Dear Parents,
The first day of school has always been thrilling for me.  Maybe that is why I became a teacher! And now as a Principal, it is my pleasure to greet your children as they return to school with eager smiles on their faces.  They are happy to be here and ready to meet new people, make new friends and learn new things. It is my pleasure to welcome them back!

Keystone Elementary School has once again made Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP. That means that we reached all three targets - attendance, participation rate (taking PSSA's), and achievement (PSSA scores.) More information on our scores will be available on the PDE website (www.pde.state.pa.us) soon. Congratulations to us. This is a commendable accomplishment! Thanks to students, teachers, staff, and parents for their hard work. We will continue to strive for academic excellence in our school.

This year we are welcoming several new teachers to our staff at Keystone Elementary. Information about them will be on our website soon. We will also be housing a new Intermediate Unit classroom in our building for multi-handicapped students.  This is the first classroom of its kind in the Clarion County.  We welcome these students to our school.

The 2010 - 2011 Student Parent Resource Guide (handbook) is available on line on the Parents' Page. Please review it, as well as some previous reminders about policies and procedures on the Principal's Page, such as dismissal procedures and acceptable treats to send to school.    Please note also the changes in traffic patterns and student drop-offs procedures. We appreciate your compliance as we begin our new year.

We are looking forward to some new activities for our students this year.   We will be implementing the "Word of the Week" program.  We will continue the "Caught Being Good Program" and the Olweus Bullying Program.  In addition, we will be updating our Safety Procedures within the building for the safety of the students and staff.  Our playground has been improved again.  New benches have been installed, and you will soon see new asphalt areas for hopscotch and jumprope.  New basketball hoops will be installed, too.  See our website for more information.

The Keystone Administration and Staff are dedicated to meeting the needs of the whole child, focusing on enrichment, safety and comfort, and academics. Thanks for your contributions in all these areas.  We are looking forward to another successful year at Keystone Elementary.

Shawn Corcetti

AN IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING TREATS SENT TO SCHOOL FROM HOME

Keystone School District has adopted a wellness policy in compliance with the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.  The policy requires that a minimal number of foods that have sugar as the first ingredient may be served at classroom parties.

As a result, candy, home or store baked cookies, cupcakes, cakes, etc and other foods with sugar listed as the first ingredient WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED as treats brought from home for birthday or other holiday parties. These items will not be distributed in the classroom. They will be returned to you.

If you wish to bring treats for your child to share, you may send fruits, vegetables, nuts, granola, sugarless gum, non-food treats, or other food items that do not contain sugar as the first ingredient.  Beverages must be milk, 100% fruit juice, or water.

Please contact your child’s teacher before sending in any food treats for the class. 

Please see the Wellness Policy and Guidelines for Nutritional Standards for Competitive Foods in Pennsylvania through a link at www.keyknox.com or www.pde.state.pa.us. The objective of these requirements is to promote student health and to reduce childhood obesity.

Keystone Wellness Policy
Public Law 108-265, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, requires all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to develop local wellness policies.  One requirement of the law is that nutrition guidelines must be developed for all foods available on each school campus during the school day.  The objectives are to promote student health and reduce childhood obesity.  The standards apply to all grades in all buildings.

The standards will require us to regulate what foods can be accepted from home as snacks, birthday treats, or other holiday foods, as well as what we serve in the school cafeteria.

Please read the Keystone School District Wellness Policy. In addition, you may check the Pennsylvania Department of Education website for more information on wellness policies. Also, see the Guidelines for Nutritional Standards for Competitive Foods in Pennsylvania Schools on the PDE web site. You may also see which treats may be sent to school.