The Banks Bulletin

The start of the 2025-2026 school year has finally arrived, and we can hardly contain our excitement. Our Bulldog Nation is looking fantastic and we are ready to welcome our students back! We look forward to connecting with our students and families on Monday, August 25th for our first day of school!

Check your inbox each week to view the community newsletter and follow our PTSA at https://www.facebook.com/sarahbanksmiddleptsa on Facebook and https://www.instagram.com/p/DMVqRnMP3Zv/ on Instagram to stay connected and catch the greatness that is Banks.

We Are Banks!

Jennifer VanWagnen, Principal

JenniferVanWagnen@wlcsd.org

(248) 956-2200

August

8/25- First Day of School (Full Day)

8/25- Picture Day

8/25- Volleyball Tryouts, First Day, 3-5 PM

8/26- Cross Country (CC) Practice Begins, 3 PM-4:15 PM

8/29-No School for Students or Staff

September

9/1-Labor Day - No School for Students or Staff

9/4- Board of Education Regular Meeting

9/8-PTSA Meeting @ 6:30 PM in the Banks Media Center

9/9- Schoolwide iReady Testing-ELA

9/11-Schoolwide iReady Testing-Math

9/16-Curriculum Night @ Banks-6:30-8:00 PM

• 8th Grade Washington, D.C. Trip Parent Meeting @ 5:30 in Cafeteria

Due to a Lifetouch scheduling conflict, Picture Day will be held on the first day of school, August 25th, 2025. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding. Don't forget to wear your smiles on this day!

August 2025

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Each year our Banks 8th grade students have the opportunity to register and attend the Washington, D.C. trip. The trip for spring 2026 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21 to Friday, April 25. General information about the trip can be found below. We will be officially launching the trip at our DC parent meeting before Curriculum Night on Tuesday, September 16 at 5:30pm. Registration will not open until after the parent meeting, but we wanted to communicate the information now, so families had time to plan and to start saving money for the trip.

Please click on the link below for more information.

• First Bell, 8:00 a.m. - This is when students are permitted to enter the hallways from the front lobby and buses.

• Warning Bell, 8:05 a.m. - This bell lets students know that they have five minutes left to make it to class.

• Tardy Bell, 8:10a.m. - This is the official start of 1st hour. Students arriving after this bell are considered tardy for their first class.

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.

 Instrument rental includes an instrument repair program and insurance.

 Instruments will be delivered directly to your child’s middle school and will be distributed at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.

 For rental questions, please call Marshall Music (band only) or Shar Music (orchestra only) directly.

Please rent online as soon as possible to ensure timely delivery for the start of the school year. Marshall Music (band) and Shar (orchestra) provide twice-weekly service calls to our schools. Students are not required to use these companies for purchase, rental, or service.

Please click on the link below for recommended brands and models if purchasing an instrument.

MIDDLE SCHOOL INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC DEPARTMENT CONTACTS: Sarah Banks Middle School Band -Mrs. Dudzinski KristenDudzinski@wlcsd.org Orchestra - Mrs. Cirihal TeresaCirihal@wlcsd.org

Please Note: YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP FOR BAND OR ORCHESTRA! If your child would like to play an instrument this fall and did not sign up or has not yet been fitted for an instrument, please contact the band or orchestra teacher at your child’s middle school. We will put you in contact with the building counselors, who will get your child scheduled in the correct instrumental music class for the fall – just send us an email. If you feel instrumental music is not an option for your child due to finances, please contact us. We have a small inventory of musical instruments to loan. We want every student to have the chance to play. Remember 6th grade is the ONLY year to start an instrument in the Walled Lake Schools.

Each school year, parents/guardians must complete our back-to-school “packet” on Skyward Family Access (also referred to as registration).

This is different from enrollment and is required for both new and previous students. Online registration is when parents/guardians update student information, emergency contacts, and provide other necessary information.

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 2025-26 Back-to-School Family Access Packet must be completed by parents, online, using Family Access, prior to the start of school. It is essential that we receive ALL documents in a timely manner in order for your student to start school on August 25.

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 or

call (248) 956-2190.

Click on the link below to get started!

A Skyward Family Access parent account is required to complete the Online Back-to-School Packet. To acquire a new or lost parent account code, email FamilyAccess@wlcsd.org or call (248) 956-2190. Include ALL of the following information in the body of your message.

• Guardian name

• The name of each child in the district and school they attend

• Guardian's email address that is currently on file with the district

• Daytime phone number

Questions and Support

• If you have trouble with the Back-to-School packet, visit the Troubleshooting & FAQ page.

• If you still have issues, contact familyaccess@wlcsd.org. Include your name, the student's name, and the specific question you have.

Please click on the link below to view the Suggested School Supply List.

WLCSD has a 1-to-1 Chromebook Program in all of our middle and high schools. Please review the information about the 1-to-1 Chromebook Program as part of your Back-to-School Online Registration Process.

Each student will be required to bring a device to school each day as the middle schools do not have Chromebook carts in the building for students to use a Chromebook during the day. District issued Chromebooks often work much better within the building than personal devices do as they are set up to connect to the District Wi-Fi.

Important Highlights

Students will have two choices for technology use while at school:

1. Bring your own device from home

2. Sign up for a District issued Chromebook*

*Additional carts of Chromebooks will no longer be available for students to utilize extra building devices on a daily basis. Students will be expected to bring a charged device (personal device or District issued Chromebook) daily in order to utilize online curricular resources as well as participate in daily instruction within the classroom.

We strongly encourage families to sign up for a District issued Chromebook.

There are advantages to this practice including:

• Better Wi-Fi connectivity in District

• Increased support from District IT staff including

• curriculum resources

• support apps

• Streamline repair process

MIDDLE SCHOOL students (grades 6-8) must complete PAYMENT for the Chromebook deposit ($50) and Technology Protection Plan ($20) in order to receive the District issued Chromebook. Payments made after August 11 will still receive a device, but not until the first few days of school. Please be sure to review the entire 1-to-1 Chromebook Program Information that is linked on our Back-to-School Packet Website. If you are in need of financial assistance to participate in this program, please reach out to Mrs. VanWagnen directly at JenniferVanWagnen@wlcsd.org.

We are excited to begin another great year of athletics at Sarah Banks Middle School! We will kick off the Fall season with Girls' Volleyball and Co-Ed Cross Country. Students interested in participating must have a physical dated after April 15, 2025 to join on the first day. Please complete the respective sign-up forms below depending on which sport your student is interested in joining:

Cross Country

Volleyball

All athletic consent forms and physicals must be completed and turned into the front office before August 25th. You may bring your physicals to the Banks Blast Off on August 19th, or you can scan and email them to KellanWatkins@wlcsd.org.

Additionally, per MHSAA and Walled Lake Athletics policy, Walled Lake Athletics is recognizing a preseason downtime from now until August 9th. Here's what that means:

What's allowed:

 Contact by a coach within the 4-player rule, meaning a coach may only work with 4 players maximum at a time, and these opportunities must be considered voluntary.

 Non-mandatory weight training and non-sport specific conditioning but no rotations with more than four player skill groups.

What's not allowed:

 No open gyms or full-squad practices or rotations, whether the coach is present or not and no sport specific camps or clinics which involve that upcoming sport are permitted at the school or sponsored or conducted elsewhere by the school, regardless of that school’s sponsorship of the sport. (Open gyms may never include organized drills, practice structure or instruction by any person including team captains or parents.)

 Competition (intra-squad or inter-squad) between groups that resemble school teams may not occur.

Please reach out to Assistant Principal Tony McNamara with questions or concerns at AnthonyMcNamara@wlcsd.org. It's a beautiful day to be a Banks Bulldog!

Our students’ safety is of primary importance to us. The Walled Lake School District uses a video entry system at every school. During school hours, all visitors must enter through the Main Entry and use the video system by pressing the button and stating their name and purpose. Once verified, you will be admitted into a secure vestibule. Please do not attempt to enter through any other doors. We ask for your patience, as our office staff may be busy, and there could be a brief delay at certain times of the day.

For the security of our students and staff, all entrances are locked once the school day begins. Please do not ask a staff member or student to let you in through any door, and do not hold the door for another adult approaching the building. All visitors must be admitted individually through the front entrance by office staff. Your cooperation helps us maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone in our school community.

As you are aware, we live in an ever-changing, technological world. A major shift that we are all experiencing is the pervasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI). To help our students navigate this new addition to our world we will be providing background and instruction to our 6-12 grade students on how and when it is appropriate to use AI tools in the classroom this school year. These tools will be introduced thoughtfully and responsibly, with staff receiving ongoing professional development throughout the year.

Please refer to the attached parent letter and student agreement and reach out if you have any questions about the use of AI in the classrooms.

The Michigan School Meals program will continue to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students through September 30, 2025. Funding for the program beyond that date has not yet been finalized. If the state does not extend funding, families who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals under federal guidelines may need to pay for meals beginning October 1.

To help us prepare, families are encouraged to complete the Child Nutrition and Education Benefits Application in Skyward Family Access during online registration. This form helps secure funding, supports educational programs, and may provide additional benefits such as reduced testing fees, discounted college applications, and lower internet costs.

The District's Food Service Department will share updates as soon as more information becomes available.

*Bus Route Information-

Bus route information for general education students will be available in Skyward Family Access beginning at 8am on Friday August 15th. Special education students, pending finalized student lists, should receive a phone call from their drivers August 19th-21st with their busing information. As you all know, changes will be made to routes through the first several weeks of school. We ask that parents continue to monitor their children's bus route information online, so they have the most up to date information.

*New Students-

Once school has started and as new students continue to enroll, please contact the dispatch office for busing information. Once you have that information, you will then issue a bus pass to the student for the bus driver. The transportation office does not give busing information to students who do not have information in Skyward. We have no way to confirm that the individual we are speaking with is authorized to receive any information about the student.

*In-District Transfer and School of Choice Bus Riders-

Every year, IDT and SOC riders must request a bus seat using the Google form on the transportation website. Our drivers will evaluate their ridership through September 12th and our routing staff will respond to parent requests for IDT and SOC request beginning the week of September 15th. Parents will need to have alternative transportation arrangements in place and shall not assume that a seat will be available for the current school year.

*Bus Passes-

Bus passes for students are not allowed. If the family has an emergency, building office staff can issue a one-time emergency bus pass for the student to ride to another student's home. Bus passes must be presented to the bus driver upon boarding, and students can only be transported to an approved existing bus stop location. Please contact the dispatch office to notify the staff of your approval. Please note that transportation office staff will not approve a bus pass if a parent calls and we will direct them to contact their student's building office. On occasion, Crystal or I will approve a bus pass and/or be happy to partner with building staff to make the best determination for the students' safety.

*Kindergarten Students-

Drivers are not to release a Kdg/Jk student without a parent/guardian present at the bus stop. Drop off permission slips are available on the transportation website and must be filled out if a parent wants their student to be released to an individual other than themselves, including older siblings who ride the same bus. Transportation staff will be tagging the backpacks of all Kdg/Jk students so they are easy to identify. If you see these red bands on the loop of their backpacks, please do not take them off; they are critical to our mission.

*Bus Discipline-

Transportation utilizes the WLCSD Transportation Handbook to address student behavior concerns. Please email Crystalh@deantrans.com if you have any questions/concerns about that process. While Crystal does have a WLCSD email, that is not monitored and responses to that email will be delayed, if at all.

*Buster the Bus-

Every year our team visits each Elementary school to do a short assembly with all Kdg, 1st, and 2nd grade students. An email will come within the first several weeks of school with more information and a calendar for each building to choose a date for their assembly.

*Routing-

All routing requests and information should be direct to walledlakerouter@deantrans.com

*Transportation Contact Information-

All transportation contact information can be found on the WLCSD transportation website and I have also included it here.

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.

WALLED LAKE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY TYPE OF HEALTH OR ACCIDENT INSURANCE FOR INJURIES INCURRED BY YOUR CHILD AT SCHOOL.

If your child is injured while at school, all costs are the responsibility of the parents and/or guardians. As a service to students and their families, our District is making available a student accident insurance plan for your child at a very nominal cost. The District offers this program because of trends in rising family health and dental insurance costs, increased deductibles, co-payments or lack of health or dental insurance coverage.

REASONS TO PURCHASE THIS COVERAGE:

1. Deductible and co-pays in your health plan. Many health plans have increased the amount of out-of-pocket expenses.

2. No insurance.

This plan will provide benefits for medical expenses incurred because of an accident. If you have other insurance, benefits can be applied to your deductible or co-pay. If you have no other insurance, this will become your primary accident plan.

First Agency, Inc., will be administering the program for Voluntary Student Accident Insurance. All information is attached to this email is also can be found on the district website under Families.

Parent Letter - To be distributed to your student population and posted to your school’s website.

Student Optional Accident Plans - To be posted on your school’s website ONLY. You may download and print a copy, however, it should be kept in the office and distributed upon parent request.

Schedule of Benefits and Premiums - To be posted to your school’s website ONLY. You may download and print a copy, however, it should be kept in the office and distributed upon parent request only.

All information may be found online, as explained in the Parent Letter, at www.1stagency.com as well as on the District’s website.

Each year we have questions regarding the District’s liability for accidents. Please note the first sentence of the Parent Letter States:

“WALLED LAKE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY TYPE OF HEALTH OR ACCIDENT INSURANCE FOR INJURIES INCURRED BY YOUR CHILD AT SCHOOLS”

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