Panther Print for Parents 🐾

CONGRATULATIONS to the following Panthers who have been nominated as Students of the Month for May 2025! Nominees where announced today and winners at each grade level will be announced on Thursday!

Freshmen: Erica Burgos, Karina Short, Katelynn Brown, Jonah Robart, Ava Thomas, Lily Collins, Payton Yeske, Lilliana Kirby, Bryce Strong, Chris Murphy, Brooklyn Smith, Mattie Medlin, and Ava Bentley

Sophomores: Jayden Reed, Kylin Blackston, Shelby Schlipp, Kyle Domingo-Sturgeon, Hailey Adams, Claire Moore, Makena Guzman, Katelynn Kostrzewa, Aaron Alvarado, Mackenzie Birmele, Sofia De Veras Quaresma, Liz Torres, Jaqueline Brito-Lorenzo, Olivia Mitchell, Cayden Ryan, and Gabe Shotts.

Juniors: Isabella Bultema, William Sherrard, Riley Smith, Sienna Bulat, Ella Isbrecht, Issabella Sanchez, Sukhpreet Singh, Ava Sprague, Jaylee Havenaar, Keira Tremblay, Ella Isbrecht, Jacob Shunkwiler, Taylor Green, and Destiny Lynch

All students will be required to turn in a chrome book and charger after their last exam and before leaving the building for the summer. This applied to all students, even those attending summer school. Students attending summer school will receive a new device on the first day of summer school. Any student not able to turn in a charger will be charged $30. Please talk with your child and make sure that he/she has both a chrome book and a charger that can be turned in before the end of the school year.

Encourage your child to empty out his/her locker during the last week of school. Any items left in lockers after 11:40 AM on Friday, June 6th will be discarded or donated. Student can earn a clean locker ticket from any teacher during the last week of school and redeem in the office for a treat.

College Bound Michigan brings together three statewide high school initiatives — Michigan College Month, College Cash Campaign, and College Decision Day — into one campaign to build and support college-going cultures in high schools and their surrounding communities. This program helps school counselors, college advisers, community-based partners, and other educators create systems and practices that connect all students with the opportunity for formal education beyond high school, including postsecondary certificates and academic degrees.

MICHIGAN COLLEGE MONTH

Michigan College Month is part of the American College Application Campaign, a national initiative with the goal to provide every graduating high school senior the opportunity to apply to college and for financial aid. Special focus is placed on assisting students who would be the first in their families to attend college and students who may not have otherwise seriously considered applying to college. Michigan College Month can open the door for students by encouraging them to take the most significant steps toward college in their senior year. Michigan College Month emphasizes the relationship between applying to and paying for college and helps break down some of the most complex and commonly cited barriers to attending college.

COLLEGE CASH CAMPAIGN

College Cash Campaign is the second stage of College Bound Michigan. This stage begins on Dec. 1 and lasts until May 1. During these months, CBMI sites are focused on helping students finish college applications, submit the FAFSA, apply for scholarships, and determine how they will pay for college. When financial aid packages are received by students, someone must be available to walk through what it means with them.

COLLEGE DECISION DAY

College Decision Day is inspired by the NCAA's National Signing Day to reinforce the idea that excellence in the classroom should be given as much pomp and circumstance as excellence as an athlete. NCAA's National Signing Day is when high school seniors sign a letter of intent to play sports at a specific college. Traditionally, players participate in press conferences to announce their intentions. Our goal is to mimic this excitement for ALL students going to college. College Decision Day is Michigan's adoption of National College Signing Day, a program of Former First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative which now sits with Better Make Room at The Common Application.

College Decision Day at its core is a celebration of students' success and their commitment to continuing education after high school, and it is designed to help foster and promote a college-going culture within the school building. CBMI sites are encouraged to celebrate the postsecondary decisions of ALL of their graduating seniors, regardless of if they include education right away. The goal is that through completing programming in alignment with CBMI, all seniors have been presented with college as an option for their future.

These are our goals for the Class of 2026!

• Set a goal to have 100% of your seniors complete a college application.
• Provide dedicated space, time, and support for students to complete college applications during the school day at the school building.
• Help students begin their FAFSA.
• Engage underclassmen in thinking about the steps to college before their senior year.

Earlier this year, State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice asked local school district leaders to nominate students for participation on the Michigan Department of Education Student Advisory Council for the 2025-2026 school year.

Congratulations to Julian Cardoso and McKaylen Laws, who were nominated as someone whose perspective would add value to this group by Principal Christina Powers. They now have the opportunity to apply to serve on the MDE Student Advisory Council.

In 2025-26, the council will convene monthly with department leaders to continue to provide student perspective and feedback on new or ongoing MDE initiatives and efforts.

At each meeting, members will learn from one another, work on council projects and efforts, hear more about the work of the department, and provide student perspective and feedback to inform new or ongoing MDE initiatives and efforts.

Each year council members have input in determining the council’s focus for the year. Initially the council worked to create a safe spaces guidance document for school and district leaders, to share ways that schools can create environments in which all students feel welcome and develop a strong sense of belonging. This past year, each council member self-selected to join a workgroup that addressed one of the council’s 2024-25 focus areas, determined by council members: implementation of safe spaces in local schools, mental health and student engagement, diverse literature, comprehensive history instruction, and green schools.

MDE values and looks forward to representatives bringing their diverse lived experiences to the conversations, this includes, but is not limited to, diversity of ethnicity, geography, disability, native language, socioeconomic status, and academic programming.

Watervliet Public Schools announces that the district will accept applications from non-resident students for the Fall Semester of the 2025-2026 school year beginning August 25, 2025. The application period will remain open until June 6, 2025.

To be eligible for Schools of Choice, applicants must be a resident of a district within an intermediate school district contiguous to the boundaries of the educating district's intermediate school district. Transportation will not be provided for non-resident students. The non-resident applicant's district of residence will be asked to provide information for evaluating the student's application. Watervliet Public Schools may refuse to enroll a non-resident applicant who has been expelled and/or suspended within the preceding two years from school or has a poor attendance record at their resident district.

If the number of qualified non-resident applicants exceeds the en- enrollment allotments available, the district will use a random draw system that complies with State & Federal anti-discrimination laws.

Applications not accepted by the random draw will be placed on a waiting list.

The following grade level openings are available for the 2025-26 School Year:

Young 5's / Kindergarten: 50
Grade 1: 17
Grade 2: 3
Grade 3: 0
Grade 4: 0
Grade 5: 3
Grade 6: 10
Grade 7: 15
Grade 8: 10
Grade 9: 30
Grade 10: 20
Grade 11: 30
Grade 12: 0

W-A-Y Program Open Enrollment

To obtain an application form or for further information contact Deah Muth at 463-0300 or stop by the Superintendent's office located in Watervliet High School.

School of Choice: If you are a student that is NOT currently enrolled and lives outside of the Watervliet School District this is for you. Select for the School of Choice Application

The Watervliet WAY High School is a virtual program that has a physical location for students. It gives high school aged students an alternative learning opportunity to earn a High School Diploma. Select for the W-A-Y Watervliet High School Application

2025-2026 Final Forms Registration is Opening Soon!

Attention all Watervliet High School and Middle School students interested in athletics!

Mark your calendars – Final Forms will officially open for the entire 2025-2026 sports year this Sunday, June 15th! This is where you'll complete all the necessary paperwork to get cleared for participation.

Especially for our Fall Sports Athletes: To ensure you're fully eligible and ready for practices and tryouts, please make sure all your Final Forms are completed and your up-to-date physical is submitted no later than August 11th, 2025. Don't let a forgotten form keep you on the sidelines!

Access the platform and get started here: https://watervliet-mi.finalforms.com

The Bangor clinic offers free physicals to students but parents do need to call ahead and make an appointment, fill out forms, etc.

Underclassmen awards this year will be held in the evening so that more of our parent community can be in attendance. The annual awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd at 6 PM in the high school auditorium. You will receive a letter in the mail if your child is receiving an award.

If your child has a concern regarding anyone's safety in the building (student or staff), the Panther Hotline is an anonymous way to report the information to the building principal immediately. It is always preferred that the student come to the office to talk face to face about the concern, however if that is not possible, the Panther Hotline is the best way to get the information to building administration immediately. All students have been emailed this link. It is also posted around the school building.

https://forms.gle/iy8Nep5DZDjZYwsF7

Once completed, the information comes directly to the principal in the form of an email.