The Banks Bulletin

Dear Banks Families:

It was so wonderful to see our students following the break, and what a great week it has been! We are so proud of our students for being safe, respectful and responsible each and every day. We recently learned that seven PTSA Reflections entries will advance to state level competition! Congratulations to the students identified below!

The Geisler/Banks swim team had an exciting win over Creek and Smart Wednesday night, and we look forward to the start of the girls basketball and wrestling. We had a wonderful time celebrating our Banks and district middle school Teacher of the Year on Thursday evening, Mrs. Chelsea Schikora!

Please join us for the Banks PTSA meeting beginning at 6:30 PM on Monday, January 13th.

As a reminder, the second marking period ends on Friday, January 17th, so it is a good time to take a look at your child's grades in Skyward to help ensure they finish the first semester strong!

Best of luck to our orchestra members participating in the Day of Strings at Walled Lake Central this weekend!

Cheers,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

We Are Banks!

January

1/11: Orchestra Day of Strings

1/13: Banks PTSA Meeting@ 6:30 PM

1/15: Swimming vs. Waterford @ 6 PM, Away

1/16: Tornado Drill

1/17: End of Second Marking Period

1/17: End of First Semester

1/20: No School for Students, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/20: 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration at WL Northern

1/21: Second Semester Begins

1/22: Girls Basketball vs. Oak Valley @ 4 PM, Away

1/22: Swim Meet @ 6 PM, Away

1/23: Wrestling vs. Oak Valley @ 4 PM, Home

1/23: Spelling Bee @ 3 PM

1/23: Art Show @ 5:30-6:30 PM, ESC

1/25: Report Cards Available to View

1/27: Girls Basketball vs. Walnut Creek @ 4 PM, Away

1/27: Wrestling vs. Walnut Creek @ 4 PM, Home

1/29: Half Day for Students, Staff for Professional Development

Walled Lake Schools 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Walled Lake Northern High School on Monday, January 20th beginning at 5:00 p.m.

This year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration theme is Unity.

“Unity in diversity is unity between all individuals and groups, regardless of differences. It is unity without uniformity, and diversity without divisiveness. It is an understanding that the differences between people enrich our lives and makes our country the special, and unique place it is”.

Our Winter II Athletic season has begun, and we are excited for our Girls basketball and Wrestling teams that started practice this week! Competitions will begin the week of January 20. Go Bulldogs!

The Swim team is off to a great start in 2025. The Geisler/Banks team had an exciting win over Creek and Smart Wednesday night. The team scored 118 points to their 40 points for the victory. Great job swimmers!

Looking ahead:

Track & Field Start Date: March 18. Sign-ups will begin the first week of March.

Seven PTSA Reflections entries will advance to state level competition!

Congratulations to the Following:

Aadrita Saha- Literature - 8th grade

Ishani Panja - Photography - 6th grade

Nicholas Heuvers - Music- 7th grade

Kevin Rumija - Music - 8th Grade

Kenzie Gonwicha - Dance- 7th grade

Lily Barres - Visual Arts - 6th grade

Medelin Inch - Visual Arts - 7th grade

We are so proud of you!

We still have room for 4 more students to register for the trip. We are expecting these remaining spots to fill up quickly, so please don’t hesitate to register your child if you are still considering it. The deadline to register is Friday, January 31st or once those 4 available spots fill up, whichever occurs first. The American Expeditions Travel Website has been preset to waitlist any new registrations after those 4 spots fill up. If you register, be sure to purchase the CFAR (Cancel for any Reason) insurance option. We’d love to have your child join us on this memorable experience!

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. When you register, you will need to pay the initial deposit on the trip portal and the required CFAR insurance.

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.

Do you have a child who takes pride in their spelling abilities? Would they like to test those abilities in a school-wide spelling bee with other Banks students? If so, then they should enter the Sarah Banks Scripps Spelling Bee that will take place after school on Thursday, January 23rd. All interested students should obtain a permission slip from the Attendance Office and return it to the same office no later than Friday, January 10th. Those who return a signed permission slip will receive a list of study words to help them prepare for the School Bee. The sooner they turn in their permission slip, the sooner they can obtain the list of study words to prepare for the spelling bee. So be sure to pick up a permission slip from the Attendance Office as soon as possible.

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

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.

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