Allan F. Keeth Elementary
Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence in Education
COUGAR TALES
DATES TO REMEMBER
December 4Chorus Performances –
6:00pm – 3rd Grade
7:00pm – 4/5th Grades
December 9School Advisory Council
(SAC) - 5:30pm
December 9Skate Night 6:30-8:30pm
December 10Winter Instrumental
Review – 7:00pm
December 11PTA Movie Night-6:30
December 12Student Council Visits
WESH 2 News – 7:15am
December 16-18Early Dismissal–12:20pm
December 18Holiday Parade – 8:30am
Dec 19-Jan 5Winter Break/No School
January 6Students Return
Spirit Day is Every Friday – Please wear your school colors.The PTA Spirit Shop will be held Friday mornings from 7:30-8:00am by the front doors.On the last Friday of the month, the shop will be located at the back of the school by the basketball court.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL,
Mr. Peter Gaffney
Dear Keeth Parents and Community Members:
I hope everybody is having a wonderful and restful holiday season. Keeping on pace with my previous articles, I will breakdown my article into seven parts for your reading pleasure. I have a number of important announcements to make as well as some important details about the “happenings” here at Keeth.
Veterans Celebration: From Monday, November 10 through Friday, November 14, Keeth celebrated Veterans Day Week with our students, community, and families. Thank you to all of our families for being a part of our Veterans Day Celebration on Tuesday, November 11th. We had a great program that highlighted our Keeth family veterans’ and we were proud to make it happen. Also, we placed military stars on our Veteran’s Day Tree recognizing any Keeth families who have retired or active military members. We also highlighted a branch of the military every day on our morning KCBS news program. Thank you to all the men and women of the Unites States military!
Keeth Student Council on WESH Channel 2 on Friday, December 12: Look for our wonderful Student Council led by Mrs. Arbuckle to appear on WESH channel 2 “Share your Christmas.” Each year, our student council participates in this community outreach event and shares our care and compassion to help those in need. Thank you to our Student Council and Mrs. Arbuckle for making this happen each year!
5th Grade Focus on Safety classes with Deputy Anderson: Starting on Monday, December 3rd, Deputy Anderson will be conducting FOCUS on safety lessons to our 5th Grade classes during their specials time. This is a 10-week program that includes such topics as bullying, resisting gangs and violence, resolving disputes in an acceptable manner and keeping drugs out of your life. Students will also learn about the importance of developing good character, judgment, and citizenship. Thank you to Deputy Anderson and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department for this program.
2014-2015 Teacher of the Year: The 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year at Keeth Elementary is Jason Litt, Music Teacher here at Keeth Elementary. Our teachers voted from a list of great teachers and Jason is our representative this year! Mr. Litt will be an outstanding teacher to represent us in the election ofSeminole County’s Teacher of the Year! Great job, Mr. Litt!
2014-2015 School-Related Employee of the Year: The 2014-2015 School-Related Employee of the year is Mary Lee Soyars, FTE Clerk at Keeth Elementary. Congrats to Mrs. Soyars! Mary Lee will also be an outstanding employee to represent us in the voting for Seminole County’s School-related Employee of the Year!
Keeth Elementary Facility Updates:
Keeth Cafeteria Painted: Our school cafeteria should looked very refreshed! Specials thanks to the SCPS painters that agreed to provide the labor to get this done!
Keeth Front Office Security Wall: I have been told they are looking to build a security wall outside the front office during the winter break to enhance our school’s security. Stay tuned for more details.
Keeth Elementary Roof Project: Currently, SCPS facilities department is working on a roofing project for our school. Date and Time to be determined. This is a project generated by the “Penny Sales Tax” that recently passed by Seminole County voters!
Technology News: We recently did another order for more computers for our classrooms. Thanks to Boosterthon last year and working with our PTA, we are spending close to $12,000 to purchase more computers. Purchase Orders are in progress this week and we hope to have them very soon!
Musical Amazement – Yes – that’s right! Here at Keeth we have Magical Musicians. During the month of December, our students will be showcasing their talents and at a number of events. Here is a brief calendar of events:
Winter Musical December 4
Winter Instrumental Revue December 10
Parents – Thank you for a great 1st half of the year! As stated before, a special thank you to all of Keeth’s parents and guardians for your active participation in your child’s academic and school success. Without your support and guidance, your child cannot reach their full potential.
Caring for your child and the entire Keeth community,
Mr. Pete Gaffney, Principal
SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY
Providing a safe and secure campus is of utmost importance to us. The following rules and procedures are enforced to ensure your child’s safety.
1.Students must not arrive on campus before 7:30 AM, when adult supervision begins. However, your child should arrive before the 8:00 AM tardy bell.
2.All visitors to our campus must report to the front office to sign in and secure a visitor’s badge.
3.Bikes must be walked to and from the corner of Trotwood and Tuskawilla and at all times while on campus. Remember to wear your bike helmets. They are required by law.
4.Skateboarding, roller skating, and roller blading are forbidden on campus.
5.When dropping children off in the morning, please have them exit the vehicle on the passenger side so they do not cross in front of or behind traffic. Please ensure your child is ready to exit the vehicle upon arrival to help expedite the process.
6.No child may leave campus during the instructional day without first being properly signed out in the front office. Persons unknown to the front office staff will be asked to show picture identification.
7.Only a parent, guardian, or person(s) listed on the Emergency Information Card may sign a child out of school. Please send a note if someone other than a parent/guardian will be picking up your child.
8. Prearrange a rainy day plan with your child. The threat of afternoon rain and/or storms is always present. It is not possible to deliver last minute messages near dismissal time. Please fill out and return the Rainy Day Dismissal Plan that was included in your child’s folder.
9. If your child’s dismissal arrangements change, please send a note to the teacher. Avoid calling the school at the end of the day to deliver a message to your child unless it is an emergency.
10. If a child custody court order exists, a copy of the order must be on file in the school office.
11. Many Keeth students bike or walk to and from school. Review safety expectations. Remind students to cross the street at intersections where crossing guards are located.
12. Please make sure your child wears closed toed shoes to school. Your child will be having Physical Education twice a week and PAT (Physical Activity Time) everyday.
Thank you for your support.
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
A Message from Your School Counselor…
Student Council News
Keeth Cougars Make a Difference in Our Community
As temperatures begin to dip, the student council will be holding their annual blanket drive for the Central Florida homeless population. We are collecting clean blankets, and they can be dropped off in the guidance department. These do not need to be new blankets. The blankets will be delivered to Central Florida Homeless Coalition in Orlando to be used for the children and adults that are living at the shelter, in their cars, or on the street. The Coalition is the largest residential facility for children in Central Florida. They provide services to over 250 children on any given night. Their average age is 8 years old. Student Council will be going to the shelter on Thursday, December 11th to drop off the blankets and have a brief orientation in order to gain a greater awareness to the reality of poverty and the difference we can make in our community.
Thank you for helping with our canned food drive during Red Ribbon Week. In only five days we collected 732 food items that were delivered to a local pantry that serves families in the Winter Springs area. The first two weeks of December we will also be collecting nonperishable food donations that will be distributed to Second Harvest Food Bank and The Salvation Army as part of the WESH 2 News Share Your Christmas food drive. Members of Student Council will drop off the food during a live broadcast on Friday, December 12th at 7:15 AM. If you can help with our Share Your Christmas Food Drive, drop off your items in the Guidance Department.
Thank you also for supporting our Candy Gram sales at the end of October. We sold 644 candy grams and were able to raise $261. The Student Council decided to send their profits to Libby’s Legacy, a local foundation for Breast Cancer Research. Thanks to all our Keeth Cougars for making a difference.
Piper Ancel
Student Council Secretary
Contact Sue Arbuckle, Certified School Counselor, for additional information or assistance: 407-320-5303 or
FLORIDA STANDARDS
This portal is your source for information about the Florida Standards Assessments.
SUBSCRIBE TO TEXT UPDATES
Would you like to receive email updates from Mr. Gaffney?
Text @mrgaffney to 321-392-2451
DIVIDENDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
We are thankful for our Dividend volunteers!
Dividend applications are available on-line at the SCPS website. Click on Departments, then Dividends and Click here to volunteer. Fill in all the info, click on PREVIEW, and then SUBMIT. Please remember that you will need to resubmit your application every year. Please allow two weeks for processing prior to volunteer/chaperone participation.
We appreciate our Dividends and thank you for all you do!
If you have any questions, contact Tracy Porter, Assistant Principal, (407) 320-5350.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Skate Night:
It was another greatSkatenight this Novemberwith142 Keeth Cougars in attendance. Ms. Raulerson gets the Cougar Spirit trophy withthe moststudents from her class, nine.In the race: 2nd grade Noah Campbell (Molina), 3rd grade Ryan Desabrais (Giambalvo), 4th grade Leyla Finley (Adams) and 5th grade Drew Desabrais (Pernal).Mrs. Camacho was the winner of the gift card. Don't forget, our nextSkatenight will be on Tuesday December 9th.
Thank you,
Carmen Rivera (SkateNight Coordinator)
Way to Go Students of the Week!
November 3-7
Kindergarten – Robyn Chavis –McClelland/Holly
1st Grade – Nyah Marshall - Halerz
2nd Grade –Sabier Mendez Mendez – Cooper/Vandermay
3rd Grade – Ava Avery - Siegel
4th Grade –Aiden Gatton- Adams
5th Grade –Zachary Fulton - NPolley
November 10-14:
Kindergarten – Karin Amstadt - Loubier
1st Grade – Ashleigh Lauricella - Case
2nd Grade –Monica Kamel - Butler
3rd Grade – Vanessa Rucci - Lochrane
4th Grade –Jose Cedeno - DuBois
5th Grade –Mia Carter – Fose
ESE – Konnor Whitmore - Kandt
November 17-21
Kindergarten – Ivana Ortiz Escribano - Kanistras
1st Grade – Jamie Williams - Paschel
2nd Grade –Ryan McLaughlin - Molina
3rd Grade – Maya Horel - Giambalvo
4th Grade –Taylor Hicks - Littlefield
5th Grade –Luis Mendez Mendez – K.Polley
Box Tops Winners
The grand winner who collected the most Box Tops out of the whole school was Kate Marie Birchard in Kindergarten from Ms. Codrey’sclass.
We also selected a classroom winner per grade level with the most Box Tops collected:
VPK – Ms. Gray – Rocco Danio
1st grade – Ms. Thomas – Sadie Litz
2nd grade – Ms. Molina – Marley Ramos
3rd grade – Ms. Goodnough – Madeline Smith
4th grade – Ms. Adams – Mathew Kershaw
5th grade – Mr. N. Polley – Karlye White
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
Thank you to our business partners! We would like to recognize the following area businesses who have already signed up as our Partners in Excellence for this school year. As a reminder, business partners need to renew their agreements at the start of each school year.
Championship Martial Arts
Darling Desserts
Dominos Pizza
Firehouse Subs
Flipper’s Pizzeria
Florida KrazeKrush Soccer
Jersey Mike’s
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice
Jammin’ N Slammin”
Lach Orthodontics
Mad Science
Mathnasium of Tuskawilla
North Wind Martial Arts
Orlando Solar Bears
Sea World
Tijuana Flats
The Tutoring Center of Oviedo
Spark! Family Enrichment Center
If you are interested in becoming a Partner in Excellence or would like to renew your agreement from last year, please contact Tracy Porter, Assistant Principal, (407) 320-5350.