Back-to-School Family Access Packet for 2024-25

The District will be using the online Family Access system to automate the process for updating and completing documents such as the emergency card, FERPA form, Code of Conduct and other important annual school forms that require parental approval. The 2024-25 Back-to-School Family Access Packet must be completed by parents, online, using Family Access, prior Smart Start on August 20th.

What Parents Need to Know...

Starting August 1, parents are to login to Family Access, using their alphanumeric parent account code, to complete the Back-to-School Family Access Packet.

• Need help enrolling? Contact the Office of Student Services at studentenrollment@wlcsd.org or (248) 956-2086.
• For bilingual assistance, contact Kallee Iverson at kalleeiverson@wlcsd.org or (248) 956-2093.
• To acquire a new or lost parent account code, email FamilyAccess@wlcsd.org.

CHS Middle School Smart Start will be on Tuesday, August 20th from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Smart Start is our middle school registration day for all students and you can come anytime between 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Students will get their locker assignments, schedules, books, student IDs and school pictures taken. School picture information will be shared shortly.

Students and family members also have an opportunity to walk around the school and locate their lockers and classrooms.

Please note that there is not a registration make up date if you cannot attend Smart Start. You can locate your child's schedule, locker number and combination through your Skyward Family Access Account. Picture retakes will take place later in the fall and your child can pick up their books the first day of school.

One of the best things about Smart Start is getting class schedules and finding out locker assignments. As students are getting their lockers set up and finding their classes for the first day of school, many like to personalize their locker. Some students choose to decorate with various shelving units, lights, chandeliers, and even the occasional "disco ball". These items can fun and help to personalize the space if a student chooses to do so. As the lockers have plenty of space, please keep in mind that they are lockers and not closets, so less decor may be best.

One type of decor that is NOT permitted inside or outside the locker at any time is contact paper/ wallpaper/ stickers. These items tend to be installed incorrectly causing the locking mechanisms to not work correctly and cause issues with opening and closing the locker. In addition, they are very difficult to remove at the end of year causing damage to the lockers.

Thank you for your help in making good decoration choices, if your child chooses to do so.

Please click on the above tab and join our CHS Middle School Remind 101 text group. You will receive helpful reminders, time sensitive information along with other pertinent texts.

*Reply @LEAVE to the number you are receiving messages from if you'd like to leave the text group at anytime.

I wanted to share that CHS Band Teacher, Ms. Jeannie Benson recently announced her retirement and that Resource Room Teacher, Ms. Ashley Sand will be moving to another middle school in our school district. I wish them the best moving forward and thank them for their contributions to our school community!

CHS Families and Students,

Hello! My name is Mike York and I am very excited for the opportunity to work with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band students at Clifford Smart Middle School this year. Prior to this year, I taught band at Geisler Middle School since 2014, and before that I taught on the west side of the state for 9 years. I’ve taught all levels of band, but working with middle school students is what I absolutely love best. I am so thrilled to continue this work within the Walled Lake School District. Outside of the band room, I love collecting vinyl records, cooking for my family, and doing graphic design projects on the side. My wife Mandy is a music teacher as well and we have two daughters (Penelope and Rosemary) who attend schools nearby in Huron Valley. I know that I have very big shoes to fill, but I am very excited to meet you all and make great music together! I will be in touch, but if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at michaelyork@wlcsd.org.

Dear Parents,

This message is for parents who will have children in 6th grade band classes this year. You may delete this message if your child will not be taking band.

Welcome to the band program at Clifford Smart Middle School! One of the first goals is to make sure that each student has an instrument and all necessary equipment for 6th grade band.

Instrument rentals – please reserve band rentals by August 16:

Walled Lake partners with Marshall Music as our school service provider, and we recommend their rent-to-own program for your child’s instrument. Marshall Music uses the recommended instruments and equipment. Maintenance and insurance is included free of charge, and a Marshall Music representative visits Walled Lake Schools weekly for all service needs.

Rental agreements can be completed online at www.marshallmusic.com/rentals. All necessary supplies for the beginning of the year will be included in the rental and accessory package, except for a few small items which we will detail once the school year begins. It is important that you fill out your rental agreement before August 16 to guarantee delivery to the school at the start of the year.

Information for families who are not renting:

If you already have an instrument or will be borrowing from CHS, you will need to purchase an accessory package for your child’s instrument. Marshall Music provides these accessory packages for a discount and has set up a Walled Lake specific page on their online store. Visit their online store HERE and scroll to the very bottom of the page to view the accessory packages for flute, clarinet, trumpet, or trombone. They are labeled: “WALLED LAKE (SMART CLARINET, FLUTE, TRUMPET, or TROMBONE) PACKAGE 2024”. Please note that if you are purchasing the trumpet package, you will also need to purchase a bottle of valve oil (Labeled “Marshall Music Premium Valve Oil $4.99”) in addition to the accessory package.

A limited number of school-owned instruments and supplies are available to loan to families who are unable to rent/purchase an instrument due to financial hardship. If you need to borrow an instrument from CHS Middle School, please contact Mr. York (michaelyork@wlcsd.org) so that we can reserve an instrument for you.

If you plan on purchasing an instrument from a source other than Marshall Music, please email Mr. York first to ensure you are purchasing a quality instrument. There are many off-brand instruments available on the internet at a considerable cost-savings, but in our experience, these instruments rarely play in tune, break easily, and in many cases are not repairable. We are happy to help you find an instrument that is high quality and will be reliable for your child throughout their time in band.

Marshall Music will be able to answer your rental questions, but I am happy to answer any other questions you may have about 6th grade band. Please feel free to contact me via email.

I look forward to meeting your child on the first day of school!

Sincerely,

Mr. York

Clifford Smart Middle School Bands

michaelyork@wlcsd.org

Dear CHS Middle School Parents,

My name is Kellen Adler and I will be joining the CHS Middle School Staff this school year as a Resource Room Teacher. I was born and raised in Brighton and graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School. While in high school, I kept busy participating in football, wrestling, alpine skiing, band, drama club, and choir. I then attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio where I played football and graduated with a degree as an Intervention Specialist. I enjoy working with children and love seeing children work towards achieving their goals and dreams.

I look forward to a great upcoming school year!

Sincerely,

Mr. Kellen Adler

CHS Middle School Resource Room Teacher

KellenAdler@wlcsd.org

As we prepare for the start of the school year, we wanted to touch base with you regarding the process of administering medications to students at school.

Medications are administered at school under the supervision of our office staff. This includes BOTH prescription medications AND over the counter (ibuprofen, pain relievers, etc.) medications. BOTH types of medication require a completed and signed WLCSD medication authorization form by BOTH the parent/ guardian AND the child’s doctor.

For safety and confidentiality reasons, we will not be accepting medications at Smart Start. If you would like to drop off medications and the required documentation prior to the start of the school year, please contact our office secretary, Mrs. Tonya Gray, directly at 248-956-3512.

As you have questions about this process please give Mrs. Gray a call.

Our online Smart spirit wear store is now open! You can use above link to view items and purchase Smart spirit wear .

All selections and payments will be made through the online store provided by Ashgrove Marketing located in Wixom.

The online store will be open through August 26th. Ordered Items will be sent to Smart about two weeks after the online store closes. Spirit wear will be delivered to school and will be passed out to your student during lunch. We will send out an email the day the items are sent home.

As you have questions, please email Ashgrove directly via the email address provided on the ordering website.

Lets show our Smart spirit and Go Trojans!

Sincerely,

Dan Holland, assistant principal

Smart Middle School

If your child will be absent, please call the Smart Attendance Hotline (248) 956-3510 as soon as possible. If you know of a vacation or pre planned days off, you can leave those dates on the hotline as well.

If you have not called your child in by 9:30 a.m., you will receive a call from Mrs Gray to verify that your student is not at school for the day. Thank you for partnering with us in keeping your children safe and accounted for.

Our girls volleyball tryouts start on the first day of school, August 26th. Please see the flyer below for all times, dates and coach information.

As you prepare for tryouts, a couple of reminders:

1. Students must have completed MHSAA physical form on file no later than the first day of tryouts. Please CLICK HERE for a copy of the MHSAA medical form to be completed by you and your child's doctor. Physicals must be dated AFTER April 16, 2024 to be valid for this school year.
2. Volleyball is a pay to participate sport. Once a student makes the team the pay to participate fee must be paid prior to the first game. Please CLICK HERE for pay to participate fee costs and information.
3. We have two teams. 6th and 7th grade tryout for one team and 8th grade on the other team.

As you have questions, please reach out to the coaches directly via email.

8th grade coach – Brandon Parsley-Brandon.legacyvbc@gmail.com

6th/7th grade coach – Amy Monroe- AmyMonroe@wlcsd.org

The cross country coaches invite your 6th, 7th or 8th grade to join the Smart Cross Country Team for the fall season. Cross Country is a no cut sport that is a great way to meet new friends and improve endurance levels for other sports. In order to get your runner to experience this amazing sport we will work with any other sports schedules you have. Our practices run daily when school starts from 3:00PM-4:45PM with races happening one to two times a week. If you have a pair of running shoes, a reusable water bottle and a positive attitude to work and try, cross country is for you. Please click on the links below to see the flyer and to join the email list.

Smart Cross country sign up form.

Students must have an MHSAA phyiscal completed to practice and race. Click HERE for the physical form. Completed forms can be turned in to the office prior to school starting, at Smart Start or at the first practice.

Cross country is a "pay to participate" sport. Fees to participate need to be paid prior to the first RACE. Please see the WLCSD athletics page for fee information and how to pay.

Please email me as you have any questions at: alricken@gmail.com

Thank you!

Alex Rickens, Head Coach

Smart Cross Country

You are invited to complete the optional form below. The information you include in this OPTIONAL form will be shared with C.H.S. Middle School Staff only. The intent of this form is to provide our families the opportunity to share some information about their child to start off the school year that we may not be aware of and that you feel is important to share.

PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ANY NAMES (STAFF, OTHER CHILDREN, ETC.), OTHER THAN YOUR CHILD'S NAME, IN ANY OF YOUR RESPONSES.

The form will close on Friday, August 23rd and should only be completed by a child's parent or guardian.

Please also remember to contact your child's counselor for any concerns and/or questions you may have.

Dear 8th Grade Parents,

Our Annual 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip is scheduled for March 11th-March 14th. Additional information will be provided shortly and you are also invited to attend our Washington D.C. Trip Parent Meeting immediately following Curriculum Night on Monday, September 16th.

Bus route information in no longer available on the website. Student transportation information for the 2024-25 school year will be available on Friday August 16th @ 8am.

Please check Skyward Family Access for your students bus route information. Student enrollments will continue through the start of the school year and bus information may change. Please continue to monitor Skyward Family Access for the most up to date information.

Please remember to please call 248.956.3090 for ALL bussing questions. Please click on the link below to visit our transportation website for more information.

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 every day 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 free/reduced meal form in Skyward help secure additional funding for the District including Title I funding. By completing the form, eligible families may also receive access to other free and reduced programs within the District including SAT testing, pay to participate, and more.

DROP OFF 8:00 A.M.

SCHOOL STARTS 8:10 A.M.

DISMISSAL 3:00 P.M.

1/2 DAY DISMISSAL 11:40 A.M.

Nayal Maktari, Principal

Dan Holland, Assistant Principal

Steve Spickard, Dean of Students

Please contact us with positive or constructive feedback, questions, and/or concerns.

Website: www.wlcsd.org/smart
Location: 8500 Commerce Road, Commerce Charter Township, MI, United States
Phone: 248-956-3500
Twitter: @CliffordSmart

Please feel free to call our main office with any questions at 248.956.3500. You can also email us.

Counseling Secretary: JulieSmith@wlcsd.org

Principal's Secretary: MelissaWilseck@wlcsd.org

Building/Attendance Secretary: TonyaGray@wlcsd.org

6th Grade Counselor: JulieBraley@wlcsd.org

7th Grade Counselor: KathleenHoover@wlcsd.org

8th Grade Counselor: MaureenBratke@wlcsd.org