Words of Windom August 26

Hello Windom Families,

Welcome to the first edition of the Words of Windom for the 2026–2027 school year!

The Words of Windom will continue to serve as our monthly communication hub, keeping families informed about all the exciting things happening at Windom Elementary. You can expect a new edition on the first Friday of each month, featuring highlights from the previous month, important reminders, upcoming events, and information to help keep your family connected to our school community. Building strong partnerships with our families remains one of our highest priorities, and we hope you continue to find this resource informative and easy to use.

We hope you have had a wonderful summer filled with opportunities to relax, recharge, and create lasting memories with family and friends. As September approaches, our staff has been hard at work preparing for another outstanding year of learning, growth, and community. We are excited to welcome students back for what promises to be an amazing 2026–2027 school year!

Our Welcome Back Night will be held on Wednesday, September 2nd, and we encourage all families to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet your child's teacher, visit classrooms, drop off school supplies, and kick off the school year together. Specific details can be found in the flyer below.

For our newest Windom families, PreK Screenings will take place on Tuesday, September 1st. Please see the information below for important details regarding screening appointments and procedures.

Please take a few moments to read through this first edition of the Words of Windom for important back-to-school information, key dates, and helpful reminders as we begin the school year.

Enjoy these final days of summer; read together, play outside, explore new adventures, and make the most of the season. We look forward to welcoming all of our Windom students back soon and beginning another incredible year together!

As many of you know, Windom Elementary has been undergoing significant construction and renovation work throughout the summer. While we are excited about the improvements being made to our building, this also means that when you visit for Welcome Back Night, you may notice that some classrooms and other areas of the school are still being organized and may not look quite as they typically do.

Please know that our teachers and staff have been working diligently around the construction schedule to prepare welcoming, engaging learning environments for our students. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we put the finishing touches on our classrooms and shared spaces.

We are confident that everything will be ready for an exciting start to the school year, and we look forward to welcoming our students back on Wednesday, September 9th!

For the safety of all students and staff, our school parking lots will remain closed to vehicles arriving for dismissal pick-up until 2:55 PM.

Keeping the lots clear during the school day allows emergency vehicles to access our buildings quickly if needed and helps us maintain a safe, and orderly environment for everyone.

If vehicles begin lining up on surrounding roads before 2:55 PM, the Orchard Park Police Department will assist with traffic management.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in keeping our school campuses safe and accessible.

• At both arrival and dismissal, cars should enter the Windom parking lot from the Brompton Ave. side of Sheldon. Making a left into the parking lot.

• Do not enter from the Abbott Rd. side as this entry is designated for our buses

• Busses will unload and load in our front loop, please do not park or cut through the bus loop.

• See the maps below for traffic patterns at arrival and dismissal. Pick up and drop off are the same procedures for the 26-27 school year.

• Stay in your car. Staff will do our best to assist students getting out of and into cars.

• Have your children ready to exit/enter the vehicle on the curb side of the car.

• Be mindful of our neighbors and do not block driveways.

• Be sure to follow staff directions, posted speed limits, and use turn signals entering and exiting school traffic.

• At dismissal, yield to OP school buses.

• At dismissal, when in the student loading zone, stay as far to the right as possible to allow for fully loaded vehicles to exit. Please do not exit your vehicle.

• You may be asked to pull forward and to the side if there is delay in dismissing your child.

• If you need to buckle your child in we ask that you pull up and over to the right, near the grass, before getting out of your car to buckle them in.

We know how exciting it is to find out who your child’s teacher and classmates will be! Class placements are created with great care by a team of educators, including your child’s previous teacher. We consider many factors - student academics, social dynamics, and family input; to create balanced, supportive learning environments.

Teacher assignments can be view on the Parent Portal starting Friday August 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM.

Attention Parents/Guardians:

As we approach the new school year, this is a reminder that all medication forms and Emergency Care Plans (ECPs) must be renewed each school year by your child’s doctor and must include a parent signature. New medication authorization forms and blank Emergency Action Plans (for allergies/seizures/ diabetes) are available on the district website to be used for next year, if applicable. An adult must drop off any medication as students are not permitted to carry medication without a specific self-carry medication order.

There is now an over the counter medication authorization form - found here; this is a form which lists common over the counter medications that your child's doctor would complete allowing the school nurse to administer them in school as needed (i.e.- Motrin, Tylenol, cough drops, lotion, etc.).

Parents are requested to bring medications and any Emergency Action Plans (must be written/ provided by their allergist or prescribing physician) at the start of the new school year. Mrs. Johnson will be available at the Windom Welcome Back Night on 9/2/2026 to accept any medications and/or documentation including physicals, medication orders and emergency action plans for the new school year. Mrs. Johnson will also be available to accept medications and forms for the 2026-2027 school year on September 3rd and September 8th (in addition to 9/2 at the Windom Welcome Back Night) in the afternoon from 12-3:30 pm. Please contact Mrs. Johnson should you have any questions; she can be reached at 716-209-6322.

Thank you!

Sarah Johnson, R.N., B.S.

Supply lists are listed below. If your family needs assistance with supplies, please stop by our supply table at our Windom Welcome Back Night on September 2nd.

We are once again partnering with School Tool Box, making it easy to purchase your child’s school supplies in just a few clicks. The link to order is below; it’s quick, simple, and ships directly to your home!

Bus routes will be available before the first day of school and can be viewed on the Parent Portal. For questions about transportation or alternate site requests, please contact our Transportation Department at 716-209-6237.

• September 1st - PreK Screening
• September 2nd - Windom Welcome Back Night 3:30-6 PM
• September 9th - 1st Day of School!!!! WELCOME BACK!
• September 17th - Early Release: 11:40 AM
• September 26th - Homecoming Parade 11:00 AM, OPMS
• September 26th - Homecoming Carnival 11:30 AM, OPHS

Looking for new Windom apparel??? Please see the link below to purchase all of your Windom gear!

It is essential that anyone who feels they may be eligible for free and reduced meals to fill out the 2026-2027 Free and Reduced lunch application that is available above. Procedures are in place to protect the privacy of students participating in the free and reduced program. Receiving Free and Reduced meals does not solely benefit the student receiving the meal, it also benefits the district community; depending on the amount of need within our district, we will receive/be eligible for additional funding. Completed applications should be sent to J. Schwarz at 4040 Baker Road, Orchard Park, NY 14127.

If you need an application printed and sent to you, please call Jody Schwarz at (716) 209-6244.