KES Wildcat Connection

Dear Keystone Elementary Families,

Welcome to another exciting school year at KES! I hope you had a wonderful summer filled with fun, relaxation, and time with family and friends. As we begin a new year together, I am filled with excitement for the opportunities that await our students, staff, and families.

At Keystone Elementary, we are committed to creating a safe, welcoming, and engaging environment where every child can thrive. Our dedicated staff has been working hard to prepare classrooms, plan meaningful learning experiences, and ensure that each student feels valued from the moment they walk through our doors. We cannot wait to welcome our Wildcats back and begin another year of learning, laughter, and success together.

This year I am especially excited to introduce the newest member of our KES administration team, Assistant Principal Amanda Ward.

Mrs. Ward brings six years of experience in school administration and a passion for building positive relationships with students, staff, and families. She and her husband live in North Ridgeville and are proud parents to two young daughters. See below for a message from Mrs. Ward: "I am very excited for the opportunity to be an administrator at Keystone Elementary, I am eager to welcome students back into the building and look forward to meeting all of the Wildcat family here at Keystone. I am ready to jump right in, support all students, teachers, and families."

On behalf of our entire staff, thank you for your continued partnership and support. Together we will make this school year one filled with fun, achievement, and memorable experiences for every child.

Go Wildcats!

Sincerely,

Jake Alferio, Principal

jacob.alferio@keystoneschools.org

Amanda Ward, Assistant Principal

amanda.ward@keystoneschools.org

There's exciting news on the playground at Keystone Elementary! Over the summer our playground received a brand new pour and play safety surface, giving our outdoor play area a refreshed look while making it an even safer place for our Wildcats to play! The new surface provides improved cushioning, enhanced accessibility, and greater durability, helping create a safer environment where students can enjoy recess, build friendships, and stay active everyday! We can't wait to see our students laughing, playing, and making memories on our updated playground this school year!

The excitement is building! Class assignments will be released soon through PowerSchool. We appreciate your patience as we carefully finalize class rosters to ensure the best learning environment for all students!

Jacky Carey- 1st grade Intervention Specialist

Amanda Faska- 3rd Grade

Gemma Kilgore- 3rd Grade

Teresa Bean- 3rd grade Intervention Specialist

Christine Smith- 3rd & 4th grade Intervention Specialist

Mariah Kinkoph- 4th grade Intervention Specialist

The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority! As a part of our continued commitment to school security, all visitors will now use the visitor entry button located outside the main entrance to request access to the building. Press the button shown below and a secretary will greet you through the intercom and unlock the door for you. Please remember to bring a valid photo ID when visiting the school, as all visitors are required to check in through the main office. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and secure school!

The safety and security of our students and staff is our number one priority. As we begin the new school year, we want to remind all visitors of our building entry procedures.

When visiting any Keystone Local Schools campus, all visitors must report to the front office first. Upon arrival, visitors will need to be buzzed into the building by the front office and present a valid driver’s license or state-issued identification. Visitors will then receive an identification badge, which must be worn and clearly visible at all times while in the building.

These procedures are in place to help maintain a safe and secure learning environment for our students, staff, and visitors. We appreciate your patience, cooperation, and understanding as we work together to keep our Wildcat community safe.

Here at KES we utilize Class Dojo as our main form of communication for our teachers to families. Please make sure you either download the app or sign up for a FREE account via online with the link below! You will receive more information at the KES open house when you meet your child's teacher in regards to accessing the teacher's classroom.

**PLEASE NOTE: Keystone Elementary does not utilize any paid version of ClassDojo and does not ask parents to utilize anything other than the free version with this platform at this time.**

As we prepare for the start of the school year, please remember to log into Final Forms and complete all required beginning-of-year forms for your student(s). Completing these forms is an important part of preparing for a successful school year. Student schedules will be released once all required parent forms have been completed. We appreciate your prompt attention to this process and thank you for helping us get the school year off to a smooth start.