We hope you'll review this week's District Update filled with news and notes from across the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Stay up to date with the district by visiting www.wlcsd.org and connecting with the district on social media.

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• April 4: Board of Education regular meeting - 7pm at the Educational Services Center
  
• April 11: Bond 2024 Community Presentation - 7pm at Walnut Creek Middle School
• April 11-13: WLC presents: "The Drowsy Chaperone" - Tickets on sale NOW!
• April 15: PTSA Council Meeting - 7pm at MH Guest Elementary
• April 16: Bond 2024 Community Presentation - 7pm at WL Western High School
• April 23: Half Day for Students | Professional Development for Staff

Visit www.wlcsd.org/calendar for a complete list of events with details.

Follow along on Tech Saturday as Walled Lake Central senior Max Lyons takes over our Instagram story to give a behind the scenes look at the preparations for opening night on Thursday, April 11.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram for all of the fun!

Show Times

• Thursday, April 11 - 7 p.m.
• Friday, April 12 - 7 p.m.
• Saturday, April 13 - 7 p.m.
• Sunday, April 14 - 2 p.m.

Purchase your tickets now at www.wlcstickets.com.

The Shining Stars Award recognizes outstanding individuals and student peers who have supported the special needs community within Walled Lake Schools.

• Love your child's bus driver? Nominate them.
• Love your child's Unified coach or buddy? Nominate them!

Some of the qualities of the nominee might include: a positive attitude, dedication, dependability, self-motivation, helpfulness and more.

Nominees can be anyone associated with the special needs community: teacher, para, bus driver, aide, buddy, parent, coach, volunteer, etc. Nominations accepted via the link below.

Every nominee will be recognized and receive a Shining Stars Award at the ceremony on April 30th at Walled Lake Central High School. You don't want to miss this special event!

All nominations must be received on or before April 5, 2024. Questions? Contact WalledLakePAC@gmail.com

Five students will represent Walled Lake Consolidated Schools on the biggest of stages at the 2024 DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) from April 27-30 in Anaheim, California.

Walled Lake Northern’s David Devaney may be a freshman, but he looked more like a seasoned upperclassman at the DECA State Competition. Devaney won the Overall Finalist medal taking first place in the Principals of Finance Series for both his role play and test score. Devaney is now focused on bringing home some DECA glass from the ICDC.

Walled Lake Western seniors Roman Adhikari, Daniel Raskin and Bryce Zacharia were among eight Warriors to earn All-State honors and each finished in the Top 6 in their respective events at the state competition. Adhikari and Raskin teamed up to qualify for the ICDC in Business Law and Ethic Team Decision Making. Zacharia will compete in Business Services Marketing.

Walled Lake Central senior Abigail Piskover qualified for the ICDC in Restaurant and Food Service Management. She wrote a 20-page paper on how a restaurant can prevent employee turnover.

This is the first time Walled Lake Consolidated Schools has sent more than one qualifier to the DECA International Career Development Conference in a single year. The districts five qualifiers are among more than 22,000 high school students, teacher-advisors, business professionals and alumni that will attend this year’s conference.

Walled Lake Western’s Girls Exploring Together Information Technology (G.E.T. IT) Club impressed with two of its entries being recognized at the Michigan Council for Women in Technology’s 17th annual Web Design Competition.

The state-wide competition focuses on giving female students the opportunity to combine creative expression with technology, all while gaining HTML skills and confidence. Students were tasked with creating and developing a functional website in a four-month time frame.

Walled Lake Western junior Vidya Vuyyuru took home first place in the High School Advanced competition, earning her a $500 prize, with her website, “Photograph It! – Photography Made Easy”. You can view Vuyyuru’s website here.

The team of seniors Daniella Erabor and Vanessa Nguyen were also recognized for their website as Honorable Mentions in the High School Advanced competition. The two took home a $100 prize.

Hickory Woods Elementary 4th grade teacher, Karie Starr, is up for the Red Wings' Teacher of the Year!

"With over 20 years in the district, Karie Starr had developed a co-teaching program allowing for more than one teacher to work with children in various sized groups for individualized instruction. Her co-teaching program was so successful that it was implemented across the other grades in the school. As a mentor, she guides student teachers, nurturing the next generation of educators. Additionally, she adapts her teaching for ASD and ESL students, while providing essential resources like clothing and school supplies."

Vote for her https://www.nhl.com/redwings/community/teacher-of-the-month.

You can vote daily until April 5.

Check out some of the awesome things our students and staff did during spring break!

Help us celebrate the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools' Class of 2024!

Click on the picture on the right to complete the form and have your senior recognized for their hard work and achievements! We'll be honoring seniors through June across district social media accounts.

The purpose of the Kindness Matters award is to to honor and recognize those individuals and organizations who exhibit kindness and care toward others.

You may nominate any student, teacher, secretary, administrator, bus driver, playground supervisor, or any Walled Lake Schools employee. You may nominate a parent, grandparent, or community member. You may nominate a company, a store, or an organization.

You may select any or all of the above who: demonstrate kindness on a frequent basis, go out of their way to make others feel better, lead initiatives in their school or community to benefit others, or inspire others to show kindness.

The deadline to nominate is Monday, April 15.

During the February 2 Board of Education meeting, the Board of Education voted unanimously to move forward with a $250 million bond election on May 7, 2024.

The 2024 bond proposal is focused on student safety, educational opportunities, technology, and facilities; the millage rates associated with this proposal will provide a tax decrease for residents. Over the past two decades, our community has supported bond proposals in 2019, 2013, and 2004. As a result of this past investment, the school district and our students have been able to thrive.

A list of the 2024 bond projects, by school, will be published on the District’s website, as well as the bond language, frequently asked questions, videos, and other information. To help inform our community, the District will host a series of informational bond meetings over the next several months. Meeting dates, locations, and times will also be on the bond webpage.

Includes:

Bond information

Staff awards:

• Teacher of the Year
  
• Golden Apple
• Meritorious Budget Award
• MSVMA Honors Choir Director
• Community Partner award

Student awards:

• Michigan Music Conference awards
• Art awards
• Alec Bender Friend of Diversity awards
• Sutton Foster award nomination
• Student of the Year

Graduate Spotlights

• CJ McGorisk, NCAA football coach
• Jane Fox, author debuting first book with Disney

Click the image to open the Spring Learning.

In an effort to celebrate our staff, the WLCSD Community Relations department requests that families fill out the form below to nominate 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.

The Pleasant Lake staff and PTA will award $1500 in scholarship monies to the applicants who best suits these qualifications:

• Pleasant Lake Elementary graduate who attended PLE for a minimum of three years
• Walled Lake Central or Northern Graduate
• Actively involved in school or community activities
• Demonstrates leadership qualities
• 3.0 minimum GPA
• Accepted to college
• Be willing to accept your award at PLE’s fifth grade graduation in June
• Submit application to counseling office by Monday, April 15

If the committee does not feel any candidates are worthy then it is up to the discretion of the committee to not award a scholarship in any given year. If you have any questions about this scholarship or need assistance please reach out to Brendaraymond@wlcsd.org

The Hickory Woods Elementary School PTA will award a $250 scholarship to the applicant who best suits these qualifications:

• A completed education
• Must be a senior at Walled Lake Western, Central or Northern
• Must have attended Hickory Woods 4 years +
• Must have a GPA of 3.00 or better (attach most recent report card or transcript).
• Must provide 1 letter of recommendation from a teacher, coach, counselor, employer, or other non-family member
• Must provide proof of acceptance to an accredited college, vocational, or technical school
• Must write an essay of no more 500 Words. Please refrain from using names in the essay as we would like the winner to be chosen based off the words in their essay.

Application deadline: Friday April 19th, 2024.

Information regarding spring testing for the secondary level is listed below. Schools will be following up directly with families regarding any adjusted time schedules as part of these testing days:

High School

• 9th Grade PSAT - April 9
• 11th Grade SAT - April 10
• 11th Grade Workkeys - April 11
• 10th Grade PSAT - April 11
• M-Step - April 16-17
• PSAT Makeup - April 23
• SAT Makeup - April 24
• Workkeys Makeup - April 25
• PSAT Makeup - April 25

Middle School

• 8th Grade PSAT - April 17
• M-Step - April 22-25 | GMS, SMBS, WCMS
• M-Step - April 30 - May 3 | Clifford Smart

Preschool registration is now open for the 2024-25 school year. To register, please visit the preschool website. We invite your child to come grow with us!

Year-end presents a great opportunity to celebrate our top senior student athletes and their opportunity to continue their athletic careers in college.

Please provide the following information on SENIOR athletes that have either:

- received a scholarship to play college athletics

- have a spot guaranteed to them on a college roster as a "preferred walk-on."

Please complete the following form in order to be considered for the Graduate Spotlight section of the WLCSD quarterly Learning newsletter. The nominated student needs to be a 2016 graduate or before. Please contact pamelacole@wlcsd.org with any questions.

The Maintenance Department is seeking State of Michigan licensed individuals in the following trades: HVAC, Plumbing or Electrical. The Building Engineer position is tasked with maintaining district mechanical systems, and is full time, full year employment. Contact Dave Watkins, Maintenance Supervisor for additional job details at (248) 956-3074.

Our mission, in partnership with parents and the community, is to become the best educational system in America so all students demonstrate they are caring, responsible, and knowledgeable citizens.

Email: danieldurkin@wlcsd.org
Website: www.wlcsd.org
Location: 850 Ladd Road, Walled Lake, MI, USA
Phone: (248) 956-2000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wlcsd/
Twitter: @WalledLkSchools