Willow Grove Elementary School
September 2025 Family Newsletter
Principal's Message
Dear Students and Families,
Labor Day weekend is coming soon and I wish all families a happy and healthy one! I hope you enjoy this last bit of summer fun before the school year gets underway on Tuesday, September 8th.
I am looking forward to seeing our students and families at open house today from 1:00-3:00PM! Just a few reminders as we get ready to start the 2026-2027 school year:
School starts promptly at 8:42 am. Students make their way to their homebase classes at 8:27 am. This gives them plenty of time to unpack, eat their breakfast and get ready to start the day. There will be teachers and staff members ready to assist students as they enter the building.
Please allow your children to start their day independently. As your children enter the upper elementary school level, we try to allow them to spread their wings and experience all that Willow Grove has to offer. I am sure they will have wonderful stories to share with you when they come home on the first day of school. Please call the office if you have any questions or need assistance.
This is a good time to remind all families once again to please keep your contact information updated. If you have changed your address, phone numbers or email addresses, please contact the school. All students should bring two fully filled out emergency cards to school with them on the first day of school.
It is also important to make sure that all students bring a refillable water bottle. Students must stay hydrated and having their water bottle to fill at any of our filling stations is imperative.
Our school website is being updated and improved. You will be able to find important information such as our daily calendar of events and the lunch menu for the month.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at: layala@northrockland.org.
I wish everyone a wonderful school year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ayala
Assistant Principal's Message
Hello Willow Grove Families,
I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer break with your families! The start of a new school year is always a special time, full of new beginnings and opportunities for growth. I know our WGES students will learn, thrive, and shine this year!
Our teachers and staff have worked hard all summer to prepare classrooms where every child feels safe, loved, and ready to learn. A special thank you to our incredible custodians who have our hallways glowing for the first day!
We also want to give a huge thank-you to our wonderful PTA! They do so much to support our school, our teachers, and our events. To make this year the best it can be, we would love for every family to join. Please take a minute to sign up for the PTA today—your support makes a huge difference, and we are so grateful to team up with you!
To keep up to date on events and activities happening at WGES, you can find our calendar below and follow us on Instagram @willowgroveelementary. I am wishing you a fantastic start to the school year!
Warm Wishes,
Mrs. Pine
ParentSquare
Parent Square is the main communication system that teachers use to keep you informed on the happenings at WGES, as well as in their particular classroom. Parent Square is an excellent tool to keep informed as to what is going on in the classroom and at WGES.
We will often send fliers and sign-up sheets for exciting events that will occur.
Please do not email teachers anything time sensitive during the school day. For example, if you need to pick up your child early from school, please call the main office to arrange that. If teachers have a number of classes to teach in a row, they might not see your message in time to assist you.
You can click the link below if you need to sign in to the Parent Square App.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Important Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Arrival:
Students taking the bus will be dropped off in front of the building and may proceed directly to their homebase classroom, at 8:27AM. Car drop offs take place in the north parking lot between the gym and Fieldstone. Our security personnel and teachers will be there to assist with traffic and safe exiting from cars. Students should arrive no earlier than 8:15AM. Students who get dropped off between 8:15AM and 8:27AM will be sent to the GYM where staff will be supervising them. Breakfast is available for all students, they may choose to pick one up at the kiosks and then go directly to their homebase. The school day officially begins at 8:42AM. Students who arrive after that time will be marked as tardy.
Dismissal:
At 3:21PM, students will be dismissed to cars and buses. Teachers will assist students to ensure that they go to their correct dismissal location. Car pick ups will be in the north parking lot between our gym and Fieldstone. Please follow all traffic arrows for safety. Cars may park in designated parking spaces, not on the grassy areas. If you are picking up your child early, please arrive at the front office by 3:05 PM to ensure a smooth transition before dismissal.
Safety: Kindly send in a note regarding a change to your child's dismissal plan. If a change arises during the school day, call the main office at 845-942-7650 and the office staff will get the message to your child's teacher. The earlier we know, the better we can assure proper communication in the interest of safety for your child.
Breakfast and Lunch Procedures
All school meals with the exception of snacks are free of charge to all students this year.
Breakfast:
Students who choose to eat breakfast at school can simply pick up a "to go" breakfast at one of the kiosks at the entrances and proceed directly to class. Students will be given 10 minutes to eat their breakfast in class before the instructional day begins.
Lunch:
Students can get a hot or cold lunch from our cafeteria. They can always choose to bring a lunch from home. The school lunch always includes a hot option or cold option along with fruit, juice and milk. Students may opt to purchase the snack of the day. Students may bring in money to purchase the snack daily or parents may choose to fund their lunch account in advance using cash, check or do so electronically using My School Bucks. You can find the lunch menus on our website. Please note that if your child forgets to bring lunch to school, they can get lunch from the cafeteria.
Class snacks:
Teachers will provide a short snack break in class to break up the longer part of the student's day in the afternoon or the morning. The classroom snack should be quick and easy and should be brought from home. Students will not be allowed to go to the cafeteria to purchase the classroom snack. Please refrain from sending snacks in for the whole class as many students have food allergies. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Our lunch supervisor is Mrs. Dawn Bishel. If you have any questions for her, you may contact her at: 845-942-7660 or dbishel@northrockland.org.
Our school nurse gives all allergy information to the staff to ensure that students are not consuming an offending allergen from our kitchen. To update your child's food allergy plan, please contact our school nurse, Mrs. Elizabeth Hardin at 845-942-7663 or ehardin@northrockland.org.
Health Office Information
Welcome back for the 26-27 School Year. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Here are some reminders from the Health Office for the opening of this school year:
- For students with Food Allergies, a Food Allergy Packet was mailed out to you this summer. It should be filled out by your child's doctor and returned to the health office with a picture of your child attached to it on the first day of school.
- Any medication that is required to be given to your child during the school day, needs a recent doctor's order and the medication with your child's information on it to be brought to school by a parent and it will be kept in the Health Office.
- In addition Under NYS Law all 5th graders in NYS are required to have an updated physical in the health office for the 26-27 school year. If you do not wish to have your child seen by the school doctor please let the Health Office know. Any physical dated before September 5th will be accepted. If you have any questions about whether or not your child needs an updated physical please feel free to contact the health office.
- Last but not least under NYS Law all 6th graders are required to have a booster Tdap on file in the Health Office. Any questions about your child needing a Tdap Booster please feel free to contact the office.
School Nurse
Elizabeth Hardin RN
845-942-7663
Attendance Office Information
School attendance is critical to student success. The expectation is for students to be in school each and every day unless there is an illness or emergency. In the event of an absence, please call Madeline Amaro in the school attendance office at 845-942-7656. You can email her any absence notes directly at mamaro@northrockland.org. Students will be marked as absent "unexcused" until an email or follow up note from home is received. Thank you!
WGES Counseling Center
Our counseling center is staffed with school psychologists, social workers, school counselor and family resource center liaison. Here you will find their contact information.
Adelis Cedeno, Family Resource Center Coordinator (Spanish Speaking)
(845) 942-7682 acedeno@northrockland.org
Lindsay Amitrani, School Social Worker
(845) 942-7665 lamitrani@northrockland.org
Aliza Santos, School Psychologist
(845) 942-7667 asantos@northrockland.org
Emily Conklin, School Psychologist
(845) 942- 7671 econklin@northrockland.org
Karen Miller, School Psychologist
(845) 942-7666 kmiller@northrockland.org
Laureen Ceresnik, School Counselor
(845) 942- 7669 lceresnik@northrockland.org
School Supplies
Most school supplies have been purchased by the school district for students in grades 4-6. Each grade ordered supplies that was needed for their own curriculum and needs. Students will receive their supplies from their homebase teacher. Some items will go home and some will stay in the classroom.
September Calendar of Events
9/1- Open House @ 1:00PM- 3:00PM
9/8- 1st Day of School9/21- School Closed for Yom Kippur
9/23- Meet the Teacher Night: 4th Grade @7:00-8:00PM
9/24- Meet the Teacher Night: 5th & 6th Grade @7:00-8:00PM
9/24 & 9/25- Picture Day
9/30 - Wellness Event @5:30-7:00PM
10/1- 4th Grade Ice Cream Social @6:00PM & PTA Meeting @7:00PM
WGES PTA Corner
Happy September, Willow Grove Families!
The new school year is just beginning, and we are so happy to be back with you to kick off all of our great PTA activities! We also want to extend a special welcome to all of our new students and their families. The Willow Grove PTA has so much planned for this school year already, and we cannot wait to get started!
First, we would like to introduce ourselves. The WGES PTA Executive Board is made up of 5 WGES Parents:
Alissa Nytko- President
Mia Brophy- Vice President
Christina Merriweather- Treasurer
Pam Bruntfield- Secretary
Tricia Pirot- Delegate
We would also like to thank our Teacher Liaison, Mrs. Debra Orlando (6th grade teacher), Mrs. Lynn Ayala (Principal), and Mrs. Colleen Pine (Assistant Principal) for their continued support of the WGES PTA!
Here are some important key dates coming up this month:
- The first PTA meeting will be in person on October 1st at 5:30pm in the Willow Grove library. Come and meet the team and our principals, and hear about all of our exciting plans for the year!
- The 4th Grade Social (with Rita's Italian Ice) will be following our first meeting on October 1st from 6-7 PM in the WGES Backyard; families of our 4th grade students are welcome to attend.
Other upcoming Fundraisers and Events for the fall:
- Spirit Wear Sale, Kastle Candy Fundraiser, Fall Scholastic Book Fair, Halloween Recess Dance Party. Please be sure to check our socials as well as your students backpacks for information regarding these special events! As a PTA member, you will also receive email updates directly from us! Sign up information is below.
- We have so many great events and activities planned for students and families that can only happen with fundraising support.
WGES PTA Membership: Join the Willow Grove PTA today. Our students and school greatly benefit from our memberships. Visit our online store through the links below to sign up as a member and to also shop our Spirit Wear Fundraiser:
WGES- 2026-2027 PTA Membership
2026-2027 Spiritwear Fundraiser- WGES
When you become a member of the PTA, you can look forward to extra benefits and voting rights on PTA initiatives. The teacher team with the most parent/family memberships by the end of September gets an extra recess for their class, so please support your class!!
As a reminder, we would love to hear from you! Please connect with us and share your ideas and feedback for student and family activities, fundraisers, and more, or let us know if you’d like to volunteer for any of our upcoming events. We’d love for everyone to get involved, so we can provide fun and wonderful events for the students! You can reach us via email at WGESPTA@northrockland.org
Be sure to follow us on Facebook at Willow Grove PTA and on Instagram @WillowGroveElementaryPTA to stay up to date with all of our activities and information.
Thank you again, Willow Grove family. We look forward to an exciting school year!
The Willow Grove PTA
Contact Information
Email: layala@northrockland.org
Website: https://wges.northrockland.org/
Location: 153 Storrs Road, Thiells, NY, USA
Phone: (845) 942-7650