TALK SUP’T. May 4, 2012

TALK SUP’T. May 4, 2012      

STAND4CHANGE

I couldn’t be more proud of our students and all of the efforts that went into supporting  anti-bullying and today’s Stand4Change events! West Bloomfield High School had a White-Out, with all students dressing in white today symbolizing PEACE, and standing up for change and demonstrating their commitment to putting an end to bullying, at 12 noon along with over 1.3 million students in over 2,100 schools across the country.  These students came together from every state in the United States, as well as, 40 additional countries. I want to give a big shout out to Jeff Sakwa who has worked diligently towards today’s effort.

In addition, 719 OLMS students, staff, and parents attended the movie “Bully” at the Birmingham 8 Theater.  A panel of processed the movie afterwards with the students discussing ways to be a caring community by taking a stand when they see others being mistreated. Our Social Worker Carla Jones indicated that “Our onlookers far outnumber the bullies and those who are bullied and this effort is to assist them in taking an active stand to say ‘NO, we value every student at OLMS."  When students returned to school there were additional activities reinforce the role of bystanders to end bullying, which Carla Jones is calling "Up-Standers" because they are Standing Up!

Abbott Students put on a great show with 30 huge "Stand 4 Change" posters in the shape of 4's displayed evenly throughout the school, a LARGE yellow banner inviting the student body to PRINT their names for the "pledge" during lunches today. Stand 4 Change is posted with cups on the fence along Commerce Road, you can’t miss it! Staff & students all wore school colors (blue & white) and students view the 3 videos during classes  http://stand4change.org/.  Student Council Advisor and W.E.B.  Coordinator Jo-Anne Scheloske reports that at noon, students all joined the rest of the country as they “Stood4Change.

heck out the website to see the “Funny or Die” video and to see all of the efforts that Defeat The Label is putting forth!

CONGRATULATIONS!
DRUMLINE
Congratulations to Jeremy Figlewicz, Chad Mielens, Andrew Markworth, and most importantly the members of the West Bloomfield High School Winter Drumline on their 10th place finish at WGI's Scholastic World Drumline Championship in front of a packed University of Dayton Arena. This year's Drumline performed "Stuck".  This is the School's first year competing in World class, and is a huge accomplishment.  And they ARE World Class!!!

WBHS CHOIRS

On May 1 & 2, all WBHS large choirs performed at Michigan School Vocal Music Association State Choral Festival. ALL Large Choirs, including Chorale, Concert Choir B, and Concert Choir A, received the high honor of Excellents. This is the first time all choirs qualified and performed at State Festival. We are so proud of our students, their dedication and commitment, and kudos to Choir Directors Sheryl Hauk Vocal Music Director
West Bloomfield High School

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

The Superintendent’s Search has been narrowed down to four candidates, three of which were interviewed today by our full Board of Education, and the last one will be interviewed tomorrow morning here at the ACS Building.  On Saturday, there will be Public Comment from 8:00 – 8:30, and the final candidate will be interviewed from 8:30 – 10:30. We will keep you informed as more details become available.

SAVE OUR SONS – SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES!

I want to thank all of the families who showed up to the Save Our Sons event on Tuesday, at the High School Media Center.  It was a very full house, as we hosted West Bloomfield, Walled Lake and Bloomfield Hills school districts for this important presentation. A big thank you goes out to MLK Community Coalition Partners and WB Police Chief Mike Patton for helping to coordinate these efforts, as well as Brian Flaggs for bringing in internationally acclaimed author and speaker, Dr. Jesse W. Jackson III. Dr. Jackson delivered an inspiring, dynamic message to our young men, the issues they face as he recommended effective solutions. Each parent identified his advice and with the lessons that could be used immediately.  Dr. Jackson has excelled in helping school districts and organizations keep male students in the classroom and improve academics and social achievement.

MLK 365 Community Coalition Partners include West Bloomfield Police Department, Anti-Defamation League, South Oakland County NAACP, West Bloomfield Clergy Association & Community Forum, Defeat the Label, Optimist Club of West Bloomfield, No Place for Hate, West Bloomfield School District, Walled Lake School District, Bloomfield Hills School District, Greater West Bloomfield Community Coalition, West Bloomfield Township Public Library , and the West Bloomfield African American Parent Association.

SCHOOLS OF CHOICE

This year’s lottery on Wednesday was particularly challenging, as we have reduced the number of Choice slots available. While we would have preferred to accommodate all who apply to our district, there were still 81 slots that we were not able to have placements for due to deliberate downsizing. These efforts are coordinated and working in sync with the SEAF Plan (School Enrollment and Facilities Project).

OPEN HOUSE NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY

THE SEAF PROJECT School Enrollment And Facilities Focus Group Meetings
One last reminder that the district will be holding  Community Open House meetings addressing the work of the School Enrollment and Facilities Project (SEAF) on Monday and Tuesday evening. The primary function of the Community Open Houses is to collect community opinion on concrete scenarios associated with the SEAF Project.

Abbott Middle School

            Monday, May 7, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Orchard Lake Middle School
            Tuesday, May 8, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Once information has been disseminated at the Open House Meetings, there will be a Board Workshop on May 14 at 6:00 pm in the WBHS Media Center.

At this workshop, a First Reading for the SEAF Plan will be presented.

On June 25 at 7:00 pm in the WBHS Media Center, there will be a WBSD Board of Education Meeting where it is expected that the SEAF Plan will be adopted.

BOARD MEETING

Last Monday evening at our board meeting the board voted to privatize our Transportation and Custodial departments. This was a very tough decision for all involved. In the upcoming weeks we will be working with vendors Durham for Transportation and GCA for Custodial, who will meet with staff to be considered first for employment with our district. Next week these vendors will be in to meet with our staff after the board has finalized those contracts on Tuesday morning. I want to commend our staff as they were the ultimate professionals during this entire process. They continue to provide excellent service to our students, staff and community, and I applaud them for that.

Have a very peaceful weekend!