Talk Sup't. 3/25/2011

Talk Sup’t. - 3/25/2011

Congratulations!

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

I am so proud and excited to announce that the WBHS Student Leadership Class AND the WBHS Student Government have just been awarded the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals/Michigan Association of Student Councils HIGHEST AWARD, THE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. Student Leadership scored the state's FIRST PERFECT SCORE!

If you see our student leaders today or next week, please congratulate them!  Two of our students, Mac Coddington and Becca Miller will be presenting our "Random Acts of Kindness" project to students from around the state at the MASC State Conference this weekend and seven of our students will be in Traverse City to accept our awards!

STATE DECA COMPETITION

70 Marketing students attended the State DECA Competition and won 101 awards over the weekend! 45 of those 70 students earned State Finalist awards including 29 moving on to represent Michigan at the National Competition in Orlando, Florida. Every one of the students should be congratulated for the fine way they represented West Bloomfield during the 3 day conference. Best wishes to those students in Orlando! Thanks to Jerry Whitlock and our exceptional Marketing Department for making us proud!

MSBOA

Our bands continue to shine and it is with great pleasure that I share the following news from Director of Orchestras, Linda Trotter. This past weekend, the WBHS Symphonic String Orchestra competed in the MSBOA Orchestra Festival where they received top ratings; a 1st Division.  This now makes them eligible to compete at States. 

The Concert String Orchestra also competed at the MSBOA Orchestra Festival and received a Second Division Rating. Congratulations!!

OPTIMIST ESSAY CONTEST

Congratulations to the students who won and delivered their essays at the Keego Harbor Optimist Club Essay Contest. They are all from Abbott Middle School and they did a fantastic job of delivering their essays in which they contemplated the phrase “How My Education is the Key to a Successful Future” as part of the Optimist International Essay Contest for 2011.

The winners were:  1^st Place Bridget Farmer;  7^th grade, 2^nd Place Serena Mansour 7^th grade;  3^rd Place Parker Jacobs 6^th grade. Congratulations to all of those who participated as well!

In addition, Bridget Farmer’s essay will be sent to the district to be judged with winners from other Optimist Clubs in the district. College scholarships are available for top winners at the district level. The winner of the district competition will be sent to the international level contest. “Bridget did a wonderful job presenting her essay on the topic posed to her,” Club President and West Bloomfield High School Principal Tom Shelton said. “The members of our Optimist Club have no doubt that all three students have a bright future ahead of them.”

SOLAR ARRAY

An article in the Detroit Free Press this week highlighted Alternative Energy projects in several metro Detroit area schools and it highlighted our Solar Array Panel and Josh Barclay who spearheaded the project. Note a correction to this article that our array is actually 3.44 kW and the price is actually $45,000.  It is the largest TRACKING array of its kind and we will be getting figures on how much energy it is generating soon.

You can read the article in its entirety at

http://www.freep.com/article/20110320/NEWS05/103200493/Alternative-energy-projects-switch-several-metro-Detroit-schools

NEGOTIATIONS

The Administration officially met with the West Bloomfield Education Association (WBEA), the Union that represents the Teachers of the district, yesterday on March 24.

The Board of Education is committed to keeping fiscal responsibility. There has been no significant progress and no new date has been set as of this writing. We will continue to keep you informed when a new date is scheduled.

LEGISLATION – Take Action!

The administration's K-12 funding proposal is being debated in the Senate and House school aid committees.   It contains a cut in public K-12 public educational funding which would be the largest in memory and would be occurring at a time that the S.A.F. has enough money to provide a $200 per student increase to every student in the state. The cut to public K-12 schools would be -7.3% and would actually be -10.3% if the increase in the retirement obligation is taken in to account -this cut in educational funding would be 5 times greater in actual loss dollar amounts than any other budget area, would be tied for the largest on a percentage basis and would be occurring at the same time that corrections, attorney general's office, veterans affairs, treasury, natural resources, environmental quality, technology and transportation budgets were all receiving increases in funding from the State.

A failure to convince your elected officials that the S.A.F. is only for public K-12 schooling will mean drastic cuts to student programs in every school at levels never seen before in our state.  It isn't the school aid fund that has a deficit.  Stop the Raid!

We ask that you take the following actions in week 10:

 1.      Send a letter to Senate and House education committee members.  While these members may not be your local legislators, they will have a role in determining potential funding in your district.  Click here to be directed to an action alert where you can write them and tell your story.

 2.      Forward this message to your key communicator list.

3.       Visit gomasa.org/stop-the-raid.org for more information.

TODAY’S NEWS

In an article by Lori Higgins today in the Detroit Free Press, “150 Michigan School Systems on Verge of Going Broke”, you can see how districts across the state are reducing costs and trying to transform the way that they do business, yet teetering on the edge of going broke even before the Governor’s proposed cuts. To read the entire article on www.freep.com, go to:

http://www.freep.com/article/201103250300/NEWS05/103250375

Metro Detroit school districts fearful of being taken over by emergency financial managers

In a related article, Higgins focuses on concerns that under the new emergency financial manager law that Gov. Rick Snyder signed last week, districts could be on a list of those that could be taken over because of their  deficits that are growing.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110325/NEWS05/103250377

Budget Cuts Hitting Deeper in Districts Nationwide

And throughout the nation, school districts are all facing the same budget short fall. It’s becoming more uncommon to find a district without financial problems now and in spite of resilience in school communities, it is becoming more and more difficult to decide where to make cuts.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/25/26districts_ep.h30.html?tkn=UXRFseZwZpOV4X0drqdMzwiaQ4VVFk%2FL9zCR&cmp=clp-edweek

                              

SOC

Applications for School Of Choice continue to be accepted at this time now through March 30 for Kindergarten -3^rd grade with very limited openings in grades 2-3. The lottery will be held on April 13. Schools of Choice deadline for grades 10, 11, 12 at Oakland Early College is April 14.

THIS WEEKEND

I saw the Wizard of Oz last night performed by the Orchard Lake Middle School Theatre and it was phenomenal! As Director Janey Compton and Music Director April Tini promised us, this is ‘not your mother’s Wizard of Oz’! Thanks to the original scene that was added and written by Max Vinogradov, Sean Wigler and Benjamin Reinheimer (members of the cast) this play really DID have a twist! You can still catch it tonight at West Bloomfield High School at 7:00 pm. This is a great family experience – kids and seniors alike LOVED IT. For tickets email Renee Floer at reneefloer@sbcglobal.net or Tickets are available at the door for $10.

Saturday!! Lots going on at the high school! While the 5^th grades from all schools will be playing Intramural basketball in a round robin format, the halls will be busy with the Community Education Summer Camp Fair from 11 am to 2 pm, and moms will be selling slightly used baby and kid items at the Mom-2-Mom Sale.   

At the Camp Fair parents will be able to meet camp instructors and take part in hands-on demonstrations and other activities. There will also be door prizes and someone will win 1 FREE week of camp this summer!

At the Mom-2-Mom Sale, you’ll find clothing, toys, and lots of large ticket items from furniture and strollers to playpens. These sales have been getting bigger and bigger each season and are a great way to save money on great items for kids!

SPORTS

Today, Friday, March 25th, at 4:00 pm the West Bloomfield High School Boys JV Basketball team will be competing against Waterford Mott High School. This is a home event and will be held at the High School. West Bloomfield High School Boys Varsity Basketball team will also be competing against Waterford Mott at West Bloomfield High School and that game will begin at 6:00 PM.

Tonight, the West Bloomfield High School Girls Varsity Soccer team will be facing off against Waterford Mott High School at West Bloomfield High School beginning at 7:00 PM.

MIX AND MINGLE

I want to extend a warm welcome to the new Director of the Greater West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Jules Chapala. If you get a chance next Wednesday morning, March 30 at 8:00 am, stop at the Orchard Mall Center Court for a continental breakfast and introduce yourself to Jules and wish her well in her new position. We work with our community partners in many different ways and thank them for their continuous support. This event is open to all and you will have the opportunity to introduce yourself to Jules and also your business to the attendees.

Have a great weekend!!

Talk Sup't. 3/18/2011

Talk Sup’t. - 3/18/2011

Congratulations FOR NATIONAL RECOGNITION!

We are so proud that West Bloomfield School District has been named to the AP^® Achievement List by the College Board for significant gains in Advanced Placement^® Access and Student Performance. Only 388 US public school districts across the nation are honored.

West Bloomfield School District has achieved this by opening AP classroom doors to a significantly broader pool of students, while maintaining or improving the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher. From 2008 to 2010, WBSD has increased the number of students participating in AP from 274 to 385, while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher, the score typically needed to earn college credit. 

I am proud that the strength of our PreK – 12 curriculum has allowed us to receive this distinguished honor. Our minority and socio-economic students’ scores have strengthened our resolve to utilize our APID (Advanced Placement International Diploma) program.

This is a very exciting benchmark for our district!

For the news release linked on our website, please go to http://www.westbloomfield.k12.mi.us/files/filesystem/AP%20AchievementPress%20Release.pdf

For the award announcement on the college board website, please go to

http://press.collegeboard.org/releases/2011/college-board-honors-4-districts-advanced-placement-district-year-awards

To view the entire list please follow this link:

http://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/11b3455%20AP%20District%20Achieve%20FINAL%20WEB-PDF%203-11-11.pdf

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS . . .

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have suffered as a result of the earthquake and resulting Tsunami that have devastated the country of Japan. We have educated many children from Japan in the West Bloomfield School District and we pray for those in our community who have families there and are concerned about their loved ones.

Once again I am proud to say that our West Bloomfield School District buildings have taken it upon themselves to raise funds in various ways in order to make monetary donations for relief in that country. I hope that we will all be kind and thoughtful as we keep all of the families in mind as our concern about Japan grows.

OAKLAND COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

There is a resource just added by the OC Health Division to answer community questions about radiation effects. We have posted a Frequently Asked Questions About Japan’s Radiation Events supplied to us from the Oakland County Health Division for your information. It is also posted on the Health Division website at http://www.oakgov.comhealth/.

NEGOTIATIONS

The Administration will officially meet with the West Bloomfield Education Association (WBEA), the Union that represents the Teachers of the district, on March 24.

The Board of Education is committed to keeping fiscal responsibility. The union has not put anything on the table that would generate a significant amount to meet the district’s needs or allow us to reach an agreement.

LEGISLATION

We had a great opportunity to speak with our legislators on Wednesday evening at our PCN meeting at WB High School, as Representative Lisa Brown and Senator Mike Kowall joined us at our PCN – MEET AND GREET YOUR LEGISLATORS evening. It is a comfort to know that we are well represented in Lansing and that parents have the opportunity to follow up with these legislators to make the appropriate connections in Lansing to address issues that impact education funding. We hope you will continue to monitor the events as they fight for more education dollars to come our way.
A link to our legislators' contact emails, addresses and phone numbers is on our homepage at
http://www.westbloomfield.k12.mi.us/files/filesystem/Legislators%20Contact2010-2011.pdf

SOC

Applications for School Of Choice continue to be accepted at this time now through March 30 for Kindergarten -3^rd grade with very limited openings in grades 2-3. The lottery will be held on April 13.

EARLY CHILDHOOD OPEN HOUSE

Nearly 90 families toured our Community Education Preschool Academy Open House on Wednesday held at Ealy Elementary and at ACS. The Open House was well attended as parents visited model classrooms and potential preschoolers explored the new environment, jumped in Bouncers, read books and played with educational toys while their parents registered on-site for next fall. We welcome all of our new preschoolers and look forward to seeing them in the classrooms this fall!

Have a great weekend!!

Talk Sup't. March 11, 2011

Talk Sup’t. - 3/11/2011

Congratulations!

Senior Avery Hasenauer – Wrestling

Check out our new local online newspaper, the West Bloomfield Patch. They have begun a weekly feature on Wednesday spotlighting Whiz Kids, kids who are ‘successful, talented and just plain awesome’. This week’s Whiz Kids is senior Avery Hasenauer, who placed sixth in the individual wrestling finals last week.

The Green Power of One – What Can *I* do?

The LWVOA (League of Women Voters of Oakland) sponsored a contest to create a Public Service Announcement to emphasize the opportunities and responsibility of each individual to conserve energy.

Students Shelby Bruseloff, Allie Ravid, Nikhil Mankuzhy, Kara Brody and Kelly Giuliani have won SECOND PLACE in the TV category.

Their PSA (Public Service Announcement) will be shown on March 31 at 7 pm at the WB Public Library as they receive their award from LWVOA, and later on several TV stations. Watch for it!!

NEGOTIATIONS

The Administration met with the West Bloomfield Education Association (WBEA), the Union that represents the Teachers of the district, on March 8.

The Board of Education is committed to keeping fiscal responsibility. The union has not put anything on the table that would generate a significant amount to meet the district’s needs or allow us to reach an agreement. We have another negotiation session scheduled with the mediator for March 24. There may be a session before then without a mediator. We will keep you informed.

You may view the Deficit Elimination Plan at http://www.westbloomfield.k12.mi.us/files/filesystem/DeficitEliminationPlan.pdf

COFFEE TALK

Last night at our Coffee Talk at Orchard Lake Middle School, Tom Goulding presented our current financial status and what the Governor’s budget proposal will mean to our funding. 


Differing voices were able to express their positions on all matters of cost cutting.

As has been our practice, Dr. Robert Martin asks all those who attend the Coffee Talks to place suggestions on Post-It notes and apply them to a large sheet divided between Reductions and Non-Negotiable items. All of the suggestions that have been generated from our Coffee Talks are being compiled and will be posted online soon.

Our next step is going to be to establish an online survey of these suggestions so that all members of the community can see the input and the cost cutting measures that have come to the attention of the board.

With this level of communication, these are the voices that we want to help our district to help us move forward. We have the responsibility to help our students to be the best IN and FOR the world.

Tom Goulding attended Fridays’ morning’s legislative breakfast and summarized these comments and suggestions that were made from and to the legislators that were present:

·       Plan on, at least for right now, the $470.00/pupil reduction in the foundation allowance. The legislators indicated they are trying to lessen the blow but for the time being plan on the full amount.

·       The robbing of state aid for community colleges and universities drew considerable discussion>The superintendents felt that if this funding goes through then community colleges and universities should be under the same disclosure and transparency requirements as local school districts. Several superintendents also expressed that they would no longer support community college millage elections if school funding for same is approved. There was also talk of a possible legal challenge but that could take years. We also had lively discussion regarding the true intent of Proposal A, which was to fund K-12 and not higher education.

·       There were ideas that suggested, and in light of the state controlling school funding, that we ego to a state-wide compensation plan for all public school employees and indexed to regional cost differences around the state and further do the same with state-wide healthy insurance. We also told legislators that if you want school district consolidation, then, mandate it.

·       All of this being said, the following is another update on where we might be pending a final state budget:

• Per pupil reduction                           $         470/pupil
• Pension increase                                          230/pupil
• Sp. Ed.  PA-18 Reduction                             152/pupil
• Total per pupil                                 $          852/pupil
• Total Dollars                                    $5,803,824

·       We also expect approval of the EFM bill (Emergency Financial Manager) and also the bill that would restrict payment of step increases and health insurance premium increase until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.

You can view Tom Goulding’s PowerPoint presentation at

http://www.westbloomfield.k12.mi.us/files/filesystem/Budget%20Coffee%20Talk%202011.pdf

PCN – MEET AND GREET YOUR LEGISLATORS

(Parent Communication Network)

The next PCN meeting will be held at West Bloomfield High School on Wednesday evening , March 16 at 7:00 pm. This is a Meet and Greet Your Legislators with Senator Mike Kowall and Representative Lisa Brown who will be there to hear your opinions on the state of our budget. The severity of the proposed cuts from Lansing could devastate school districts like West Bloomfield. If a difference is to be made it will be at the legislative level. Please join us to hear what our legislators have to share with us.

SOC

Applications for School Of Choice are being accepted at this time now through March 30 for Kindergarten -3^rd grade with very limited openings in grades 2-3. The lottery will be held on April 13.

MARCH IS READING MONTH AT EALY

Come to Ealy next Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday and for just fifty cents, you can sit on the Reading Throne during their Read-A-Thon Marathon and read a story to students. Pick any day to read from March 15 - 17, 8:30 am - 2:30 pm, and help keep the Throne occupied all day!

Ready, get set, read! Ealy Elementary students are celebrating March is Reading Month by participating in activities keeping with the theme of "Run With a Good Book ... Exercise Your Mind!”. Each week, students are logging their daily reading and earning "classroom miles" for time spent reading at home. Other highlights of the month include PTO sponsored Pajamas and Cookies Read-in, Spirit Days, All School Reading Bingo, a classroom door decorating contest, and a USED book sale.

I encourage parents to teach their children to engage in all reading opportunities. The pay-off is worth it!

SOS CAMPAIGN – YOUR DONATION STILL MATTERS!

This year the foundation is asking for the same commitment of $1/day for each student or any amount with which you are comfortable.  Please go to our website at  www.wbef.org to make your online donation. The WBEF focus for the 2010-2011 academic year is on the purchase of specific textbooks, adding technology and supporting the Arts.  This year you may earmark your donation where you feel the need is greatest.

If you have any questions regarding the campaign, please contact the foundation at info@wbef.org. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made online at www.wbef.org or by sending checks payable to the West Bloomfield Educational Foundation, 5810 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield, MI. 48324. 

EARLY CHILDHOOD OPEN HOUSE

On Wednesday, March 16, West Bloomfield Community Education Preschool Academy will be  holding an Open House from 4:00 – 6:30 pm at Ealy Elementary and at our ACS Building at Hiller and Commerce. Come visit us or tell your neighbors about our Preschool that is celebrating 25 years. There will be a model classroom with refreshments, drawings for prizes, fun activities for the kids and registration on-site. Stop in and see what our Preschool Academy is all about.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!