THIS MONTH IN LONGHORN UNIVERSE

Location: 14653 Clayton Road Chesterfield, MO 63011

Phone: 314-415-7500

1. October, 2024
2. West High News
3. Athletic & Activity News
4. Yearbook Information
5. WPO News
6. District News

Longhorns,

Fall is upon us.

What a month September was. There are so many reasons that September was so special, but I would like to focus on our week of Homecoming. It is such a unique time in the school year where some of the true memory making moments happen. Last week we saw multiple games and performances highlighting so many of our students talents and skills. Our pep rally alone featured singers, dancers, cheerleaders, band members and all of our fall athletes. Seeing and celebrating our students for all of their talents as an entire West High community is one of the best moments of the year.

I also want to highlight our Taste of West event. This event happens because of the hard work of so many community partners and parents who volunteer their time and energy for our students. The Taste of West was another wonderful success this year thanks to those efforts! I sincerely thank all those of you who gave your time making West High the amazing community that it is.

We are now on to October. In a little under four weeks we will be over 25% of the way through the school year. Checking grades regularly and staying on top of the workload is essential as we close in on the halfway point in the semester. The beauty of October is there is still so much time to maintain the high performance or tweak the approach to improve. My advice is not to wait. Make a plan now and stick to it to make it the best semester yet.

Let's make it an outstanding October!

Go Longhorns!

John McCabe

Principal, West High

Parkway West High School Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 9, 3:00 - 8:00 pm
Virtual Conferences 3:00 - 5:00 pm
In-Person Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 pm

Online registration for Parent Teacher Conferences began at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, September 30th. You may schedule your individual six-minute conferences with your student’s teachers at www.myconferencetime.com/parkwaywesthigh. Registration may also be accessed by clicking on the Parent Teacher Conference link on the Parkway West High School webpage at https://www.parkwayschools.net/whs. Please pay close attention when choosing VIRTUAL or IN-PERSON as designated under each teacher’s name. Registration will close at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 3rd.

Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email.

If you sign up for a virtual conference, that email will also contain the link to the Google Meet. Please keep this email and use it to access your conferences at the scheduled time. Feel free to access the link a minute or two in advance. You will be entered into a virtual waiting room and the teacher will admit you to the conference at your scheduled start time.

If you have questions or problems registering, please contact Mario Pupillo at 314-415-7503/mpupillo@parkwayschools.net or Jenny Moulton at 314-415-7504/jmoulton@parkwayschools.net.

The Parkway West Speech and Debate Team is hosting our annual Fall Classic Speech and Debate tournament this October 18th and 19th! We request assistance from all Parkway community adults —parents, grandparents, and high school graduates— to volunteer their time to judge. Judges will watch a variety of performances done by high schoolers across the St. Louis area and vote on their favorites. Your support not only motivates our students to take on the responsibility of hosting a tournament, but it also encourages young adults to build their public speaking, argumentation, and persuasion skills in a fun and competitive way. Sign up NOW! For more information visit our WEBSITE or email us at pwestdebate@gmail.com.

Save the Date. West High will conduct Hearing & Vision Screenings for all sophomores and all students new to Parkway on November 14th and 15th, 2024. Students will be screened so please make sure your student brings their glasses or contacts with them to school for their screening.

West High students will be taking a social emotional survey on Monday, October 21st so that we can better understand and support their needs.

Students will take the surveys during regular school hours. They will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept confidential and used only by school personnel to support student needs. Any students that do not complete the survey on October 21st will complete it prior to October 31st.

Please see this list of frequently asked questions for more information.

Our second district E-ER (Early Release) Day of the 2024-25 school year is scheduled on Thursday, October 10th. The schedule for the day is included.

The first district half- day of the 2023-24 school year will take place on Friday, Oct. 25th. Please familiarize yourself with the bell schedule specific to that date below. All high school students will be dismissed at 11:35 am. LUNCH WILL NOT BE SERVED.

Officer Matt Paubel is West High's on-site School Resource Officer (he's been here since 2021) Matt is a Chesterfield police officer and works with West High administration for all security purposes and much more. In order to keep all families, students and staff safe while traveling to and from West High, he would like everyone to keep the following pointers in mind:

1. Our additional entrance way seems to be working out well. Thank you to all for your work in prioritizing safety and proper use of our new entrance way.
2. The speed limit on campus is 15 mph. Several students and parents have been traveling at much higher rates of speed and accidents can happen. Please prioritize safety and slow down.
3. When traveling west on Clayton Rd. to enter campus, please obey the right turn sign. Making a right hand turn from the lane not designated the right turn lane is a violation of Chesterfield traffic laws (improper lane use). Any violations could result in a traffic citation.
4. Only Junior and Senior students with valid parking tags are allowed to park on campus in designated student lots. Please make sure your tag is hanging from the rearview mirror and not on your dashboard or in your cupholder.
5. When walking to or from the building, please use the crosswalks in the parking lot as buses are unable to see pedestrians if they are not using the designated crosswalks.
6. Please DO NOT use the bus lane when driving onto campus as buses are actively picking up and dropping students off for activities and sporting events before, during and after school hours.

Athletic buses (both Parkway & VICC) will depart the WHS campus at 5:30 pm, Mon - Fri.

Activity buses when available will depart the WHS campus at 4:00 pm, Mon - Thur.

**All students riding Athletic and Activity Buses must be participating in a sport or club and supervised by a coach or sponsor to access the buses. Students may not ride home on athletic and activity buses without participating in a sport, club or activity.

If you plan on participating in athletics, please keep in mind that MSHSAA requires that student athletes enroll in, and pass, at minimum 6 classes each semester in order to participate in athletics. Please contact Jeff Taggart, Athletic & Activities Director or your grade level principal if you need additional information.

Calling all West High Volunteers!! Looking to get involved this school year? Click this VOLUNTEER LINK to view current volunteer sign-ups! Opportunities will continue to be added throughout the school year.

Parkway West High School

Email: westhigh@parkwayschools.net
Website: www.parkwayschools.net/whs
Location: 14653 Clayton Road, Chesterfield, MO 63011, USA
Phone: (314) 415-7500