North Highlights

Hello North,

Life at North is great... and busy! Musical rehearsals are taking place, the winter season for athletics is wrapping up, students are engaged in their studies, and we have a plethora of activities taking place through our extra-curricular clubs and organizations. Three key things I want to make sure that you are aware of:

• I am very excited to announce that next year each high school will have a student member on the Board of Education. There is information below with all the details!

• Today is the LAST DAY to sign up for parent conferences taking place on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

• The Taste of North is taking place tomorrow from 5 pm - 7 pm. Tickets are $5 each and will be available at the door.

Enjoy your Mid-Winter Recess!

Go Spartans!

Andrew Bowen
Principal

• TASTE OF NORTH: Thursday, 2/13/25

• MID-WINTER RECESS - NO SCHOOL: Monday 2/17/25 - Friday, 2/21/25

• FAMILY CONFERENCES - Tuesday, 2/25/25 (by appointment only)

• MUSICAL - "ANYTHING GOES" - Thursday, 3/6/25 - Saturday 3/8/25

• SIDE-BY-SIDE ORCHESTRA CONCERT - Thursday 3/20/25

• SIHAC SPIRIT WEEK - Monday, 3/24/25 - Friday 3/28/25

Students desiring to run for the position of Student Ex Officio School Board Member should obtain a candidate packet through their school office or through the district website. Applications will be available at North on Friday, February 14. More information about the application process may be found here.

Recently, Governor Kathy Hochul announced her initiative of "Distraction-Free School Zones" throughout New York State. You can review the proposal and legislation on the Governor's website. All school districts are required to submit a policy to the New York State Education Department by August 1, 2025 for implementation beginning September 1, 2025.

As a District, we know the perspective of parents/guardians and students is important, and we are forming a committee to review the legislation and provide a proposal for the District. If you are interested in joining this committee, please submit a notice of interest form through the District website by Friday, February 14, 2025.

Depending on the amount of responses, we may hold a lottery for selection. Please also know the committee will have its meeting first on Thursday, February 27th at 4:00 p.m. at Williamsville North High School in the Lower Cafeteria.

The Amherst Police Department is hosting "Game Day with APD" on Thursday, February 20th from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Transit Middle School!

• All ages/grades welcome

• Parents must stay

• Meet with officers

• Play games

Speaker Series Schedule

Tuesday, January 21 - Literacy (POSTPONED DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSING)

• Zoom Webinar (Passcode - 9Ua61d)

Thursday, February 27th - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEAM)

• Zoom Webinar (Passcode - rC04Ni)

Tuesday, March 18th - Math and Computer Science

• Zoom Webinar (Passcode - Ttyzr9)
  

We look forward to sharing and engaging with you at these events during the next few months.

Show your school spirit on Saturday, March 1st for the UB Bulls Women’s and Men’s basketball doubleheader

Williamsville North is proud to present "Anything Goes" this year!

Performances will be held on the following dates:

• Thursday, March 6 –7:00pm
• Friday, March 7 –7:00 pm
• Saturday, March 8 –2:00 and 7:00 pm

The musical tickets are $15 each and will go on sale to the General Public at 3pm on February 25th through an online ticketing link. This link will be posted on the Williamsville North High School website and WITS on February 25th. Tickets will also be sold at the door 45 minutes before each show.

The Auditorium will open 30 minutes before each show begins.

The next Senior Post prom meeting will be held on Thursday, February 27th, at 6pm in the 9/10 cafeteria. We welcome anyone who would like to help put this event on for our 2025 seniors.

Williamsville PTSA Council Service to Youth Awards 2025

These awards have been presented annually since 1958 to individuals who have shown sustained and extraordinary service to youth of the Williamsville Central School District and who perform their professional, occupational and/or volunteer service in a manner above and beyond all expectations.

Nominations are now being accepted for this year’s awards in these categories:

Professional

A certified and/or licensed employee of the WSCD

Support Staff

All other employees of the WCSD

PTA Volunteer

The winners will be honored at a reception and recognition event in June.

For more information or to nominate someone for this award contact:

Laura Brann at lbrann29@gmail.com

Visit the Williamsville PTSA Council Website at:

PTSA Council Service To Youth Awards

Access the Google Form Application using the link below:

2025 Service to Youth Nomination

Last fall, students from schools across the Western New York region participated in the National PTA Reflections Program, showcasing their creativity and artistic talent. This year’s theme, "Accepting Imperfection," inspired a wide range of artistic expressions across all competition categories, including dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. Congratulations to all of North High's incredible artists!

Did you know that the Snack Shack is the largest fundraiser for the annual Post Prom event?

Did you know that North clubs and teachers can apply for monetary assistance from the PTSA?

Did you know that your teens actually DO LOVE seeing you at North during their school day?

By volunteering your time at the Snack Shack, you're helping to make these things a reality. Please reach out to snackerrs@yahoo.com with any questions. We appreciate the gift of your time!

We truly appreciate the gift of your time!

The following sports will be available to North Students:

JV/Varsity Baseball

Freshman Baseball

JV/Varsity Softball

JV/Varsity Boys Lacrosse

JV/Varsity Girls Lacrosse

Varsity Boys and Girls Track

Varsity Boys Tennis

Varsity Girls Flag Football

Unified Basketball

Instructions on how to sign up are as follows:

1. PARENTS log in to your WITS account

2. Go to the Athletics” tab

3. Go to “Sports sign-up”

4. Go to “+ Add”: complete the sports sign-up information for your athlete i.e. athletic agreement, emergency contact information, health history review, etc.

5. Follow the directions for next steps and/or completion of missing information specific to your child as indicated in WITS, click “submit”.

Please note: Only parents may complete the sports sign-up for their athlete through their parent WITS account. Students may not do so and do not have access via WITS. If you do not have a WITS account as a parent, please call 626-8058 to set up an account.

Please click here to access North Athletics page.

Please WITSmail the attendance office to provide written notice of an absence.

Parents/guardians should contact the attendance office to report any student absence. If your child needs to leave school prior to the end of the scheduled school day, please call the Attendance Office so proper notification/dismissal can be accommodated. If you have any additional questions regarding attendance, absences, or dismissal, please call the Williamsville North High School Attendance Office.

The following are examples of excused absences in the Williamsville Central School District:

• Family Emergency
• Illness
• Legal
• Late Bus
• Medical Reason
• Religious Observance/Activity
• School Activity (i.e. Field Trip)

Should you have any questions or need further information, please call the attendance office:

Phone: 716-626-8555/8556

Board of Education Attendance Policy #7110

Below are some important updates to be aware of:

The District’s application to offer the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Seal of Civic Readiness program at each of our high schools was approved for the 2024-2025 school year. Please be sure to contact your building's Seal of Civic Readiness Coordinator to begin reviewing progress towards attaining the Seal of Civic Readiness. The deadline for June 2025 graduation candidates to meet with the SCR Coordinator is April 11, 2025! Please click HERE for further information.

Medication Drop Off Procedures

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. No student is permitted to carry non-emergency medication on the bus. Medication orders must be renewed annually and whenever there is any change.

For more information about North's Health Office, please click here.

You may recall that in the fall, three of our students were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, putting them in an elite group of the nation’s best and brightest students.

We are very proud to announce that the all three students have advanced to National Merit Scholarship finalists. Congratulations to:

Caroline G. Brown

William H. Heinzer

Karen J. Huang

The selection of National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced sometime this Spring.

Congratulations to Mohammad Aarish Khan and Mohammad Aasim Khan who were chosen to be the Town of Amherst Youth and Recreation Department representatives at the 2025 Albany Youth Leadership Forum on Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, February 4.

Over the weekend of February 8, North's computer club's cybersecurity team took on a challenge at the UB Lockdown competition, competing against many schools from Western New York. The team of President -Yavuz Gebes, Vice President - Aarish Khan, Secretary - Aasim Khan, Brady Mentkowski and Josh Anand took 3rd place. Thank you also to Oz, a red teamer, Sri, Sathvik, Nikil and Maaz for participating. Way to go North!!

Congratulations to North's Science Olympiad Team as they placed 2nd overall in the competition that took place on Saturday, February 1st. Medals were awarded to the top eight students in each category. Medal winners for North are as follows:

Anatomy and Physiology

4th - Kira Kolbe-Braun and Alessandra Ferrer

Astronomy

1st - Max Hakansson and Nathan Panuccio

3rd - Daniel Lin and Alvin Liu

Experimental Design

3rd - Megan Tu, Susan Tu, Angel Zheng

Tower

1st - Andrew Noshy & Ananya Chandra

Bungee Drop

1st - Andrew Noshy and Lincoln Peacock

7th - Stella Zheng and Inno Song

Dynamic Planet

3rd - Umaiza Faruqui and Nathan Panuccio

Entomology

2nd - Emily Zhuang and Jessica Zhang

Geologic Mapping

2nd - Jolynda Wang and Alessandra Ferrer

4th - Thivan Muraleetharan and Dakshaeaswar Muthukrishnan

Disease Detectives

1st - Max Hakansson and Sammy Rioux

Helicopter

2nd - Andrew Noshy and Umaiza Faruqui

Optics

6th - Nicolo Zhai and Maaz Syed

Forensics

5th - Elaine Panjeta and Titus Warner

6th - Kira Kolbe-Braun and Jessica Zhang

Ecology

1st - Nathan Panuccio and Sammy Rioux

Fossils

3rd - Susan Tu and Angel Zheng

8th - Tamira Ganapathy and Sylvia Ronan

Write It Do It

1st - Jolynda Wang and Ananya Chandra

5th - Helena Salac and Libby Ronan

Chem Lab

6th - Megan Tu and Sammy Rioux

Robot Tour

7th - Justin Lee and Justin Cai

Codebusters

1st - Lincoln Peacock, Emily Zhuang, Angel Zheng

Microbe Mission

2nd - Max Hakansson and Ananya Chandra

6th - Elaine Panjeta and Titus Warner

Wind Power

3rd - Alessandra Ferrer and Umaiza Faruqui