WBHS GRADS!
I’m looking forward to graduation on Sunday at 10 at Compuware arena, as it’s one of my favorite moments in the school year! We have 450 students graduating this year, and we are so proud of all of them and their families, and I wish them the best in their future plans and endeavors. I also wish all of the students who are attending the prom this evening, a wonderful and SAFE evening! Enjoy!
MEMORIAL DAY
I want acknowledge the Keego Harbor
community for the Memorial Day Parade that was held on Monday. A special thank
you to Sid Rubin who chaired the parade and the all the facets of the community
that came together to make this the phenomenal event that it was. Our West
Bloomfield High School Marching Band and Roosevelt students, all came together
to perform and march, helping to create a spectacular parade for the rest of
our community. All who participated truly made this the BEST parade ever!
COMEDY SLAM
The West Bloomfield
Educational Foundation (WBEF) will bring our Second Annual comedySLAMTM
event to the high school auditorium on Friday, June 8. This is a great
fundraiser for our foundation and Comedian Joe Nipote has assembled a
roster of VERY funny comics that you won’t want to miss this year. Be sure to plan
on attending, and order your tickets today! The festivities begin that evening at 7 p.m. with the West Bloomfield Educational Foundation (WBEF) comedySLAM. The professionals take the stage in the WBHS auditorium with the Comedy Slam featuring Joe Nipote, our local comedian Jeff Dwoskin, Gabriel Nipote, Nate Bargatze, Dana Daniels, and Greg Hahn. WBEF VIP tickets will include priority seating for the auditorium, and an Afterglow at Mezza Mediterranean restaurant after the show, with food and drinks and a Meet & Greet with the Comedians. Tickets can be purchased for $75 for VIP tickets, $25 in advance or $35 after May 31 for show only, and at the door. To purchase your tickets or find out more information, call the WBEF at 248-865-6479 or visit www.WBEF.net.
CONGRATULATIONS
Jennifer McQuillan has reported to us that WBHS Sophomore Alejandro Miranda-Casab has been accepted as a participant in the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers Conference. The conference is sponsored by the Poe Museum of Richmond and will be conducted on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond this June. In addition, Alejandro was awarded a partial scholarship to attend this conference by none other than Dr. Hal Poe, Edgar Allan Poe's cousin! Alejandro had to submit samples of his academic and fiction writing as well as letters of recommendation from two teachers in order to be selected for the conference. Congratulations to Alejandro on this fantastic opportunity!
Jennifer McQuillan has reported to us that WBHS Sophomore Alejandro Miranda-Casab has been accepted as a participant in the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers Conference. The conference is sponsored by the Poe Museum of Richmond and will be conducted on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond this June. In addition, Alejandro was awarded a partial scholarship to attend this conference by none other than Dr. Hal Poe, Edgar Allan Poe's cousin! Alejandro had to submit samples of his academic and fiction writing as well as letters of recommendation from two teachers in order to be selected for the conference. Congratulations to Alejandro on this fantastic opportunity!
PROJECT SEARCH
Students are
completing their first year at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in the
Project Search program. These students are interviewing today for prospective
career opportunities throughout the community. I want to thank all of the
community businesses and partners who are supporting our special needs students
as they transition back into our community in meaningful employment opportunities.Special thanks to Kay Carpenter and the Henry Ford Hospital staff who have made this program a significant and life-changing experience for our students!
AMERICA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOLS
West
Bloomfield High School was selected as one of Newsweek’s best public High
Schools in America in both 2011 and 2012. Newsweek has been ranking the top
public high schools for the past decade and has recently revamped its selection
methodology. The list represents the best 1,000 public high schools in America.
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%).
DECA
Congratulations
to our students who competed in the National DECA competition in Salt
Lake City. Join me in congratulating the following students for representing
West Bloomfield on a national level!Twenty eight students competed against the best Marketing students from across the United States and Canada. Aayush Mittal won an event award. Jarrell Ku, Ryan Meyers, and Albert Yerman earned top 20 honors. Timo DeYoung, Connor McInerney, and Jordan Lewis earned International top 10 among honors. Finally, Leah Moskovitz was elected Michigan DECA Vice President for Chapter Development, the first state officer from West Bloomfield since 1990!
Each of the 28 students did an outstanding job and represented the West Bloomfield Marketing Education program with pride. Students enrolled in Marketing, Advanced Marketing, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Fashion Merchandising and Entrepreneurship are looking forward to next year's competition . . . West Bloomfield Marketing Education is going to DISNEYLAND!
Congratulations to teacher Jerry Whitlock, who was recognized by the national DECA organization for 40 years of leadership and who has brought so much success to this program!
MIDDLE
SCHOOL BANDS
Congratulations to the West Bloomfield Bands who performed this
past weekend at the Cedar Point Music In The Parks Festival! The Orchard Lake
Middle School and Abbott Middle School 8th Grade Symphony Bands combined to
form the West Bloomfield School Symphony Band under the direction of Jeremy Figlewicz
and Chad Mielens. Congratulations to the band students who brought home three prestigious awards:- Best Middle School Concert Band (AAA division)
- Best OVERALL Middle School Program
- the esteemed Esprit De Corps Award for being the group at the festival that most embodied the ideals of respect and performance. The West Bloomfield Bands won this over all of the middle school and high school jazz bands, choirs, concert bands, and orchestras!
Congratulations to Linda Trotter and the Orchard Lake Orchestra as well, who also took home the Best Middle School Orchestra and Best Overall Orchestra awards!
NegotiationS Update:
Negotiations with many of our Unions have been underway for the
last couple of months and things are moving along well. Our hope and goal is to have contracts settled
in the very near future but unfortunately, at this point, we are not able to accurately plan our
financials for next year because of two unknowns related to our budget. The West Bloomfield School District’s projected fund balance for the close of 2011/2012 school year is just under a half million dollars ($500,000). In a budget of nearly sixty million dollars annually, this leaves very little margin for any unanticipated changes to the budget, which we often face in public education.
The two issues related to the budget delaying our process consist of a proposed change to the retirement system, and the State aid funding per student we will receive next year. The State legislator is currently working on reform efforts to the retirement system (SB 1040) that will have a significant impact on the finances of the district. Until this issue is resolved at the State level, we cannot accurately plan our budget for next year. In addition, the State Aide, or per pupil funding we receive has not yet been determined.
Nearly eighty five percent of the district’s budget is allocated for employee salary and benefits which clearly shows how significant these two areas are on the budget. Newly adopted legislation has helped us to better budget for employee benefits due to the legislative cap that has been placed on the amount that the district can contribute to an employee’s health care. The salary portion of the budget is collectively bargained with our employee groups and has a direct impact on the budget. Until we have a better understanding of the retirement reform efforts and the State Aide funding we are not able to commit to any employee compensation at this time. All indications at this point are that the State will have these issue resolved in the near future and once that occurs we can move the bargaining process forward.
SEAF PROJECT
On May 14th, Western Demographics consultant, Shannon Bingham, presented
the West Bloomfield School District Board of Education with a preliminary
report resulting from feedback gathered at public focus groups and open houses
that were attended by parents, staff and community members. The SEAF committee
continues to review and analyze all of the recommended options to minimize adverse
impact on educational programs while maximizing budgetary savings where
possible. All concerns including special education programs, preschool
openings, building closure and the relocation of district administration are
being evaluated so that the best decision for all students can be made. The
school district appreciates all of the community participation and input in
this important project as it moves forward with its goal of reducing operating
costs and improving efficiency while continuing to provide educational excellence
even during these times of funding and enrollment challenges.