The Banks Bulletin

Dear Banks Families:

As always, it's a beautiful day to be a Banks Bulldog! Our athletic teams collected big wins and finished their seasons strong. In addition, our 6th grade band students put on an impressive show at Walled Lake Western, culminating with Dragon Slayer, a piece that enthralled all spectators. A combined 6th, 7th and 8th grade orchestra concert was also a highlight of the week, whereby an astonishing number of pieces were played to perfection. How lucky are we to have so many wonderful opportunities for our students?!

All incoming 6th grade parents/guardians are invited to attend the 6th Grade Orientation on Monday, March 10th beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. More information is linked below.

The district is proud to host 3 days of Unified Basketball for all four middle schools. Unified sports partner with the Special Olympics and we are so excited to bring this program to Walled Lake! We are looking for athletes and partner-athletes to join this program. More information and the link to register can be found below. So far, not a single Bulldog has registered. Please consider joining; It's not too late to sign up!

As a friendly reminder, Marking Period 3 Progress Reports can now be found in Skyward Family Access. This is a great opportunity for you to sit down with your student, praise them for their academic successes and set goals for improving in areas where they may be struggling. There are still 4 weeks left in the 3rd marking period! We want all of our students to find optimal success at SBMS!

Cheers,

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

We Are Banks!

March

3/7-3/8: MSBOA Band and Orchestra Festival at WLN

3/9: Day Savings Time Ends, Spring Forward 1 hour

3/10: Incoming 6th Grade Family Night @ 6:30 PM

3/11: Banks PTSA Meeting @ 6:30 PM

3/12: RESCHEDULED: Wrestling vs. Mason, Away @ 4 PM

3/13: Half Day for Student | Professional Development for Staff

3/17-3/21: Inclusion Spirit Week

3/18: Vocal Concert @ WLN, 7 PM

3/18: First Day of Track Practice

3/19: Statewide Tornado Drill @ 1 PM

3/21: End of 3rd Marking Period

3/24-3/28: Spring Break - No School for Students or Staff

April

4/15: 8th Grade PSAT Testing, Late Start for 6th/7th Grade Students (See Below)

Wrestling

Congratulations to our LVC ALL Conference Bulldog athletes:

Jordan Hamilton 3rd place

Andrew Jackson 3rd place

Leo Cadili 2nd place

Ellington Baker 4th place

Ethan Jorgenson 5th place

Cooper McDermott 5th place

Sal Cadili 5th place

The Bulldogs enter the last week of competition at Mason Middle School and the Oakland County MS meet at Lake Orion High School.

8th Grade Girls Basketball

With the season coming to an end the Sarah Banks Bulldogs pulled off two wins this week, with the first a match up against Pierce to be estimated as an evenly matched game. However, it became a blow out win for the Bulldogs, with the final score Sarah Banks 38 - Pierce 14 and Keely Glass leading the way with her career high 8pts. The Bulldogs also looked unstoppable against Mason, their last game of the season winning 27-11. Congrats to our Sarah Banks Girls Basketball team. Go Bulldogs!

6th/7th Grade Girls Basketball

The 6th/7th grade basketball team ended the season this week with two resounding wins against Pierce and Mason. In both games the Bulldogs were able use a combination of solid defense, fast breaks and fundamentals to score 32 points on Wednesday and 41 points on Thursday combining to score a whopping 73 points in two days. Scoring for the Bulldogs were Sadie, Aubrey, Allison, Emersyn, Evelyn, Jojo, Libby, Delilah, Claire, Raylyn, Faith and Lily. Defensively Yurika, Mia and Sabrina stopped both of the Waterford schools only allowing them to score 26 points combined. Overall the 6th/7th grade girls finished with 4 wins and 6 losses and were third in the district. The girls and coaches would like to thank the students and staff of Sarah Banks for attending their games with a special thank you to Eli, Holden, Liam, Gavyn, and Jackson for running the scoreboard to perfection.

Track sign-up & schedule below!

We are excited to begin our track season! We have an excellent coaching staff this spring, with Mr. Mike Brooks, and Mrs. Kerry McBride serving as the coaches for head boys and girls.

Gladiators Lacrosse is perfect for young athletes looking for an introduction to lacrosse. Teams available for students in 1st through 8th Grade. No experience required. Practice held in the evening at Clifford Smart Middle School. Registration Closes on March 5th! Click Here for more information.

The Washington, DC trip is now at full capacity and closed to new registrations. To view the meeting presentation from the October 10th parent meeting, please click here. If you have any questions about the DC trip, please reach out to Mr. Morrow at DavidMorrow@wlcsd.org.

We are excited to share with you that our SMBS NJHS members have been invited to participate in a Walled Lake Community Blanket Making Event. Join us on Saturday, April 12th at Walled Lake Central High School in Walled Lake, MI to make 1,000 blankets for 1,000 kiddos in the hospital! Registration is FREE, and any additional fundraising or donations help support MORE blankets to be made!

Please help support comforting kids in the hospital by registering to attend or making a donation through this page! Every dollar counts! Thank you!

Here are the ways you can help:

1. Attend the event - Register and plan to attend the event Saturday, April 12th, 2025 at Walled Lake Central any time from 10:00am-2:00pm to help make blankets. Family and friends can also join our team! There will be food trucks available with food to purchase, face-painting, and other festivities. NJHS members will receive Community Service hours…just check in with Mrs. Nelson at the event!

2. Make a donation - Our NJHS group fundraising goal is $1,000. Share this link with family and friends to help us reach our goal! Every $30 donation = one blanket.

If you have any questions, or ideas, please don’t hesitate to contact Nancy Kattoula (NancyKattoula@wlcsd.org) or Amanda Swanson (AmandaSwanson@wlcsd.org).

Thank you for your Support of NJHS and Walled Lake!

8TH GRADE PSAT TESTING ON TUESDAY, APRIL 15TH

Please note that all Walled Lake 8th graders will be here for a full day and 6th and 7th graders will have a late start on April 15th.

Morning Schedule

• 8:00 a.m.-8:05 a.m.-8th Graders arrive
• 8:20 a.m.-11:25 a.m.-Administer the 8th Grade PSAT
• 11:25 a.m.-11:58 a.m.-8th Grade Lunch
• 6th and 7th graders arrive at approximately 11:45 a.m.

Afternoon 1/2 Day Schedule

• 1st Hour 12:05 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
• 2nd Hour 12:35 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
• 3rd Hour 1:05 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• 4th Hour 1:35 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
• 5th Hour 2:05 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
• 6th Hour 2:35 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Transportation will be provided to all students to and from school on April 15th

In collaboration with all Walled Lake Middle Schools and Special Services Department, Sarah Banks is proud to host a Spirit Week celebrating inclusion. What is inclusion? Inclusion in the classroom means that all children, no matter their racial, religious, or ethnic background, gender, learning style, or ability have equal access to educational opportunities in a learning environment where all students are equally safe, valued, and respected.

The Spirit Week will take place on Monday, March 17 - Friday, March 21.

The first day of fasting for the holy month of Ramadan will begin on March 1st and is dependent on the sighting of the new moon. Ramadan is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, which begins with the sighting of the crescent moon. During the holy month of Ramadan, observing Muslims fast from just before the sunrise prayer, Fajr, to the sunset prayer, Maghrib. Our Bulldogs observing Muslim students may go to the media center during their lunch period if they would prefer. For those who celebrate, we wish you a meaningful month of Ramadan.

Our current math standards are more rigorous and demanding than ever. Students are expected to develop a deep understanding of concepts leading to fluency with facts and procedures, and the ability to clearly communicate their mathematical thinking. Further, students must pass a demanding sequence of high school math courses in order to meet graduation requirements. In response to the increased expectations for all students, we have adjusted the content focus and instructional approaches in all of our math courses.

Because of the higher standards and to ensure student success at all points of their

mathematical education, we are using the procedures described below to accelerate students.

In order to skip a course in the math sequence, students must demonstrate proficiency in

the content and skills of the course they are attempting to skip.

The process and procedures described on the following pages (linked below) apply to all students

currently in grades 2 through 7. Students attempting to test-out of high school courses will

use the existing process described on the district website. If you have questions after

reviewing the process, please contact your building principal or me.

Thank you for your partnership in education.

Sincerely,

Ellen McDonald

Math/Science Coordinator

ELLENMCDONALD@WLCSD.ORG

248.956.2029

We’re currently in our enrollment period, and we want to make sure students who are interested have the chance to join.

Our meet this year is scheduled for May 17th, and we’re excited to get the team organized for the season.

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