WBHS Update

Hello Laker Nation,

West Bloomfield High School staff and students would like to recognize the WBSD Board of Education for their passionate and meaningful work on behalf of our school and community. As board members, these individuals share their time, energy, and dedication with us to ensure a strong learning environment and to support the work of our wonderful educators and students. Thank you so much to the WBSD Board of Education.

At WBHS we are committed to student learning and classroom environments that support this work. In an effort to continue to improve, we are going to focus on students being on time to class. Starting next week, we will be conducting random hall sweeps after classes have started, to identify students remaining in the hallways after classes begin. The first time this occurs, we will discuss the importance of being on time and send students to class. If a student is caught in this again, they may be subject to disciplinary action including, but not limited to, after school detention. Our goals is to have students in class on time, and we hope to have no students receiving consequences.

Please help us with our goals by reminding students that hoods and ski masks cannot be worn indoors at any time. We need to be able to visually identify people in person, and on camera, to keep our school safe and secure. Hoods and ski masks make it very difficult for us to identify who is in our building. Thank you for your support.

Now that winter is officially upon us, please remember that school dismisses at 2:23 PM and students must be off campus or in a supervised sport, activity, rehearsal, or club by 2:45 PM. If a student is in an IN-SEASON activity, they may check in with a staff member in Laker Commons, across from the cafeteria, by 2:45 for supervision. Students who are not involved in an after school activity must leave by this time. Thank you for helping keep our school safe by complying with this request.

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 2:00, the release time must be before 2:00
• 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

Here are answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Key points:

• This is not a tax increase. This is a renewal of an existing millage.
• The non-homestead millage proposal is only for non-homestead properties, like commercial, business, rental properties, vacant land, and second-home property owners. This portion does not impact primary residence.
• This makes up approximately 17% of our annual budget.

• There is an Operating Millage Renewal FAQ on the district website that contains facts about the ballot proposal.

Here is the actual ballot language:

West Bloomfield School District Operating Millage Renewal Proposal

This proposal will allow the school district to maintain the number of mills required to be levied for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance and renews millage that will expire with the 2024 tax levy.

Shall the currently authorized millage rate limitation of 18.6967 mills ($18.6967 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, and 4.6587 mills ($4.6587 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) against principal residences, qualified agricultural property, qualified forest property, supportive housing property, property occupied by a public school academy, industrial personal property and commercial personal property, in West Bloomfield School District, Oakland County, Michigan, be renewed for a period of 10 years, 2025 to 2034, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect from combined property taxes authorized herein if the millage is approved and levied in 2025 is approximately $13,371,684 (this is a renewal of millage that will expire with the 2024 tax levy)?

Distribution of factual materials about the operating millage are paid for by West Bloomfield School District, 5810 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield, Ml 48324, 248-865-6490.

Soon you will be registering for classes for next school year. Take time to consider Professional Apprenticeship. Professional Apprenticeship is a community initiative designed to give 11th and 12th graders an experiential, authentic learning experience in a professional field. You will serve two diverse, semester long professional internships. This initiative aims to give you a first-hand glimpse of the challenges and rewards that a professional career has to offer.

Internship Area Possibilities:

Legal Internships

(working at law firms or with judges)

Political Internships

(working with government officials or on political campaigns)

Education Internships

(working with teachers or administrators)

Business/Community Organization Internships

(working with professionals at companies or non-profits)

If you are interested, please complete the Professional Apprenticeship application form: By Friday, January 26th

In addition to the other classes that require applications, Yearbook is a 100% student-run publication, with Ms. Dutton as your staff adviser, Ms. Nadler as your co-adviser, and two editors who drive the production of the book. In this class, you will design pages, photograph events, write stories and captions, create marketing plans, and so much more.

Applications to be a part of the Yearbook Staff are due to Ms. Dutton by February 5th.

For the 2023-24 school year, the State of Michigan created the Michigan School Meals Program allowing all students to receive one free breakfast and lunch meal daily at school, no matter their free/reduced meal status. However, filling out a free/reduced meal form is very important to families who are eligible and for the District to receive funding.

Family Benefits for Qualifying for Free/Reduced Meals

When families qualify for free/reduced price meals, students may be eligible for the following benefits:

• Reduced Summer School fees

• Reduced field trip fees with request

• Reduced SAT, ACT and AP testing fees

• Reduced college application fees

• Potential additional benefits for Bridge Cards/P-EBT

• Potential support for household cable/internet

• Potential programs that provide holiday support
  
  

West Bloomfield School District Benefits for Qualifying Free/Reduced Meal Families

Did you know the federal government uses the number of free/reduced meal eligible students to determine how much money the district receives in grant funding?

• West Bloomfield School District becomes eligible for Federal funds (Title I) when qualifying families fill out their free/reduced meal applications. If families do not fill out their forms, the District is at risk of losing funding for staff who provide critical services to our students.
  
  

Visit the application page to view the complete the application today!

À La Carte Items

Students are welcome to bring meals from home and purchase à la carte items as needed (including milk, second meals, bottled beverages and snack items).

Free Lunch Application

On Saturday, the Lakers made the long trip out to Dexter High School for dual against the home team that came down to the final match.

We’d like to congratulate head coach Greg Alessi for earning his 500th career dual meet win on Saturday! It’s a monumental accomplishment and we’re proud to have him at the helm.

Congraulations also to Julian Brenner and Alex Walton, who both earned medals for going 5-0 for the day.

Team Scores:

WB 6, Three Rivers 60

WB 58, Howell 6

WB 66, Wayne Memorial 9

WB 17, Fowlerville 48

WB 33, Dexter 43

Next up for the Lakers: A varsity tournament this Saturday at Flint Southwestern, and a JV & Girls tournament at Warren Fitzgerald. Both start at 9am on 1/27. Go Lakers!

Student planners are available for purchase in the WBHS Counseling Office for only $5! If you're looking for a way to keep students on track without using their phones, this is an inexpensive option.

• Help with Canvas
• www.wbsd.org/academics/classroom-to-cloud/canvas or
• canvashelp@wbsd.org
• Help with Chromebook: www.wbsd.org/departments/technology
• Help with PowerSchool: www.wbsd.org/parents/powerschool

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.

If your child is a student (3 to 26 years of age) in the West Bloomfield Schools, s/he can also participate in the 2023-24 Blessings in a Backpack program.

This program sends six non-perishable meals home each Friday of the school year. Its goal is to make sure that no child goes hungry on the weekend. Run by volunteers, there is NO cost to you.

To enroll in this program, please fill out this form and return it to your school office or email it to katherinesheiko@hotmail.com. This registers your child/ren in the Blessings program and alerts us to any allergies they might have. The first backpack of food will be distributed to your child at his/her local school the first week of October.

• 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.