WOODHAVEN-BROWNSTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT
WoodhavenBrownstown
School District
24821 Hall Road
Woodhaven, MI 48183
734.783.3300
woodhaven.k12.mi.us
BOARD OF EDUCATION
CARA PIMER, PRESIDENT
MIKKI BERTIN-KELSAY, VICE PRESIDENT
ROB HARRIS, SECRETARY
JENNIFER PADGETT, TREASURER
BRUCE BURKE, TRUSTEE
SHAWN MACDONELL, TRUSTEE
SHANNON BAUER-PERRY, TRUSTEE
ADMINISTRATION
MARK GREATHEAD, SUPERINTENDENT
WALT PYTLAK, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
SHAWN BIDDLE, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
STACY PETERSON, CURRICULUM DIRECTOR
SHERRY WEISER, TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR
MICHAEL BELCHER, DIR. OF CONTRACTED SERVICES
SCHOOLS
BATES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
22811 GUDITH ROAD
WOODHAVEN, MI 48183
CHERIE GODFREY, PRINCIPAL
734-692-2217
ERVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
24175 HALL ROAD
WOODHAVEN, MI 48183
CATERINA BERRY, PRINCIPAL
734-692-2212
GUDITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
22700 SIBLEY ROAD
BROWNSTOWN, MI 48193
THOMAS MARTIN, PRINCIPAL
734-783-5386
WEGIENKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
23925 ARSENAL ROAD
BROWNSTOWN, MI 48134
MICHELLE BRIEGEL, PRINCIPAL
734-783-3367
ONTACT
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cont. from page 3
process including the review of
documents, classroom observations, and
interviews with 172 individuals, including
parents, students, district staff, and Board
of Education members.
Review Team Chair, Tina Woolsey, from Missouri recognized the amount of
pride, enthusiasm, and professionalism amongst the district staff. She also
acknowledged the commitment of the district to professional learning communities
where teachers collaborate on student instruction and assessment.
The district was awarded two powerful practices by the team. The team cited that
the governing body establishes the foundation to ensure that school leaders at all
levels are able to create, implement, and internalize a culture of shared values and
beliefs about teaching and learning for all students. The district was also awarded a
powerful practice in creating a welcoming environment that maintains safe, healthy,
and clean educational facilities for the school community.
Each district that goes through the accreditation is given “I’m very pleased that the hard
work and dedication of
one improvement priority. The Woodhaven-Brownstown employees of the WoodhavenSchool District will work over the next two years on its Brownstown School District
improvement priority to establish a formalized structure was validated through the
AdvancED External Review
where each student is connected to at least one adult within process.”
the school who advocates for the student’s educational, Mark Greathead, Superintendent
physical, emotional, and social/life needs.
The district was awarded accreditation by the team (pictured below) based on the
Index of Education Quality (IEQ) score that was well above the AdvancED network
average. Superintendent Mark Greathead said “I’m very pleased that the hard work
and dedication of employees of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District was
validated through the AdvancED External Review process. We will take the
information that we learned through this process to continue to improve our
practice.”
The Woodhaven-Brownstown School District is proud of this honor and will
continue to engage, enlighten, and empower the students in our school community!
Learning and Leading for Tomorrow
School Bond Proposal Passes
Making WBSD a Destination District
We would like to thank the citizens of the WoodhavenBrownstown School District for their support of the
recent bond proposal. The proposal passed and the
planning process is well underway.
Current bond activities include programming meetings
at the building level and budget and design work. This
summer, a combination of bond and sinking fund projects
will include marquees at the elementary and middle
schools; stadium upgrades at Woodhaven High School;
and playground equipment at elementary schools.
Benefits of the bond will include:
· Facility improvements to help establish WBSD as a
destination district
· New classroom equipment will create modern learning
environments to improve educational opportunities
· Enhancements at all schools so all kids benefit
· Reduces maintenance and energy costs
· School safety enhancements
Features of the bond proposal will include:
· $20.3 million in district-wide facility and security
improvements
· $25 million in facility additions
· $1.1 million in sites, fields, and playground
improvements
· $5 million in technology
· $6 million in bus, furniture, and equipment replacement
Keep an eye on our website at wbsd.co for updates.
You may also contact the Administration Offices at
734.783.3300 if you have any questions concerning the
bond proposal.
YAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
16400 CARTER ROAD
WOODHAVEN, MI 48183
TIMOTHY PODLEWSKI, PRINCIPAL
734-692-2230
BROWNSTOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL
20135 INKSTER ROAD
BROWNSTOWN, MI 48174
ANDREW CLARK, PRINCIPAL
734-783-3400
PATRICK HENRY MIDDLE SCHOOL
24825 HALL ROAD
WOODHAVEN, MI 48183
MOLLY MAZEI, PRINCIPAL
734-362-6100
WOODHAVEN HIGH SCHOOL
24787 VAN HORN ROAD
BROWNSTOWN, MI 48134
MATTHEW CZAJKOWSKI, PRINCIPAL
734-783-3333
Photo by J. Richards
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Americans with Disability Act of
1990, and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1977, it is the policy of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District
that no person shall on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, gender, age, disability, height,
weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination during any program, activity, service or in employment. For information contact the Office of the
Superintendent, 24821 Hall Road, Woodhaven, MI 48183, 734-789-2357.
Woodhaven High School 2016 Sno Ball Court
12th grade Sno Ball court (L-R) Greg Tittle, Madison Dillon, Dylan Nycz, Samantha
Spurr, Caleb Keyes, Emily LaForce, Hannah Satterlee, Drew Holland, Abbey Lorenz,
Erik Blair
Winter 2016
4th Annual Signature Event
Save the Date!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Plans are underway for our 4th annual Woodhaven
Brownstown Education Foundation Signature Event.
The date is set for Thursday, May 5, 2016.
To accommodate the growing number of supporters
of the WBEF, the venue for this year’s event will be
Crystal Gardens in Southgate. The doors will open at
6:00 p.m., dinner is from 6:45-8:00 p.m., and raffles at
9:00 p.m. Ticket prices (adults only) are $50.
Sponsorship and donation opportunities are available at
all levels.
We appreciate your ongoing support and hope to see
you at this year’s Signature Event. It’s a great event that
enriches our public school curriculum with programs
and activities that provide diverse learning experiences
to our students.
WHS 2016 Sno Ball Court
Winter “Sno Ball” activities took place at
Woodhaven High School the week of January 19th.
Spirit Day activities were held each day as well as the
“Powder Buff” volleyball games on Wednesday and the
all-school pep assembly on Friday afternoon. The Sno
Ball basketball games were held on Friday night against
Lincoln Park High School. The varsity girls won by a
score of 71-16 and and the varsity boys won their game
53-44.
This year’s Sno Ball Court was made up of the
following twelfth grade Queen and King finalists:
Madison Dillon, Emily LaForce, Abbey Lorenz,
Hannah Satterlee, Samantha Spurr, Erik Blair, Drew
Holland, Caleb Keyes, Dylan Nycz, Greg Tittle. Prince
and Princess representatives were Mia Scicluna (11th
grade); Julia Detrych and Jacob Bartolotta (10th grade);
Katelyn Burrows and Joshua Warren (9th grade).
Congratulations to Drew Holland who was crowned
Sno Ball King during the school-wide pep assembly on
Friday afternoon and to Abbey Lorenz who was
crowned Sno Ball Queen during halftime of the boys
basketball game that evening.
The Sno Ball Dance was held at WHS on Saturday,
January 23, from 7-10 p.m.
W-B School District
Wegienka Buddies
By: Amanda Greficz, Kindergarten teacher
Mrs. Greficz’s Kindergarten class and Ms.
Harabedian’s 2nd grade class have been teaming up this
school year. Each 2nd grade student was assigned a
kindergarten buddy. Buddies got to know each other by
engaging in activities inspired by Wegienka’s “One
School One Book” initiative with the novel, “The One
and Only Ivan.” Buddies made Ivan and Stella character
puppets and practiced retelling. They enjoyed creating
their own domains, or habitats, for Ivan using materials
they found outside. Buddies also got to see and measure
a gorilla’s actual hand print, and then make their hand
print on top of the gorilla’s. This made for a memorable
activity of comparing and measuring.
Additionally, buddies have been working on math
skills together in math centers. Second graders teach
kindergartners strategies while playing the game
“Bump.” Students use 10’s and 1’s manipulatives to
model numbers to 100 and white board to practice
writing equations.
Students and teachers are all excited to be learning and
sharing together!
WBSD Night
Explore WBSD Night is coming soon! J oin us and
learn important information about:
· Traditional and Young Five Kindergarten Programs
· Elementary, Middle School, and High School
opportunities
· Athletics and extra-curricular activities
· Early Childhood Programs and Services
· Enrollment and Registration Information
· Transportation
· Schools of Choice
This event is for all current and prospective families of
the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District and will be
held on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. at
Woodhaven High School. Attendees can get the
information they need to make or affirm the decision to
attend WBSD, the destination district in the area.
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Board of Education News
The Woodhaven-Brownstown Board of Education held
their annual organizational meeting on January 11, 2016.
Officer and trustee positions remained the same for
2016: Cara Pimer, President; Mikki Bertin-Kelsay, Vice
President; Rob Harris, Secretary; Jenn Padgett, Treasurer;
Bruce Burke, Shawn MacDonell, and Shannon BauerPerry, Trustees.
The Board approved their meeting schedule for 2016 as
well. The February through June schedule will keep
meetings on Monday evenings, then beginning in July, the
Board will transition to meeting on Tuesday evenings.
Meeting schedules are posted at the buildings and on the
district website.
Please note that beginning in February, the second
meeting of each month will be held at our building
locations. This gives the community a chance to attend a
Board meeting at their child’s school and take a tour of
our beautiful facilities, if they wish.
Attention Parents:
Please note a change from
traditional spring recess for the 2016-17 school year.
Spring recess in the 2016-17 school year will be Monday,
April 3—Friday, April 7. There will also be no school on
Friday, April 14. The reason for the change is that when
Easter is later in April, it disrupts the spring assessment
schedule. For the most part, spring recess as determined by
the Wayne County common calendar, will take place
during the first full week in April. This will sometimes
coincide with the traditional spring recess, and sometimes
it will not. Links to the Wayne County RESA Five Year
Calendar can be found at http://www/resa.net/about
us/commoncalendar/
Fifth Annual Warrior Games held at WHS
The fifth annual Warrior Games were held at Woodhaven
High School on Saturday, January 16th.
The boys’ and girls’ Varsity basketball teams played to a
packed house, taking on teams from the Downriver ARC
Program. The ARC is an organization that works directly
with children and adults with varying levels of intellectual
and other related developmental disabilities, along with their
families.
Warrior Games were started when coach Mike Brennan’s
nephew, who has played for ARC, attended a WHS
basketball game. Later he told his uncle that he wished his
team had the same experience that included cheerleaders,
player introductions, and a full-sized scoreboard. That’s all
it took for Coach Brennan to kick off W arrior Games.
Coach Brennan said that over the last five years,
friendships have been formed between the varsity players
and ARC players. Oftentimes, they attend each other’s
games during the season.
Community members also show support by attending and
cheering these teams on. Christine Barlow of Woodhaven
said this was her fourth game. She attends to support the
cause and others living in the community. Her and her
family have made it a tradition to attend the W arrior Games
each year.
The best part of this special event is watching students at
Woodhaven High School show kindness and compassion for
others and seeing the true joy of competition in each of the
ARC players.
District Recommended for
AdvancED Accreditation
As part of its commitment to
continue
its
district-wide
accreditation and improvement,
the
Woodhaven-Brownstown
School District hosted an
AdvancED External Review
Team from December 6-9, 2015.
AdvancED is a leader in
providing continuous improvement in education by conducting
rigorous on-site external reviews of PreK-12 schools
around the world to ensure all learners realize their full
potential. The organization is committed to “systemic,
systematic, and sustainable improvement” by
recognizing a district’s achievements and making
improvement recommendations. The review team
analyzes the district with a focus on leadership
capacity, use of resources, and the impact of teaching
and learning in the system.
During the recent visitation, a team of five educators
from Michigan and one from Missouri spent four days
evaluating the district and its school improvement
cont. on page 4
District Names New Director of Finance
PHMS Essay Contest Winners
Each year more than 125,000 students across the country
in grades 6-8 enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay
contest. According to the VFW, “The essay contest
encourages young minds to examine America’s history,
along with their own experiences in modern American
society, by drafting a 300-400 word essay expressing their
views on a Patriotic theme chosen by the VFW
Commander-in-Chief.” This year’s theme was “What
Freedom Means to Me.”
In October, Patrick Henry Middle school 8th graders from
Mrs. Balavitch’s American History classes and Mrs.
Karner’s Language Arts classes participated in this year’s
essay contest. Three eighth grade students, Michaelli
Watson, Samantha Briggs, and Ethan Wright were this
year’s essay winners at the local level sponsored by Flat
Rock VFW Post 9363. Each student will receive a
certificate of merit and a $25 cash award.
All local winners and their families were invited to
attend the Awards Banquet in January, at which time
District winners were announced.
Congratulations to Michaelli, Samantha, Ethan and all
the Patrick Henry Middle School 8th grade students who
participated in the 2015 VFW Patriot Pen Essay Contest.
By: Mrs. Stacy Peterson, Curriculum Director
Games played and friendships
made, that’s what Warrior Games
are all about!
The Woodhaven-Brownstown
Board of Education, at their
February 1, 2016 Regular Meeting,
unanimously
approved
the
employment of Mrs. Shawn Biddle
as their Director of Finance,
effective February 17, 2016.
Mrs. Biddle comes to our
administrative staff with nearly 20
years of financial experience,
Mrs. Shawn Biddle exclusively employed in public
Director of Finance
education. Most recently she
served as Director of Business and Finance for Monroe
Jefferson Schools. She earned her Business
Administration degree from the University of Toledo
followed by a Master of Education degree at Grand
Valley State University.
Mrs. Biddle said, “The Director of Finance position
suits my interests and abilities and it is a great
opportunity for me to enhance my career as a school
district administrator.”
Be sure to stop by the Administration Offices and
introduce yourself to Mrs. Biddle. We welcome her
with great enthusiasm to the WBSD!
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