Dear Parents:
Halloween is a half day with dismissal at 11: 40 AM. Students at Banks are welcome to pay $1 to support our Student Fund and wear a school-appropriate costume. Please note the following:
Students may not wear costumes, make-up or masks with blood or gore
Halloween scary masks are not permitted. Students’ faces must be visible during transportation and throughout the remainder of the school day.
Students may not bring any type of weapons or look-alike weapons
All accessories should be left at home
Thank you for your efforts to ensure this is a fun, safe and successful day for all!
Thank you to all of the families who completed a Teacher of the Year nomination form. I feel so blessed to work beside so many talented and dedicated educators!
Our 7th and 8th grade Orchestra program joined with GMS for a tremendously fun and fantastic Spooktacular event this week, and it was a thrilling event!
I'd also like to take an opportunity to recognize our fall student athletes and coaches. Our students represented Banks in demonstrating respectful, responsible and safe behaviors as they competed throughout the season, and we could not be more proud. We are so grateful to our coaches for their dedication and commitment to supporting our student athletes.
On a final note, LAYA's Adopt-a-Child Application Submissions are due TODAY. The fillable form and information are linked below.
Cheers,
Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal
We Are Banks!
Upcoming Events
October
10/25-Pink Out Day-Wear Pink to School!
10/25-Fire Drill
10/25-NJHS Retreat
10/25-First Marking Period Ends
10/25- WLW MS Band Night @ WLW
10/25-WLW Warriors for Warriors Pink Out football game vs. WL Central @ 7 PM
10/30-11/1-Spirit Week
10/31-Half Day for Students, Dismissal at 11:40 AM
November
11/1: Diwali
11/1: PBIS Pep Assembly in PM
11/3: Daylight Savings Time Ends, Set Your Clocks Back One Hour
11/4: Online Sign-Up for Parent/Teacher Conferences Opens @ 7 AM
11/4: 7th and 8th Grade Band Concert @ Banks, 6:30 PM
11/5: Election Day - No School for Students or Staff - Remember to VOTE!
11/7: Board of Education regular meeting
11/8: Report Cards Available for Viewing
11/11: Veterans Day
11/11: Banks PTSA Meeting @ 6:30 PM in the Learning Commons
11/12: Deadline to Submit PTSA Reflections Submissions
11/12: 6th Grade Band Concert @ Banks, 6:30 PM
11/13:Online Sign-Up for Parent/Teacher Conferences CLOSES @ 7 AM
11/13: Fire Drill
11/14-Parent-Teacher Conferences
Update from Ms. Smith
PoP! Fundraiser
On behalf of Mrs. VanWagnen and myself I'd like to thank all of our Banks community who participated in and donated to our Pop! School Fundraiser. We raised just over $17, 500 and will collect a portion of that. Also a huge thank you to those who volunteered for our Best Day Ever Celebration event this past Tuesday. It took all of us for the fundraiser and celebration to be a success, and we sincerely thank you for your generosity and support!
Athletics: Volleyball and Cross Country Wrap up Seasons
7th Grade Volleyball: Moved up from finishing the regular season in fourth place, to finishing in third out of eleven teams in the league.In the tournament last Saturday, Banks lost to Centennial the first match of the day, then easily beat Walnut Creek in two straight sets, then split with Oak Valley but played them very tough. Then handily beat 1st place Muir in the first set of the last match. It was the best the team played all season- the girls were amazing! Unfortunately, they lost the second set but if they would have beaten Muir in the last set Banks would’ve been playing Centennial for the league championship. Great season girls!
The 8th Grade team took 2nd Place in the silver bracket!
Cross Country
The cross country team finished their season on Friday at the Lakes Valley Championship meet. The weather was perfect for running, and many athletes achieved personal best times for the season. Some stand-out races were run by Anthony Corbin, Elizabeth Hill, Carson Stassi, Lukas Wagner, Evelyn Hill, Jack Koebel, Arthur Hill, Jackson Missitti, Brielle Sharland, Nicholas Hurtado, Brendan Walker and Camden Grace. Outstanding races were run by Raylyn Raske, who finished first in the 6th grade girls division, and Bradley Mohr, who brought home a medal in the Varsity boys division.
A special thank you goes out to the team captains Bradyn Partin, Decklan Hinkleman and Jack Koebel, who were exceptional role models for the team and demonstrated first-rate sportsmanship throughout the season. Coaches Becker and McBride are proud of everyone who participated in cross country this year and strove for self-improvement. Way to go, Bulldogs!
Traffic delays, Maple Road, Beck to Benstein
The Road Commission of Oakland County has sent notification that beginning Tuesday, October 29th, Maple Road, from Beck to Benstein, will be under construction. They will begin with milling and then finish paving a day or two later. The work will be done under flag control, meaning traffic will be allowed through at alternating intervals. This will almost certainly result in delays for commuters that travel this route. If possible, I strongly encourage our families that travel this route to start their trip to school early and to pack some extra patience.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: November 14th
A strong partnership with parents/guardians and teachers is key to ensuring our children’s success. One important component of that partnership is parent/teacher conferences. This is an opportunity for us to meet, celebrate your child’s progress, and discuss goals for continued growth.
Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, November 14th from 12:15-8:15 p.m in a hybrid format. Half of the day is formatted for virtual conferences and the other half is allocated for in-person conferences. The times listed below are the format for both types of conferences, and are consistent at all four district middle schools. When you sign up in Skyward for your conferences, the virtual or in-person formats will be listed. At the middle school level, once spots are taken in each format (in-person or virtual), there will not be additional times available to sign up through Skyward.
All individual Parent/Teacher Conferences need to be scheduled online, in advance, through your parent Family Access account. You may sign up for time slots beginning on Monday, November 4th @ 7:00 a.m. All conferences, regardless of core or encore teacher, must be scheduled online.
Virtual Conferences: 12:15 - 3:45 PM
In-Person Conferences: 4:00 - 8:15 PM
Important Details for Scheduled Conferences
Online sign up in Family Access will only work using your parent login. If you still need a username and password, please email FamilyAccess@wlcsd.org or contact the Family Access hotline at 248.956.2190.
Online sign up will be available November 4th@ 7:00 a.m. and stay open until November 13th @ 7:00 AM
Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place virtually via TEAMS and each individual conference will be 5 minutes in length for general education classes. Special Education Resource Room Caseload workers will offer 15 minute conferences. Teachers will monitor the TEAMS waiting room and will remove parents and admit parents at the scheduled time.
Prior to conferences, parents will be provided with a master list of teachers and the teacher’s corresponding TEAMS Link.
When scheduling consecutive conferences, you must leave one five-minute conference gap between appointments. Ensuring you have a five-minute gap will allow you time to move from one teacher’s conference to the next.
With all students having six different teachers throughout each school day, if their academic grade is satisfactory to both you and the teacher and you feel your student is being successful, please consider prioritizing the several teachers that you must see during conferences. Following this process will allow enough time slots to be available for all families.
Scheduling a conference with your counselor is not required, however, if there is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed at conferences you may schedule a conference with your child’s counselor. Due to the number of students they serve, if you do not have a pressing issue then you do not need to schedule a conference.
If you feel you need a longer conference with any teacher, we are happy to schedule a separate conference. All staff contact information can be found at our school website.
Tutorials: Conference Scheduling on Skyward
A video tutorial showing the process for scheduling conferences can be found at this How To Schedule Conferences Online link.
Written directions can be found at the Secondary Parents Conference Sign Up link.
Tutorials: Attending Conferences via TEAMS on November 14th, 2024
Video directions for how to attend your conferences on November 14th can be found at this Video Directions Link
Written directions can be found at this Written Directions Link
In Partnership,
8th Grade Washington, D.C. Trip
Thank you to all the families who were able to attend the Washington, D.C. Trip Informational Meeting on October 10th. For those families who were unable to attend, please visit our Sarah Banks D.C. information and registration link through American Expeditions, click on "GO TO MY TRIP" and enter the tour code: sarahbanksdc2025.
To view the meeting presentation from October 10th, please click here.
If you have any questions about the DC trip, please reach out to Mr. Morrow at DavidMorrow@wlcsd.org.
New Information: PTSA Update
We are only ONE memberships away from our membership drawing! Join the PTSA now!
Want to help your child’s school?? JOIN THE PTSA!! Your membership includes volunteering at school events OR not! Monthly meetings OR not!
We would love to have you as much or little as your time allows but your Membership Donation helps no matter how much time you have! HELP us meet our membership goal of 100 members! In return we are raffling off this fantastic FALL BASKET! Have you already joined the PTSA? No worries you will automatically be entered into the raffle! Virtual tickets will be drawn after we have reached our goal!
Want to have the inside scoop on what is happening in your child’s school?? JOIN THE PTSA and JOIN US for our monthly meetings! We love to have parents/guardians at our meetings! Join here…
Upcoming PTSA Events: Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming PTSA Events..
Thank you to all who volunteered and helped make the POP! Day of Awesome a great day for all!
1st annual Turkey Trot will be held on November 20th - More info coming soon!
Follow us on social media..
Insta:https://www.instagram.com/sarahbanksptsa?igsh=MXBpanFrNnBmZnJleQ==
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sarahbanksptsa/
PTSA Reflections: Submissions Due by November 12th
Is your student looking for a creative outlet? We are looking for students to enter into our yearly nationally recognized Reflections contest! This year's theme: Accepting Imperfection
Deadline to Submit PTSA Reflections Submissions: November 12th, 2024
Use this link to gain insight on this Theme.
Explore the 2024-2025 PTA Reflections Theme: Accepting Imperfection
Use this link to enter the contest.
Want to pick PTSA Reflections theme for next year? Enter the theme contest here…
Walled Lake Western High School Safety Guidelines and Admissions
Visiting team spectators should park on the north side of the school and enter through the visiting side entrance for admissions. Visitors attempting to enter on the home side will be directed to walk around to the visiting ticket booth.
Home side spectators should park on the south side of the school and enter through the home side entrance for admissions.
WLCSD Athletic events are now cashless. All tickets for home events MUST be purchased through the GoFan website (Walled Lake Western High School Events) or by using credit/debit card at the ticket booth. Pre-Purchased tickets will be the quickest way to enter games. NO SCREENSHOTS of tickets will be accepted for any athletic events. Anyone over 62 and under 5 years old are admitted at no charge.
Ticket Takers will be enforcing the following expectations for the safety of all. Admin and/or law enforcement on site will be contacted should any spectators refuse to comply.
-No Pets/animals are permitted on WLW’s property
- No alcohol, drug, tobacco, or any illegal substances are permitted on campus or on school property.
- There is NO RE-ENTRY to the stadium for any reason.
-No outside food/drink, coolers, thermoses, cups, bottles, cans, flasks, or any other outside containers (including open bottled water) are permitted inside the stadium.
-No electronic noise makers, speakers, or Bluetooth devices are permitted in the stadium.
-No parking in the bus loop on the south side. Violators will be ticketed.
-Bags are NOT permitted into the stadium unless they are clear/see-through. Any approved bag is subject to search by ticket takers, administration, and/or Oakland County Deputies on site.
All middle school and elementary school-aged children must be accompanied by their parent/guardian for the entire athletic event in order to attend any and all Western Athletic Events. Those who are not supervised, will not be permitted to enter the gyms and/or stadium or will be asked to leave if not continually supervised upon entering.
District seeks operating millage replacement in November election
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is asking the community to replace its current operating millage with an 18 mill non-homestead millage that represents roughly $31 million and a 3.6297 mill hold harmless that represents approximately $2 million of the district’s budget. The total of $33 million accounts for 18 percent of the district’s $187 million revenue budget.
Every District in the state is expected to levy, with voter approval, 18 mills on all non-homestead properties in order to receive full state funding under Proposal A. The 3 mill "Headlee cushion" will allow the district to collect the full 18 mills over the duration of the operating millage. The proposal will not increase property taxes on any primary residence property that is within Walled Lake Consolidated Schools boundaries. Since the approval of Proposal A in 1994, the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools’ community has overwhelmingly supported the operating millage, most recently in 2014.
If the November 5, 2024 proposal is not approved, the school district will lose more than $33 million in operating revenue every year and the state will not make up the shortfall.
More information about the 2024 Operating Millage Replacement can be found at www.wlcsd.org/elections.
WLN Annual Gift Drive
Hello Walled Lake Middle Schools,
The Walled Lake Northern annual gift drive is just around the corner, and we need your school’s support! If possible, please share this message from our Northern Leadership students with your school’s families. Your involvement will help make this year's drive a success!
Walled Lake Northern proudly hosts an annual gift drive, supporting a school in need each year. Our community "adopts” children, fulfilling their holiday wishes and essential needs.
Northern students thoughtfully wrap every gift, and in December, our Leadership class personally delivers the gifts to the school, bringing joy directly to the children.
We welcome donations of children's clothing, shoes, boots, and toys. Your support will help us fulfill our mission of bringing joy to children in need this holiday season.
Please feel free to follow the link to our Amazon storefront.
https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2QEWGD83JR5LN
All donations can be shipped directly to Walled Lake Northern:
WLN Gift Drive
6000 Bogie Lake Rd
Commerce Township, MI 48382
United States
Please reach out to Payten Shepard or Emily Brown with any questions.
Thank you for your support!
Payten Shepard & Emily Brown
Food Service Information-Free Breakfast and Lunch for All!
During the 2024-25 school year, all Michigan public school students in grades Pre-K through 12 will have access to free breakfast and free lunch every day through the "Healthy School Meals for All" program. This includes a meat/meat alternative, grain, fruit/vegetable and milk. A la carte items will be available for purchase.
Families are still encouraged to complete the free/reduced meal form in Skyward to help secure additional funding for the District including Title I funding. By completing the form, eligible families may also receive access to other free and reduced programs within the District including SAT testing, pay to participate, and more.
District Chromebook Repair Process
Please follow the steps below when your student's District Chromebook needs to be repaired.
- If a student needs support, he/she should fill out a Student Chromebook Support Form linked on all of the 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 inner office 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.
Signing up for SMS Messages in Skylert
In addition to receiving phone calls and email notifications from the school district in the event of a school closing or emergency, parents can also sign up to receive SMS Text messages.
Please find the helpful step-by-step instructions linked below as well as the video tutorial on signing up for SMS messages.
Connect With Us
Jennifer VanWagnen
Principal: jennifervanwagnen@wlcsd.org
Kellan Watkins
Principal's Secretary: kellanwatkins@wlcsd.org
Becky Smith
Interim Assistant Principal: rebeccasmith@wlcsd.org
Jennifer Dean
Assistant Principal's Secretary: jenniferdean@wlcsd.org
Important Phone Numbers:
Main Line: 248-956-2200
Attendance: 248-956-2290
Email: JenniferVanWagnen@wlcsd.org
Website: https://banks.wlcsd.org/
Location: 1760 Charms Road Wixom, MI 48393
Phone: (248) 956-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sarahbanksptsa