Thursday, June 23, 2011

Talk Sup't June 23

Congratulations to West Bloomfield High School!

NEWSWEEK - America's Best High Schools

From the Oakland Press, June 22, 2011: “These are challenging times for secondary education. Cash-strapped school districts are cutting back; No Child Left Behind mandates test results; parents and students stress unabated. NEWSWEEK, which has been ranking the top public high schools in America for more than a decade, revamped its methodology this year in hopes of highlighting solutions. We enlisted a panel of experts—Wendy Kopp of Teach For America, Tom Vander Ark of Open Education Solutions (formerly executive director for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford professor of education and founder of the School Redesign Network—to develop a yardstick that fully reflects a school’s success turning out college-ready (and life-ready) students. To this end, each school’s score is comprised of six components: graduation rate (25%), college matriculation rate (25%), AP tests taken per graduate (25%), average SAT/ACT scores (10%), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10%), and AP courses offered (5%).”

Eight Oakland County schools were ranked among the Top 500 High Schools in the United States. Along with West Bloomfield High School were Andover, Northville, Troy Athens, Lahser, Berkley, Walled Lake Central and Northern. This is just another endorsement of our rigorous curriculum and the high standards we have set for ourselves. Congratulations to all staff who help to make WBHS one of the best in the nation.

NEW POSITIONS
I am so happy to welcome the following staff to their new positions in the school district:
Sheiko Elementary School
Robin Kocher, Principal
Abbott Middle School
Eric Pace, Assistant Principal
West Bloomfield High School:
Tom Shelton, Principal
Arthur Ebert, Assistant Principal
Oakland Early College
Jennifer Newman, Head of School
We welcome Art Ebert to the high school administration team. Art will continue to oversee the Fine Arts for the district. Head Band Director Jeremy Figlewicz will be working with new staff member Chad Mielens to help move our Marching Band program forward.
We will miss Blake Prewitt and Gary Weisserman as they are both leaving the state to assume position in Ohio and Florida respectively. We wish them and their families the best as they embark on their new paths.
Andy Groen has been supervising our District Media Center for the past 30 years, and will be deeply missed by the school district and the community at large for all the services he has provided to everyone. Andy’s children attended West Bloomfield Schools for many years, so we have come to know his family as well throughout the years. He has been a true blessing to our district, and we wish him the best in his retirement.
You will see a new face in the Board Office this fall as Nadine Linden will be enjoying her retirement. We wish Nadine the best in her relaxing years! Julie Rodecker-Holly will be leaving the attendance office at the high school and joining us in the Superintendent’s office and we look forward to working with her.

CONGRATULATIONS IN SPECIAL SERVICES!
A huge congratulations goes to Jennifer Perrone, who was presented with the Gregory Gwisdalla Special Education Administrator of the Year Award by the Special Education Administrators of Oakland County (SEAOC) at their annual meeting last evening.  Jennifer, Director of Special Services for our district, was nominated by her peers who recognized her for developing the West Bloomfield Transition Center, our Post Secondary Program that began last fall. The missions of the Transition Center is to guide and enable our adult special needs students to gain the skills necessary to make responsible decisions that allow them to lead independent, productive adult lives. Jennifer has also served as President of SEAOC this year, and went over and above her duties to assist the organization in overcoming several special challenges they were faced with.
Jennifer’s achievement represents not only her  personal commitment to our children with special needs, but also the caliber of professionalism that she employs to provide the best services possible to the students that we serve.

The award was created to honor the memory of Gregory Gwisdalla, a tireless
advocate for improved services and life outcomes for all children. Gwisdalla was
a distinguished leader in special education administration at the local, county,
regional, and state levels. He was Director of Special Education at Oakland Schools.

NEW BELL TIMES
Please notice that the new bell times for this fall are posted on our website. Transportation times will be different.
West Bloomfield School District Bell Times for the 2011-2012 School Year
School                                      Start Time                   End Time
High School                             7:10                             2:02
Orchard Lk M.S.                      7:50                             2:42
Abbott M.S.                             7:50                             2:42
Doherty                                   8:35                             3:27
Ealy                                         8:35                             3:27
Green                                      8:35                             3:27
Gretchko                                 9:15                             4:07
Scotch                                      9:15                             4:07
Roosevelt                                9:15                             4:07
Refuge                                     9:20                             4:21

WEBSITE
This summer we will be updating our website with a more user–friendly program that will have better structure and be easier to navigate.
We will also be moving towards a new, more efficient communication system with real-time data. Parents will be able to access student information such as attendance, grades and transcripts immediately. We look forward to these enhanced capabilities.

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Students will return in the fall to additional interactive white boards and new computers in their media centers and in various classrooms. At the same time West Bloomfield High School is slated to receive 40 Promethean boards. In addition, all buildings will be piloting 30 iPad2 units and taking advantage of various apps from Apple’s library of 65,000 educational apps. There will also be wireless capabilities in all media centers and various hallways in some of our buildings. New CAD computers and software at WBHS will make it possible for students interested in engineering and other related subjects to have state of the art workstations. Each media center will be using the new Destiny Library and Textbook Manager system which is a web-based program that is accessible anywhere, allowing teachers, media specialists, students and parents 24 hour access. The Destiny system is a “cloud” initiative that will be housed and managed on the Oakland School’s Server, therefore freeing space on our district servers and eliminating maintenance by our own tech department. Web-based accessibility means that parents can easily check to see what books are overdue,  check for fines, and browse the various catalogs. Reading levels are provided for every book, allowing students and teachers to access books that are appropriate for the reader. All of these enhancements are made possible by the Bond proposal that the community passed in 2009.  

WEST BLOOMFIELD HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
I remind you again, and I hope that you share this information with friends who are unaware that our construction projects are being paid for with ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money from the sale of bonds three years ago.
Also, know that bond dollars cannot be used for wages or salaries and can only be spent on our buildings, facilities and for energy efficiencies.  
Construction at Scotch Elementary begins with materials being delivered this week. In approximately three weeks, materials will be delivered to Sheiko Elementary and the roofers will be starting there. Each project will take around three weeks, weather permitting.
Boilers are being added to several buildings, and rooftop heating and cooling is being replaced at the high school. Panels on the outside of the high school that have been damaged or were blown off around the perimeter of the building are being replaced. Classrooms in the back of the high school are being updated.

You’ll notice that the fences are gone now from the tennis courts at West Bloomfield High School. They are being demolished to pave the way for new courts that are expected to be much more durable. The tennis courts were in such disrepair that they were becoming dangerous.
CURRICULUM
Last year was a challenging year without a doubt, and I look forward to the opening of the next school year. There will be much excitement as improved facilities and new programs will continue to advance the learning environment for students.
New programs:
AP Studio Art at West Bloomfield High School
Engineering Academy (Algebra I and Engineering)
Internship in Video Production
In addition to our new programs, we are expanding our Political Leadership program, now in its second year. We continue to provide a rigorous curriculum at all levels. Advanced Math at the elementary level will give us the chance to reach our goal of every 8th grader taking algebra as part of their math experience by the year 2013-14.
Dr. Robert Martin is working with the middle school math staff this year to prepare for pre-AP experience for middle school students. We continue to increase the number of students in AP classes and those taking AP exams as we move towards our goal of graduating more students with the Advanced Placement International Diploma (APID).
Students in all grades who are taking English classes in the fall are being given summer homework assignments.  Your child’s reading and writing development are of utmost importance to us as English educators. Research varies, but when students do not read over the summer, their reading loss can range anywhere from one to three months behind where they were when they left school in June. That is why, in an effort to combat the well-documented phenomenon of summer reading loss, we have created summer homework assignments for students in grades 9-11 and in our Advanced Placement classes. There is also homework for those math students taking Algebra 2 in the fall. Information is available on the WBHS website under Counseling Office in the Quicklinks, then select AP, Math, or English.

PUPIL ENROLLMENT
Families who are still trying to make decisions related to fall enrollment, please contact WBHS at 248-865-6725 for high school, and 248-865-6450 for all other schools to make arrangements.

ATHLETICS
In addition to our Laker Girls Soccer team becoming the OAA League Champions this year, (see May/June Laker, page 12) Coach Jason Clark reports to us that our girls soccer team made academic all-state with a 3.73 team GPA. Way to go, girls!
In Boys Track, our Laker team beat out 42 teams to win the county meet with a score of 59 points on June 2.
Congratulations go to Ryan Robinson, Robby Niehof, Hunter MacDonald and Nick Marino who set a new school record in the 4 x 800 relay with a time of 9:24:47!

Optimist Club of West Bloomfield
Junior Golf Outing at Wabeek Country Club
Please encourage your kids, grand kids, nieces, nephews, and friends to participate in this great yearly event.  The winner of our local tournament may be eligible to play in the District tournament next year, and the winner of District will have an opportunity to qualify for the International Championship. 
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
7:30 AM continental breakfast, Tee-off is 8:00 AM
Kids age 10-18 years old - join the
Optimist Club of West Bloomfield Annual Junior Golf Tournament at Wabeek Country Club!
There are seven age brackets for girls and boys:
Girls: 10-12, 13-14, 15-18
Boys: 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18
For additional information, please contact Bob Dube   bobdube@cauley.net  or 586-764-1784, or Lisa Rochford. lisa.rochford@bestsoursecu.org or call her at 248-683-1616.

WBEF
West Bloomfield Educational Foundation will again present a pre-screening of the much awaited film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II on Thursday, July 14th at the
Emagine Theater Novi at 7:30 pm.
West Bloomfield School District Families will be the first to see this film (it opens to the public on July 15th).  Support our district and take your kids to this highly anticipated movie.
Family ticket price:  $13 per person ($3 goes back to the WBEF)
                              *Family tickets are guaranteed a seat in the theater
Reserved seat price- limited number: $20 per person ($10 goes back to the WBEF)
                              *Reserved seats will be guaranteed a prime location (center section),
                                so that you may be seated together in the theater.
Only a limited number of tickets are available. 
For immediate confirmation you can register online with a credit card at www.wbcommed.org or by check/cash at the Community Education office located at 5810 Commerce Road between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm.
Tickets will be available for pickup at the Community Education office after July 5th
NO tickets are guaranteed until the registration and payment is processed by the Community Education office.

Family Fun Night – Save the Date!  SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
The West Bloomfield School District will be holding a Family Fun Night, saluting our U.S. Military, Police and Fire Heroes, in honor of the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
This will be a great evening with FREE games and fun activities put on by each school in the district before our Friday night Football Game against Troy on September 23. Tailgates and Football, Policemen and Firemen, Military and School Spirit will all add  up to an evening of enjoyment for everyone in the family beginning at 5:30 pm. Mark your calendars now and plan on joining us!

Sheiko Elementary
I am so proud that our board has elected to rename Green Elementary School in honor of our beloved retiring principal of 26 years, Kathy Sheiko. I can’t say enough about her.
At the final West Bloomfield School District board of education meeting of the school year, the board surprised Kathy Sheiko and with the announcement of school's name change, and presented an artist’s rendering of the school with the new signage that will grace the front of the building.
Kathy Sheiko thought that she was coming to the podium at the final West Bloomfield School District Board of Education meeting of the school year to receive a star certificate for her 26 years of service as principal, when the board surprised her by moving to rename Green as Sheiko Elementary School. Kathy and her family were all surprised and moved to tears.  “To name the school after me just completely blows me away. It’s an honor that was certainly unexpected … and I am truly grateful.” We all feel that this was a well deserved honor.

DISTRICT MEDIA CENTER
In keeping with the history of the Green District, our District Media Center which was the original Green School, has now been renamed the Green District Media Center.


SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION
There are two positions open for the November 8, 2011 election to WBSD Board of Education.
Candidates must file no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, 2011.
The Oakland County Elections Division office is located in the Oakland County Court House, 1200 North Telegraph Rd, Pontiac. If you have questions regarding the election of Local School District Board Members, please contact:
Oakland County Elections Division
1200 North Telegraph Rd.
Pontiac MI 48341
Phone: (248) 858-0564
Email: elections@oakgov.com

LAKER NEWSLETTER
Watch for the Back to School edition of the Laker Newsletter which will appear in your West Bloomfield Beacon on August 31. School begins one week later on September 7, so you will have your back to school supplement with all of the important information that you will need as your students enter classrooms in the fall.

TALK SUP’T.
Our next Talk Sup’t. should come to you around August 15 for a brief update on the summer events, and what to look forward to in the fall. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer!

As we end this year, know that I appreciate all that you have done for the children in this community and I leave you with this quote from John F. Kennedy:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Talk Sup't. June 9, 2011

WBSD SETTLES WITH WBEA
The long awaited contract agreement between the district and the WBEA has been settled. I want to thank the WBEA for recognizing this dilemma that we have been placed in and for being willing to work with us. As a result of this agreement, we should be looking at an estimated savings of between $5 and $6 million over a 2 year period.
Now, we look forward to the process of working towards healing our schools and our community. As I go through our buildings I witness the teachers who are still engaging students in meaningful learning, and the relationships are as solid as ever. One teacher who acknowledged that while she was disappointed with the results of the settlement, said “for me, it is still about my kids”. I applaud the teacher’s attitude and I hope we can all follow her lead. While this has been a long process, we knew that this day would come and now we must collaborate to move this district forward.
It is my deepest desire that we can all join the cadre who have embraced the words of Ghandi, who said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
I am witnessing this already as I am traveling across the district today.
COMEDY EVENT!
It’s finally here! Tonight, June 9, the West Bloomfield Educational Foundation will hold Joe Nipote’s Comedy Slam! at the WBHS Auditorium. Five nationally known comedians will deliver their funniest stuff so you don’t want to miss it!
Tickets can still be purchased online at www.showtix4u.com. They are just $25, or $35 at the door. WBEF VIP $100 tickets include a special VIP reception with dinner catered by the Red Coat Tavern, preferred seating and a special Meet and Greet the comedians after the show! Join us tonight and end the school year with some laughs!
Remember Education is No JOKE! but we can all have fun tonight!
GRADUATION
The class of 2011 Graduation Ceremony took place on Sunday at Compuware Arena in Plymouth. Our seniors were so impressive, and the speeches that were given were the most stirring and engaging that I have heard to date. Tom Shelton, Caroline Maye and Avery Hasenauer all gave the audience a heightened sense of appreciation for what their collective futures may hold in store for them. Avery’s speech emphasizing loving one another was so outstanding and powerful that I know it will resonate for many years with those who attended.
The Laker Express rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, and the musical selection of End of the Road
HONORS CONVOCATION
West Bloomfield Seniors Were Honored for Achievements
The Honors Convocation was held last week, and recognizes students for scholastic achievement, athletics and organizational awards.  Many parents attended this special ceremony on June 1, and it is a very impressive event. Among those awarded were National Merit Finalist Beatrice Marie Brenner, along with those commendedThe 2010-11 class earned $2.9 million in scholarships from various colleges and universities around the United States.

WEST BLOOMFIELD HIGH SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
This is a reminder that as you drive down Orchard Lake Road, you’ll notice today that the fences are gone from the tennis courts. They are being demolished to pave the way for new courts that are expected to be much more durable. The tennis courts were in such disrepair that they were becoming dangerous.
This construction is being paid for with AARA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money from the sale of bonds three years ago.
It may seem odd that we are doing construction at a time when we are asking for concessions from our employees; however, keep in mind that bond dollars cannot be used for wages or salaries. This money must be spent on our buildings.
can to do things to enhance our community.
STRATEGIC VISIONING/BUDGET PRIORITIZATION
I would like to again thank the Strategic Visioning Budget Prioritization committee members who worked so hard to bring their ideas, research and recommendations to our Board of Education on Monday night. The Board was updated on the recommendations from those committees. Some we will move forward on and some may take additional time for long term savings. You can view this workshop on channel 19 WBTV.
WEST BLOOMFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND COMBO
The Orchard Lake Middle School (Jeremy Figlewicz) and Abbott Middle School (Arthur Ebert) Symphony Bands combined to form one ensemble and competed in a Music in the Parks Festival in Clyde Ohio on Saturday, May 28th 2011 and came in First Place out of all middle school and high school concert bands, jazz bands and orchestras with a score of 95.75!  In addition to the pride that the students felt by putting on a great performance the students from both schools left with a sense of unity, friendship and respect between the two schools.  Thank you Jeremy and Art, for the ways you make us all shine!
GREEN SCHOOL ROCKS FOR DETROIT FINALE!
Green Elementary has concluded their school wide theme this spring: Detroit – Downtown and Around Town with their grand finale Classic and Muscle Car Show and a Thanksgiving Parade complete with some very creative floats made by the students, celebrating afterwards with Vernors floats. The floats were unbelievable, each classroom creating one from a different theme, including Motown with Diana Ross and the Supremes and a boombox playing their music, Mexican Village, a Chevrolet plant, a Ford plant, Ford Field, Detroit Tigers and of course, Greektown with Kathy Sheiko on the front of it. This has been a huge civic, historical and fun experience for the students, that I know they won't forget.

OLMS HONORS ASSEMBLY
An honors assembly was held last night at Orchard Lake Middle School to honor 166 graduating eighth-grade students for excellence in academics and extracurricular activities.
Brooke Bain, 14, and and Maxim Vinogradov, 13, won awards for Viking of the Year, as selected by staff, and will give speeches at the OLMS promotion ceremony next week. Bain also won awards for math, science, history, English/language arts, theater and the choir group Viking Voices, while Vinogradov also won awards for math, science, history, English/language arts and theater. Brooke Bain described it as "a place to learn more than just what's in class." Maxim Vinogradov said "it's a place where everyone could be your friend." http://westbloomfield.patch.com/articles/viewfinder-orchard-lake-middle-school-students-honored#photo-6487616
Both Principal Sonya James and I are so proud of these students who are preparing for studies at West Bloomfield High School. 166 students were recognized and those who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average for their three years at OLMS and honored with outstanding academic achievement awards are:
  • Brooke Bain
  • Michael Bologna
  • Nicole Dean
  • Emma Huez
  • Ellery Isenstein
  • Nicole Ishbia
  • Jarrell Ku
  • Katy Lau
  • Jianella Macalino
  • Arhum Mahmood
  • Rio Mizuno
  • Jasmine Morigney
  • Varchas Raman
  • Shriya Suresh
  • Allyson Todd


2011 YOUTH RECOGNITION AWARDS               
The 15th Annual Youth Recognition Awards were presented by the West Bloomfield Youth Assistance on April 27th in the WBHS media center.  The purpose of annual Youth Recognition is to recognize and honor area youth who have been nominated for their volunteer services or personal achievements.  The youth selected for this honor have demonstrated an active commitment to making their community a better place to live or improving themselves through personal achievement.  This is an opportunity to recognize, encourage, and thank both the youth volunteers and their parents.
46 area youths, ranging from elementary to high school age, were honored this year.  These special 2011 honorees are:
Nishant
Alluri
Spandana
Alluri
Mariah
Bobo
Amaris
Bradley
Sara
Brett
Hailey
Brown
Brandon
Crawford
Jocelyn
Deutch
Brandon
Ehrlichman
Mallory
Einstandig
Tyler
Ekizian
Nicole
Fink
Nikki
Fleischman
Brooke
George
Michelle
Gooel
Gisele
Hairston
Brooke
Hammons
Taryn
Harrison
Natalie
Herman
Kiara
Hickey
Ryan
Horwitz
Madeleine
Hughes
Mercedes
Hunter
Ryan
Ishbia
Alicia
Jones-Fields
Peter
Kamash
Britney
Karcho
Ashley
Lynch
Jasmine
Madoun
Neil
Mankuzhy
Hannah
Martin
Edward
Minneweather
McKenna
Murphy
Angela
Ng
Alejandra
Olmos
Raina
Pintamo
Trevor
Putnam
Alex
Risius
Kevin
Rothstein
Richard
Selimas
Nicole
Shammami
Katelyn
Sheena
Mara
Soverinsky
Ali
Vandenbossche
Rachel
Wasserman
Alexa
Wujczyk


ATHLETICS
Middle School Track
Congratulations to the combined Abbott and Orchard Lake Middle School Track Team is the Oakland County Champion!
WBHS Track & Field
What a thrilling weekend it was for Taylor Gunn, our Lakers track and field star who won the State Discus Championship on Saturday, just before walking at Commencement on Sunday. Congratulations, Taylor!
And even more congratulations go to ALL seven of our following TRACK & FIELD student athletes who made All-State!
Phil Washington
Taylor Gunn
Jalen Campbell
Jeff Arirguzo
C.J. Brathwaite
Lou Daranda
Erin Finn
Girls Tennis Team
Kudos to our Girls Tennis Team who made Academic All-State, which requires a team accumulative grade point of 3.75 or higher.
Boys Golf
Two of our players qualified for regionals:
Michael Mitchell
Ari Siegel

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
House Bill 4152 - the bill to freeze step increases when a collective bargaining agreement expires was signed into law by the Governor this week.
The bill - sponsored by Rep. Knollenberg - is now Act No 54 of Public Acts of 2011.  
It is my deepest desire that we can all join the cadre who have embraced the words of Ghandi, who said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.
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