally for ensuring that we create a
culture of care while strengthening our connection between home and school.
Thanks for all your work with positive behaviors.
Ellen for relinquishing your “only
child” status and sharing with me. I think this makes us sisters.
Amy for your honesty, but also the care
and intentionality behind your words.
Sunday,
November 23:
· Steve’s Birthday
Monday,
November 24:
·
PT Conferences (4-8
PM) In-person
·
Book Fair (November
24-25)
Tuesday,
November 25:
·
PT Conferences (12-4
PM) In-person
·
½ Day-Dismissal at
11:20 AM
Wednesday,
November 26-Friday, November 28:
·
No
School-Thanksgiving Break
Monday,
December 1:
·
Goodfellows Canned
Food Drive (December 1-5)
· K-2 Winter NWEA
(December 1-12)
· Yasmeen’s Birthday
·
Start Decorating
Hallway Doors- “Deck the Halls”
Wednesday, December 3:
·
Perfect Attendance
Reward
Thursday, December 4:
·
30 Hour PD
· Purple Club
·
Morning Assembly Presentation Due (National Human Rights Month)-Jeng
· Band Concert 6 PM
· Complete “Deck the Halls” Decorating
Friday, December 5:
·
"Bundt'ch of Holiday Cheer" Treat
·
Dress Down and Hat $1
each
There is a special gift in the
mailboxes of all the people who celebrate their birthdays in December.
December 8: “May Your Holidays be Lit!" Gift
from Leadership Team
December 9: Staff Meeting
December 9: Staff Meeting Snacks
December 9: "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"
Dress in your interpretation of winter--puffy vests, winter hats, all white,
etc. -FREE (Students may participate)
December 10-12: Holiday Shoppe
December 10: ½ Day-Reunification PD
December 10: ½ Day Snacks-6th Grade
December 10: “Sleigh the Ice, Stay Merry & Bright!” Gift
from Leadership Team
December 10: Parent Teacher Conference Form Due to Ramirez
December 11: Morning Assembly
Presentation Due (Bill of Rights Day)-Thomas
December 11: “Swingin’ into the Season” Activity
December 12: “May Your Morning Sparkle” Breakfast from
Meemic
December 12: Judy’s Birthday
December 12: MTSS/IAT Meetings
December 14: Jen D’s Birthday
December 15: "Be Cozy and Bright" (Harper Toy
Drive)-Wear jeans with a bright, sparkly, festive, and/or ugly holiday sweaters
for $1 (Students may participate)
December 16: "Cup of Cheer" Hot Chocolate Cart
and Activity from PTO
December 16: PLC (Team Meeting)
December 17: "On the 12th Day Before Break My Students
Came to Me…" Activity
December 18: “We’re Flannelling in the Fun this Winter”
Wear a flannel or plaid shirt with jeans-FREE (Students may participate)
December 19: 3rd Grade Social Media Post Due to
Jorvonna
December 19: “A Small Gift with Big Cheer!” Gift from Board
December 19: Spirit Day
December 22-January 2: No School-Winter Break
December 28: John’s Birthday
December 30: Emma’s Birthday
January 5: School Resumes
*If you have an event to add or something has been forgotten, please
let me know!
For our monthly attendance goal update, I usually share data specific to our school. However, in my boss’s newsletter last week, she included chronic absenteeism rates across our region, and I wanted to share that with you to provide some perspective on the tremendous work you’ve been doing.
As you can see, we’ve achieved the
largest decrease in absenteeism compared to the other six schools in our
region, and we rank 2nd for the lowest chronic absenteeism rate—with
only a 1% difference.
This incredible progress reflects the
hard work, dedication, and care of our entire team—thank you for supporting our
students and helping make regular attendance a priority!
Reminder: when you are
copied on an email from Taylor regarding a student who has accumulated multiple
absences and is approaching a next step, please continue to partner with her by
promptly communicating if that student continues to be absent. This helps us
accurately track attendance and hold parents accountable, ensuring we maintain the progress we’ve worked so hard to
achieve.
As a reminder the last day for parents to sign up for conferences has past. You will need to assign a time for any student who hasn’t signed up by November 18.
In addition, our wonderful PTO has selected the menu for P/T conferences (see below).
We have two new staff members. Our new Site Coordinator, Will Wells, works M-F from 12-8 PM. In addition, we have a new Occupational Therapist, Laura Turnbull. She works Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please give them a warm Keystone welcome when you see them.
Congratulations
to Mrs. Kaminski’s class for spelling the
word, ATTENDANCE. They are the first class. I look
forward to them spelling our attendance phrase, Show
Up Strong, All Year Long. If she is able to accomplish this, the prizes will be BIG!
Steve
for organizing such an incredible
Veterans Day assembly. Your time, creativity, and attention to detail were
evident in every part of the program—from the heartfelt student speeches you
wrote to the meaningful videos highlighting veterans from our school community.
You created a powerful and memorable experience for our students and families
that truly honored those who serve.
Diane
for creating our Veterans Wall to
honor those who have served. I noticed the many times you spent your prep
period ensuring each veteran from our school community was highlighted with
care. Your work helped make our Veterans Day celebration especially meaningful.
Stacey Reed for taking the initiative to
create another observation document for the leadership team. Your organization
and attention to detail help keep us aligned and make our work more efficient.
We truly appreciate your consistency and the support you provide behind the
scenes!
Nikki and Crystal for spoiling me with my
favorite type of snack.
Nikki for the care you showed me
during the Veterans Day assembly.
Diane, Teri, Danielle, Monique,
Amanda, Gloria, Jane, Deb, and Kim J for personally checking in on Embry.
Lisa for returning to her accounting
role and assisting me with the money. Thanks for being someone that I trust and
count on.
Tracy for sharing a best practice at
our staff meeting.
Emily for sharing your collaborative
coaching experience at our staff meeting.
Megan, Alex, Nikki, Monique, Amy, Diane,
Tracy, and Jessica for helping to guide our
learning during PD. I know this wasn’t something you necessarily signed up for,
as the leadership team asked for your support. For many of you, presenting in
front of peers isn’t easy, yet you’ve approached it with a positive attitude
and professionalism. Thank you for modeling collaboration and continuous
growth.
Andria for always taking time to make
sure the staff have some chocolate to make it through the day.
Mandy and Sarah M for working together to plan
our staff holiday party.
Kim J for sending communication to
have consistent expectation for student behavior.
Robyn, Tameka, Sally, and Stacey Reed for helping bring the “12 Days Before
Winter Break” to life! I know it becomes more challenging each year to find new
and creative ways to bring joy to our teachers’ days, but I truly appreciate
the thought, creativity, and time you invest to make it special. Your efforts
go a long way in spreading cheer and reminding our staff how valued they are.
Stephanie for helping me get 12 Days organized
and putting the final touches on this 2 ½ week event.
Monday,
November 17:
· School
Store Reward
·
All
Grades Entered
·
Payday
Breakfast-1st Grade
·
Pie Potluck-Sign up HERE
· Dress
Down-Only for those who responded to the 10/31 blog
Tuesday,
November 18:
·
PLC Meetings
Wednesday,
November 19:
· Report
Card Printed & Sent Home
Thursday,
November 20:
· Morning Assembly Presentation Due (Thanksgiving)-Lowe
Friday,
November 21:
·
Social Media Post Due to Jorvonna-2nd
Grade
