Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

This past weekend we hosted the 30th Annual Sun Prairie Jazz Festival. Our school was filled with students from 12 different schools as they worked with clinicians improving their craft. In the evening the staff and students put on an incredible show highlighting their work and showcasing their talent. We are excited for our very own Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble I to have been selected to perform in the Essentially Ellington Finals in New York later this year! This week we are looking forward to our first annual Student Showcase for Black History month. This year the students will be performing for other students and our staff during the day, we look forward to building next year to an evening performance for the community. Also this week: our students are celebrating National FFA week, an incredible group of scholars will be Reading their Hearts Out again and we invite everyone to join the SPASD annual soul food dinner on Friday night. We look forward to an incredible week.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

On Tuesday night 2/21, the La Follette Boys Basketball team will take on SP West at LHS at 7:15pm. We want to welcome all fans and students from both schools in what is sure to be a great contest! Students from other area schools (not named La Follette and SP West), however, will not be allowed to attend unless they have a parent or guardian present with them at the door and during the game. SP West and LHS students: a photo ID will be required to enter LHS. And, as always, any area middle school students will also need to have a parent or guardian with them to enter and to remain with them during the contest.

Thanks and let’s have a great game!

LHS principal Mat Thompson

TODAY, all juniors will report to the PAC at the start of SP30 in order to create MyACT accounts. This is a necessary step prior to the ACT testing on March 7. Go directly to the PAC, do not go to SP30.

*You will need your FULLY CHARGED chromebook*. In the PAC lobby you will receive your testing booklet and instructions page for setting up a MyACT account. Staff will be at a line of tables divided up alphabetically by last name to hand these out to you. Once you have your booklet and instructions page proceed inside the PAC and have a seat.

The instructions page will have your individual ACT student code and high school code needed to create the account. We will walk you through the initial steps in setting up your account. MyACT allows you to send your score to up to four post-secondary institutions free of charge, and also offers free college and career planning.

At the conclusion of SP30 you will be released from the PAC to go to your 2nd block classes.

Traveling juniors who are at East in the morning or offsite should have received a previous email from me about an afternoon session in the PAC at 3:15pm on the same day (2/20).

Thank you and see you all then!

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

• Tuesday, March 7th- JUNIOR ONLY DAY. Our juniors will be taking the ACT. 9th, 10th and 12th graders will NOT come into the building that day so that our juniors can focus and rock out this test.
• Wednesday, March 29th- FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE ONLY DAY. Our 9th and 10th graders will be taking the ACT Secure the new state assessment for 9th and 10th graders that also prepares them for the ACT. 11th and 12th graders will NOT come to school that day.
• 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!
• Snow Day #5- More information will be shared as soon as possible regarding how we will be making up instructional minutes from snow day #5 from last week.

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.

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.

Did you know that you have the opportunity to graduate from SPASD with BOTH your High School diploma AND your Associate's Degree? The Early College STEM Academy is an incredible partnership between SPASD and Madison College. Focused on preparing students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math it allows students to take classes full time at Madison College while still being a West Wolf. The program is focused on providing opportunities for groups historically underrepresented in STEM including: first generation college students, students of color, female and gender expansive students, etc. For more information please reach out to Craig Smith at cmsmith@sunprairieschools.org.

Check out this week's events and activities here!

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

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.

In past newsletters, we have shared tools to speak with your family about vaping, health information, and what is in a nicotine vaping device. A common misconception is vapes are just water vapor see below for what chemicals in vapes are also used for, and the nicotine level compared to cigarettes!

As we finish our winter sports season and look forward to the spring season we wanted to inform you that Mr. LaRon Ragsdale has resigned. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. Please contact Mindy Ripp mjripp@sunprairieschools.org or Eric Nee eanee@sunprairieschools.org with any athletic related questions.

Wolves! Here are two opportunities for you to help shape our Black History Month celebration. Design a slide to be used on our TV showcase and win prizes. Nominate music to be played in the commons before/after school. Sorry parents/caregivers these two are aimed at students but please encourage your student to participate!

The main entrance door closes at 4:00pm. Athletes that may leave and come back please enter through door 24. Also a reminder that the building closes at 4:00pm. At that time all students need to exit the building or be with an adult.

As we launch 2nd semester we had a fantastic meeting of our Parent/Caregiver Partnership meeting last week. Our Parent/Caregiver Partnership is a group for ALL Wolf Parents/Caregivers. While High Schools don't currently have formal SCOs, the partnership between schools and parent/caregivers is as critical while we are preparing to send your child off to life after High School as it was when we were welcoming them into kindergarten. Look for upcoming Parent/Caregiver partnership dates and new opportunities at additional times outside of the evening coming in next week's Howl.

Last week we had a round table conversation on the successes of 1st semester and areas of focus for second semester. We celebrated all of the incredible work that has been done to launch the school year and have a strong first semester. We all agreed that two areas of focus for second semester are bathrooms and students being in class from bell to bell.

• Class Bell to Bell: We are continuing to work to create a culture in which ALL students are in class from bell to bell. This includes: Having a pass every time you are out of class; using the 2 minute warning "ding dong" sound to move quickly to your next class; staying in class until the bell rings; working with your teacher if you need a break within the 85 minute block, taking a break in the den area and then returning to class. I will be focusing 2nd semester on a student principal advisory board to help continue to get feedback from students across our student body on how we can continue to build a culture of care in which students are seen, known and valued in the classroom.

• Bathrooms: We know that we currently have students engaging in unsafe behavior in bathrooms (vaping, missing portions of class, vandalism) which makes it difficult for other students to feel safe and comfortable using the bathroom. We have already taken steps to address this including new floor assignments for our Youth Advocates and daily huddles of our "floor team". We also are in the process of finding additional ways that parents/caregivers can come partner with us for supervision as we have an incredible and very large building with limited staff. More to come soon!

• If you see something that shouldn't be happening... SAY SOMETHING to any adult in the building and they will get it to the right place. Go to a trusted teacher, trusted office staff, youth advocate, dean, AP, Principal JP, anyone. This includes any vandalism in bathrooms or other locations. Together we can take care of this beautiful facility and leave a legacy for the generations to come.

A few reminders as we start 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 start 2nd semester we will be rebooting parking lot enforcement including tickets. Please reach out with what questions you have.

Bus Delays and Emergencies

Please remember that buses may be slightly delayed when we are experiencing snow and icy conditions. Anything within 5 minutes of the scheduled arrival time is considered “on time.”

If your child’s bus is delayed and/or evacuated for any reason (bus breakdown, emergency, etc.) 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.

Bus Tags- Every day.

A reminder that students need to show their bus tags to drivers every day to get on the bus. If you need a new bus tag please see Ms. Detert in the front office. You can also pull up your transportation tab in IC.

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