The Howl

Greetings West High School parents/caregivers and students!! The countdown has begun!! We gained occupancy of our building this week, what does that mean? The building is ours and staff have begun to unpack! Our staff will be in over the next two weeks unpacking, settling in and making SP West feel like home. More of our student athletes have also taken to the court, the pitch and the course this week! New staff to SPWHS will start on Monday, August 22nd, and returning staff will start on Monday, August 29th. With two weeks left before our amazing Wolf scholars enter our doors, we are co-creating a “culture of care” where all scholars, parents/caregivers, and community members feel welcomed and valued in our learning communities.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

As we launch Sun Prairie West High School we have an incredible opportunity for our students! Consider being a: Leader of the Pack! What is a Leader of the Pack? The Leaders of the Pack is our general student leadership umbrella. These students will be invited to help at various community events throughout the year serving as ambassadors of SP West and showing the community what it means to be a Wolf! Our Leaders of the Pack will represent ALL of our student body: our diverse races, languages spoken at home, students with and without IEPs, and a variety of school experiences. If you would like to step into this leadership role or would like to nominate someone to become a Leader of the Pack please fill out this form. Parents/caregivers if you think this is an awesome opportunity for your student please talk to them about it and then encourage them to fill out the form. The interest form should be filled out by the student.

Please bookmark these two VERY important documents so they are always at your fingertips. Please note that our bell schedule times have shifted this year (start time 8:35, end time 3:45).

Bell schedule A/B Day Schedule

As we all prepare for our fall schedules starting the first day of school on September 6th our building will be open 30 minutes before school starts (8:05am) and 15 minutes after the day is done (4:00pm) unless the student is with an adult at a supervised event: extracurricular/tutoring, etc. Before and after school the students will use the commons (the picture to the left shows our Instructional Coach: Meghan Willauer, Principal: Jen Ploeger and Student Services Coordinator: Kellie Neisbauer using the learning stairs in the commons). This allows our students time to hang out and connect with friends, get support they need and have appropriate staff supervision. Please plan rides, drop off/pick up accordingly.

Our motto this year is: Creating the Future! We are creating the future of SP West, the future of Sun Prairie and the greater community and the future of our scholars. One of the most important steps to adhering to our motto is attendance. Please read about our NEW attendance guidelines and procedures for the 22-23 school year.. Thank you!

New Attendance Guidelines and Procedures 22-23

As we prepare for our first home Wolf football game this Friday night, please review the updated event guidelines for the 2022/2023 school year. We are beyond excited to take the field, stage, pool, court, pitch, course and so much more as Wolves for the first time. Together we can make these fantastic, safe and enjoyable events for all.

What do I need to bring to apply for a parking permit?

• Make, model and color of any cars the students would drive to school

• A valid driver’s license

What is the process in determining who will get a permit?

\In order to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to apply for a parking permit, students can apply at registration or during lunches on September 6th and 7th. On September 8th/9th, we will evaluate how many students have applied and randomly match students with a parking spot. If we do not have enough parking for students who applied, seniors will get first priority, then juniors and then as many sophomores as possible. Lottery drawings will be held at the sophomore level, if needed.

When will I find out if I get a parking permit?

Students will receive a parking permit by Monday, September 10th in their SP30 class. Parking enforcement will begin on Tuesday, September 11th. The first week of school numbered parking spots will be available on a first come first serve basis.

Parking Permit Guidelines

Greetings Sun Prairie West!

My name is Meghan Willauer and I have the honor to serve as the instructional coach of SP West. I was born and raised in Madison, WI and have spent all of my adult life in the area as well! I have had the honor of teaching at Madison East High School for the last 11 years. At East, my role was a Bilingual Math Teacher and I had the opportunity to teach Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra II/Trigonometry. During my time at Madison East, I also took on other roles such as Multilingual Ed Department chair and served as part of the instructional coaching team. These roles and experiences launched a love of learning the narratives of students, families and other staff to better understand each individual, illuminating the wealth of experience and expertise they bring to our community.

I live in Madison with my husband and our dog, Calvin. During my free time, I love to workout! I am a group fitness instructor at a local studio where I get to teach barre, bootcamp and strength training classes. With both my fitness community and my school community, my goal is the same: everyone feels safe to take on new challenges and knows there is a community of people supporting them as they work toward their goals. I look forward to working with our staff, students and community!

While our excitement is building to start the school year and officially open the doors of SP West High School some of our students have already started their year! SP West students have an incredible opportunity to apply to and attend the Madison College Early College STEM Academy. These SP West (East and PPA) juniors and seniors attend Madison College full time while they are SP West students. These Wolves still have opportunities to participate in extracurriculars and are thriving in college classes and earning FREE college credit as they finish out their High School experience. Scholars attending the Early College STEM Academy have the opportunity to graduate with their High School AND Associate’s Degree at the same time!!!! We are so proud of our Early College STEM Scholars and are here to support and walk with you every step of the way. Sophomores be on the look out for this awesome opportunity this Spring.

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

Does my student need a graphing calculator for math?

If your student is planning to take PreCalculus, AP Calc, and/or AP Stats, they will benefit from having a graphing calculator, which can also be used for the ACT and in Algebra 2 math classes and beyond. The TI84+ or TI84+ CE are what most students use, but there are other types of graphing calculators as well. The school does have a limited number of graphing calculators available to be checked out, and priority is given to students in AP math classes. For students in other classes who wish to have a calculator, a scientific calculator such as the TI-30 is sufficient. Students will have access to online graphing calculators through their Chromebooks.

No student may be unlawfully discriminated against in any school programs, activities or in facilities usage because of the student’s sex (gender identity, gender expressions, and non-conformity to gender role stereotypes), color, religion, profession, or demonstration of belief or non-belief, race, national origin (including limited English proficiency), ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, homelessness status, sexual orientation, age, or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability. Harassment is a form of discrimination and shall not be tolerated in the District. It is the responsibility of administrators, staff members and all students to ensure that student discrimination or harassment does not occur. (SPASD District Policy JB)

• Friday, August 26th- Staff return to work to prepare for students!
• Sunday, August 28th- 3:00-5:30pm West High School Grand Opening Event
• Monday, August 29th- 12:00-3:00pm Keys to Success (Please register here)
• Monday, August 29th- evening- 9th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Tuesday, August 30th- evening- 10th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Wednesday, August 31st- evening- 11th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Thursday, September 1st- evening- 12th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Tuesday, September 6th- First day of school!

August 31, 8:00am-4:00pm and September 1, 8:00am-4:00pm

Click here to reserve your spot for SPWHS back to school registration!

Please note the following services that will be provided on these two days.

Infinite Campus Updates and Permissions

Chromebooks and assistance will be available for you to update your information in Infinite Campus.

Bus Tags

Bus tags will be issued to students who are eligible for transportation. These tags are necessary to ride the bus.

Parking Permits

Parking permit applications are completed at our back to school registration. Please have your student’s valid driving license to show at the time of registration. Further information will be coming in the next few weeks.

Lockers

Student locker use has been minimal the past several years. Because of this, our building has been designed with less lockers. Information will be shared in the first weeks of school on how to secure a locker should your student need one.

Fees

All fees are paid online via credit card or checking account information. Technical assistance will be available for families needing to pay fees. Activity passes will be printed on the student’s ID if paid before or during back to school registration.

School Pictures and ID Cards

Photographers will be on site to take school portraits. ID cards will be printed on site as well. Please click here for more information.

Schedules

Schedules will be open for viewing on Infinite Campus beginning August 26. More information to come on next steps if your student has questions/concerns about their schedule.

Yearbooks

You can order a yearbook or get the form to order a yearbook if you wish.

As we launch our SP West community we are centering our year on: SP West Wolves 2022-2023: Creating the future! We will be creating what it means to be a Wolf, co-creating a culture of care in which ALL students and staff are seen, known and valued and we develop meaningful partnerships with parents/caregiver and our community. We will be creating future doctors, welders, military members, community activists, construction workers, etc. Together we will be creating the future of Sun Prairie West and beyond.

During the month of August we will be sending the Howl out weekly with more information as we gear up for the start of the school year! What questions do you have that we could answer in a future addition of the Howl? We are co-creating a brand new school and we want to hear your voice! Please fill out this quick survey with questions, topics for future newsletters and highlights/future events.

We want to re-share resources that were provided by the district in an email to parents/caregivers last week on July 27th. Please take a moment to review this information one more time as we work as a community to destigmatize talking about mental health and suicide prevention. Please remember you are not alone in supporting your child/children and they are not alone. We have student support staff available yet this summer and as we start the school year to support your student, please don't hesitate to reach out and we will get them connected: jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org.