Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are so happy to have our KES Wildcats back in our building! We would like to thank all of our families that came out to join us for our Community Night and Open House these past few weeks. Please note the upcoming events that will be going on within the month of September on our September Calendar within the newsletter.
Please feel free to contact our office team with any questions or concerns at 440-355-2300 or via email:
Miss Brouse, Assistant Principal: taylor.brouse@keystoneschools.org
Mr. Alferio, Prinicpal: jacob.alferio@keystoneschools.org
Sincerely,
Mr. Alferio and Miss Brouse
The safety and welfare of our students and staff are our highest priority. Throughout the year, we perform various safety drills including fire, bus evacuation, severe weather, building evacuation and lockdown. Schools conduct these safety drills during which students and staff practice emergency procedures. These procedures are evaluated for improvements after each drill.
We understand that some of these drills can be stressful or confusing to families and children so we hope this information will bring some ease and clarification to our safety drills. Below is an explanation of an ALICE Drill and what students can expect.
An ALICE/Lockdown Drill: Keystone schools conduct lockdown drills during which students and staff practice emergency procedures. Students and staff will participate in ALICE drills together to practice the tools and knowledge to respond and escape in the event of an active shooter or threat to our building.
It is important to note that we have our classroom teachers and staff make sure that they are preparing and discussing the reasons and procedures for safety drills at the beginning of the school year, as well as revisit these procedures often. Below we have provided the various weeks that we will be conducting a safety drill for your reference on our monthly calendar.
1. Download the ClassDojo app or go online.
2. Click "I'm a parent"
3. Select “Get Started”
4. Enter your personal information and click “Create free account”
5. Select the "Kids" tab.
6. If you have been given an invitation code, click "Add code" to enter the code and connect to your child's teacher.
As you may have noticed, we have done away with the yellow emergency medical forms and are now using FinalForms. FinalForms allows parents/guardians to complete and sign Emergency Medical forms, Demographic forms, Athletic forms, and more for students. FinalForms also saves data from year to year and season to season, meaning there is no need to enter the same information twice! FinalForms also pre-populates information wherever possible, for all students in one family, saving precious time.
Data may be reviewed at any time to verify it is current. All forms are required to be updated once per year and after any change.
*PLEASE NOTE:
Current students already have accounts; this was verified in an email you received. If you DO NOT see this email or have questions, contact Tina Bednarski.
Tina Bednarski: 440-355-2424 | tina.bednarski@keystoneschools.org
Dismissal
Please make sure you discuss with your child how they are getting home each day.
If you need to make a change to your child's dismissal during the school day, you must call the KES office before 2:45pm to notify our staff of this change.
Reminders
- School fees will be assigned mid October 2024. You will receive letters via US Postal mail.
- Free and Reduced Lunch applications need to be turned in ASAP to the office
- If you are a car rider, please call the KES office to ask for a car rider placard (neon orange sign for your car)
KES Office Procedures
Here is what you can expect when you come to the KES office for picking up, dropping off, or bringing materials to a student:
- When in the front vestibule, press the doorbell on the right side of the wall
- You be greeted by a secretary and asked how they can help
- If you are picking up a student for any reason, you will be asked to show a photo ID into the camera on the doorbell
- You will be prompted to also sign your child out while your student is being called to the office
*Please note that if it is past 9:00am, an adult must escort the student into the KES vestibule and sign in the student after speaking with a secretary.*
We Offer Breakfast
Free and Reduced Program
If your child/children received free or reduced school meals last year, they will have the same eligibility for the first 30 days of this school year. After this time, students must turn in their new free and reduced form to continue their eligibility.
Students who qualify for free OR reduced school meals will get FREE breakfast and FREE lunch as the ODEW will cover the cost of school meals.
If you have any questions, please contact Food Service Supervisor Jody White at jody.white@keystoneschools.org or at 440-355-2389.
Our Fall Mumkins Sale is happening now until the 18th September. All paper forms and money need to be turned into the school no later than the 18th of September. The online links are open until 11:59p on the 18th. Checks can be made out to KES PTA
- Compassion Closet items are needed to keep in the Elementary School - along with the items on the Amazon wishlist, we are also looking for shelf stable food items.
- https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/26I04KDPUW930?ref_=wl_fv_le
- Join PTA today at
- https://keystoneelementarypta.givebacks.com/store/items/898394
- Our next meeting is October 1st at 6pm in the KES library.
Dear KES Families,
We are thankful for you being part of our school community! The world is changing quickly and we want to do everything we can to help students be successful in school and life.
We have created a new specials class for all K-5 students here at KES. We are excited to tell you that we will be using a program called PurposeFull People this year. This program teaches skills that will help students be successful in school and in life.
We believe that students should have safe, predictable places to learn where they feel included. Students should have healthy and helpful connections with teachers and classmates. They should also experience learning that will help them tackle challenges inside and outside of school. PurposeFullPeople is more than a set of lessons - it is a partnership between schools and families to create a place where students feel like they belong and learn skills that will help them be the best they can be!
Purposefull People has three main goals for students: Be Kind, Be Strong, and Be Well.
- Be Kind: Social skills like listening, friendship, solving conflicts, and leadership.
- These skills are taught alongside Empathy, Respect, & Cooperation
- Be Strong: Skills that help students focus, stay organized, and set goals.
- These skills are taught alongside Responsibility, Courage, & Perseverance
- Be Well: Skills that help students handle their emotions and deal with stress.
- These skills are taught alongside Gratitude, Honesty, & Creativity
This year, you’ll be invited to join the fun! Look out for our monthly newsletters on our school’s website about the skills and strengths being taught each month. Each newsletter will include some ways to build these skills at home, discussion starters, and fun challenges you can try with your family.
The path forward is full of growth! We cannot wait to partner with you in this work…
- To teach students how to build strong friendships
- To work together to solve problems, big and small
- To grow skills for life
- To become PurposeFull People
With Gratitude,
Mrs.Lazard K-2
Miss Kading 3-5
Over the next couple of weeks we will be finishing up our Acadience testing. Once we have that data, targeted interventions for students will begin taking place shortly after.
To learn more about literacy, please visit our literacy coach’s website: https://tinyurl.com/thecoachscorner.
Thank you for your partnership in supporting your child’s developing literacy skills.