The Banks Bulletin

As a friendly reminder, 1st semester grades will be posted for viewing by the end of the day on Monday, January 26th, 2026. Please take a moment to celebrate your student's successes and point out points of pride. Remember, we are all a work in progress!

We look forward to celebrating as a school during our rescheduled Pep Assembly on Monday afternoon. Please remind students to sport their ALL OUT Blue and Orange Bulldog spirit!

Thank You,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

January

1/26- Schools of Choice Application Window OPENS

1/27- WIDA Testing Begins

1/27- SS Journeys

1/27- NJHS Meeting @ 3:10-4 PM

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 at WLC (See Flyer Below)

1/30- RESCEDULED: Pep Assembly in PM

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

Dear Banks Families:

The Chaldean Catholic observance of Ba'utha is Monday, January 26 through Wednesday, January 28.

In order to accommodate students who are fasting until 12:00 p.m. during Ba'utha, students who are actively fasting will have additional lunch options to ensure they can eat a meal.

Monday, January 26 and Tuesday, January 27: 6th grade fasting students may choose to attend 2nd lunch. Lunches for 7th and 8th grade students will not change.

Wednesday, January 28: This is a half day, so no lunches are served at school.

There will be a PA announcement and teachers will be informed as to the exact details. There are meatless options available daily in our cafeteria, but additional options will be offered throughout Ba'utha.

Parents of students who are fasting are asked to discuss this with their students, and students who are not fasting are asked to stay in class.

Please reach out to your student's counselor if you have any questions or concerns. We wish those who observe Ba'utha a meaningful celebration. More information on Ba'utha is available at this website.

Sarah G. Banks Middle School strives to be a helpful and culturally-inclusive atmosphere. Students with special dietary needs are encouraged to speak with cafeteria staff, including our Cafeteria Manager Mrs. Ann Voss.

Sincerely,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

Wrestling

The Bulldogs wrestled Power Middle School in the home opener Thursday afternoon winning 152-18. The crowd was electric as the wrestlers dominated match after match. Leading the way for the team were: AJ Jackson, Joseph Rott, Leo and Sal Cadili, Demi Spencer, Blayde Wallace and Cooper McDermott. The dual meet also included outstanding performances by athletes who went 2-0 on the night: Aidan VanWagnen, Pavlo Popko, Paul Ebiware, Jacob Badjie, and Nico Hurtado. The team returns to the mats for two away meets next week. Special thanks to the Banks Administration for all of their support and hard work to get the meet rolling.

Girls Basketball

The 7th grade girls basketball team had their first game as well as their first away game yesterday as they travelled out to Power Middle School. Banks started out strong with 6 quick points by Jojo, who also had many steals in the first period leading to quick layups. The points kept coming in the second and third periods for the Bulldogs with points from Sadie, Claire, Delilah and Iley with Banks taking a 28 to 8 lead at half. In the second half, Banks was able to work on their defense, which only allowed two points in the second half, to stop the Powers offense while getting points from Rawda and Pepper to win the game 42-10. The 7th grade girls will play at home on Monday against Warmer at 4PM.

8th Grade also took a win against Power MS, 28-18. The girls played hard, despite a few minor injuries, and showed a true team effort. They take on Warner home at 5:30 pm. Good luck, Bulldogs!

Swim/Dive

Lakes Valley Conference (LVC) Middle School Swim & Dive Championships held Jan. 22:

South Lyon 643

Walled Lake 566

Huron Valley 323

Leading the way and breaking new middle school swim records was Kosei Okano getting 4 first places in 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, and 400 free relay. Kosei ended the meet with a dramatic come from behind race to help the 400 freestyle relay to win. He earned All-Conference honors in all his events.

Also, swimming well and earning All-Conference honors were:

William Whitley, 3 first places and 1 third place

Anthony Corbin, 1 first place and 3 second places

Merabella Minoletti, 1 first place and 1 fourth place

Henry Parrow, 1 first place, 2 second places, and 1 fourth place

Brielle Sharland, 1 first place

Owen Luczak, 1 first place

Chris Lako, 1 second place

Aubrey Griffen, 1 second place and 1 third place

Walled Lake middle schools were well represented by all student-athletes from Banks, Smart, and Creek. Many worked hard throughout the season and it paid off with best times in the LVC championship meet.

Congratulations to Abhianshi Sharma, our 2026 Sarah Banks Spelling Bee winner!

Abhianshi went up against 26 competitors, 20 rounds, and over 130 words (including words like Abusson, hors d’oeuvres, wainscoting), with the winning word being cognitive.

As with all other school spelling bee winners, Abhianshi will compete at the Oakland Schools Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on March 14, 2026.

Thank you to Mrs. Harmsworth for being our officially pronouncer, Mr. Yu and Mrs. Smith for their leadership, implementation and judging and Mrs. Keating for mentoring and judging.

We are so proud of all our contestants for competing! It's a beautiful day to be a Banks Bulldog!

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