Maple West Tiger Tales

Principal's Updates

💚Dear Maple West Community, 🧡

We hope everyone had a great start to the 2026 - 2027 School Year! It has been wonderful seeing the smiling faces of all of our Tigers around the building. They have been doing an amazing job transitioning into the new year. Today we had the South HS Varsity Football team visit to read to our Maple West tigers! It was a great success and so much fun for all involved.

🐯IMPORTANT: Parent Volunteers🐯

Over the past year we have streamlined our Parent Volunteer paperwork for parents who volunteer in the lunchroom and/ or volunteer at Maple West on a regular basis (i.e. Room Parents). If you currently volunteer, or would like to volunteer at Maple West on a regular basis, please log into your WITS account to watch our Parent Volunteer training slideshow. It can be found on the WITS homepage, by clicking on "MW Volunteer Information." After you watch the slideshow, please complete the Parent Volunteer Google Form, which can also be found on your WITS page. Our school administrators will be notified once you complete the Google Form.

Important Dates to Remember:

9/21 - Superintendent’s Conference Day- No School

9/25 - Fall Fest/Book Fair

9/30 - SDM Committee Meeting (@ 3:00 pm in room 97)

Friendly Reminders:
As a reminder, families should not drop off restaurant meals or outside food for students during the school day. This includes, but is not limited to, fast food, DoorDash or other food-delivery services, pizza, submarine sandwiches, soda/pop, Starbucks, and other restaurant or café items. This expectation applies to outside meals and food deliveries in general, not only to the examples listed above.

If your child forgets their lunch, you are more than welcome to bring their lunchbox or a lunch from home to school for them. We simply ask that outside restaurant or commercially prepared meals not be brought or delivered to students during the school day.

We also want families to know that every student has access to free school breakfast and lunch. No child needs to go without a lunch if they forget to bring one from home.

DEI Committee Updates:

September: Getting to Know Maple West

During the month of September, students are making space to learn about themselves and others in our school community.

We are reading:

Grade K - I like Myself by Karen Beaumont

Grade 1 - Thunderboy Jr. by Sherman Alexi and Yuyi Morales

Grade 2 - The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

Grade 3 - The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Grade 4 - My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams

You can continue the conversation at home. Ask your student:

What did you learn about your classmates?
What did your classmates learn about you?
How are you and your classmates the same? Different?

🐯As always, we appreciate your partnership, and we look forward to a great school year! 🐯

Mrs. Wendling & Mrs. Jackson-Smith

Kate Wendling

Principal

Monique Jackson-Smith

Assistant Principal

Main Office Updates

Please remember to send in a note indicating your child's dismissal plans. A Home to School Note Template is located in WITS for your convenience. The office kindly requests that any early pickups take place prior to 2:30 pm.

Please remember to call the Attendance Office, (716) 626 - 8836, if your child is going to be late or absent on any given day. This helps to prevent any confusion. If your child is absent, please send in a note upon your child's return.

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🎉This year we are excited to share that we are celebrating Maple West's 60th Birthday the week of September 22nd. To celebrate this exciting occasion, we will be having a Spirit Week from September 22nd through September 25th. We invite our students and staff to join in the fun and help us make this birthday celebration one to remember! Below are the details of our spirit days!🎉

MW Family Resources Information

As colder weather approaches and we begin to think about the upcoming Holiday season, we wanted to make our families aware of the support that is available in our community.

Our School Social Worker, Mrs. Parker, is able to connect families to supportive resources for warm clothing items, (coats, boots, warm weather gear, etc.), holiday gift support, and multiple food support options. If you and your family are in need of any support this season, please reach out to Mrs. Parker and she would be happy to connect you.

Mrs. Parker is available my email: jlparke@williamsvillek12.org

or Phone: 716-626-8853

District Updates

School Enrollment and Immigration

Rights of and Protections for Students, Parents and Persons in a Parental Relation related to School Enrollment and Immigration

In 1984, the United States Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to deny undocumented children access to a free, public K-12 education. This ruling is still in place today and is the law. The Williamsville Central School District is committed to ensuring students have equal access to education, regardless of immigration status, national origin, citizenship, or any other protected reason, and strictly complies with the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Williamsville Central School District takes all legally allowable steps to protect students while they are attending school. The school has strict protocols in place for handling requests from immigration officials for (1) information about students; (2) cooperation with immigration enforcement activities; and (3) requests for a student to be released to immigration authorities.

Parents and persons in a parental relationship should make sure the Williamsville Central School District has updated emergency contact information, including a list of all individuals authorized to pick your child up from school, in the event you are unavailable to do so. Please contact the Main Office of your child’s school at the number below to provide any necessary updates: Maple West Elementary 716-626-8843.

Williamsville students high five UB players as they take the field

WCSD-UB School Spirit Day

The District is once again partnering with UB to host a Williamsville Central School District Spirit Day!

Date - October 3rd - UB vs. Western Michigan (Time TBD)

Students and staff are eligible for 1 complimentary ticket

Parents/guardian must purchase a ticket for students to attend

Students in grades K-8 will have the opportunity to be on the field as part of the tunnel walk when the team takes the field
Additional details will be shared through WITS and the District/school newsletters closer to the event

2027-2032 Strategic Plan Thought Exchange Survey

Williamsville: We're planning for our future! What should we consider for both our short-term and long-term planning as a district? What are we doing well, and where can we improve?

Complete the survey on Thought Exchange by September 25th.

2027-2032 Strategic Plan Survey

Water Safety

Education Law section 926, effective July 1, 2026, requires school districts to provide electronic or written information on water safety to parents/guardians at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year. Additionally, the school district must publish this information on its website. The New York State Department of Health has provided school districts with swim tips regarding drowning prevention, water safety and safe and healthy swimming.

Water Safety Information Page

NYSDOH - Safe Swimming Card

District Committees

The District has several committees that meet throughout the course of school year and are looking for additional parent/guardian members to join:

Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC)
Safety
Wellness
Communications

If you are interested in joining, please email contact@williamsvillek12.org and indicate the committee you’d like to join.

Health Office Updates

Friendly reminder to notify your child {children’s} teacher or Mrs. Hillebrand, the school nurse, if your child has been diagnosed with a communicable illness including, but not limited to, Strep Throat, Pneumonia, Flu, or Hand, Foot and Mouth. We have good information to share with parents of other students in the class, identifying signs and symptoms for parents to look out for in their children.

If your child needs Tylenol or Ibuprofen in the morning before school, they are not well enough to come to school. We are doing all we can to prevent the spread of illness here at school, including discussing good hygiene, frequent hand washing, drinking lots of water and surface cleaning. Please reinforce these practices at home.

We understand that it can be challenging as working parents with sick children, so thank you for having a plan and letting us know so we can keep the other children and our staff healthy.

Medication Drop Off Information:

All medication, including non prescription medication, must have a written order from the student’s physician or licensed prescriber.

Prescription Medication must be in the container prepared by the pharmacist with the original label specifying the name and strength of the medication. (Note: the pharmacy label does not constitute a written order and cannot be used in lieu of a written order from a licensed prescriber.)

Non Prescription Medication must be in the original and sealed manufacturer’s container with the student’s name affixed to the container. All medication must be delivered directly to the school nurse by the parent or guardian. Non student is permitted to carry non emergency medication on the bus. Medication orders must be renewed annually and whenever there is a change.