Monday, February 29, 2016

March upcoming dates

Dates on Deck
Wednesday March 2nd1:00 p.m. dismiss for PD
Wednesday March 9th1:00 p.m. dismiss end of 2nd trimester grade reporting/PD
Monday March 14th- P/T Conferences 3:30-7:30 p.m.
Tuesday March 15th-1:00 p.m. dismiss for P/T Conferences 2:30-7:30 p.m.
Wednesday March 16th-Friday March 18th- NO SCHOOL- Spring Break
Monday March 21st - Classes resume
Thursday March 24th1:00 dismiss PD
Friday March 25th- NO SCHOOL-Good Friday

Pre-K Family Fun Night
On Thursday, March 3rd from 6-7:30 p.m. Keystone preschool families are invited to the STEAM Family Fun Night.Families will be exploring activities in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Please RSVP to dbenton@benton.k12.ia.us

BCPTO
BCPTO meeting is Monday, March 7th at 6:30 p.m. at the Atkins Elementary.All are welcome to attend.

Preschool, Alternative Kindergarten, & Kindergarten Registration
Preschool and Kindergarten registration is scheduled for Monday, March 7th from 5-6:30 p.m.at the Keystone Elementary Center.Please, bring your child's birth certificate or proof of age. If you are unable to attend registration, please call the school office at 319-422-3221 or email cbenesh@benton.k12.ia.us

Parent/Teacher Conferences
On Monday, March 14th conferences will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, March 15th they will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Classes will be dismissed at normal time on Monday and at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday.  Please call the school office to schedule a conference at 319-442-3221.

Spring Portraits
SPRING 2016 portraits will be taken on Monday, March 28.Students are not required to have their pictures taken. More information will be sent home at a later date.

School Calendar Adjustment(Snow Days)
The BC Board approved the following changes to the 2015-16 school calendar:Students will make up the February 2nd Snow Day on Friday, May 27th. May 26th will now be a full school day and May 27th will be a 1:00 p.m. dismiss. No final decision will be made on the status of making up the February 3rd date until after the winter season is complete. If we do not have any additional days cancelled due to inclement weather or other reasons the last day of school will remain on Friday, May 27th.

Keystone PreK-K Registration Info.





2016-17 school year registration for
3 and 4 year old Preschool, Alternative Kindergarten, and Kindergarten
Date:  Monday, March 7th
Time: 5:00 -6:30 pm
Location: Keystone Elementary Library

***Please bring a copy of birth certificate or proof of age
Children must be 3, 4, or 5 years of age by Sept. 15th 2016

For more information please call 319-442-3221

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Fluency - Why is it important?

Monthly tips for parents

Fluency Matters

If you've been around classrooms and teachers, you've probably heard the term "fluency." Fluency is something worth knowing more about! Read on to find out what it is and how to develop it in your young learners. 

Fluency: What is it? Why is it important?

If someone is fluent in speaking another language or in playing an instrument, there's a smooth, graceful and easy quality to it. The same is true with reading skills. Reading fluency is a child's ability to read a book or other text correctly, quickly, and with expression. A fluent reader doesn't have to stop and "decode" each word. Rather, most of the words can be read automatically. This means the reader can focus his attention on what the story or text means. For that reason, fluency is critically important — it is the bridge between decoding words and understanding what has been read.

How can we foster reading fluency?

Parents can help their child develop reading fluency through a few simple and fun activities.

Paired or "Buddy" Reading

The easiest and best way to help your child develop fluency is to sit with your child and read! Read together every day, which is often called paired or buddy reading. To use paired reading, simply take turns reading aloud. You go first, as your reading provides a model of what good fluent reading sounds like. Then, ask your child to re-read the same page you just read. You'll notice that your child's reading will start to sound more and more like yours. Do this for several pages. Once your child is comfortable enough, and familiar enough with the book, take turns reading page for page.

Reread Favorite Books

Another way parents can help develop fluency is to build a tall stack of books that your child can read quickly and easily. Encourage your child to reread favorite books over and over again. With each reading, you may notice your child reading a bit easier, a bit faster, and with a bit more confidence and expression.

Record It

Another fun way to practice reading and build fluency is to have your child create her own audio books. This can be done simply with a tape recorder or audio recording feature or app (like Audioboo) on your phone. Or, use something more sophisticated like StoryKit, where a user can create an electronic storybook and record audio to accompany it. Regardless of the method you choose, your child will be practicing what they want to record and that reading practice is critical. Sharing your audio recordings with family and friends is a great motivator too!
These activities are easy and require very few materials. Doing these activities with your child will help build fluency — a skill that will last a lifetime.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016


Keystone Parents & Students,

We are going to have a hat day on Friday, February 12th.  Remember, not only is this Valentine's Day for us, but it is also a 12:00 dismissal.  There will be a note in your child's take home folder today. 

Our lunch server, Nancy Dvorak, has a daughter Onnah that is a 4th grader at Norway Elementary.  She just recently went through a kidney transplant.  Please keep her family in your thoughts and consider visiting their GoFundMe page
https://www.gofundme.com/46n3nnpg 

In addition to the hat day, we are asking each student to bring $1 to help support the Dvorak family's medical expenses.  Thank you!--Kim

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Friday, February 5, 2016

Keystone Upcoming Dates



Keystone Friday Notes- 2/5/16
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12th- NOON DISMISS- NO PRESCHOOL

Next Week Special Schedule
Monday 2/8: Day 3- PE/Music
Tuesday 2/9:   Day 4- Art/Guidance
Wednesday 2/10: Day 5- Music/Guidance
Thursday 2/11: Day 6- Technology
Friday 2/12: Day 1- PE/Guidance

BCPTO MEETING
BCPTO meeting that was postponed this past week due to weather is now rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 8th at 6:30 p.m. at Keystone Elementary.  Please join us!

BOX TOPS
Keystone is collecting BoxTops!! Please, send your trimmed BoxTops to school the month of February.

PRESCHOOL
On Friday, February 12th all BC centers will be dismissing classes at noon.  PRESCHOOL WILL NOT HAVE CLASSES ON THIS DAY.

WEATHER DELAYS/DISMISSALS
Reminder: The school does not provide breakfast on late starts, please make sure your child eats at home/daycare.  
Please keep the school office notified of any after school routine changes for your child.  With the possibility of weather related early dismissals, we would like to be as prepared as possible prior to the fact.  Thank you for your cooperation.