East High School Newsletter
September 16, 2026
Principals Message
Dear East Community,
We have had a great start to the school year. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we work out logistics to start a new school year. A big thank you to all of our Link Crew leaders who have helped to make the transition to high school for our freshmen and new students just a little bit easier.
I want to start this newsletter by reminding students and parents that this Friday, September 18th, is the last day to add a class. Please have your child see their counselor if they have any questions.
On Tuesday, September 15th, we held our Fall College Day here at East. During the school day, students were able to meet representatives from several colleges to discuss any interest they may have. Additionally, throughout the school year, we have several colleges who come in for visits during the school day. You can see what colleges are coming in on our events calendar in WITS.
Fall sports are in full swing here at East. Almost every night you can find several sporting events happening on our campus. We encourage the community to come out to support our student athletes. The sports schedule can be found on the district website. Once at the district website, just navigate to the East High School page and you can see what is going on under the Calendar tab.
I would like to thank Senior Sam McCallum for his leadership in beautifying the front of our school this past summer. As part of his Eagle Scout Project, Sam led a group of volunteers to paint/repair our flower boxes and to plant new perennials. It looks great and we appreciate his efforts.
Lastly, I would like to recognize our wonderful PTSA led by Beth-Anne McPhillips. First, they are celebrating their 50th year of service to our school. Second, they were just awarded the distinction of receiving the School of Excellence award from the National PTA. On behalf of the students and staff here at East High School, we would like to thank the PTSA for all of their efforts.
As we progress through this school year, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns and we will be happy to assist in any way. On behalf of our entire Administrative Team...Mrs. Courtney Charleson-Smith, Mr. Nicholas Suchyna and Ms. Melissa Spada…we would like to wish all of our students a great school year!
Sincerely,
Jason T. Swenson
Principal
Homecoming: Goblet of Fire
Click the presentation below for full details:
Care Walk
WEHS PTSA News & Events
Celebrating 50 Years + National PTA School of Excellence
This is a special year for the Williamsville East High School PTSA! We are proud to celebrate 50 years of supporting East students, staff, and families and to share that Williamsville East has been recognized as a National PTA School of Excellence.
🔥JOIN THE PTSA
Parents, guardians, students, staff, and community members are all welcome. Every membership purchased by September 30th will be entered into a WEHS PTSA drawing for a T-shirt.
https://willeastptsa.givebacks.com/shop?category=4960
👕FALL SPIRIT WEAR — closes September 18th
Don’t miss your chance to order WEHS spirit wear for the fall.
https://willeastptsa.givebacks.com/shop/items/7f17df9173
🏪SCHOOL STORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Help us keep the WEHS School Store open for students. No experience is necessary, and each completed volunteer session earns an entry into our School Store WEHS T-shirt drawing.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0545A8AD23A7FBC70-65396188-wehs#/
🍗DINE TO DONATE — September 22nd, 4 to 8 PM
Join us at Dave’s Hot Chicken, 1660 Niagara Falls Blvd., Tonawanda. Dave’s will donate 20% of participating orders to WEHS PTSA. Order online at https://www.daveshotchicken.com/ using fundraiser code GIVE, or use the fundraiser flyer/QR code at the restaurant.
🎉HOMECOMING — October 10th
We need volunteers and donations to help make Homecoming a magical night for our students.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0545A8AD23A7FBC70-65906631-wehs
🎓POST PROM
Senior parents and guardians are invited to join our Post Prom planning community.
BAND: https://band.us/n/aca9bbL582b8A
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wehspostprom
Next Post Prom Meeting: October 19th at 7:30 PM
📆NEXT WEHS PTSA MEETING — October 19th at 6:30 PM
Everyone is welcome! Come hear what’s happening at East, learn what the PTSA is working on, and find ways to get involved.
☎️STAY CONNECTED
Website: https://willeastptsa.givebacks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willeastptsa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willeastptsa/
X: https://x.com/WillEastPTSA
Together, we carry the torch! 🔥
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:
Williamsville East High School: 716-626-8404
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.
Violation of the Cell Phone Policy
Violation of the cell phone policy will result in the the phone being brought to the Main Office, stored and locked away, for the remainder of the school day. After the student's first incident, all subsequent occurrences will need to have a parent pick up their phone. The Main Office will be available until 3:30pm each day for parents who need to pick up their child's cell phone. Phones that are not picked up by the end of the day will remain in school, locked away, until a parent can pick up their phone the next school day.
Join the Williamsville East PTSA
Click Link below to volunteer, join, and show your East High Pride!
https://www.givebacks.com/communication/newsletters/8adc5f6c-fecc-4744-961e-43679a65fe05
