Mindful Pathways

October is designated as College and Career Month at Wayne - Westland Community Schools. Throughout this month, colleges and universities nationwide urge high school seniors to apply for enrollment by waiving application fees and providing other benefits and incentives. The College and Career Readiness Department is collaborating with our counselors throughout the district to ensure this is a valuable experience for all our seniors and students, grades K-12.

Many colleges in Michigan do not require an application fee during the month of October, but some schools will be waiving fees at various times throughout the month. Please refer to the attached document for more information on which colleges are waiving fees. We strongly advise high school seniors who plan to apply to college to do so by the end of October. This will increase their chances of being admitted to the college or university of their choice and allow them to enter the scholarship pool early in the admissions process. If you have any questions, please reach out to your high school counselor for more information.

As we celebrate College and Career Month, we will host a College and Career Week from October 23 to October 27. During this week, students throughout the district, grades K-12 will participate in a spirit week filled with activities and lessons designed to create awareness and exposure to multiple career pathways. The week will consist of the following activities: Military Monday, Trades Tuesday, What Do You Want to Be Wednesday, Tycoon Thursday, and Final Four Friday, where students will wear their favorite college gear or colors. We want the entire district to participate in the learning experiences and festivities.

Sincerely,

Daryl Beebe

Executive Director, CCR and SEL

Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a Family Resource Center (FRC), which provides services to any student/family enrolled in our District, free of cost. Some of the services they provide are: basic need assistance, access to over 700 local resources, Laundry Assistance Program and material items for those unable to afford them (emergency toiletries, socks/underwear, hats/gloves/scarves, etc.) They are also able to supply school supplies and backpacks year round for any WWCS student. Please contact our Family Resource Center at: 734-419-2709 or FRC@wwcsd.net. Our FRC also has a Digital Request for Services Form, which can be used to request assistance by filling out a simple form. Please contact the Family Resource Center directly with any additional questions regarding their services.

Kevin Fisher

On September 27th, Kevin Fisher, the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), delivered a fantastic presentation on the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide prevention. We are excited to announce that Kevin will be returning to speak to our high schools in the upcoming months. Kevin's Everybody vs. Stigma message encourages conversations about mental health. We urge you to watch Kevin's powerful presentation and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the mental health staff in your child's building.

Source: InPACT at School

Social Emotional Learning, "Responsible Decision Making": Activity Breaks

Taking a classroom activity break can be a great way to redirect attention and antsy behavior to a fun, interactive activity or game. These games can also be used at home. Sometimes all students need is a short opportunity to analyze their current situation, reflect and responsibly choose their next action. Physical activity breaks in the classroom provide students an opportunity to practice these skills, while increasing to energize the brain.

Elementary Activity Break Ideas

Minions Freeze Dance

Would You Rather: Silly Edition

DJ Raphi: Gangnam Style Dance

Melting Exercise

Fitness Break

Chair Exercises for Kids

Left/Right Dance

Cosmic Kids: Moana Yoga

Would You Rather: Breakfast Edition

Chair Yoga for Kids

Middle School Activity Break Links

Brain Teaser Trivia

Would You Rather: Dog Edition

Never Have I Ever

Mario Kart Fitness

Guess that State

The Price is Right: Fitness Edition

Fitness Spinner

Jeopardy: Basketball Edition

Middle School Yoga Stretch

5-Minute

At Wayne-Westland Community School District, we believe every student deserves a safe space for learning and self-expression. In October, we recognize National Bullying Prevention Month to highlight the importance of fostering a community of inclusion, safety, and respect.

Bullying isn’t a childhood rite of passage; it has real implications for a child’s education, health, and safety today and into the future. Bullying can leave devastating and often long-term effects such as a loss of self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression for all involved. When one out of every five students report being bullied each year, we aim to work together towards change.

This month is a time to unite nationally to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention. We invite you to join us in raising awareness in our schools and community as we work toward our shared goal of inclusion, support, and respect for all.

Wayne-Westland Community School District partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of students, staff, and their family members. Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service that can help you quickly find mental health or substance use treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of circumstance. If you would like to use Care Solace to help you find a provider:

• Call 888-515-0595. Multilingual support is available 24/7/365.
• Visit www.caresolace.com/wwcsd and either search on your own OR click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.

Together, we can make a change and create healthy and safe learning environments for all students to thrive.

All seniors will be receiving a Passport to Success. This Passport will help guide seniors on their path for a successful post-secondary path!

The CCR Team participated in the groundbreaking of SEMCA’s (Southeast Michigan Construction Academy) new training facility in Westland. This new center will provide training in the fields of electrical, welding, heavy construction and carpentry. The center is expected to open in February 2024. Learn more about SEMCA: https://www.semcaschool.org/

We will also be hosting our third annual HBCU (Historically Black College and University) College and Career Fair on November 9.

Upward Bound Summer 2023 incredibly successful. UB Scholars were on the WMHS campus taking courses in Math, Science, Coding, Latin, Legal Systems, Post-secondary Planning, and SAT/ACT prep. They dissected cow eyeballs, created video games, took practice SATs, and worked on college essays. They also learned to be team players and work together. We went to Howell Nature Center Ropes Course, visited MSU and U of M, golfed at TopGolf, learned about Detroit history on a river cruise, and those that completed all the summer requirements earned an incentive trip to visit our neighbors in Toronto, where they participated in many cultural and educational activities.

19 of our 60 students also participated in external summer programs including: National History Academy, Graphic Design at Lawrence Tech, Engineering at Santa Clara University, Medical Careers at Johns Hopkins, and Regional Center for Math & Science at University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.

We are starting the 2023/2024 school year out strong. We toured University of Michigan-Dearborn, will be visiting Eastern Michigan University soon, and were proud to host an admissions representative from Yale University. In October, we will be hosting visits from the Regional Center for Math & Science at University of Wisconsin, Green Bay and the Distinguished Young Women of Michigan organization, will experiencing the Ofrendas exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and coordinating with CCR to facilitate a trip to the Just Build It Career Expo.

Our fall recruitment presentation efforts thus far have yielded approximately 200 students interested in applying to our Upward Bound program, which will be followed up with goal-setting meetings in October.

Our UB seniors are impressing us already with their college application efforts, and have already began collecting acceptances.

Contact us at 734-419-2084