News and Notes 4.5

Your Schools and Your Community

At times it is hard to separate our community from our school district. In fact, at a recent Chamber of Commerce event hosted by WLPS, business leaders from surrounding communities asked students MacKenzie Gesek, Bre'Anna Standlick, and Caleb Henning, who are enrolled in our new AP Computer Science course, "What do you like most about being a student in Whitmore Lake?" The answer by all three - "It is a community that cares about us. We feel special being a part of this community." Pretty cool, huh? Their words were powerful and hit home with the audience, most of whom were not from Whitmore Lake.

 

This week, I was at the induction ceremony for new members of our National Honor Society. (See list of new members below.) After Mackenzie Kelley's great opening remarks about leadership, members shared how important it is to give back to the community, all expressing the importance of the relationship students have with this community. Why do they all express this so easily? We don't teach classes about giving to your community or receiving support from it. Rather, the students experience it. 

Here is a brief list of partnerships and support WLPS has garnered just in the past few weeks with groups/organizations within Whitmore Lake:

• Whitmore Lake Foundation for Educational Excellence (WLFEE) has donated thousands of dollars back to the schools and is in the process of selecting grants from teachers for this year.
• The Whitmore Lake Elementary School PTA raises funds galore for our students and their involvement with the Fall Fun Fest is most appreciated.
• Kiwanis has recently supported our music department with technology and instruments, as well as donated money toward our annual Book Bingo. Most recently, Pumpkin judging was high on their list of things to do with our schools and the coordination of donated food by the PS Food Mart for a very important assistance program.
• Northfield Township's Downtown Planning Group is hosting its 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat this Sunday. They like to celebrate our community and its support of kids.

Trust me, I'm just naming a few. I am very proud to work with these groups and all the others who have taken on the challenge of making each day, week, month, or year a great one for our students to be a Trojan.

NJHS and NHS Inductees

Program Spotlight: Early Childhood Center

Next Friday our Community Relations and Recreation Director, Maria Carter-Ewald, will be joined by Sue Wanamaker, our Early Childhood Center Director and Elementary Principal, along with Charlie Basham, our Family Service Worker at the Early Childhood Center, for a new Facebook Live segment called WL Program Spotlight. They will be discussing all the essential programs available to children ages 0-5 in our area including Head Start, Great Start Readiness Program and Tuition Preschool, how to qualify for those free programs and how to enroll. I highly encourage you to tune into our Whitmore Lake Public Schools Facebook page next Friday, October 27, 9:30 a.m. for that. Have a specific question for them regarding what we offer for children ages 0-5? E-mail it to info@wlps.net, and they will address it during the broadcast.

Eat Good Food and Support our Teachers and Students
Next week starting Monday, October 23-Wednesday, October 25 La Marsa Mediterranean Cuisine in Brighton will be donating 15% of your bill to the Whitmore Lake Foundation for Educational Excellence (WLFEE). This goes for dine-in, carry-out, lunch or dinner! All you have to do is show them THIS FLYER on your phone or print it out and take it with you. For those not familiar with WLFEE, it is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit dedicated "to providing financial and public relation support for programs and projects within the Whitmore Lake Schools that enhance the educational opportunities available to all students within the schools and that provide students with exceptional educational opportunities." You can learn even more on wlfee.org.

Since its formation in 2006, WLFEE has raised and donated over $15,000 to WLPS. The latest donation was $5,000 towards purchasing new iPads for our early elementary students. 

The first round of grant applications from our staff are due by the end of the day today. A majority of our funds comes from staff donations. And then throughout the year, the WLFEE board hosts a variety of fundraisers like the Zumbathon last May and a Panera night last Spring.  How cool would it be to have enough in our budget to fund EVERY application our staff submits? You can help make that possible by joining alongside us in our fundraising efforts. And in this case, this month it means enjoying some delicious Mediterranean food. I mean, what better way to support our kids than with freshly baked pita bread and garlic dip? 

You can also help us spread the word by forwarding that flyer to your family and friends and for social media users, inviting them to the Facebook event HERE. 

See you at La Marsa!