WBHS Update

Hello Laker Nation,

I want to give a HUGE thank you to our parent leadership group along with our student leadership students for providing an incredible, and well-deserved, staff appreciation week for the faculty at West Bloomfield High School! There were snacks, kind messages, coffee bar, treats, and more! I encourage you to cap the week off by sending a thank you to teachers, counselors, social workers, para educators, administrative assistants, speech pathologists, theater technicians, security staff, coaches, athletic trainers, or anyone else who has made an impact on your student or family and give them a thank you.

One of our school goals this year is to have 95% of students in attendance every school day. So far this year, we've been doing a good job, but there's always room for improvement! We all know that research shows that students perform better, learn more, and have more meaningful connections with peers and school when they are in school regularly. Please join us in these efforts by making sure students are in school when healthy, they stay in school all day, and that vacations are planned during our scheduled breaks. We are close to our 95% target, but need your help to meet it!

Eric Pace

Principal

West Bloomfield High School

ATTENDANCE AND OUTPASS CLARIFICATION

In order to support all learners and protect our classes from unnecessary disruption:

• No immediate outpasses
• All outpasses must be called in by noon for the current day in order to be processed
• Students will not be released after 1:45, the release time must be before 1:45
• It is your student's responsibility to come to the attendance office at the time of the outpass, we are unable to call into rooms in order to protect the teaching and learning of the other students.

Drop off items:

If you are dropping off an item for your students please make sure they are aware. They will need to stop by the security desk in between classes. We are unable to call into rooms in order to protect the teaching and learning of the other students.

Teacher Communication:

In order to minimize disruptions we will no longer be calling in for dropped off items or outpasses. Please make sure to check the outpass list when releasing students.

After School Expectations

Thank you for all of your support this year with attendance and student behaviors! As we enter the colder months, there are a couple of areas we are focusing on. We need your help. In order to keep our students and school safe, we cannot have students staying after school for extended periods of time. Anyone who stays after school MUST be in a supervised activity or sport. Students cannot stay beyond 2:45 if they are waiting for a ride. Please make proper arrangements, as we cannot safely supervise students who stay after school with nothing to do. We will ask students to be outside at 2:45 and they will not be permitted to re-enter the building. Students in unsupervised areas will be subject to disciplinary action. As it gets cold outside, it is important to make proper arrangements.

Also, it is essential that students are in school regularly and on time. As it becomes darker earlier, and cooler in the mornings, we typically see an increase in the number of students arriving late. Please join us in making prompt arrival and attendance a focus for all.

Proud to be a Laker!

Eric Pace

Principal - WBHS

The WBHS Robotics Team completed their fall Oakland County Competitive Robotics season. The team won a Judges' Award for Community Outreach. They shined on the field with their simple, elegant robot that improved over the competitive season. Join us in congratulating the WBHS Atomigators!

On Saturday, December 7, West Bloomfield High School hosted the Region 8 HOSA Competition. Over 1,000 students from the local area competed in various healthcare events. 157 West Bloomfield High School Students competed in 53 different events such as Health Career Display, Forensic Science, and Health Career Photography. Congratulations to all of our award winners and those who will be competing in the State competition in April in Traverse City.

Hello WBHS Families!

The WBHS Student Leadership Adopt-A-Family committee is looking to help a family in our community this coming holiday season. Last year was a huge success raising over $2,000 in donations! This will not be possible without your help!

To help out this amazing family please consider purchasing items from this Amazon registry! https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/3ANCE9TMZ7ETO

Thank you so much for your help in contributing to this family’s holiday!

WBHS Leadership Adopt a Family Committee,

Jacquelyn Sandiha, Sydney Denawetz, Elysse Love, and Jessica Conkey

The West Bloomfield Education Foundation (WBEF) received 50 grant applications in this fall cycle! They are working through the applications using their rubric and trying to balance grants among schools and programs.

Grants were presented at the Board of Education meeting for acceptance on November 18th.

Their major fundraiser is Casino Night, Friday, February 7th, but we also welcome your help in securing sponsors for the event or making a personal gift. Grants will be presented to the Board of Education for acceptance at the November 18th Board of Education meeting, at 7 p.m. in the West Bloomfield High School iCenter. All grant recipients are encouraged to attend.

Free & Reduced Lunch forms have a new name - please fill it out

The new school year has opened in meal magic so we are ready for free and reduced applications to start coming in. We are serving free meals under Michigan School Meals again this year, but we still need all families to complete an application. The free and reduced meals application is now called the "Education and Nutrition Benefits Application." This is because it is tied to other benefits that families may receive such as Summer EBT. These supplemental programs have the potential to offer additional support for reduced priced sports, ACT, SAT, college application and AP exam waivers. This information is also critical in determining the amount of money our schools receive from a variety of State and Federal supplemental programs.

Here is an FAQ letter answering Frequently Asked Questions. All of our applications are taken 100% online.

Our special dietary needs form is also posted online. This needs to be filled out and returned to nutrition services for any students that may have severe medical food allergies. Thank you!

West Bloomfield junior Elizabeth Eichbrecht continued her dominance, becoming a three-time state champion in her pair of preferred events at Saturday’s Division 1 championships at Holland Aquatic Center.

A winner in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle events as both a freshman and sophomore, Eichbrecht’s three-peat alone accounted for half of the Lakers’ 80 points, good for a 12th-place finish at the event, won by Ann Arbor Pioneer (386 points).

Click here for more information about Laker Athletics

ALLERGIES/ASTHMA/MEDICAL CONDITIONS – Students are not allowed to carry medication. The office must have a complete, signed West Bloomfield School District Medical Action Plan to be able to carry out any medication distribution. Each medication requires a separate form. Each year we need an updated plan for students needing medication. If your child requires medication the first day of school you must contact the office before school to verify paperwork and deliver the medication to the office. Further questions, please contact the school office at 248-865-6720.

ATTENDANCE – West Bloomfield School District expects students to be in school and on time for school on a daily basis. Absent and tardy students will be recorded daily and parents will be notified.

If your child will not be in school or will be late to school, you must call the 24-hour answering machine at 248-865-6722. Leave your student’s name, teacher’s name and reason for absence. For the safety of our students, please do your best to remember to call before the start of school (even if you are only going to be “a little” late).

• PROMPT 1 - Excuse an Absence - Absences must be called in within 24 hours of the student missing school, or the absence will be marked as unexcused.
• PROMPT 2 - Excuse a Tardy (only if a student is late to school, not to a class after they've arrived)
• PROMPT 3 - Early Dismissal (Outpass) - These must be submitted prior to the dismissal time if possible. Those trying for an early dismissal at the time that it is needed may experience a delay while the information is processed and the student is retrieved from class.

In an effort to support student safety and proper accountability, all absences should be excused by a parent. If the absent in unexcused, this tells us that the school and the family do not know where the student is, if not in school. Please make sure to excuse all absences. Teachers may not accept work for unexcused absences in an effort to discourage skipping.

Students who accumulate too many tardies may be subject to disciplinary actions such as after school detentions or suspension of school parking.

Students who accumulate too many absences will be referred to Oakland County Youth Assistance for support and may be referred to Oakland County Truancy is absences become excessive.

BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS - Students are expected to be safe, respectful, and responsible at all times. Specific expectations can be found in the student handbook or the student code of conduct, and key items are listed below.

• Closed campus for lunch - Students MAY NOT receive an outpass to go to lunch or to pick up food for any reason.
• No food deliveries during school hours. This includes Door Dash, Grubhub, etc.
• No inappropriate or revealing clothing for any students
• No clothing with alcohol, drug, sexual, or inappropriate language or images
• No inappropriate language or gestures to be used by students at any time
• No hoods to be worn in school at any time
• No ski masks to be worn in school at any time
• No sunglasses to be worn in school at any time
• Phone use should only occur during passing time or during lunch. During class, it is up to the teacher's discretion as to how students may or may not use phones. If a student violates a teacher's phone policy/expectations, the teacher may confiscate the phone and return it to the student at the end of the period, or turn it in to the Student Relations office.
• Students must be in the cafeteria, Laker Commons, or the courtyard during lunch times. Students may not wander the halls or be in any unauthorized areas during lunches.

AFTER SCHOOL EXPECTATIONS - School dismisses at 2:23 PM. ALL STUDENTS need to be in a supervised activity or out of the building by 2:45 PM. We do not have the ability to safely supervise students after this time. There will be a late stay location for students who are in athletics or activities that begin AFTER 2:45. This supervised location will be in Laker Commons, across from the cafeteria. This supervision is ONLY for students who are in an activity. Students who are staying later than 2:45 who are not in a sport/activity must exit the building at or before this time. Students will be required to sign in with their ID and the activity they belong to.

LATE STARTS – throughout the school year we will participate in professional development that delays the start of the school day. On these days, school will start at 8:30 a.m., and the doors will be open for students beginning at 8:00 a.m.

IMMUNIZATIONS – All students that attend West Bloomfield School District must have accurate shot record information on file. Please be sure records are up to date. New students that do not have a shot record or a waiver on file are not allowed to attend school.

• Talk with your child about the importance of showing up to school every day, on time.
  
• Help your child maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
• Try not to schedule dental and medical appointments during the school day.
• If your child attends an unavoidable appointment during the school day, please ask the dentist, doctor, etc. for a note to excuse them from school. This should be turned in to the main office.
• Communicate with us if your child is sick. Please always call the SAFELINE if your child will be absent.
• Help your child stay engaged--remind them that you are excited to hear about their day when they come home.
  
• Ask for help from us if you’re having trouble getting your child to school. We are here to partner with you for your child's success!

WBSD has partnered with Parent Guidance.org to give parents free access to resources and helpful information. We have shared this information with our families. We hope that it will be useful for some of you as well!

ParentGuidance.org is an online service by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions.

For all updates related to college, careers, counseling, scholarships, college rep visits, and more, make sure to check out the Counselor Connection Newsletter.