C.H.S. Chronicles

The Clifford H. Smart Middle School girls’ cross country team was clicking on all cylinders on Friday at Kensington Metropark claiming its first Oakland County Championship in program history.

The Trojans took first place beating out 31 other teams competing at the championships and avenging their runner-up finish from a year ago. Quinn Blewitt was Smart’s top finisher taking 7th overall, earning All-County honors. Kara Alt (17th), Ava Montante (18th), Addy Atwood (22nd), and Jovie Rickens (24th) also received All-County medals.

“We knew last year after finishing second at the Oakland County Meet that this could be the year to finally win it,” said head coach Alex Rickens. “This win shows the dedication and drive of these girls who attended summer practices, optional practices and ran on their own over the weekend.”

“After winning the first regional title last year, this is just the cherry on top for a program that has been growing since 2019 to become a top contender in the county and the state when they go to Walled Lake Northern,” added Rickens. “Coach Karbowski and myself are so proud of these girls to achieve two ‘firsts’ for the district, and we always look forward to going to practice to work with the team and help these runners achieve their goals.”

The Trojan boys also earned a spot on the podium in third place, which was their first Top 3 finish since 2019. Anders Olson (21st), Will Neal (23rd), and Zeke Turnbough (30th) earned All-County honors.

The Middle School Equestrian Team recently wrapped up a great season with an amazing banquet and I couldn’t be more proud of how our teams performed this year.

Season Recap:

• Clifford Smart and Geisler: District 1, Division A – 3rd Place Champs with 12 riders.
• Walnut Creek and Sarah Banks: District 1, Division C – 3rd Place Champs with 4 riders.

It was incredible to see the growth of all our new riders and how well they placed in their divisions. Their hard work and dedication really paid off, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for these talented athletes.

Coach Jennifer
Middle School Equestrian Team Coach

Thank you CHS parents, staff, and students for a great Day of Awesomeness!

Thanks to all the students and their families who came out for the Music of Star Wars. We were delighted by the very engaging performances including the excellent background talks from Maestro Yanez introducing each piece of music, lightsaber duels on stage as well as costumes. Also, the grand encore of The Imperial March - Darth Vadar's theme song was a treat.

At our Club meet, we learned about the Composers of Star Wars music (John Williams, Michael Giacchino, Ludwig Goransson) and Leitmotifs - theme music for a character, idea or action, and shared in our love of the different memorable theme music for our favorite Star Wars characters, actions and ideas like "the force". From our informal fun survey of who is our favorite Star Wars character, in first place, there was a tie between Ray, Darth Vader and the Mandalorian.

Our next Club meet is Sunday, November 17, 2024 2:30, followed by the 3pm Under The Streetlamp Concert with former cast members from the hit musical Jersey Boys harmonies and dance moves, performing old-school hits by The Drifters, Roy Orbison, Nat King Cole, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles, plus a celebration of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

It is not too late to join now! After attending only 1 concert, your student membership will have paid for itself.

Cost: $25 per student membership unlocks one free ticket to almost every Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) 2024-2025 concert series in addition to the concerts the Club will meet for, and up to two companion tickets (bring or invite your parents/sibling/friend/teacher) for $5 each, access to the best seats, access to DSO Replay and online Live streaming performances. Carpooling opportunities are available!

We will be learning more about the music, the performances, the artists and attend concerts with:

Music of Star Wars; Oldies Music by The Drifters, Roy Orbison, Nat King Cole, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles; Ray Chen; Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker; Broadway Love Songs; Music of Enrique Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Santana, & Ricky Martin; Women Rock! (Music by Carole King, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner), Ben Folds and many more!

See Music Appreciation Club Details Document for more information and link to Google form for registration https://forms.gle/3eAmCFB4Vf9FCP626

Previous information:

For Students who already have a DSO account. You will need to sign into your DSO account first. Then while logged into your account, purchase your Student Soundcard membership for the 2024-2025 season. This way, your student membership will be automatically attached to your DSO account.


For new students joining, you can either purchase memberships and tickets by calling the DSO Box Office 313.576.5111 or create an online DSO account and purchase your membership and tickets while signed into your account.


Should you have any question, contact Monique Levu monique.levu@gmail.com 248-301-1415

The 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip for the 2025-2026 School Year is scheduled for June 2nd-5th, 2026

• If a student needs support, he/she should fill out the link below. The link can also be found on all Google Classrooms and on the school website under Students. Being logged on to the school google account is required to access the form.
• The information in the form will be sent to Mrs. Stasak, our Middle School Computer Resource Teacher. She will reply to the student at his/her school gmail account. She will offer suggestions to fix the issue or, if it needs service, she will tell the student to take the chromebook to the office and give it to building admin secretary (enter the name for your building).
• The chromebook in the case will be sent through interoffice and the student will be allowed to use a loaner chromebook AT SCHOOL. It will be the student’s responsibility to pick it up each morning from the office and return it at the end of the day.
• When the chromebook has been repaired, it will be delivered back to the school for the student to pick up.
• If the family purchased insurance, the first repair is free and all additional repairs carry a deductible. Deductible invoices or repair invoices, for those that did not choose insurance, must be paid before the repaired chromebook is returned.
• If a student with a personal chromebook has a network issue, the same form can be used. We are not able to fix physical problems with personal devices and loaner chromebooks will not be provided.

Please click on the above tab and join our CHS Middle School Remind 101 text group. You will receive helpful reminders, time sensitive information along with other pertinent texts.

*Reply @LEAVE to the number you are receiving messages from if you'd like to leave the text group at anytime.

As we prepare for the start of the school year, we wanted to touch base with you regarding the process of administering medications to students at school.

Medications are administered at school under the supervision of our office staff. This includes BOTH prescription medications AND over the counter (ibuprofen, pain relievers, etc.) medications. BOTH types of medication require a completed and signed WLCSD medication authorization form by BOTH the parent/ guardian AND the child’s doctor.

For safety and confidentiality reasons, we will not be accepting medications at Smart Start. If you would like to drop off medications and the required documentation prior to the start of the school year, please contact our office secretary, Mrs. Tonya Gray, directly at 248-956-3512.

As you have questions about this process please give Mrs. Gray a call.

If your child will be absent, please call the Smart Attendance Hotline (248) 956-3510 as soon as possible. If you know of a vacation or pre planned days off, you can leave those dates on the hotline as well.

If you have not called your child in by 9:30 a.m., you will receive a call from Mrs Gray to verify that your student is not at school for the day. Thank you for partnering with us in keeping your children safe and accounted for.

Please remember to please call 248.956.3090 for ALL bussing questions. Please click on the link below to visit our transportation website for more information.

SCHOOL STARTS 8:10 A.M.

DISMISSAL 3:00 P.M.

1/2 DAY DISMISSAL 11:40 A.M.

Dan Holland, Assistant Principal

Steve Spickard, Dean of Students

Please contact us with positive or constructive feedback, questions, and/or concerns.

Website: www.wlcsd.org/smart
Location: 8500 Commerce Road, Commerce Charter Township, MI, United States
Phone: 248-956-3500
Twitter: @CliffordSmart

Please feel free to call our main office with any questions at 248.956.3500. You can also email us.

Principal's Secretary: MelissaWilseck@wlcsd.org

Building/Attendance Secretary: TonyaGray@wlcsd.org

6th Grade Counselor: MaureenBratke@wlcsd.org

7th Grade Counselor: JulieBraley@wlcsd.org

8th Grade Counselor: KathleenHoover@wlcsd.org