The Banks Bulletin

Dear Banks Families:

We hope you will consider joining us for the Walled Lake Schools 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Walled Lake Northern High School on Monday, January 20th beginning at 5:00 p.m. This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration theme is Unity. More details are highlighted below.

In an effort to find additional ways to celebrate our staff, pleases consider completing the WLCSD Community Relations department Staff Shout Out form linked below to celebrate our rock star staff!

Cheers,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

We Are Banks!

January

1/17: End of Second Marking Period

1/17: End of First Semester

1/20: No School for Students, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/20: 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration at WL Northern

1/21: Second Semester Begins

1/22: Girls Basketball vs. Oak Valley @ 4 PM, Away

1/22: Swim Meet @ 6 PM, Away

1/23: Wrestling vs. Oak Valley @ 4 PM, Home

1/23: Spelling Bee @ 3 PM

1/23: Art Show @ 5:30-6:30 PM, ESC

1/27: Report Cards Available to View

1/27: Girls Basketball vs. Walnut Creek @ 4 PM, Away @ WLC

1/27: Wrestling vs. Walnut Creek @ 4 PM, Home

1/29: Half Day for Students, Staff for Professional Development

1/31: Pep Assembly

Walled Lake Schools 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Walled Lake Northern High School on Monday, January 20th beginning at 5:00 p.m.

This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration theme is Unity.

“Unity in diversity is unity between all individuals and groups, regardless of differences. It is unity without uniformity, and diversity without divisiveness. It is an understanding that the differences between people enrich our lives and makes our country the special, and unique place it is”.

If you and your student are happy with the school they will be attending next year, please disregard this message. If you are interested in your student possibly attending a different school next year, please continue reading.

The in-district transfer request window is currently open until Friday, January 31st. The application can be found below. This application is for families to request a Walled Lake school different than the one their student is slated to attend based on address/school path. All 8th graders are reviewing their high school path with Mrs. Danforth.

6th and 7th grade families from Loon Lake Elementary, Walled Lake Elementary and Wixom Elementary will continue to attend Sarah Banks Middle School. These paths are based on the elementary school your student attended/would have attended based on your current address in Skyward:

Hickory Woods Elementary will now attend Sarah Banks Middle School.

Transfer requests are not guaranteed and are based on several of factors including if there is space at the school you have requested.

IMPORTANT: families must provide transportation to the new school you are requesting.

Please reach out if you have any questions. Our Banks team is happy to help!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our yearbook team has been working hard creating the yearbook. It’s almost time to share the yearbook with your students, and that’s a reason to celebrate!

We will be turning in the number of copies to order soon. Click on the link to guarantee your copy before they are all sold out. When they are gone, they are gone!

Our Girls Basketball and Wrestling teams have been working hard at practice and will begin competitions this next week!

Wednesday, January 22:

Wrestling team will start their season at home against Oak Valley and the basketball teams will travel to Oak Valley. Good Luck Bulldogs!

Track & Field Start Date: March 18. Sign-ups will begin the first week of March.

WLW Basketball is hosting a Middle School Night on Friday, January 24th vs. WLC. We encourage students and families to come out to watch their future high schools compete. Join the fun!

WLCSD, in partnership with the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, invites parents, guardians, and community members to an important educational presentation by Fentanyl Fathers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about fentanyl prevention and the dangers of misuse.

📅 Date: Monday, January 27
🕔 Time: 5:45–6:45 p.m.
📍 Location: Clifford H. Smart Middle School Media Center

This presentation will take place just before the WLCSD PTSA Council Meeting, which begins at 7:00 p.m. in the same location. Students are also welcome to attend the presentation; however, all three WLCSD high schools will host similar assemblies during the school day that week. High school parents should watch for additional details regarding these events.

We hope to see you there for this crucial conversation!

Join the Walled Lake PTSA Council on January 28th starting at 5:30pm at the Zekelman Holocaust Center for the FREE community building event "Building Connections: Learning from the Past, Uniting for the Future".

In partnership with the Walled Lake Consolidated School District and the Zekelman Holocaust Center, this FREE event is open to staff, students, families, community and faith leaders, and the greater Walled Lake Schools community! Take a tour of the museum, make connections with other people within Walled Lake Schools, and listen to a Next Generation Holocaust Survivor Speaker. This event is best for people ages 10+ - please use your best judgment in bringing younger students.

Seven PTSA Reflections entries will advance to state level competition!

Congratulations to the Following:

Aadrita Saha- Literature - 8th grade

Ishani Panja - Photography - 6th grade

Nicholas Heuvers - Music- 7th grade

Kevin Rumija - Music - 8th Grade

Kenzie Gonwicha - Dance- 7th grade

Lily Barres - Visual Arts - 6th grade

Medelin Inch - Visual Arts - 7th grade

We are so proud of you!

We still have room for 4 more students to register for the trip. We are expecting these remaining spots to fill up quickly, so please don’t hesitate to register your child if you are still considering it. The deadline to register is Friday, January 31st or once those 4 available spots fill up, whichever occurs first. The American Expeditions Travel Website has been preset to waitlist any new registrations after those 4 spots fill up. If you register, be sure to purchase the CFAR (Cancel for any Reason) insurance option. We’d love to have your child join us on this memorable experience!

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. When you register, you will need to pay the initial deposit on the trip portal and the required CFAR insurance.

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.

The Walled Lake Consolidated School District is committed to supporting the health and well-being of our students and families. To help address concerns about vaping, we are sharing valuable resources that provide information on the risks of vaping and strategies for prevention. These tools are designed to empower families with knowledge and support meaningful conversations at home. Together, we can help every child make healthy choices every day.

• E-cigarettes and Vaping: What Parents Should Know - American Lung Association
• E-cigarettes and Youth: What Parents Need to Know - Centers for Disease Control

• E-cigarettes/Vaping Facts - Oakland County Health Department

In an effort to find additional ways to celebrate our staff, the WLCSD Community Relations department requests that families fill out the information below for staff who are rock stars in their classrooms and school communities.

A sample of what these shout outs will look like on social media and in our district newsletters is on the right.

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.

· Signing Up for SMS Messages via Skylert

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