Keystone important info and upcoming dates

Next Week Special Schedule

Monday 5/2 :                             Day 4- Art/Guidance

Tuesday 5/3:                             Day 5- Music/Guidance

Wednesday 5/4:                       Day 6- Technology

Thursday 5/5:                            Day 1- PE/Guidance

Friday 5/6:                                  Day 2- Art/Guidance

SPRING PICTURES

Spring pictures were to be returned by Friday, April 22nd. If you are not purchasing portraits please return the photos as soon as possible. If you are making a purchase you may pay online and return the order form with online payment code. You may also send your cash or check made payable to Lifetouch to school. If you have any questions please call the office 319-442-3221.

BCPTO PARTY IN THE PARK

Mark you calendar! The BCPTO wants to invite all PK-6 Benton Community elementary students and their families to a celebration of a great year. Join us from 5:30 - 7:00 PM on Friday, May 13 at the Norway Elementary playground. All Benton Community PK-6 grade students and families are welcome!

BLAIRSTOWN-RED CROSS SWIMMING

Students from Blairstown who complete Belle Plaine swimming lessons will be reimbursed the $20 fee by the Blairstown Community Foundation. This does not include private lessons. Send your registration and check to the Belle Plaine pool address which is in the brochure.

KEYSTONE DETOUR

There is bridge work being done on the road heading SOUTH out of Keystone. There will be a detour heading WEST on gravel and will cause an approximate 10 minute delay. Please plan accordingly. We will send notification when the work is complete.

BC SUMMER THEATRE

Benton Theatre Rising Stars is preparing for Summer Theatre Camp 2016! Camp runs June 13 - 24 from 9am - 12pm, with a final performance on Friday, June 24th at 7:00pm. All activities take place in the high school auditorium. Registration is $35 and forms may be requested in all elementary centers or by contacting Mary Horst -mhorst@benton.k12.ia.us. All current K-8 students are eligible to participate.

CEDAR VALLEY SHOW CHOIR CAMP

Registration is now open for the 2016 Cedar Valley Show Choir Camp "American Strong". This camp will cover some of the amazing music that our country has produced.

The camp is open to anyone who has completed 2nd-7th grade and will focus on the basic fundamentals of singing, choreography and stage production.

Camp dates are July 11-15 from 9:00-Noon at the Blairstown Community Center, with a concert on Friday night, July 15.

You can get a registration form by e mailingjhayden@benton.k12.ia.us, or from your music teacher, OR you can register on line at https://goo.gl/vUJ6Rf Camp director is John Hayden, vocal music instructor at Benton Community High School. More info as well atwww.bentonvocalmusic.com or by calling319-491-5995

BYSA NIGHT 

ATTENTION ALL BYSA COACHES, PARENTS AND PLAYERS! BYSA night will be held onTuesday, May 10th during the BENTON BOYS HS SOCCER GAME vs. Williamsburg! Varsity starts at 5:30 p.m. followed by the JV at 7:00.  Any child wearing their BYSA soccer jersey will get into the game free!  Thank you for the support! Go Bobcats! 

BC WRESTLING CLUB SUMMER CAMP

BC wrestling club will be holding their annual summer camp on Monday, July 25th and Tuesday, July 26th at the BC High School.  Session for grades K-6 will be 5-6 p.m. and session for grades 7-12 will be from 6:30-8 p.m.  Registration forms went home with students this week, you may also register the day of camp or online.  If registered by July 15th camper will receive a t-shirt.  For additional information please contact Coach T.J. Murphy at tmurphy@benton.k12.ia.us 

Breakfast Buddies / April 29th.

Please read the link below with regards to upcoming Breakfast Buddies at Keystone Elementary.

Thanks, Mr. Junge



http://bentoncommunitypto.blogspot.com/2016/04/spring-breakfast-buddies.html

JDRF Diabetes Fund Raiser

P-T Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are on Monday, Mar. 14th from 3:30-7:30 and Tuesday, Mar. 15th from 2;30-7:30.  Please call 319-442-3221 to schedule a conference.  We would love to have 100% attendance. 

Thanks, Mr. Junge

March upcoming dates

​Dates on Deck

Wednesday March 2nd- 1:00 p.m. dismiss for PD

Wednesday March 9^th- 1:00 p.m. dismiss end of 2^nd trimester grade reporting/PD

Monday March 14^th- P/T Conferences 3:30-7:30 p.m.

Tuesday March 15^th-1:00 p.m. dismiss for P/T Conferences 2:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday March 16^th-Friday March 18^th- NO SCHOOL- Spring Break

Monday March 21^st - Classes resume

Thursday March 24^th- 1:00 dismiss PD

Friday March 25^th- NO SCHOOL-Good Friday

Pre-K Family Fun Night

On Thursday, March 3^rd 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 15^th 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 2^nd Snow Day on Friday, May 27^th. May 26^th will now be a full school day and May 27^th 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 7^th

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. 15^th 2016

For more information please call 319-442-3221

Fluency - Why is it important?

Monthly tips for parents

Fluency Matters

By: Reading Rockets

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.