The Banks Bulletin

We are looking forward to enjoying the PTSA's upcoming 2nd Annual Turkey Trot during the school day!

Linked below is the application for the Holiday Shop with a Hero program. Lakes Area Youth Assistance (LAYA). To apply, visit https://www.wlcsd.org/community/lakes-area-youth-assistance to download the fillable application or scroll down for more information. The deadline to apply is TODAY- Friday, November 21st.

Dear Parents:

On Thursday, January 8th we have the opportunity to recognize Mr. Alex Rickens as the 2025-2026 Sarah G. Banks Middle School Teacher of the Year during the January Board of Education Meeting beginning at 7 PM. Please join us in celebration! I love that our district takes time to honor individuals each year for their tireless efforts in the classroom.

It is with great pride and admiration that we nominate Mr. Alex Rickens for the Walled Lake Consolidated School District’s Teacher of the Year award. Since joining the district in 2018, he has exemplified what it means to be a dedicated educator, coach, and role model for students and staff alike.

Beyond the classroom, Mr. Rickens has served as a thriving cross country and basketball coach, inspiring student-athletes to reach their fullest potential both on and off the field. His leadership and commitment to excellence have not gone unnoticed, earning him the Golden Apple Award—a testament to his positive impact and unwavering dedication.

Students consistently describe Mr. Rickens as humorous, empathetic, and compassionate. He takes the time to truly know his students, building strong relationships founded on mutual respect and understanding. One student shared, “He is persistent in developing and building relationships, maintains calm, and keeps us focused. I always got to sit next to his desk and he would help me. Thank you!” These heartfelt words capture the spirit of his connection with students—one built on trust, care, and encouragement.

In addition to his teaching and coaching roles, Mr. Rickens played a critical role in implementing the W.E.B. (Where Everyone Belongs) program, which supports sixth-grade students as they transition into middle school. His leadership in this initiative reflects his deep belief in fostering belonging and community for all students.

Colleagues describe Mr. Rickens is a beloved team player who is always willing to lend a helping hand, provide encouragement, or offer thoughtful insight. He is admired for his steady presence, genuine kindness, and ability to bring out the best in others. Quite simply, he has a heart of pure gold.

For his unwavering dedication, compassion, and profound impact on students, staff, and the Walled Lake community, we are honored to recognize Mr. Rickens as an exceptional educator and leader.

This letter includes just a few of the many things he does well. I am proud to celebrate Mr. Rickens and I am thrilled to work beside so many great teachers and staff here at Banks. Mike Brooks, Teresa Cirihal and Carolyn Phelps were also well-deserving nominees, and to the many others who were not named, but serve this community well; your efforts do not go unnoticed. Let's continue to strive for excellence, grow in our passion for teaching and learning and celebrate our many successes as we forge ahead into 2026. It's going to be awesome!

Your Forever and Always Proud Principal,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

We Are Banks!

November

11/5-11/26: Project Warm: Collecting new hats, gloves, scarves...

11/20-11/23- WLW presents "Hades Town: Teen Edition" - Tickets available now at www.wlcstickets.com

11/21- PTSA's 2nd Annual Turkey Trot (during the school day)

11/21- Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Power MS @ 4 PM-Away

11/21- Application Deadline: Shop with a Hero

11/24- Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Smart MS @ 4 PM-Home

11/26- Half Day for Students and Staff

11/27-11/28- No School for Students or Staff - Thanksgiving Break

December

12/1 -Boys Basketball (BB) vs. Centennial MS @ 4 PM-Home

12/2- Mr. McNamara returns to Banks

12/3- Boys Basketball (BB) vs. East MS @ 4 PM-Away

12/3- Co-Ed Swim Away- TBA

12/5 - Boys Basketball (BB) vs. STEAM MS @ 4 PM-Home

12/6- MSBOA Solo & Ensemble

A Look Ahead

12/16- 2nd iReady Diagnostic: ELA

12/18- 2nd iReady Diagnostic: Math

12/19- iReady Make-Up Testing

1/5- iReady Make-Up Testing as needed

Shop With a Hero! ✨

From Nov. 10–21, kids will have the chance to shop for holiday gifts alongside local heroes—Commerce Firefighters/Paramedics and Oakland County Sheriff's Officers—at Meijer stores in Wixom and Commerce. Applications for this exciting event are linked below!

The Wixom Police Department just kicked off their 7th annual Stuff the Squad Car campaign. They have again partnered with Crime Stoppers of Michigan (CSM). CSM helps police agencies solve crimes through its tip line, 1-800-SPEAK-UP. However, CSM also maintains ongoing, long-term relationships with families that have suffered from violent crime.

As such, CSM will run its Children’s Christmas Party on December 8th. This is when they get donated toys into the hands of kids who come from families that have been victimized by violent crime.

We would love for our Banks Bulldogs to help us stuff the squad car! The Wixom PD will drive that trailer right up to our front door on December 2nd so that our students can help us fill it!

Thank you for your generosity and continued support of this program!

The Sarah Banks boy's 8th grade basketball team faced their first away game of the season in the always challenging gym at White Lake Middle School. Although the first period struggled to score points, the second period group of Cruz, Kosei, Jacob, Paul and Adrian scored 15 and only allowed the Falcons to score 7 points to take a three-point lead into half. In the second half the Bulldogs led by Liam and Jordan were able to use the narrow White Lake court to stop the Falcons on defense and with Cruz, Colson, Ryan and Jacob making some crucial baskets Banks was able to pull out the win 37-29.

Our 7th grade basketball team has an awesome 2-1 record and continues to improve. We are so proud!

The boys will play again on Friday at Power, and we wish him the best of luck!

Go, Bulldogs!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming the Sarah Banks the week of December 8th - 12th and we need volunteers! The students will be able to shop the fair during the week and we need parent volunteers to help run our book fair.

Please use this sign up to help with the Book Fair. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054CA9AD28A4F58-60052608-sarah

All volunteers need to have a criminal history form on file for the 2025-26 school year. The following is the link to fill out the criminal history form. You need to fill this out if you plan on volunteering for the fair. https://app.informedk12.com/link_campaigns/criminal-history-volunteer-form-2025-26?token=BJiiNWAAuZsfra42VyWKsjGp

Thank you as always for your continued support of our school!

D.C. Trip Update

This is the LAST CALL for interested 8th grade families to register their student for the Washington, D.C. trip. As of right now, we only have 4 seats remaining on the trip. After that point, we will open a waitlist and only if enough students register for a sixth bus, or students drop from the trip will your student be able to attend. In order to be claim one of the remaining seats on the trip, you MUST register through the Academic Expeditions trip portal and make your initial $100 deposit, plus your $60 CFAR insurance package (marked as “option 2”). The remaining payments can be made towards your trip balance by March 6, 2026. Click the link below for more information and please contact Mr. Yu with questions you may have (TorryYu@wlcsd.org).

Sarah Banks Middle School D.C. Trip 2026 Information: https://out.smore.com/e/17sug/WX3jpl?__$u__

D.C. Trip Fundraiser

Starting today thru December 7, we’re selling Little Caesars Pizza Kits and Meal Deal Codes to help our students raise money for their 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C.! This fundraiser is completely optional but is an additional way to have your friends and family support your student's D.C. trip. 6th & 7th grade students are also welcome to participate to begin raising funds for their trip as well.

Pizza Kit Fundraising Information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14RcVzYh5tcIDfTN5cIEpUg5hH-HgPWPc/view?usp=sharing

Create Your Account Here: https://fundraising.littlecaesars.com/login/join-fundraiser/6ac1dc37-1236-4121-8817-735c2e68ae89

The Encore Department is excited to begin this year’s 2025 Philanthropy Project for this upcoming holiday season: “Project Warm.”

Encore Teachers are encouraging all students to participate and will be collecting new hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, earmuffs, socks, and winter items.

All items will be donated to Hospitality House of Walled Lake to help families in our community. Students can begin bringing in new items beginning on Monday, November 5, 2025. We will be collecting up to Thanksgiving Break.

Collections of goods will be done in the first encore class for each grade level.

The Winning grade level will have a scheduled movie day.

Encore Teachers will keep track of the amount of items brought in per hour and will update to keep track of what grade level is leading.

This is a great cause. It has been a tradition here at Sarah Banks Middle School for over 25 years. It has helped many families in the community year after year and has allowed our school to make a positive impact during the holiday 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.

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. Full informational packets will be available beginning December1st in both the Attendance and Administrative Offices. In the meantime, if you are looking to buy or sell any equipment, HERE is a list of all local ski and snowboard swaps in Southeast Michigan conducted by nonprofit groups.

Walled Lake Students are invited to submit an entry that expresses the theme of “Service” in your own unique way. There are lots of possibilities for creating a project. It can be a piece of writing, music, art, or other visual that shows what unity means to you. Click on the contest form below and submit your entry to your school’s main office by Friday, December 12th.

Please include help us to promote this contest within your school community and by including it in your newsletters until the due date in December.

Express Yourself Contest

It has come to our attention that families in our community may be in need of additional assistance when it comes to food and nutrition. With the anticipated gap in SNAP funding beginning Saturday, November 1, some families may experience delays in receiving benefits. School meals (breakfast and lunch) will continue to be available free of charge to our students.

For families needing support at home, the following food resources are available:

• Hospitality House Food Pantry: https://www.hhfp.org/

• Gleaners Community Food Bank: https://www.gcfb.org/food-assistance-programs/

• Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency: https://www.olhsa.org/en-us/

• Michigan 211 Food Assistance Programs: https://mi211.org/food-assistance

• Forgotten Harvest: https://www.forgottenharvest.org/find-food/

• Findhelp.org: https://www.findhelp.org/

• Food and Other Resources Hotline: 1-888-544-8773

It's not too early to order a yearbook! Scan the QR code below and order now for $40, which is a savings of $20! Please email TorryYu@wlcsd.org, KaysieStassi@wlcsd.org or LauraShipes@wlcsd.org with any questions or concerns.

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