September 2025, Vol 1

Hi Ellicott Families!

The school year is off to an incredible start! It has been such a joy to welcome our students back and see the halls filled with their smiles, laughter, and positive energy. Their enthusiasm reminds us why this work is so special.

Thank you for your patience as we refine dismissal procedures and for your flexibility with the new parking lot times. Your cooperation helps keep dismissal safe, smooth, and efficient for everyone. Please remember to update dismissal information in Parent Portal so we know exactly where your child should go each day.

We also want to celebrate our students who are following the Ellicott rules: Be responsible, be respectful, be safe! We are so impressed with their ability to follow these expectations each day. Keep up the great work!

Join in our Buffalo Bills Spirit Days by wearing your Bills gear or red, white, and blue. Spirit days will be on the day of a game or the Friday before a weekend game. We love our Buffalo Bills! 💖🤍💙

To keep you connected to all the exciting things happening at Ellicott, we’ll be sending home Smore newsletters twice a month with updates, highlights, and helpful information. We hope you find them useful and look forward to continuing the positive and productive partnership between home and school.

Things are running smoothly, and we truly appreciate how our school community has come together to start the year strong. Thank you for your support, we can’t wait to see all that this year has in store!

Mrs. Diana Nigro, Principal
Mrs. Alecia Brown, Assistant Principal

Thursday, September 18th - Student Half Day (Dismissal starting at 11:15am) - GO BILLS!🏈

Thursday, September 25th - Picture Day 📸 & PTO Fall Welcome Back FUNdraiser (4:30pm - 6:30pm)

Saturday, September 27th - Homecoming Parade, Carnival, and Football Game

Friday, September 12th - Bills Day! 🏈

Monday, September 15th - Wear Purple 💜

Tuesday, September 16th - Wear Pink 💗

Wednesday, September 17th - Wear Black and White 🖤🤍

Thursday, September 18th - Wear Blue and Bills Day! Let's Go Buffalo!💙🏈

Friday, September 19th - Rainbow Day! 🌈

Homecoming Spirit Week:

(see more info farther down in the newsletter)

Monday, September 22nd - PJ Day

Tuesday, September 23rd - Bills Day!🏈

Wednesday, September 24th - Matching Day

Thursday, September 25th - Dress to Impress

Friday, September 26th - Wear OP/Ellicott Gear or Maroon & White

Friday, October 3rd - 15-Minute Early Dismissal (Times for Ellicott: UPK @ 2:45, K-5 @ 2:50)

Monday, October 13th - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School

Monday, October 20th - Superintendent's Conference Day - No School

A big THANK YOU to our amazing student tour guides who helped out during our Open House and to our PTO who made it all happen! Our students were a wonderful addition, helping families find the correct classrooms, answering questions, and making sure everyone knew to stop in the cafeteria for special activities like the gear swap and Kindergarten Signing Day. We truly appreciate all of their help and look forward to continuing this tradition next year! Great work to all that were involved!

We love having families and community members involved at Ellicott! To become a volunteer, you need to complete the online volunteer orientation and must have an "appointment" for volunteering with the classroom teacher or for another event. This training only needs to be completed once, even if your family moves from one school to another in the district. You can click here to view the Parent Volunteer Slides from OPCSD.

For Parents and Guardians: Please log into the Parent Portal and click on “Parent Volunteer” to sign up.

For Community Members and PTO Volunteers: Please use the following link to complete the Google Form: Community Member PTO Volunteer Annual Acknowledgment Form.

Volunteers play an important role in supporting our students, and we appreciate your time and energy. To keep everyone safe and our school running smoothly, please remember the following expectations:

• Sign In with Photo ID: All volunteers must check in at the main entrance with a photo ID and receive a volunteer lanyard to wear while in the building.

• Sign Out When Leaving: Don’t forget to return your lanyard and sign out at the front desk when your visit is complete.

• Stay Focused: Volunteers should remain focused on their assigned task and only be in areas related to their volunteer role. Wandering the building is not permitted.

• Confidentiality is Key: Protecting students’ privacy is essential. Conversations about students or classrooms should remain confidential at all times.

• Follow School Rules: Model respect, responsibility, and safety while volunteering, and follow staff guidance at all times.

Thank you for helping us make Ellicott a safe, welcoming, and inspiring place for every student!

Some families let us know that the QR code on the picture day order form sent home around Open House wasn’t working. We’ve updated the form and it can now be accessed using the corrected QR code below. Thank you for your patience!

Please remember not to send any glass containers with your child’s lunch. We have already had a few incidents of broken glass, and we want to keep everyone safe.

Also, please do not send pop/soda for lunch.

Thank you for helping us keep lunch time safe and enjoyable for all students!

At Ellicott, keeping every student safe is a top priority, including those with food allergies. Rather than separating students, we focus on teaching everyone how to support each other, such as not sharing food and washing hands after eating. Thank you for partnering with us to make Ellicott a safe and caring place for all our students.

We are excited to join in on the districtwide Spirit Week for Homecoming! 🎉 Please note that at Ellicott, our Thursday spirit day will look a little different. Since school pictures are scheduled for Thursday, September 25, we have changed that day to Dress to Impress Day so students can look their best for photos while still showing their school spirit. 📸✨

Our Ellicott students are invited to participate and walk with our school float in the Homecoming Parade on Saturday, September 27, 2025. The parade will leave promptly from the Middle School at 10:00 a.m.

Students must be accompanied by an adult, and the adult must remain with them throughout the parade.

Stay tuned for more information to come!

The Orchard Park Central School District is committed to partnering with parents and guardians to support strong student attendance, helping every child reach their full potential each day. We understand that absences can add up, often due to illness or other unexpected circumstances, and our goal is to work together with families to support students’ academic success.

To make the process easier, parents and guardians can now submit attendance notes and pick up information online. Simply log in to the Parent Portal, click on Attendance Notes, and complete and submit the form. Please view the video below for detailed instructions.

It was brought to our attention that the lunch menus originally listed that there was no lunch on Monday, September 22. Personal Touch has corrected this and it has been updated on our website. Please click the link at the bottom of this newsletter to see the updated menus.

Consider joining OPSEPTSA and attending the first meeting on September 17th at 6:30pm at District Office on Southwestern Blvd.

The Orchard Park Family Solutions Center is excited to offer Fall Parenting Enrichment classes at no cost to families! These sessions provide a welcoming space for parents to connect, share, and gain strategies for navigating the joys and challenges of raising children.

Classes are tailored to fit different stages of parenting:

• Universal Pre-K

• Kindergarten through Fifth Grade

• Pre-Teens and Teenagers

In addition, a yearlong Co-Parenting Cohort is available for families navigating separation or divorce. This supportive group focuses on building healthy communication and providing practical tools, and on-site child care is included.

👉 Click the PDF below for full details and registration information!

The PTO has refreshed their website, making it the go-to spot for the latest news and information. Bookmark it so you can check in anytime!

This is also where you can join the PTO. Membership helps support students through events, initiatives, and even some field trips. You don’t have to attend every meeting to be part of the fun, but you’re always welcome! Meetings are always held in person, but with an option to join via Google Meet! Links will be sent out the night before.

Please consider signing up today by clicking below. ✨🔽

Thursday, October 16 at 6:30pm (Ellicott Small Cafeteria & via Google Meet)

Mornings set the tone for the whole day! Helping children begin their day with calm and focus can improve mood, attention, and readiness to learn. Here are a few simple ideas to try at home:

• Create a calm routine – A predictable schedule for waking up, breakfast, and getting ready helps children feel secure and confident.

• Take a few deep breaths – Encourage your child to inhale slowly, hold for a moment, and exhale. Even one or two breaths can help them feel centered.

• Set a positive intention – Ask your child to think of one thing they are looking forward to that day or one goal they want to try their best on.

• Keep mornings organized – Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before to reduce stress in the morning.

Starting the day with calm and focus helps children feel ready for learning and sets a positive tone for the whole family.