November Important Dates - Please Read!

This is a BUSY month!  PLEASE check out Mr. Junge's blog post with info detailing all of the events going on at Keystone Elementary this month.  

Important Dates:

November 2nd - BCPTO @ Keystone @ 6:30pm
November 4th - 1:00 Dismiss - PK-12 Professional Learning
November 11th - Veteran's Day Program @ MS/HS @ 9:30am
November 18th - 1:00 Dismiss - End of 1st Trimester
November 20th - Report cards sent home
November 23rd - K-12 Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30-7:30pm
November 24th - 1:00 Dismiss - K-12 Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:00-7:30pm
November 25th - No School
November 26th - No School 
November 27th - No School
November 28th - Salvation Army Bell Ringing 10am - 12pm - MORE INFO COMING SOON!

CONFERENCES
Please call Candi in the office to schedule a conference!  I'm excited to share all of the progress your child has made so far this year!  442-3221

BOOK FAIR

The Scholastic Book Fair will be at Keystone Elementary from Thursday, November 19^th through Tuesday, November 24^th.  Students will have the opportunity to view and make purchases at select times throughout the school day.  The Book Fair will open online on November 15^th. The Book Fair will also be open during conferences. The Book Fair can be previewed online using this link: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/preview.do?method=preview

CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

Keystone students in grades K-3 will be having their annual Christmas program on Friday, December 4^that 7 p.m. More information will be coming home at a later date.

SHOW CHOIR APPAREL

The BC Show Choir has a HUGE variety of Bobcat apparel for all! Men’s/Women’s/Boy’s/Girl’s/Toddler – something for everyone for the holidays! Check it out at: http://www.facebook.com/SportYourTeaminBling  Orders are due November 6^th! 

Halloween Scenes

Check out these cute kids in their Halloween costumes!  We had a great time showing off costumes and visiting residents at the Keystone Care Center.  

Socktober SUCCESS

PLEASE join us tomorrow as we deliver the socks to the Olivet Neighborhood Mission in Cedar Rapids.  Please meet at Keystone Elementary at 8:00am.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Check out our Instagram feed for more pictures!  

Check out #keyrocks on Twitter for more pictures!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

We collected OVER 1,230 pairs of SOCKS!

As our Socktober sock drive draws to an end, I want to extend many thanks to all of you for supporting this project.  This project couldn’t and wouldn’t have been successful without your support and participation.  We were able to find many outlets for children to be engaged in learning opportunities, work to help relieve a real world problem and instill the idea that the gift of giving is truly great.  The amount of time, energy and enthusiasm students and their families attacked this challenge with is truly inspiring and a moment in my career I will never forget.  It’s funny how children have a way of teaching the adults in their lives how important the simplest things really are. 

Most of the socks collected are being donated to the Olivet Neighborhood Mission Clothing Closet in Cedar Rapids.  The Olivet Neighborhood Mission’s purpose is to reach persons of all ages with programs and services to meet their particular needs, exhibiting the Christian ideal of serving out of love and compassion.  The Olivet Neighborhood Mission touches the lives of over 55,000 yearly.  Its targeted populations are individuals and families living in poverty, homeless, disabled, or single family units.  All services are provided without regard to age, race, color, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.  All programs and services are offered free of cost to those in need. 

Mrs. Bishop spoke to the students about where the socks would be donated.  It is obvious that the students are extremely excited to give to those in need. 

Again, thank you for supporting your student through this project.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Shine on!

Ms. Upah

Kaden's grandma got her workplace involved!  They collected over 200 pairs of socks!

Halloween with Mrs. Galligan

I LOVE watching Mrs. Galligan dance around the room and sing with students.  Check out these short videos of 1U singing and dancing to Halloween songs.  

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and MORE Pumpkins!

We spent the afternoon using math and science skills that we have and developed new ones through a pumpkin investigation.  

First, we read How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin.  This is a GREAT book that talks about the pumpkin life cycle, estimation, skip counting, and the idea that size doesn't determine worth.

Then, we measured the pumpkin, counted lines, and put a pumpkin in water to see if it would float.  

Next, we cleaned all of the pulp out of our pumpkins and sorted the seeds.  

Finally, we got to draw all over them.  Ms. Upah wasn't brave enough to carve 4 pumpkins.  :)

Check out this activity we did in the makerspace!  We were able to build different structures with pumpkins and toothpicks.  

Mrs. Bear's daughter is painting murals on the walls in the library.  Pictures of those will be posted soon.  Be sure to check out this amazing space for our students when you come in for a conference in November.   The library also got a couple new chairs for reading.  Everyone was pretty excited to try them out!