iReady is an assessment tool that is given to all students in Math and English Language Arts. The results from the assessment give teachers information on how to tailor their instruction to meet the needs of their individual classes and students. Individual feedback is also provided to each student. Lessons can then be completed in iReady that are tailored specifically for each student. If your child is not at grade level at this time, it's ok! In the next few weeks, we will be sending home strategies to help, and we'll need your support to help us do that.
By Friday, October 4th, your child's math and ELA teachers will be giving each student their individual diagnostic results report. If your child did not finish due to absence, it may be a few more days before you receive the information.
Students will be reviewing their own individual data and setting some goals with their teachers.
Please ask your child for their iReady diagnostic results in Math and ELA.
Please review the 2 informational letters below to learn more about iReady and how you can help your student become more proficient in math and ELA
We value our partnership with families and appreciate all you do!
We Are Banks!
In Partnership,
Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal
Upcoming Events
October
10/4-XC County Meet-Away
10/4- WLW Homecoming @ 7 PM
10/7- Volleyball vs. Millennium-Away
10/8-POP Assembly
10/9-XC Meet vs. Creek-Away
10/9-Volleyball vs. Geisler-Away
10/10-Rescheduled-Volleyball vs. Centennial-Away
10/10- 8th Grade Washington, D.C. Parent Meeting @ 5:30 PM
10/10- Board of Education Regular Meeting
10/18- Picture Retakes
PTSA Update
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..
POP! Prepare for the Day of Awesome!
1st annual Turkey Trot - 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
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
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…
Update from Ms. Smith
The kick-off assembly for the POP!(Power of Purpose) Fundraiser is Tuesday, October 8. Students will be coming home on that day with a "Golden Ticket" parent letter. Please stay tuned, ask PTSA, or see Ms. Smith if you have questions!
On Tuesday, the Banks Cross Country team was just about to host its last home meet when it began to downpour and unfortunately the race had to be cancelled. They will compete Friday October 4 at the Oakland County meet.
This week 7th Grade volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to White Lake Middle School, but played really well in both matches this week. They continue to improve and Coach Gold is very proud of their hard work.
Monday, the 8th grade volleyball team made a fantastic showing against White Lake, taking 2 out of 3 sets. The girls showed exactly what it meant to work as a team and communicated with each other beautifully. Bella stood out with her serves, Adyn and Moxie had some great plays at the net, and Brie was amazing at commanding the court throughout. Olivia also stepped up as libero for all three games with some fantastic passes. Shoutout to Zoe and Grace for some powerful swings and Peyton for the game-winning serves. Yesterday, the 8th grade team continued their amazing teamwork against Muir. We had some fantastic hits by Lexi Zoe and Autumn. Sophia Brie and Keely had some amazing saves. And Peyton and Bella had some amazing net plays. Let’s keep this amazing energy up for next weeks’ away games!!
BOYS BASKETBALL TRYOUTS INFORMATION:
October 21, 22, 23
6/7th grade team: 5:30 AM
8th grade team: 3:00PM
Physicals must be turned in by Friday, October 18
8th Grade Washington, D.C. Trip
Our annual 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. will be Tuesday, June 3rd to Friday, June 6th. 8th grade parents are invited to join us at our informational meeting on Thursday, October 10th at 5:30pm in the Banks Cafeteria to hear details about the trip and learn how to register. Trip registration will open the day after our meeting.
Teacher of the Year Nominations Now Being Accepted
Banks Middle School Community,
The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is again participating in a program to honor exemplary teachers/educators. We hope you will join us in an effort that will result in the selection of the Teacher/Educator of the Year for the Walled Lake Consolidated School District at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. This honor will be bestowed at our Thursday, January 9, 2025 school board meeting.
Please use the attached fillable nomination form to nominate a deserving Sarah G. Banks Middle School educator NO later than Friday, October 18, 2024. Nominations can also be emailed directly to JenniferVanWagnen@wlcsd.org or turned into the front office. Any full time, certified, tenured teacher/educator who spends 50% of his/her time in a classroom with a minimum of five (5) full years of classroom teaching experience is eligible to receive this award. Any person in the school community may nominate any teacher/educator in the District for this honor.
It can be tricky to nominate a teacher so early in the year, as you are just getting to know them. Some nominations are based on a family’s experience thus far this school year, some are based on a teacher they had on the past, and some are based on a family’s experience with a teacher through the years with multiple children from their family.
Teacher of the Year Nomination Form
For families that have a primary language other than English, if it is easier to complete a nomination in your first language, please do and we will work to have it translated to English for consideration.
Thank you for helping to acknowledge the great staff at Sarah G. Banks Middle School!
FALL USED BOOK SALE OCTOBER 16th – 19th, 2024
Buy books at the Wixom Public Library, 49015 Pontiac Trail, Fall Used Book Sale sponsored by the Friends of the Wixom Library. Advance Sale for Friends Members only on Wednesday Oct 16th 5 – 7:30 p.m. (memberships available at the door.) Public Sale begins Thursday, Oct 17th from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will run Friday, Oct 18th from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and on Saturday Oct 19th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday – Fill a bag $5. Thousands of books and multimedia items for all ages, priced between 25 cents and $2, plus specially priced items.
Banks Receives Very Generous Donation
WOW! We owe a massive THANK YOU to our local Wixom Meijer! Store Director Seleana Yancey and Area Leader Megan Vigna just surprised us with a jaw-dropping $10,000 check! Thanks to their generosity, we're building new Gaga pits and loading up on awesome indoor recess gear!đź’™
Dear Banks Middle School Families,
Thank you for your partnering with us in your child’s education. Corrected Parent Reports have arrived and have been mailed home. As a reminder, the previous reports included an error in subscore reporting. Specifically,
- The previously shipped Parent Reports had an error in subscore reporting categories.
- Overall scale scores were correct and have not changed on the corrected Parent Reports.
- Overall proficiency calculations were not affected by this error.
If you have any questions regarding this printing error, please contact Jennifer VanWagnen at (248-)956-2200 or the Michigan Department of Education by email at mde-oeaa@michigan.gov or by phone at 877-560-8378 and select Option 1.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal
(248) 956-2200
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.
8th Grade Student Information Regarding Post -Graduation Opportunities
The Michigan Department of Education requires school districts to provide information to students grade 8-12 on post graduation opportunities. Click Here for more information.
Student Safety Drills
In the next few weeks and throughout the year, we will be conducting Safety Drills with our staff and students. These drills include Tornado, Fire and ALICE drills. ALICE is a federally endorsed safety protocol. WLCSD has adopted ALICE curriculum and safety protocols for all of its schools. At Banks, we do our best to prepare our students for emergency scenarios, but strive to ensure our students social and emotional well-being as well.
Morning Bell Schedule for Students
First Bell, 8:00 a.m. - This is when students are permitted to enter the hallways from the front lobby and buses.
Warning Bell, 8:05 a.m. - This bell lets students know that they have five minutes left to make it to class.
Tardy Bell, 8:10a.m. - This is the official start of 1st hour. Students arriving after this bell are considered tardy for their first class.
Chromebook Information
WLCSD has a 1-to-1 Chromebook Program in all of our middle and high schools. Please review the information about the 1-to-1 Chromebook Program as part of your Back-to-School Online Registration Process.
Each student will be required to bring a device to school each day as the middle schools do not have Chromebook carts in the building for students to use a Chromebook during the day. District issued Chromebooks often work much better within the building than personal devices do as they are set up to connect to the District Wi-Fi.
Important Highlights
Students will have two choices for technology use while at school:
Bring your own device from home
Sign up for a District issued Chromebook*
*Additional carts of Chromebooks will no longer be available for students to utilize extra building devices on a daily basis. Students will be expected to bring a charged device (personal device or District issued Chromebook) daily in order to utilize online curricular resources as well as participate in daily instruction within the classroom.
We strongly encourage families to sign up for a District issued Chromebook.
There are advantages to this practice including:
Better Wi-Fi connectivity in District
Increased support from District IT staff including
curriculum resources
support apps
Streamline repair process
MIDDLE SCHOOL students (grades 6-8) must complete PAYMENT for the Chromebook deposit ($50) and Technology Protection Plan ($20) in order to receive the District issued Chromebook. Payments made after August 11 will still receive a device, but not until the first few days of school. Please be sure to review the entire 1-to-1 Chromebook Program Information that is linked on our Back-to-School Packet Website. If you are in need of financial assistance to participate in this program, please reach out to Mrs. VanWagnen directly at JenniferVanWagnen@wlcsd.org.
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.
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