We hope you'll review this week's District Update filled with news and notes from across the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Stay up to date with the district by visiting www.wlcsd.org and connecting with the district on social media.

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• Feb. 14: Schools of Choice Application Deadline
• Feb. 17-21: Mid-Winter Break - no school for students or staff
• Feb. 24: PTSA Council meeting at Pleasant Lake Elementary
• Feb. 25: ESC Art Show - COM, OPE, GMS, and WLW student artists
• March 3: 8th Grade Family Night at all three high schools
• March 6: Board of Education meeting

Whether you're going on a vacation or enjoying a stay-cation or going on a vacation, we want to know how you are spending your Mid-Winter Break!

Share your Mid-Winter Break photos with us for a chance to be featured on social media! Email your photos to info@wlcsd.org or tag us on social media along with the hashtag #WEareWLCSD.

Bonus points if you're representing the district by wearing your school's gear!

Walled Lake Northern junior Mikayla Ratliff was recognized as the 2024 Meijer State Games of Michigan Youth Female Athlete of the Year.

”I am honored and grateful for this opportunity showing my hard work and passion to hockey,” said Ratliff.

Ratliff, who’s a captain of the Walled Lake Wild, shined as a member of the bronze medal winning team in the Meijer State Games of Michigan Summer Games, as well as named All-State Honorable Mention and to the All-State Academic team in 2024.

Ratliff has been playing hockey since she was five. In addition to playing, she also is a USA Hockey Level 3 official. Ratliff referees for the Great Lakes Hockey Official Program, where she has been able to gain valuable experience while working with younger players and give back to the game of hockey.

Ratliff aspires to play hockey collegiately when she graduates from Walled Lake Northern in 2026 while pursuing a degree in sports broadcasting.

Read more about our three finalists on the district website.

Four elementary and two middle school students will compete in the Oakland Schools Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 1, at Oakland University.

Among the five that will represent Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is Sarah G. Banks eighth grader Tara Matti, who advanced to the regional competition for the second-straight year. James R. Geisler eighth grader Setya Asadian is only other district middle schooler in field. The four others students competing are all in fifth grade: Mya Deddeh (Meadowbrook), Yukino Miura (Oakley Park), Prahlad Narasimhan (Mary Helen Guest), and Daniel Onyejekwulum (Hickory Woods).

The Oakland Schools Regional Spelling Bee winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May. This year Scripps is also celebrating its 100th anniversary of the National Spelling Bee.

Walled Lake Central received a shout out from CNN-10 anchor Coy Wire on Tuesday, February 11.

Jeff Penrod’s social studies class tuned in as Wire thanked them for making CNN-10 part of their day.

CNN-10 is a daily news show for students, 13 and older, who want to learn about current events and global issues in 10 minutes or less.

Take a short survey on your school and be entered for a chance to win $1,000. Open to students, parents, and recent alumni. Enter the survey by clicking here or in the graphic.

Deadline: February 28, 2025

Walled Lake Consolidated Schools’ Student Services secretaries, Tammy Hunter and Karen Toovalian, received Golden Apple Awards at the February 6, 2025 Board of Education meeting.

Hunter and Toovalian were nominated by Student Services supervisor, Patti Harthun, for being consistently positive and helpful in enrolling students, as well as researching ways to help the McKenny-Vento students in the district.

“Karen and Tammy consistently come in early, stay late, and work weekends to make sure students are enrolled efficiently and accurately,” said Harthun. “They work tirelessly to get as many kids into the classroom by the first day of school, knowing this is so important to incoming students who are new to the district.”

Continue reading on district website.

All current 8th grade students and their parents/guardians are invited to attend 8th Grade Families' Night (for incoming 9th graders) on Monday, March 3 at their future Walled Lake high school: Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, or Walled Lake Western. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. in the auditoriums at all three schools.

This event includes presentations from administration, counseling, and academic departments. Athletic teams, clubs, and activities will also be on-hand for students and families to learn more about extracurricular involvement in high school.

District attendance maps can be found at https://www.wlcsd.org/about-us/district-maps.

The purpose of the Irene Daniels Walled Lake PTSA Council Scholarship is to encourage worthy students to undertake a post-secondary course of study. The Council Scholarship Committee reviews applications and qualifications of students from Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Central, and Walled Lake Western High Schools and one winner from each school is selected every year. The PTSA Council bases some of the criteria of the scholarship on volunteerism, leadership, school activities/honors, and recommendations by counselors or teachers. The three students selected each receive $750 to use toward future educational costs.

Complete the application form on the Walled Lake PTSA webpage: https://www.wlcsd.org/families/ptsa-council/irene-daniels-scholarship

We would like to inform you about the required spring testing for all students in grades 9 through 11. This includes the PSAT 9, PSAT 10, and SAT with Essay exams. All of these exams have moved to a digital format and will be administered on school issued Chromebooks. Paper-and-pencil versions of the exams are no longer available. In addition, 11th-grade students will take the WorkKeys assessment of workplace skills, as well as the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) in Social Studies and Science.

Save the Date

Below are the important testing dates for your family calendar. Please make every effort to avoid scheduling appointments or planned absences on these days. All spring testing activities are graduation requirements for Walled Lake students. Students should bring fully charged Chromebooks for the dates below.

March 17 - March 21

• Grades 9, 10, 11 — Digital Readiness Check during English classes.

April 8

• 9th Grade — 7:15 a.m. PSAT 9 Exam (only 9th graders in the morning)
• Grades 10, 11, 12 - 11:15 a.m. Delayed start of school day.

April 9

• 11th Grade — 7:15 a.m. SAT Exam (only 11th graders in the morning)
• Grades 9, 10, 12 - 12:00 p.m. Delayed start of school day.

April 10

• 10th Grade — 7:15 a.m. PSAT 10 Exam
• 11th Grade — 7:15 a.m. WorkKeys Exam (paper & pencil)
• Grades 9, 12 - 11:30 a.m. Delayed start of school day.

Additional Things to Know about the online PSAT and SAT Exams

The SAT and PSAT exams have now gone fully digital, and are in their second year. Students will test on school issued Chromebooks and submit their test answers online at the end of testing.

Adaptive Testing in Two Modules

Both the PSAT and SAT exams are now adaptive, meaning the difficulty of questions changes based on the student's performance. The test is divided into two sections: Reading & Writing and Math. To help prepare, you can read more about the Digital SAT Adaptive Testing on the College Board website.

For Michigan students, the SAT with Essay includes a third written essay section. The SAT with Essay lasts about 3 ½ hours, while the PSAT-9 and PSAT-10 exams take about 2 ½ hours.

Changes to the Math Section

Calculator use is now permitted throughout the Math section of these exams. Students can bring their own approved handheld calculator or use the virtual graphing calculator integrated into the testing software.

Practice

We encourage students to take at least one full-length practice test at home to become familiar with the SAT/PSAT format and timing. During the Digital Readiness Check in March, students will receive a sign-in ticket with a code to access Bluebook, an app that allows students to take up to three full-length practice exams online. For more information, follow this link Full Length Practice Tests.

Parents Guide to the SAT

To learn more about what is tested on the SAT, how to register for additional SAT test dates, and how to send score reports to colleges, please visit the Parents Guide to the SAT on the College Board website.

Information regarding spring testing for the secondary level is listed below. Schools will be following up directly with families regarding any adjusted time schedules as part of these testing days:

• 8th Grade PSAT - April 15 | Delay start for 6th & 7th graders
• M-Step - April 21-24 | SMBS, WCMS
• M-Step - April 29 - May 2 | CHS
• M-Step - May 6-9 | GMS
• iReady - May 12-15 | GMS

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

The Shining Stars Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have supported the special needs community within Walled Lake Schools.

Love your child's bus driver? Nominate them.

Love your child's Unified coach or buddy? Nominate them!

Some of the qualities of the nominee might include: a positive attitude, dedication, dependability, self-motivation, helpfulness and more.

Nominees can be anyone associated with the special needs community: teacher, para, bus driver, aide,buddy, parent, coach, volunteer, etc. Nominate someone today using this link or the button below.

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Every nominee will be recognized and receive a Shining Stars Award at the ceremony on

May 22, 2025 at Walled Lake Central High School. There will be special performances during the ceremony that you won't want to miss! Community agencies will also be available to share their services and resources. Mark your calendar!

All nominations must be received on or before May 1, 2025.

Questions? Contact WalledLakePAC@gmail.com

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.

Please complete the following form in order to be considered for the Graduate Spotlight section of the WLCSD quarterly Learning newsletter. The nominated student needs to be a 2016 graduate or before. Please contact pamelacole@wlcsd.org with any questions.

Mar 13, 2025 7:00 PM EDT

Walled Lake Northern Unified Basketball Team

All Tickets Include:

• Access to the Pistons game
• Access to Unified games
• Unified Showcase Winter Beanie
• A donation to the Walled Lake Northern High School Unified Program

All Unified players are sitting in section 101.

Section 208 are for people who only plan to attend the Unified games and not the Pistons game later that night.

Timing:

11:30am - Doors Open

12:00pm - Berkley vs Clarkston

12:55pm - Northwestern vs Avondale

1:45pm - Walled Lake Northern vs Livonia Churchill

2:35pm - Northville Unified vs Hartland Unified

*You must have a ticket to the Pistons game to get access to the Unified games*

*If you DO NOT plan on attending the Pistons game, we encourage you to purchase the most affordable ticket possible*

*If you would like to purchase lower-level tickets, please contact Andy Myers at 313.771.7588 or amyers@pistons.com

• SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2025
  
• 10:00AM
  
• Benefiting Pediatric Cancer Research at U of M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
  
• Register or Donate at www.Passion-for-Life.org
• Downtown Walled Lake

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 everyday 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 Child Nutrition and Education Benefits Application 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 benefit programs including reduced registration fees for standardized testing, discounted college application fees, pay to participate, discounted home internet access, and more.

Our mission, in partnership with parents and the community, is to become the best educational system in America so all students demonstrate they are caring, responsible, and knowledgeable citizens.

Email: danieldurkin@wlcsd.org
Website: www.wlcsd.org
Location: 850 Ladd Road, Walled Lake, MI, USA
Phone: (248) 956-2000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wlcsd/
Twitter: @WalledLkSchools