The Banks Bulletin

Monday, January 19 is the annual WLCSD Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at Walled Lake Northern High School (6000 Bogie Lake Rd, Commerce Township). Light snacks and refreshments will be served at 5:30, with the Celebration beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Celebration attendees are encouraged to donate two (or more) non-perishable food items or $5 per person to Hospitality House. There will be collection boxes at the Walled Lake Northern entrances. Financial donations can be made at www.HHFP.org. Be sure to note "WLCSD" in your donation memo.

Thank you for all of your support and participation. I am confident that collectively, our District has done tremendous good in honor of Dr. King.

Thank You,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

January

1/19- No School for Staff or Students, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/19- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration; 5:30pm at WLN

1/20- Updated: Semester 1 Ends

1/21- Updated: Semester 2 Begins

1/21- CoEd Swim- Away

1/21- Wrestling vs. Power MS @ 4 PM- Home

1/21- Girls Basketball (BB) vs. Power MS @ 4 PM- Away

1/23- Pep Assembly

1/26- Wrestling vs. Warner MS @ 4 PM- Away

1/26- Girls BB vs. Warner MS @ 4 PM- Home

1/26- Schools of Choice Application Window OPENS

1/28- Half Day for Students, Staff Professional Development

1/29- Wrestling vs. Creek MS @ 4 PM- Away

1/29- Girls BB vs. Creek MS @ 4 PM- Home

A Look Ahead

February

2/11: Count Day

2/12: Name of Love Tour

2/16-2/20: Mid-winter Break, No School for Staff or Students

Wrestling

Please purchase your spirit wear soon! The window closes Saturday, January 17th. https://eagraphics.com/banksbulldogs/shop/home

The first match is at home vs. Power Middle School on Wednesday, January 21st starting at 4:00 p.m. Students may not participate if pay to participate hasn't been paid for this season and if they do not have a physical on file with the school dated after April 15, 2025. For all other details, contact Coach Vaughan at teachdvaug@gmail.com.

Girls Basketball

The first match is away at Power Middle School on Wednesday, January 21st starting at 4:00 p.m. Students may not participate if pay to participate hasn't been paid for this season and if they do not have a physical on file with the school dated after April 15, 2025. For all other details, contact Coach Rickens (6/7) at AlexRickens@wlcsd.org or Coach Meyer (8) at RobertMeyer@wlcsd.org.

Swim/Dive

The final meet of the season is next Wednesday starting at 6:00 p.m. For location and further details, please contact Coach Oxner at coachoxner@gmail.com. Thank you to all of the athletes and families for a wonderful season!

Sports Eligibility: Academic Requirements

We take great pride in our sports programs and are extremely proud of our athletes. However, our Bulldogs are student-athletes, and being a student is every athlete's first priority. In order to be eligible to participate in athletic events, students must be passing 4 of 6 of their classes by Friday of each week to be eligible to play the following week. Additionally, students must be present for at least half of the school day on the day of meets/matches to participate in that meet/match. Stay focused and driven in and out of the classroom, that's the Bulldog Way!

Under the direction of Mr. Colin Kuss, our Vocal Music classes enjoyed a combined concert with Walnut Creek Middle School and special guests from the Walled Lake Western program. It was a beautiful evening filled with uplifting and powerful performances!

In exciting news, Sarah Banks is officially on Instagram! 🎉

Thank you to our Student Council for spreading the positive! We would love your support. Please give us a follow and feel free to like, comment, or repost to help spread the word. The more engagement, the more school spirit we can share.

PTSA Reflections

A huge thank you to all of our Bulldogs who entered this year's PTSA Reflections program! We received a lot of entries representing and the following entries are our school winners who moved on to the district level of the competition:

• Dance Choreography: Ava Lengel

• Film Production: Tanishka Gollaratti & Sofia Lengel

• Literature: Natalie Arnold, Khloe Bagley, Finnerty Payne, & Aly Yates

• Music Composition: Nicholas Heuvers & Samantha Shaia

• Photography: Malena Mehs

• Visual Arts: Khloe Bagley, Sanmish Dhar, Marcela Montessi Franzoi, & Ishani Panja

Over the winter break, the district PTSA completed their round of judging and the following Sarah Banks students identified below will be moving on to the state level of Reflections.

Congratulations to everyone who participated! We look forward to recognizing our school and district winners at the district Reflections celebration on Monday, March 23 at 6:30pm at Walled Lake Western High School.

D.C. Trip Update

At this moment, all of the seats on the D.C. trip have been filled and we are moving onto a waitlist. All families interested in attending the D.C. trip should sign up for the waitlist and if/when students drop from the trip, we will fill those open seats from the waitlist first on a first come, first serve basis. To sign up for the waitlist, you MUST register through the Academic Expeditions trip portal; however, no payment will be required until you are moved to the main list. Please contact Mr. Yu with any questions you may have (TorryYu@wlcsd.org).

Sarah Banks has a Ski & Snowboard Club where student members and their families can receive HUGE discounts on lift tickets, rentals, and lessons. The club will meet at Alpine Valley on Thursday evenings in January and February (between Winter Break and Mid-Winter Break) and the staff sponsor is Mrs. Chelsea Schikora. Packets and order forms are copied and available in the black flyer holders in both the Main office and outside of the attendance office for kids to pick up.

Ski & Snowboard Club will meet on Thursday nights Jan 8th - Feb 12th (6 weeks, weather-permitting) at Alpine Valley. Families can purchase their club cards at any time to receive discounts on lift tickets prior to the start of our club season.

Banks is pleased to offer FREE tutoring and homework help to students for their Math and Language Arts classes. This tutoring will be provided by Banks teachers!

Students and families are expected to ensure:

• Students report in person, at scheduled times. Students may be removed from the program for "no-shows".
• Students bring all materials they need for tutoring.

Tutoring sessions will be 45 minute sessions. Please fill out the form below for your student to be considered for free, Teacher-Led Tutoring and Homework help this year.

Tutoring will start the week of November 10, 2025

Please fill out a separate form for each child.

After submitting this form, your information will be passed on to the appropriate grade level/subject area tutor(s). Mrs. Harmsworth will then contact you at the email address provided on this form with the tutoring details for your child. You may get a separate email for each tutoring session you sign up for.

The Walled Lake Marching Band and Color Guard will be holding an informational meeting and ice cream social for prospective new members and parents on February 3rd at 7:00 PM in the Walled Lake Central Band Room. Any Creek, Banks, WLC, or WLW students are eligible to participate in color guard for 2026. All skills will be taught, and this multi-state championship organization welcomes anyone interested!

For more information, please email:

• Mr. Grant Prater, Director of Bands - WLC grantprater@wlcsd.org
• Mr. Michael Wolf, Director of Bands - WLW michaelwolf@wlcsd.org

The In-District Transfer Request Application period for the 2026-27 school year is from January 5 until January 30 at 4 p.m.

As long as you continue to reside in the district, approved transfers at the elementary level expire once your child completes 5th grade, middle school transfers expire once your child completes 8th grade, and high school transfers are good through graduation. You must apply for a transfer at each level if you want your child to attend a school not assigned to your address.

The Special Services Parent Advisory Committee is sponsoring an Inclusion event in an effort to increase awareness of Unified Sports & Unified Champion Schools, further promote inclusion throughout the District, and celebrate Walled Lake Staff.

The highlight of the Inclusion event is a Unified basketball game featuring school administration and school board members supporting our Unified athletes. The event also includes appreciation stations for staff and educational sessions to inform and inspire the school community about the values and impact of Unified Sports.

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.

I am grateful to live in a community where support is provided to families in need. Hospitality House is a food pantry feeding those in need in Oakland and Wayne Counties and the surrounding Michigan communities. Whether you participated last year and would like weekend food service to continue or are interested in joining for the first time, please complete the Google Form linked below and provide us with the following information by September 26:

• Number of students participating
• Any food allergies for each student

Also, please note the following:

• First delivery of weekend food bags to the school is Thursday, October 9th
• Deliveries will continue every Friday for the remainder of the school year

We have much to be thankful for, and the partnership we share with our families and the community organizations is one to celebrate.

Please consider the safety of our entire Bulldog Community when you are dropping off or picking up your students. Following the procedures at SLOW SPEEDS is the best way to keep everyone safe. Say long good byes while you are driving to school. When dropping off, make sure your student is prepared to exit the car quickly. Families who are prepared for this will help ensure more efficient traffic flow.

• Front Parking Lot Closed Daily, 7:45–8:10 AM
  To promote safe, calm arrivals, the front lot will be blocked to vehicles during this window. Inconsistent use of the lot has created unsafe drop-off situations. This procedure eliminates those risks.
• Bus Loop Closed Until All Buses Unload
  The bus loop is not open to cars during arrival or dismissal. Please do not park or leave your vehicle in the loop. Timing may vary slightly day to day based on bus arrivals.
• . In the event that you need to pick-up early, you must do so before 2:40 p.m.

How you can help:

• Please use district busing as the primary mode of transportation whenever possible.
• Use the pick-up/drop-off line only if you live outside the busing limits.
• Carpool when possible.
• Have backpacks zipped, instruments ready and goodbyes said before unloading to keep lines moving safely. When dropping off, make sure your student is prepared to exit the car quickly.
• Pull all the way forward even after dropping off to help ensure more efficient traffic flow.
• Refrain from cutting through the parking lot. Refer to the map below and adhere to it.
• Unload at all 6 spots-do not wait until you get to spot #1 to unload

In a world dominated by instant communication, cell phones can be a major distraction during the school day. At Sarah Banks Middle School, our goal is not to limit contact between students and families, but to promote responsible and appropriate use of technology in an academic setting.

Policy Overview:

• Student cell phones must remain in lockers throughout the school day.
• If a student needs to contact a parent or guardian, they must do so through the attendance office.
• Students are not permitted to text or call parents directly during school hours, including when they are feeling unwell or need something.
• In alignment with a district-wide directive, iPads are not permitted at school this year. If used during the school day, iPads will be treated the same as cell phones and subject to the same consequences.

Consequences for Cell Phone Use During the School Day:

• 1st Violation: Phone is confiscated and held in the office until the end of the day. Parents will be contacted with a reminder of the policy and informed of next steps for future incidents.
• 2nd Violation: Phone is confiscated and must be picked up by a parent or guardian in person.
• Repeated Violations: May result in progressive disciplinary action.

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.

At Banks, we believe that a strong school community is built on three essential values: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. These principles guide everything we do—how we treat one another, how we approach learning, and how we care for our environment.

Being respectful means showing kindness, listening to others, and valuing differences. It’s about treating classmates, teachers, and staff with dignity and courtesy.

Being responsible means owning your actions, making good choices, and doing your part—whether it’s completing assignments, following school rules, or helping others.

Being safe means looking out for yourself and those around you. It means using technology wisely, moving through the building calmly, and speaking up when something doesn’t feel right.

When we live by these values, we create a school where everyone can thrive. Let’s work together to make Banks a place where respect, responsibility, and safety are at the heart of everything we do.

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

Anthony McNamara

Assistant Principal: anythonymcnamara@wlcsd.org

Jennifer Dean

Assistant Principal's Secretary: jenniferdean@wlcsd.org

Kevin Zurro

Student Success Coordinator: kevinzurro@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