WBMS Update: February 13, 2023
West Bloomfield Middle School Updates
Whats Happening at WBMS:
This week:
Spirit week:
Mon 13 - I LOVE being comfy: PJ DAY
Tues 14- Happy Hearts Day : WEAR VALENTINES COLORS OR HEARTS
Wed 15 - The Perfect Pair : TWIN DAY
Thurs 16 - Peace and Love: TIE DYE DAY
Fri 17- I love my PJs: PJ Day
Sports:
Tuesday, Feb 14th: Volleyball away at Cranbrook
Volleyball (we have multiple teams) HOME at 4:30 (student spectators must go home and come back)
Wednesday, Feb 15th: Wrestling match AWAY at East Hills
Thursday, Feb 16th: Volleyball away at West Hills
Volleyball (we have multiple teams) HOME at 4:00 (student spectators can stay after school)
Continuing: February 6th to March 24th: WIDA testing for ELL students (4 tests)
Registration for current 6th and 7th graders begins: Tuesday, 2/14 and Thursday, 2/16 counselors are doing scheduling with 6/7 graders in Science classes
Google for for electives due Feb 28th
see below for the coursebook and link to register for classes
Friday, Feb 17th: PTO Bagel fundraiser before school**to volunteer at this event see link below
Candy grams continue to be on sale for 1$. This is a fundraiser and the candy grams will be distributed on Valentine's Day, Feb 14th. If you wish to buy a candy gram for your student, you can do so in the main office.
February 20-21 Mid-Winter Break
Upcoming:
Mark your calendars: Frozen Jr is our BIG musical for the year. Our 6th graders will travel to the high school on March 3rd at 10am to watch a preview.
Tickets will be on sale for March 3rd and 4th see below
March 13th- DSO Civic Youth Ensembles Middle School Honor Days at Orchestra Hall
March 15th No School for Students
March 22nd: National Junior Honor Society Induction (more info to come shortly)
June 2nd: Fun day (all grades) more information to come soon
March 27-31 Spring Break
April 12th: PSAT more details coming soon
Also, mark your calendars as we are fortunate to have Funding the Future coming to WBMS on April 28th for 8th graders. More information soon!
8th Grade Dates:
March 9th: 8th graders tour WBHS-9:30-11:15am (reverse field trip--no permission slips needed but if you do not want your student to go contact Mrs. Graff via em
March 16th: 9th grade parent night at WBHS 7pm-flyer below
March 16th: WBHS counselors visit with 8th graders
March 20-21 WBHS counselors pick up schedule requests
March 24th: WBHS Leadership applications are due-see below for details
May: Field Trip to Holocaust Memorial Center: May 17 and May 19 (details and permission slips coming after spring break)
June 5th: Cedar Point trip (more information about costs and times coming soon)
June 9th: 8th grade dance (evening event)
June 13th: 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony details coming soon
Fall 2023 Dates for rising middle school students:
August 22
6th grade orientation
students: 9-noon
parent meeting 7-8pm
August 23
7th and 8th grade
last names A-M
students: 9am-12, and 1pm-3
NEW student parent orientation Aug 23, 7-8pm
August 24
7th and 8th grade
last names N-Z
students: 9am-12, and 1-3pm
Athlete Night 7-8pm
African American Read-In
Oakland Schools is proud to host author Derrick Barnes and illustrator/author Vanessa Brantley Newton as our guests for this year's African American Read-In. These award winning authors have a vast collection of books for readers of all ages. The first 500 Oakland County students who register will receive one of their books.
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2023
Time: 6:00 - 8 pm
Location: Virtual via Zoom
You'll receive a confirmation email that includes the event's Zoom link -- keep an eye out for that information in your email inbox. You can find more information about the National African American Read-In here: https://ncte.org/get-involved/african-american-read-in/. Please contact stacey.lamb@oakland.k12.mi.us with any questions.
Guidance for student spectators
Lakers of the Week
Ella Diaek, nominated by Mrs. Dershem - Ella is not only a terrific student, but she is super kind! Ella shows kindness to all of her peers and teachers. She is a leader who happily takes on responsibilities to help others! Keep headed down this path of greatness!
Marisa Mihos, nominated by Mrs. Dershem - Wow! Marisa is incredibly tuned in to what is going on in class. She always excels. She shows up daily to learn and has fun with friends. Marisa is a quiet leader and has a kind and compassionate middle school heart!
Fabrizio Clemente, nominated by Mrs. Cooley - Fabrizio is always asking great questions. He is a kind, helpful classmate.
8th Graders: WBHS Leadership
Student Leadership is currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 school year.
The goal of the Student Leadership class is to develop your leadership skills and to provide you with opportunities that put your skills to use in order to impact your school and community positively while planning events.
Please complete this application on/before Friday, the 24th at 4:00 PM. This application must be filled out if you are interested in signing up to take the Student Leadership class during the next school year.Frozen Jr: Our Musical
Once there, do a search for "West Bloomfield" to find the show.
$5 student tickets are available at the door only.
STEAM
Currently enrolled students who would like to take STEAM electives classes must have the STEAM 'tag' to pursue those classes. (see below for information about those middle school classes)
Click on the link below to learn more information about the application process.
If you are unsure whether your currently enrolled student has been 'tagged' for STEAM you can contact our main office or email your student's counselor for confirmation. Once a student has the STEAM "tag' designation, there is no need/requirement to test again.
APPLY HERE - Applications are accepted online,
January 23-February 21, 2023
Middle School STEAM Classes
STEAM (must have the tag or designation)
ALL STEAM STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE STEAM: Design and Modeling
PRIOR TO CHOOSING OTHER STEAM CLASSES
The STEAM electives are for students who have met the STEAM program requirements. If you would like to have your student tested for STEAM, please register here: click here for links to STEAM testing
STEAM 1: Designing and Modeling - Semester Course
Students discover the design process and develop an understanding of the influence of creativity and innovation in their lives. They are then challenged and empowered to use and apply what they’ve learned throughout the unit to design a therapeutic toy for a child who has cerebral palsy. Required to take this STEAM class prior to going on to all other STEAM classes.
Computer Science for Innovators and Maker (CSIM) - Semester Course: This course will allow students to discover computer science concepts and skills by creating personally relevant, tangible, and shareable projects. Throughout the unit, students will learn about programming for the physical world by blending hardware design and software development. They will design and develop a physical computing device, interactive art installation, or wearable, and plan and develop code for microcontrollers that bring their physical designs to life. Prerequisite in order to take STEAM App Creator.
STEAM 2: App Creator -Semester Course: This unit will expose students to computer science by computationally analyzing and developing solutions to authentic problems through mobile app development, and will convey the positive impact of the application of computer science to other disciplines and to society. Students will customize their experience by choosing a problem that interests them from the areas of health, environment, emergency preparedness, education, community service, and school culture. Because problems in the real world involve more than one discipline, the unit will introduce students to biomedical science concepts as they work on solutions for the specific problems they choose to tackle. Must take STEAM: Design and Modeling and Computer Science for Innovators and Maker (CSIM) prior to taking this class
STEAM 3: Medical Detectives - Semester Course: In the Medical Detectives unit, students play the role of real-life medical detectives as they collect and analyze medical data to diagnose disease. They solve medical mysteries through projects and lab scenarios, measure and interpret vital signs, analyze a sheep brain, investigate disease outbreaks, and explore how a breakdown within the human body can lead to dysfunction. Must take STEAM: Design and Modeling as a prerequisite.
Community Service Opportunities
Mrs. Carson needs 8-10 volunteers for a kindergarten Lego camp on the following days/times 9:30-12:30 March 4th, March 11th & March 18th at Roosevelt Elementary School 3800 Orchard Lake Rd..
Please fill out the Google Form if you are available and interested: https://forms.gle/xwZr17ftjaVgC5tq8
2022 Ocean Awareness Contest: Congratulations Quentin
Quentin received a cash award and is featured in Bow Seat’s ocean advocacy Gallery. View Quentin's award-winning piece below.
2023 Ocean Awareness Contest
" Climate Heroes in Action," which invites students ages 11-18 to create art, writing, or other creative media that highlights the efforts of an inspirational person who is fighting the climate crisis. Additional Contest details:
- Students can work as individuals or as a group/class/club
- Submissions accepted in visual art, poetry and spoken word, creative writing, performing arts (music and dance), film, and multimedia
- Hundreds of cash awards available, ranging from $50 to $1,500
- Educator Innovation Awards ($750) for teachers who support their students' participation in the Contest
- Free to enter
- Deadline: June 13, 2023
Ordering House Photos
2. Select group photos
3.Select size/add to cart
4. Go to cart
5. click check out
6. Select school: West Bloomfield Middle School
7. Select activity: Class photo
8.Under select team level: choose house for example: upper yellow
Photos will be sent to school for distribution (no shipping)
Cut off to order: Monday, Feb 13th
Congratulations to our students selected to participate in the DSO Civic Youth Ensembles Middle School Honor Days
Serene Meram
Charlotte Hartley
Miriam William
Saniya Pokle
Rylee Armstrong
Chralieze Jones
Sierra Gamble
Riya Subnani
Elizabeth Brandon
Ellison Mack
Daniel Thomakos
Rebekah Kim
Casey Forstner
Jack Crane
Nathan Lorzeille
Winifred Washington
SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Local STEM Powered Expo - Feb 18th
SWE is hosting a regional conference at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit, and they are hosting an Outreach event tied to our SWENext programming (info here) that is targeting aspiring female technologists and engineers.
Students will learn firsthand about SWENext and the resources available to parents, students, educators, SWE members, and adult advocates.
They will also have the opportunity to network firsthand with representatives and organizations in the industry.
Students will be able to participate in activities to stimulate their interests in engineering and
other STEM fields. The event is free to attend and is open to all middle and high school students- along with their parents/guardians/caregivers - who are interested in engineering.
Event details are as follows:
WE Local STEM powered Expo | Saturday, February 18 th 1:30 – 3:30pm | Huntington Place,
Detroit MI
1:30 - 2:30 PM STEM Powered EXPO
2:30 - 3:25 PM Speed mentoring programming
3:30 PM End of event
Sign Up Link HERE.
If you have additional questions about the programming or about SWE in general, please feel
free to reach out to swedetroitsection@gmail.com.
See flyer below:
West Bloomfield Middle School Wrestling falls to Bloomfield Hills Middle School 66 – 65 Feb. 8
The Lakers wrestled tough but would eventually fall in a nail biting finish to Bloomfield Hills Middle School. Beginning the meet very strong the Lakers would start by winning six of the first seven matches! After which Bloomfield Hills started to rally taking the next four matches to claw their way back from the big deficit. The back half of the dual meet turned into a back and forth battle in which the Lakers would fall short by just one team point. Leading the Lakers with two wins on the day was Christian Ausi, what a tremendous improvement in just a couple of days!
Winning via pin were:
Christian Ausi
Josue Martinez
Gabriel Khizanishvili
Leath Hadeed
Nicholas Voorhees
Andre Washington
Jesus Gutierrez Mosqueda
Cairo Liley
Carson Acree
Winning via decision were:
Christian Ausi
Anthony Brown III
Bryan Valentin
Next up, the Lakers will be traveling to to East Hills Middle School on February 15th at 4:30pm
GO LAKERS!!
7th Grade Volleyball Results from Thursday, Feb 9
We lost to East Hills but top scoring players included Avery Robrahn and Brooklyn Forbers
Order your 2022-23 School Yearbook Today!
https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/order/lookupjob?jobNumber=12959223
Yearbooks are not automatically included in school picture orders like elementary school.
Our yearbook is a hard cover book.
Middle School Track
Final Forms instructions:
Please complete the FinalForms registration for participation in West Bloomfield School District Athletics. All forms must be complete with parent and student signatures, and a valid physical dated after April 15th, 2022, must be submitted in order for a student-athlete to be able to participate in any tryout or practice. Please register at the following link: www.westbloomfield-mi.finalforms.com Attached below is also a FinalForms Parent Playbook to help you get started with registration. Thank you for your assistance in streamlining our registration process for West Bloomfield Athletics. West Bloomfield Parent Playbook
Recognizing our students
Honor Roll: All As, Bs, G (pass)
Principal's List: All As, and Gs (pass)
From the I-center:
Spring cleaning will be here before you know it…. if you have any of these items around your house and no longer need/use them we can definitely use them. Please consider donating them to the iCenter for students to create in the makers-space:
1. Tissue paper rolls/paper towel rolls
2. Puzzle pieces (small)
3. Extra yarn, thread, fabric, ribbon, felt
4. Buttons (all sizes/colors)
5. Scrap book paper, card stock, stationary, cards
6. Stickers (all kinds)
7. Any kind of beads, jewelry supplies
8. CDs/DVDs for decorating
9. Straws
10. Crepe paper
If you’re not sure please don’t hesitate to email cindy.carson@wbsd.org. Thanks for considering!
Advanced Math Testing
The timeline is:
- Letters updated (send Feb. 6th) - emailed to parents
- Nomination form (Open Feb. 6th - 28th) parent to complete nomination form and return
- Testing at the middle school will take place on March 8th for those who are registered
- Results week of April 10th (parents notified of results)
Valentines Dance
We will host another dance at the end of a charity week--details coming soon.
And yes, we are planning another Dodge Ball tourney for Charity week.
Parent Guidance
"WBSD has partnered with Parent Guidance.org to give parents free access to resources and helpful information. We have shared this information with our families. We hope that it will be useful for some of you as well!
ParentGuidance.org is an online service by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions.
Community Resources
As we near winter break, the WBMS staff wants to make sure all of our families have access to the resources they may need. This is the Oakland County Community Resource Guide, which includes resources about topics including Abuse & Protective Services; Food Pantries, Clothing & Household; Healthcare Services; Housing Assistance; and Parenting & Pregnancy Resources.
211 (United Way) offers resources/connections for family support as well. Parents/adults can call, text, or email. Here is the link to the 211 website, which is searchable by topic. Additionally, see these 211 flyers in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
Finally, here are some resources for Food Pantry/Supplies near WB/Oakland County.
Cafeteria pricing
Middle School Breakfast: $1.50 Middle School Lunch: $2.95
See below for a list of prices for all alacarte (snack) items
Our volunteers are AWESOME!
If you are interested in coming into the building to volunteer, we have a variety of areas to offer you the opportunity to participate in.
If you would like to begin the process of volunteering at the middle school please click on this link and complete the google form.
Once you have completed the form, you will be emailed the required forms to complete. Once those forms are completed and processed you will be contacted to arrange the date(s) and times to volunteer.
We look forward to having parents, and guardians in the building to support the educational process.
Link to google form: Click to begin the volunteer process
March 3rd 6th grade Field trip
to view part of the middle school musical "Frozen Jr"
This is what we call a reverse field trip, meaning, all students will attend (no fees, no permission slips). If parents do not want their 6th graders to attend there will be an opt out process in February.
Transportation: Bus Notes
If your student needs to ride a different bus home (or to a friend's house) a note must be dropped off in the main office before 1st hour, with a parent's signature. The note will be processed and can be picked up by the student during the day. The notes, authorized with a staff signature must be handed to the driver of the route. Students who do not have signed notes will not be allowed to ride a different bus.
Car Loop
My student needs help--what should I do?
Trusted Adults - Please encourage your students to utilize trusted adults in their schools. When we focus on relationship building, the culture of the school becomes one of inclusion and support where students feel comfortable confiding in trusted adults.
OK2Say - Michigan Student Safety Program - Report anonymous tips on criminal activity, potential harm, or threats using OK2Say. Call 855-565-2729.
Talk to Us - On our district website. This is a safe place to ask questions and report problems anonymously.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - Provides 24/7 confidential support for those in distress and suicide prevention.
Mental Health Resources
WBSD has partnered with Parent Guidance.org to give parents free access to resources and helpful information. ParentGuidance.org is an online service by licensed therapists that provides trusted and specialized courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions.
If you know of someone experiencing grief or stress this season, please click here for tips and strategies.
Baby, Its cold outside!
Coats that fit in a student's locker should stay there for the day (unless it is needed for recess). If a coat does not fit in the locker, students may hang coats on hooks in the Advisory classes during the school day.
Snow boots will be the house collaboration areas (we ordered plastic trays for the boots to be placed on).
We will continue to have an opportunity for students to go outside for recess as long as the students want to go out and the weather cooperates (for example, we will not offer the outside option during an ice storm)
If your student is waiting to be picked up in the car line please make sure they are appropriately dressed for the weather. We are asking that parents pick up those waiting in the car line ASAP due to the changing conditions of MIchigan's cold weather and no after school supervision for students waiting to be picked up.
Superintendent's Excellence Award
Students will be nominated by WBSD staff and administration each month. Each month the staff will be reminded of the nominations and sent a link to complete the nomination application. Each staff member can only nominate one (1) student per month.
A student cannot receive the award more than once within a year.
Previous Winners from WBMS: Max Columbus
Safeline--call for absence and/or tardy
248-865-4482
The line is open 24/7
Absences must be excused within 24 hours of the date
Medication at school
This includes, but is not limited to Tylenol, Tums, prescriptions, and Advil. Under no circumstances can a student be in possession of medication without the proper forms on file. Students possessing medication without the forms on file or distributing medication to other students will be subject to discipline following the district's Code of Conduct.
Nominate an 'Exceptional Educator'
Nominate an 'Exceptional Educator'
WXYZ (Channel 7) seeks your help in recognizing some of the exceptional educators within WBSD. Nominate a difference-maker today! A winner will be chosen monthly and will receive a $1,000 donation for their respective school or program, along with a $100 gift card to Happy's Pizza. Discover more and nominate a teacher or administrator as an exceptional educator.
Your Middle School Administration Team
Jermaine Evans, Assistant Principal
Blaine McDowell, Dean of Student Services
Lisa Graff, Assistant Principal
West Bloomfield Middle School
Email: Lisa.Graff@wbsd.org
Website: https://www.wbsd.org/west-bloomfield-middle-school
Location: 6000 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI, USA
Phone: 248-865-4480
Twitter: @WBMSAPGraff