The Howl

Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

Welcome to April! April brings us many awareness and celebration opportunities including: Autism acceptance and Sexual Assault awareness month, as well as, Hmong Heritage month and the month of the Military Child.

April is recognized as Autism Acceptance month. This month provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the importance of building inclusive schools, workplaces, and communities with meaningful opportunities for every human. Pull out your favorite Autism-wear on Tuesday, April 4th for Autism Acceptance Day in Wisconsin.

Across our three High Schools we have a group of students that have been working hard to put together materials for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We thank them for their leadership, please be on the look up for more information and opportunities throughout the month.

April is recognized as Hmong Heritage Month to pay tribute to the first Hmong family’s arrival to the US in April 1976. We are incredibly proud of our Hmong students, staff and parents/caregivers and look forward to celebrating and learning with them this month and all-year-long.

We also recognize the month of the military child. We are thankful to all veterans for their service to our country and to all military families for the sacrifices they make for that service. We stand in support of the military families living in our District, and we take seriously the responsibility of providing unmatched educational opportunities to students of military households while accommodating their unique needs. Please wear Purple in April, particularly on Wednesday, April 19 - Purple Up Day!

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

Thank you to all of the parent/caregivers that joined us last week for our March in person meeting. We checked in on what has been going well and areas of growth, which included bathroom updates, discussion of spring sports and what's gone well and could be improved for next year and upcoming quarter grades being due.

We then began conversations to partner to begin to develop systems and structures. This month's topic: cell phones. One of the suggestions that has come from our monthly meetings is to have more variety in the options for our parents/caregivers to participate. We currently average 10-12 parents/caregivers a month out of 1300 students! We are grateful for all of the parents/caregivers that have participated and would love to increase the representation across our community. ALL parents/caregivers are welcome and encourage to participate. Check out upcoming opportunities!

Parent/Caregiver Partnership Opportunities:

• Wednesday, April 5th at 12:00pm- Zoom- Lunch connection- Join us for an opportunity to Zoom in for a conversation over lunch.
  
• Thursday, April 13th at 7:15am- Coffee with the Principal in 1016 in the Front Office at West or via Zoom.
• Tuesday, April 25th- 6:00pm in person at West
• Tuesday, May 23rd- 6:00pm in person at West
• If this month's lunch and morning options are successful please look for more opportunities coming up in May.

Last week we started a new configuration of our lunch service lines in an attempt to be more efficient and to move the lines along faster. Line #1 will have pizza, grab & go bag lunches and entree salads. Lines #2 & #3 will have the Main Entrees and the Fast Lane Entrees. Salad bars and milk are available in every line.

We know that for the first week the lines actually increased, we have made some tweaks and will continue to learn and adjust. Look for the signs and please be patient while everyone gets used to the changes.

Over the next several weeks we have many drills that we will be doing to ensure that we are ready in the case of an emergency. We always hope that these situations won't actually come to be, however, we need to be prepared in case an emergency would arise. We just completed our March fire drill last week and in the next few weeks will be conducting tornado, active threat and bus evacuation drills. More specific information on the active threat drill will be coming soon in a stand alone email with an accompanying text to help everyone see it. We know that active threat drills bring up many emotions in all of us as school shootings are far to much a reality in our country. We also know that we need to practice and prepare. We are working together as a team to minimize the negative impact this drill may have on all involved, more information coming soon.

Bus Evacuation Drills- Week of April 17th

Per state law, the district is required to practice bus evacuation drills twice a year. Bus evacuations will be held the week of April 17th and buses could be delayed on the days the drill occurs.

Sometimes it could become necessary to exit the school bus by the back door. Please talk with you children about doing these steps safely:

• Keep calm

• Listen to the driver’s instructions

• Beginning with the last seats, move to the back door

• Do not push or shove

• When you get to the back door, sit on your bottom and scoot to the edge

• Slide off the edge slightly pushing yourself out away from the bus

• Keep your knees bent

• Walk quickly away to the safe spot designated by your driver

• Wait for further instructions from your driver

Parents, please remember that if your child’s bus is evacuated for any reason (bus breakdown, emergency, etc.) students are not allowed to leave the scene. Students must stay with the driver and wait for further instructions. If another bus is dispatched, students are to ride that bus and only get off at their assigned stop.

We want to give a shout-out to our 9th and 10th grade students, as well as, all of our staff for their flexibility and perseverance in the midst of a challenging day last Wednesday. Everyone was prepared to do their very best for a day of testing and then when it was time to log-in only 1/3 of students were able to log in successfully. Thanks again for everyone for working together to get it done and do our very best!

It's hard to believe but we are approaching the end of 3rd quarter! This means that mid-semester grades are coming up very soon. The quarter ends on April 6th and teacher grades are due on the 7th! Please connect with your student on their academic progress so that we can have a strong return back from break and a solid 2 weeks pushing to the end of the quarter.

SP30 Xello lessons! We have had one SP30 lesson due for each grade level so far this semester. Study Skills and Habits (grades 9-10) and Careers and Lifestyle Costs (grades 11-12): were due March 17th. These WILL be included in the students mid-semester grade. If the assignment is 100% done and complete the student is currently PASSING SP30 if not the student is currently not passing. Please use the next two weeks to ensure this assignment is in!

STUDENT ATHLETES! This is a VERY important grading window (different than other progress reports). Student-athletics with a failing or incomplete grade that is posted on April 10th for 3rd quarter will serve a 15 school day and night suspension. This includes SP30.

Please talk to your students now. If they are borderline or in danger of failing a class, please talk to them about working with their teachers to do what they can to bring their grades up to passing so they don't start out our spring season with a suspension. Once a grade is posted they cannot undo the athletic consequence by completing work (although they can still bring up their grade and work with their teacher to complete work). The posted grade is what will determine a suspension. The only exception will be a teacher error when posting a grade. Grades will be posted on April 10th so athletic suspensions would start on April 11th. Let's avoid that and make sure that our grades are on point.

Thank you for everyone's partnership addressing our bathroom culture at West. Coming back from break we have had a week of no significant vandalism and we continue to focus on changing the culture around vaping in the restrooms. Restrooms are a place that all students should feel safe to go to use and we will continue to partner together to make that happen. Last week launched our Parents on the Premises program with an opportunity to sign up here for this week as well. Training will be provided to all volunteers. Thank you for partnering with us as we build our Wolf community, we truly are stronger together. Bathrooms should be a safe place for all students!

A reminder:

• Students should only be going into the bathroom to use the restroom. There is access to mirrors and sinks in the hallway to check your hair, wash you hands etc. Therefore, there is no reason for a large group of students to enter the bathroom together.
• Students that are in the bathroom in the bathroom when we receive a report of vaping will be searched.
• Students responsible for vandalism will be given consequences in our behavior matrix including paying for repairs, suspension and possible recommendation for expulsion for repeated behavior over time.

Check-out the announcements that are currently running on our TVs in school and that were sent to your students last week of upcoming events/opportunities.

Please click HERE to view the Wolves' athletic schedule this week.

Click HERE to purchase tickets for Sun Prairie West High School athletic events.

Athletics & Activities LINK

Vapes are unsafe whether a nicotine vape or THC vape and all are prohibited from school property (including adults attending events). The possession, consumption and distribution of vapes on school property or at school events comes with a consequence up to and including: in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and recommendation for expulsion.

In Sun Prairie and in surrounding areas young people have been sent to the ER for reactions to vape cartridges. This may be due to physical reactions from smoking THC and nicotine (ie. heart rate), nicotine overdose or otherwise called “nic sick”, or cartridges that have unknown substances.

Is your student interested in confidential support around vaping? Reach out to your social worker Ms. Sirianni or Ms. Fahey. HERE is our Student Services contact information. Your student can work with West Student Services staff on a quitplan, for more education, and other community resource referrals. You can also call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT NOW or text "READY" to 200-400.

Cannabis vaporizers (aka vapes, carts, vape pens) are one of the most discreet ways to consume cannabis and can be a subtle way to medicate.

This fact sheet for teens provides facts about marijuana. It describes short- and long-term effects and lists signs of marijuana. The fact sheet helps to dispel common myths about marijuana. Access sources and references cited in this fact sheet.

As we look forward to the next couple of months a couple important dates to put on your calendar.

• Friday, April 7th- All students will engage in asynchronous learning in their Google classrooms AT HOME. All asynchronous work is due at 3:00pm.

• Friday, May 26th- This date was originally scheduled as a professional development day. With the snow day last week it is now a student attendance day. Please mark your calendars and plan for students to be AT school this day!

With the spring approaching, Counselors wanted to send the Junior presentation to all Junior families as a refresher one more time:

If any junior student would like to meet regarding their future planning, students are welcomed to make an appointment with their assigned counselor between March 26 and April 28, 2023. Please use the scheduling links below:

Ms. Saldana (Last names A-G): cmsalda.youcanbook.me

Mr. Medema (Last names H-O): https://keithmedema.youcanbook.me/

Ms. Wagner (Last names P-Z): https://wagner-counseling.youcanbook.me/

Attention Seniors!

Graduation supplies, including caps/gowns/honor cords, will be delivered to Sun Prairie West High School on Wednesday, April 5 during lunch. If students are unable to be at school on delivery day, please have someone else pick up their order as this is the only time that Midwest Scholastic will be at our school to deliver your items. Any unpaid items will not be left at the school, and will incur special handling costs.

If you still owe a balance and would like to pay prior to delivery day, you may do so with a credit card by visiting mwscholastic.com and click on ‘Pay Invoice’ at the top of the page. You can also pay on delivery day, but payments will have to be cash or money orders.

PLEASE have your student try on the gown as soon as possible to ensure it is a good fit.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please send your emails to payments@mwscholastic.com.

If Seniors have not ordered a cap and gown yet, they should contact Midwest Scholastic immediately. The website for Midwest Scholastic is www.mwscholastic.com. If you have a question about caps and gowns please email them to questions@mwscholastic.com.

Seniors! Scholarship Information

Attention Seniors! Please remember to check our Scholarship Website regularly. Click on “List of Available Scholarships” to see listings of various local and regional scholarship opportunities.

Scholars of Promise (Madison College Tuition Assistance)

The Spring Semester is here, and the Scholars of Promise (SoP) Application deadline of Saturday, April 1 is quickly approaching! SoP is a needs-based program designed to support low-income students. “Low-income” is defined as students who are Pell Grant eligible on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The upcoming Scholars of Promise Apply Day event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Madison College Goodman South Campus (2429 Perry Street; Madison, WI 53713), located off the beltline.

Prospective students will receive assistance with submission of all materials needed to become a Madison College Scholars of Promise student.

Visit the SoP webpage here to learn more about the application process, eligibility requirements, and SoP Apply Day registration.

Summer School

Summer school registration is now open. To be eligible for summer school transportation, you must register by May 16. We have numerous summer opportunities for students:

• Initial Credit classes (meaning it is the first time the student is taking a credit-earning class)

• Credit Recovery options (students who have previously failed a class may have the option to retake it in the summer)

• Enrichment classes (no credit offered; students take these classes for personal enrichment)

Registration is in Infinite Campus. See here for more info: High School Summer School Information

Please consider taking a moment to celebrate a staff member that has had a positive impact you so far this year! This may be someone that you have connected well with, you have seen working hard, has tried something new or you just want to pause and recognize for all of their work as we launch SP West. You can fill out the form as many times as you would like to recognize different staff. They will receive an email with your note and, if public, will be included in our staff Newsletter next week! https://tinyurl.com/SPWestStaffShoutOut

BSU students and staff recognized at the March 15th Optimist meeting/lunch include the following:

Sun Prairie East High School Black Student Union

• Students: Nevaeh Tolson-Eveans (sophomore) and Calvin Henderson (freshman)
• Advisor: Mr. Reginald K. Williams

Sun Prairie West High School Black Student Union

• Students: Brandon Jones (senior) and Quinton Maddox (junior)
• Advisor: Mr. Felix Giboney

Please help us congratulate some of our FFA students. On March 16th, 4 of our FFA teams competed at the UW-Platteville Regional Career Development Events. Incredibly, 3 out of the 4 teams are advancing to state! If you see these students, please help us congratulate them (East and West students are listed) and wish our teams luck as they compete at State on April 27th.

Floriculture Team - 3rd Place out of 24 teams, 93 individuals - This team is advancing to State!

• Team Captain Martha Guelker - 5th Place Overall (Team Captain)
• Jada Danielson - 8th Place
• Andrew Knorr - 13th Place
• Maecie Ledden - 14th Place

Wildlife Management - 1st Place out of 46 teams, 171 individuals. This team is advancing to State!

• Jackson Nesbit - 2nd Place
• Daniel Reid - 11th Place
• Emma Washington - 12th Place (Team Captain)
• Logan Culbertson

Poultry Team - This team is advancing to State!

• Lillian Nichols (Team Captain)
• Joshua Swanson
• Jensen Kaeppel
• Cambria Waelti

Horse Evaluation - Unfortunately, our team did not advance, but still help us congratulate them on all of their hard work.

• Ava Anderson
• Celeste Hayes (Team Captain)
• Jorja Coutts

We are excited to share some recent staffing updates/adjustments.

On Friday, we welcomed Ms. Jamie Beam as our new Welcome Center admin assistant. Jamie is the friendly face that you will see when you come into the building and most likely the person you will chat with if you call with a question. Jamie lives with her husband, her 9 year old daughter, and her cat, Guinness. In 2022, Jamie and her family moved into their newly constructed Sun Prairie home. During her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, travel, and cook.

Ms. Kinsey Detert will now be able to be our full-time Financial Admin Assistant! A HUGE shoutout to Ms. Detert who has been working as both our Financial Admin Assistant and still supporting the Welcome Center desk since January. As well as a cast of other incredible staff that have supported in this transition.

Mr. Robert Gilkey-Meisegeier will be serving as our second dean for the rest of the year supporting Ms. Nee in athletics and Mr. G, Coach Chris and Ms. Erin on the "floor".

Coach Harper will be transitioning from a Special Education Assistant to a Youth Advocate joining our "floor team" supporting students and building bridges between students, teachers and problem solving.

A few reminders as we continue 2nd semester:

• Parents/Caregivers be sure to use the pick-up/drop-off lane for dropping off and picking up your scholar. DO NOT pull into the student lot or the staff/visitor lot as this causes congestion and potential accidents.

• Handicap stalls are ALWAYS reserved for vehicles with a license plate or placard. Never pull into a handicap stall to wait for someone you are picking up or dropping off. We have had several instances where our scholars are unable to be picked up by their accessible vehicle because other vehicles were in those spaces.

• Students: make sure you have your parking pass and parking in the student lot.

• As we continue 2nd semester we will be rebooting parking lot enforcement including tickets. Please reach out with what questions you have.

As we prepare to start the year we are in need of awesome subs to help take care of our students when staff are out. Are you looking for a new opportunity? Do you know someone looking? Can you help spread the word? Please help us get the word out so that we can ensure that our students have the very best people supporting them even on days staff (teachers or support staff) need to be out. Having an ample supply of fantastic subs is also a great way to support our staff by allowing them peace of mind when they are out. Contact mtiseli@sunprairieschools.org with any interest/questions or contacts.

• Support Staff Substitutes

• Substitute Teachers