The Banks Bulletin

Dear Banks Families:

Grades will be posted by 5 PM today, November 8th. Virtual Parent/Teacher Conference information is listed below. As a reminder, both in person and virtual conferences will be offered to accommodate our families. We value a strong partnership between parents/guardians and teachers, and Parent/Teacher Conferences are a great way to discuss your student's strengths and goals for continued growth.

Parent/Teacher Conferences Links for Microsoft Teams

For those parents who signed up for the virtual portion of parent/teacher conferences to be held from12:15 PM-3:45 PM, the links to join meetings via Microsoft Teams are posted on our Parent/Teacher Conferences webpage linked below. There are also instructions on that webpage explaining how to join a Microsoft Teams meeting.

Banks links

We had such a blast during our first Pep Assembly of the year, and look forward to the PTSA's 1st Annual Turkey Trot on November 20th. Parents can register their students for this awesome event below! Exciting things ahead!

Cheers,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

We Are Banks!

November

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: Walk Into Walled Lake, ESC, 4 - 7 p.m.

11/13: Fire Drill

11/13: Boys Basketball (BB) vs. White Lake MS - Away

11/13: 6th Grade Orchestra Concert @ Banks, 6:30 PM

11/14- Half Day for Students, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Dismissal @ 11:40 AM

11/18: Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Smart MS - Away

11/19: Half Day for Students, Dismissal @ 11:40 AM

11/19: LAYA's Taste of the Lakes Event

11/20: PTSA's 1st Annual Turkey Trot in PM

11/20: Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Centennial MS - Away

11/25: Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Mason MS - Home

11/27: Half Day for Staff and Students, Dismissal @ 11:40 AM

11/28-11/29-No School for Staff and Students, Thanksgiving Break

Our boys basketball teams started playing games this week! Coach Rickens and Johnson are very proud of how hard the teams are working and what they see day in and day out from their student-athletes.

7th Grade

The 6th and 7th grade boys basketball team traveled to Oak Valley on Monday for their first game of the season. Banks came out firing in the first half running the plays successfully, finding the cutter and taking great open shots in order to take a 15 point lead into halftime. First half scorers were Cruz, Brendan, Colson, Cameron, Ryan, Bradley, Emmett and Will. In the second half Banks used amazing defense led by Kevin, Max and Ashton to finish the game and take home the 40 to 25 win.

The 6th/7th Banks boys basketball team traveled to Walnut Creek for their second game of the week as well as their second of five consecutive road games. The first period group of Colson, Dylan, Ryan, Bradley and Emmett started the game strong thrashing through the Hawk defense to put up an impressive 15 points. The second and third groups maintained a 15 point lead throughout the second and third periods with points from Cruz, Max, Cameron and Will. In the second half Creek started to trap the ball, but it was the efforts of ALL the Banks boys to beat the trap on offense and play an amazing defense that allowed Banks to win 42 to 31. The Banks boys will have a day off on Monday before traveling to White Lake on Wednesday.

8th Grade

From first game Jitters to hitting game winners we manifested great team work. Through hard work and dedication, practice and preparation, we still haven't reached our destination. With 2 games down and 8 games left, We're still on a mission to defeat the rest. With your help and support as our 16th man, Together we stand as Sarah Banks #1 Fan. The start of a great season.

Proud Coach Tayon Johnson

Boys 8th Grade Basketball

Go Bulldogs

Walled Lake Consolidated School District (WLCSD) is excited to host a Walk into Walled Lake interview day on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Marc A. Siegler Board Room at the Educational Services Center (850 Ladd Road, Building D, Walled Lake, MI 48390).

Walk into Walled Lake is an opportunity for members of the community to learn more about WLCSD and how they can support its students by filling important roles within the district’s 20 schools. Attendees will be able to apply and participate in walk-in job interviews for multiple positions at WLCSD.

“Walk into Walled Lake is a great way for the community to see all of the possibilities that exist within our District,” said Abbie Kidder, Executive Manager of Human Resources. “We pride ourselves in offering jobs that allow our employees to maintain a strong work and home life balance, while having a lasting impact on the children we commit ourselves to each and every day."

Available positions include:

· Instructional Paraeducators – Starting at $16.33 per hour

· Lunchroom and Playground Paraeducators – Starting at $15.74 per hour

· Locker Room and Parking Lot Paraeducators – Starting at $15.74 per hour

· Multiple Secretary Positions – Starting at $17.68-$19.54 per hour (Depending on role)

· Prime Time Care – Starting at $15.91 per hour

· Food Service – Starting at $14.53 per hour

Questions about Walk into Walled Lake can be directed to Mrs. Kidder by email at AbbieKidder@wlcsd.org.

On behalf of the Walled Lake Schools Board of Education, administration, and staff, I want to extend my heartfelt Thank You for your support in passing our District’s Operating Millage Replacement. Your commitment to our schools and students is deeply appreciated, and this critical funding will help us continue to provide the high-quality education our community values.

Walled Lake Schools is known across the state for having a strong history of well-supported ballot initiatives and I am grateful for your continued support and partnership.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael Lonze

Mom, I’ll bring home the turkey! Or maybe a Pie….

Join your fellow students on a spirited obstacle race and bring home the Turkey!

1st Place – Turkey

2nd/3rd Place – Costco Pumpkin Pie

What: Turkey Trot – Obstacle Fun Run Race by Grade and Winner for both Girls and Boys!

When: Wednesday Nov. 20th during School Hours

Where: On the fields behind the School

Cost: $10 to get out of class, race and get in the Turkey Spirit!

Use the link below for payment and entry form OR put $ in envelope with students name and grade on it and have them put it in box in Main Office.

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.

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

Order early to save! There's nothing else like your school yearbook. Get your hands on the limited edition collection of our stories from the year. Share it with your friends today and hang on to it for years to come!

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.

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…

https://sarahbanks.memberhub.com/store

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.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpBDdLOuDVPBzYW05EV4cBtITRK0AoCCt-u7-OI_vQVr2Bng/viewform?usp=sf_link

Want to pick PTSA Reflections theme for next year? Enter the theme contest here…

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.

paytenshepard28@gmail.com

emilya.brown2059@gmail.com

Thank you for your support!

Payten Shepard & Emily Brown

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.

Please follow the steps below when your student's District Chromebook needs to be repaired.

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. When the chromebook has been repaired, it will be delivered back to the school for the student to pick up.
5. 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.
6. 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.

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