It's hard to believe that we are already entering into week 4 of the school year. We are incredibly proud of our One West community for the beginning that we have had and the work that everyone is putting in to sustain the strong start. Last year struggled to have strong universals. This year our universal expectations are known and being implemented consistently and we continue to hear: it just feels so different from all aspects of our community. One West. Our School. Our Future. Keep up the fantastic work.

This week we continue to focus on our Classroom to Home communication with our Monthly Spotlights from our different departments. Check out this week's Classroom Corner and Student Celebrations sections for sneak peaks into the learning taking place in our science classrooms and for introductions of our new Spanish teachers.

Check out all that's in this week's Howl:

• Greetings Wolf Pack!
• Upcoming Events
• Happy Hispanic Heritage Month
• CEOs of Tomorrow
• Pre-ACT for 9th-11th graders
• Tuesday for 12th grade
• Future Focused Mondays
• Service Academy Day
• Nutrition Team
• CBITS for 9th Graders
• Restorative Practices
• Remembering Coach Chris
• Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
• Classroom Corner and Student Celebrations
• Your Ideas in the Howl
• In Case you Missed It!

September 22nd- Deadline for By Youth for Youth Applications are due TODAY

September 24th- Pre-ACT Testing during the morning for grades 9-11, Senior Launch morning for 12th grade. Normal schedule resumes at 12:11 for lunch, 3rd and 4th blocks.

October 1st- Applications due for 2nd Semester Start College Now and Early College Credit opportunities. Reach out to Ms. Griffin to learn more.

October 4th- Progress report grades are due for teachers

October 7th- Progress grades are posted in Infinite Campus

October 7th-11th- Homecoming Week

October 9th- Homecoming Parade down Main St

October 10th- 5:00-7:00pm- Hispanic and Latino Family Night- Westside Elementary

October 11th- Homecoming Football Game, 7:00pm at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium

October 12th- Homecoming Dance at SP West

October 23rd- PSAT Testing- Morning- Reach out to Ms. Thao for more information

October 24th-25th- Parent-Teacher Conferences

DEADLINE TODAY!!!! The By Youth For Youth (BYFY) program is now accepting applications from any and all high school students in Dane County for the 2024/2025 school year! Organized by UW-Extension, the City of Madison, and United Way of Dane County, it is a great opportunity for high school students to make tangible funding decisions to support youth programming and initiatives cross the county. Learn more about the program here.

Checkout Daily Announcements here.

Deadline for applications on October 1st! See Ms. Griffin THIS WEEK.

This week take a few moments to listen to four different stories from four different people who identify as Latinx sharing what they remember the most about their childhood... the beauty and power of remembering and celebrating.

As we continue to celebrate Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month it is an opportunity to focus on and learn about leaders, influencers and dreamers from within the Latino community that we may or may not have learned about fully before. This week take a couple of minutes to learn about Dolores Huerta and the impact that she has had.

CEOs of Tomorrow believes in investing in youth early on in life with the fit of social entrepreneurship education. These Teens Mean Buisne$$ Incubator is for 9th-12th graders. So, you would like to try opening your own business – but where do you start? This fun, hands-on training lab is the perfect place for teens like you to dive in and explore! You’ll get to test and sell your new product to real customers. Make money, create positive change in your community, and show off your creativity and problem-solving skills. And don’ worry—we’ll guide you every step of the way! Ready to turn your ideas into action? Let’s get down to business!!

There's more! Launch your own business and receive the profits you earn! Work with and learn from actual entrepreneurs! Learn business planning, marketing, and finance in a real-world way! Improve creativity, confidence, critical thinking, and communication! Earn a chance to win up to $1,000 in cash and college scholarships!

Click here for the full flyer and all the info. Register TODAY!

On Tuesday September 24, 2024 you will be taking a preACT exam that is similar to the preACT Secure (9-10th grade in the Spring) and ACT (11th grade in the Spring). It is different in that it is not a state or college reported score and it is our school’s decision to implement. The preACT is similar to your Spring assessment in the type of questions it asks and the difficulty of those questions. This can help you get more familiar and feel more prepared for the exam that is administered in the Spring. It can also help you understand proficiency across college readiness standards, areas to work on, and growth over time between the administrations.

Results become available about 3 weeks after testing and will be shared with you so that you can understand your score report and areas you showed strength and ideas for areas to improve.

This exam is scheduled during normal school hours and all 9th-11th grade students will report to their assigned testing room at 8:55am. Your testing room assignment will be posted in common areas in our school buildings. It is critical that you come to school with your fully charged device! Feel free to bring your water bottle and a snack to have set to the side during testing that you can access during break. Other items will be ready and prepared for you.

With respect for your education,

School Assessment Coordinators

Tuesday is a full school day for ALL of our Wolf Scholars, including 12th graders. While 9th-11th graders are testing Seniors will be having a Senior Launch day with specific activities to help them launch their senior year. You will be engaged in these activities for the morning and then normal schedules will resume at 12:11am with the beginning of first lunch and 3rd block. Third block and fourth block will be on normal schedule for all.

Mondays are our Future Focus Mondays. Wear your favorite college/career gear on Mondays & join the movement promoting the great opportunities available to all SP West students after graduating high school. Students- this is a great opportunity to ask staff about their career path.

It's hard to believe that our first progress grade window is approaching next week. Grades are due from teachers at 9:00am on October 4th and will be posted to Infinite Campus on October 7th. Parent teacher conferences are coming up on October 24-25.

Join Congressman Pocan's Staff for an Informational Session about the Service Academy Application Process. Speakers from the Service Academies: US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, US Air Force Academy, US Merchant Marine Academy. RSVP to Diego Benitez at 608-258-9800 or digo.benitez@mail.house.gov.

Greetings from our amazing nutrition team. These beautiful humans are an integral part of our One West community. Please take a moment to thank them for all that they do day in and day out. A reminder that cleaning up after yourself at lunch directly impacts them and makes their roles easier. Show respect by being polite in line, greeting them and cleaning up after yourselves.

We are committed to partnering with you in supporting your child as a strong learner. This school year, Sun Prairie West high school is offering a program to students who have experienced stressful events or who are experiencing other stressors in their lives. People who have experienced trauma or those experiencing significant stress may develop symptoms. This can show up as not wanting to go to school or as difficulties with class work and concentration.

In partnership with Journey Mental Health Center and the United Way, we are offering a program for all 9th graders called REST (Resilient response to the Effects of Stress and Trauma).

The staff at Sun Prairie West High School will be screening all 9th graders on Monday October 14, 2024.

Students whose questionnaire score indicates symptoms of depression or traumatic stress will have a face-to-face conversation with a school staff or REST Team member. These conversations are meant to provide support and to determine what resources would be useful for the student.

This form only covers the screening and follow-up conversation. If you DO NOT want your child to participate in the REST screening, please complete the form below and return to Susi Sirianni, Sun Prairie West school social worker by Friday October 11, 2024 or just reach out to Susi Sirianni and express that you would like your student to NOT participate. If you have questions or would like more information about the REST screening, please call Susi Sirianni at 608-478-1700 ext 5335 or email sesiria@sunprairieschools.org.

More information y en espanol: HERE

Here at Sun Prairie West, restorative practices can occur throughout the school day in both academic and nonacademic settings. We all utilize restorative practices to build relationships with students and create a safe and accepting school climate. When a restorative school climate is established, students trust staff and each other and feel safe going to an adult for help if something is happening on campus that needs attention. We all, caregivers included, must model how to be able to communicate during conflict, acknowledge when we hurt someone, and ask for forgiveness and have the ability to repair the damage. Below is the form for our community to seek for support regarding conflict resolution and creation of circles for classrooms and schoolwide groups.

This weekend hundreds gathered to say good-bye to Coach Chris in a community memorial service. The memories, stories and impact he had on many here in our SP West community were collected into a scrapbook and presented to the family. The pictures and candles that were in the commons have now moved to his former office space in 3300 which will remain a space of tribute throughout the semester.

September is recognized as Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness, spread hope, and share vital information and resources to individuals, friends, and families. Our Sun Prairie community is committed to the prevention of youth suicide. Please review this list of warning signs of suicide in youth, additional information, and links to mental health resources available on our website.

The beginning of the school year can be particularly stressful. Please check-in with your students and with each other.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call, text, or chat “988” to connect to a trained counselor
• Crisis Text Line: Text “HOME” to 741741
• Journey Mental Health: Call the Emergency Line: 608-280-2600
• Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ Youth: Text “START” to 678-678 or Call the Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386

In AP Environmental Science each student wrote down their goal on a sunflower and what they needed to do to reach their goal.

Chemistry students provided information about themselves to start the year.

APES students doing soil testing on school grounds.

Weather & Climate students learning about the layers of the atmosphere.

Physics students create vector diagrams while measuring and calculating distance and displacement.

We have three new faces in the World Language Department. Welcome to the team, Kate Cognac, Stephanie Pomplun, and Madeline Leamy! It’s going to be an amazing year with all of you here.

Ms. Cognac- Spanish 2

Ms. Pomplun- Spanish 1 and 3

Welcome Ms. Leamy teaching Spanish 1 and 2

We need YOUR input too! Do you have an idea of something that should be included in the Howl? Your ideas are always welcome. Email our Admin Associate to the Principal, Jordain Blank at jnblank@sunprairieschools.org.

If you don't already, please follow SP West on Facebook!

STATEMENT OF NONDISCRIMINATION

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)

If a student or parent/guardian would prefer to have this information translated into Spanish, please contact us at 608-834-6620. Si un estudiante, padre ó guardian prefiere tener esta información traducida en Español, por favor contactenos en el 608-834-6620.

If a student or parent/guardian would prefer to have this information translated into Hmong, please contact us at 608-834-6630. Yog tus me nyuam lub xiv los yog niam thiab txiv/tus neeg muaj cai saib xyuas tus me nyuam xav tau qhov ntawv ntawm no ua lus Hmoob, thov hais rau peb paub rau ntawm 608-834-6630.

We strive to keep The Howl as streamlined as possible with all of the important information for our community. To the end once something has appeared in The Howl, it will move here to the "In Case you Missed It!" section. Take a moment to peruse and make sure you have not missed important info!

While we have had an incredible start to the school year, we have also had 2 physical altercations in the past week. We want to take a moment to remind each and every student and parent/caregiver that is not who we are as a PACK and we simply cannot have that behavior on school grounds. The impact of even two students participating in a physical fight is significant on the whole community. We are a community and our actions impact those around us. A fight can shatter a sense of safety and belonging for those around the situation or who hear about it. Please connect with your student and reinforce different ways to solve conflict.

Supports:

• Each and every wolf has a Wolf Support Team who is here each and every day to support
• We have 3 amazing youth advocates, Mr. Cannon, Ms. Shelby and Ms. Erin who are in the hallways each and every day and are a great first stop if students don't know where to take a conflict.
• Our new Restorative Practices Coach Ms. Vivi is here to support students. Already in the first two weeks she has facilitated circles, empowered students to facilitate circles, helped students talk through a situation, provided support for students brainstorming next steps to avoid a conflict, etc.

Verbal Altercations: a verbal altercation is a conflict that requires adults to intervene that involves yelling, posturing but does not become a physical fight. Students will receive a behavior referral, a referral to restorative practices and may receive additional consequences including in-school-suspension (ISS), out-of-school suspension (OSS). If adults have to intervene to prevent it becoming physical the students will be sent home for the day.

Physical Altercation Minor (from our SPASD Behavior Matrix): Minor physical contact (bumping, shouldering, etc) between two or more students that is harmful or disruptive, but is quickly

de-escalated and does not result in injury. This includes play fighting that has the appearance of a minor physical altercation. This includes retaliation but does not self-defense actions. Physical altercation is used to describe mutual contact between two or more students engaging in the behaviors named above. Physical aggression describes one-sided physical contact named above.

Retaliating by hitting a person back is not self-defense and will be considered as participating in the physical altercation. Self-defense is described as an action taken to block an attack by another person or to shield yourself from being hit by another person. Repeated incidents of minor physical altercations / aggression may be moved to Level III violation for Repeated Misconduct of a More

Serious Nature. Students participating in a minor physical altercation will receive a behavior referral, referral for restorative practices and consequences including ISS and/or OSS.

Physical Altercation- Major: Physical contact between two individuals, which is harmful, has the potential to cause injury and is disruptive to the orderly operation and safety of others within the school environment. These events are more serious than a minor incident as a larger response is

required to diffuse the situation. This includes retaliation but does not self-defense actions. Physical altercation is used to describe mutual contact between two or more students engaging in the behaviors named above. Physical aggression describes one-sided physical contact named above.

Retaliating by hitting a person back is not self-defense and will be considered as participating in the physical altercation. Self-defense is described as an action taken to block an attack by another person or to shield yourself from being hit by another person. Major physical altercations will result in OSS, restorative practices referral and likely a ticket for disorderly conduct.

Battery: Physical contact between two or more individuals which causes bodily injury. This is disruptive to the orderly operation and safety of others within the school environment. These events are more serious than “physical altercation” as a larger response is required to diffuse the situation. These incidents result in bodily injury. These incidents may or may not have police involvement. This includes retaliation but does not self-defense actions. Retaliating by hitting a person back is not self-defense and will be considered as participating in the physical altercation. Self-defense is described as an action taken to block an attack by another person or to shield yourself from being hit by another person. Battery will likely end in a recommendation for expulsion and police involvement.

Physical Aggression Directed at Staff: Intentional physical contact with a staff member, which is intentional, harmful, has the potential to cause injury and/or is disruptive to the school environment. Physical aggression toward staff will likely end in a recommendation for expulsion and police involvement.

Technology is an incredible tool and we strive to help our students how to use it appropriately in all circumstances. A reminder that inappropriate use of technology is a violation of the SPASD Behavior Matrix.

Disruptive Use of Technology: The use of technology to create or perpetuate a situation that is disruptive to the school environment. This includes the following:

• -Filming of day to day interactions between students, adults, school staff or community members within the school environment
• Filming or attempting to film fights, altercations or other interactions between students, students and staff, or students and community members; filming classroom material or instruction within the school environment
• Use of external speakers within the school environment that poses a safety concern or disruption within the school environment

Filming a fight AND/OR resharing a video of students from school, including fights does fall within our SPASD behavior matrix and will result in a behavior referral, restorative practices referral and/or in-school or out-of-school suspension. Even if you did not take the video, if you reshare it on social media you are continuing the conflict and the harm done by the situation.

Every year we encounter new student behavior, this year for the first time we have seen students attempting to sell videos of a student fight on social media. Attempting to profit off of others suffering unravels what we are trying to build in One West and will have additional consequences for causing additional harm to members of the community.

Wisconsin residents who are 14–19 years of age, are eligible for or are receiving free & reduced lunch, and have not previously held a driver license are eligible to have their classroom and behind-the-wheel driver training paid for through the Driver Education Grant Program. Students with grants can enroll in any driver education program offered by an authorized driver education provider. To learn more and apply, visit the Wisconsin DOT website. QUESTIONS? Contact spbtw@sunprairieschools.org

This week we held four class meetings in the Performing Arts Center to launch the school year strong with each of our classes. Our Seniors and Freshman attended on Thursday with Juniors and Sophomores attending on Friday. We reviewed the history of SP West. Shared data of where we are soaring and where there is work to be done and focused on the goal that each and every student is 90%+ this year... in attendance.

We are off to a strong start. Currently 91% of Wolves have 90+% attendance! As we head into week 2 we are looking to increase that number by helping students get to school that are currently facing barriers either in or outside of school. Additionally 97% of students had 2 or fewer tardies this week. That is FANTASTIC. Great job wolves. Way to take responsibility for your education and building community in your classroom. You are brilliant and your brilliance is needed in the classroom.

A reminder of the core behavior expectations that we shared last week and also went through with each grade level in the PAC:

On September 24, 2024, 9th-11th grade students will take a preACT exam similar to the preACT Secure (9-10th grade in the Spring) and ACT (11th grade in the Spring). To learn more about ACT assessments, you can visit here.

The PreACT exam this Fall is different from the state-wide administration, as it is a local decision to administer. However, it is similar in the type of questions it asks and the difficulty of those questions. This can help students become more familiar with and feel more prepared for the exam that is administered through the state in the Spring. It can also help students understand their proficiency across college readiness standards, areas to work on, and growth over time between administrations.

This assessment can help educators respond to student needs through curriculum and instruction and other more personalized support. Results become available about three weeks after testing and will be shared with students so that they can understand their score report, areas of strength, and ideas for areas to improve.

The preACT exam is scheduled during regular school hours and with normal attendance expectations for all 9th-12th grade scholars. 9th-11th grade students will report to school as typical and at a designated testing location. 12th-grade students are also expected to attend school with alternate activities to support their future.

Thank you in advance for your support,

Mr. Barrett, Ms. Sampson and Team

This year we are focused on continuing high level of school to home communication through the Howl and other means while also increasing our classroom to home communication. This week you should have received a welcome email from each of your student's teachers. If you did not receive a communication there may be a mistake in the information we have in Infinite Campus. Please reach out to Principal JP if you have yet to hear from one of your student's teachers so we can problem solve and ensure you are receiving proper communications.

Welcome to the 24-25 school year! Here is an important overview the expectations for your student regarding our time together this year during Advisory and WIN time during SP30.

SP30 is held from 10:08-10:38 on Mondays and Fridays throughout the school year. Students are expected to use that time to participate in our class activities and complete any class level lessons that are assigned in Xello. This is also when we share daily announcements. Each SP30 should have a Google Classroom where students can see the tasks they are assigned, as well as any important announcements. Please ask if your student has joined their SP30 Google Classroom. If not that should happen this week. This week we will continue to have SP30 every day- Monday-Friday. Next week, 10th-12th grade will start WIN time. 9th grade will start the following week.

WIN Time is typically held during the SP30 time block (10:08-10:38) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This is different than SP30 as students have a choice in where they can go on those days. WIN Time stands for What I Need Time and is meant to help students do the following:

• make up formative and summative assessments

• make up missed labs

• ask a teacher for help with an academic topic

• be in a quiet space for extra study time

• have review sessions before summative assessments

• use the recording studio for course projects

• and more

Students MUST sign up for WIN Time using FlexiSched. In addition to academic support, students can expect to find opportunities for extracurricular club meetings, spaces where teachers facilitate games or competitions, or sometimes a place where staff will teach students skills that may be fun and unrelated to their content area (example: learning to play ukulele). No matter what a student might want to do during WIN Time, they MUST sign up in FlexiSched each Monday (starting next week for 10th-12th grade and the following for 9th). Students will sign up for WIN Time Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during SP30 each Monday.

We want all of our students to be successful at Sun Prairie West and that the SP30/advisory and WIN Time are important pieces to help them achieve that goal.

If a student does not go to the SP30/advisory or WIN Time they signed up for, they will be marked absent, even if they are in the building. Building procedures and district policy state that students' whereabouts must be accounted for at all times. If students are not where they should be, they will be marked absent to reflect this. This will affect their attendance and ability to be 90%+

Parents/Caregivers- please speak with your student about the importance of SP30 and WIN Time. Students - please adhere to these procedures to ensure we all have a successful year at SPWHS!

Please reach out to your SP30/Advisory teacher with questions or concerns if needed.

Thank you everyone for working together to make sure we are dropping off and picking up students only in the drop off lane. Mr. Ford and I have been out every morning and every afternoon to engage with parents/caregivers and students around parking and have seen marked improvement from the beginning to the end of the week. A few things that we need to continue to focus on:

• Respecting Disabled Parking: We have had significant issues with people pulling into parking spaces that are reserved for individuals with disabilities or waiting behind them so that our students, parents/caregivers with disabilities cannot leave. These spots must be respected 24/7, ticketing will be enforced.

• Drop Off/Pick Up Lane: With the increased use of the drop off and pick up lane please ensure that you are using the right lane to drop off or pick up your student and the left lane to drive off once your student is in/out of the car. We have seen some students being dropped off in the left lane which causes another safety hazard as they cross both lanes of traffic.

• Student Parking: All students must have a current student parking registration to park on campus and must park in the student lot. Students who park in the staff lot in front of the building, the side of the building by athletics or in visitor or staff spaces will be ticketed.

• Circle Drive on the Side of the Building: Please note that the circle drive on the West side of the building is RESERVED for specialized transportation. When other parents/caregivers pick-up or drop off here it creates a significant safety hazard for our students with disabilities who are being picked up by their transportation.

We look forward to a safe parking lot this year.

Senior Photo Upload: All portraits will need to be uploaded directly to Jostens at the following link: https://images.jostens.com/ImageShare/upload All portraits must be submitted by Friday, November 1st 2024.

Senior Recognition Ads: All senior grad ads will need to be completed directly through Jostens by Friday, November 1st 2024 at the following link: https://www.jostens.com/apps/jcom/router.mvc?affiliateId=3151854 An account will need to be created to submit your student’s ad.

Direct Admit Wisconsin offers early and proactive admission to participating UW System Schools for rising seniors at participating Wisconsin high schools. The UW System Schools will collaborate with participating high schools to review student academic records at the end of their junior year and make offers of admission to participating UW System Schools without the need to submit a traditional admission application.

Link to Direct Admit Important Information

• Our initial goal was to deliver letters to families over the summer. This has been delayed.

• Counselors are still in the process of finalizing senior credit checks, and changes to courses are underway.

• Once all of the changes are completed, families can expect to receive their letter in late September.

• Further communication will be forthcoming as the time approaches. If you have any questions, reach out to your students counselor or Principal JP (Jen Ploeger).

September is Suicide Prevention Month and while we aren't in September yet we know that transitions, such as the start of the school year, can cause additional stress for our young people. Here are resources 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.

As we all prepare for our fall schedules, starting the first day of school on September 3rd our building hours are as follows:

• Building opens at 8:05: Students may enter the building at 8:05 and will remain in the commons 8:20. Between 8:05-8:20 students may eat breakfast and socialize in the commons. At 8:20 students may begin to move to their classes.
• If your transportation situation makes it impossible to drop off your students later than 8:05 they will be allowed to stand in the vestibule (between the glass doors) until 8:05, particularly on inclement weather days
• Building Closes at 4:00: At 4:00pm the building closes daily. All students must be with an adult (coach, club/activity, 5th hour tutoring, etc) or leave the building for safety as we do not have supervision available after 4:00pm.

Please plan rides, drop off/pick up accordingly.

We are so excited to have our fall sports in full swing. Many home events have already happened and we have our first home football game THIS THURSDAY night. Please review the SPASD event guidelines. We are beyond excited to take the field, stage, pool, court, pitch, course and so much more this school year. Together we will continue to make these fantastic, safe and enjoyable events for all.

All West students will need their student ID or if they have not yet received their 24/25 student ID, they will need to look up their Infinite Campus profile. This can be done in advance and screenshotted for quick access.

Are you looking for leadership opportunities and want to be a leader within the West community? Do you want to help shape our story? Sign up to be a Leader of the Pack TODAY! We are looking for more Leaders to volunteer for beginning of year events including Keys to Success, Registration and Wolf Welcome Night.

Leaders of the Pack is open to any West Wolf that strives to embody PACK each and every day and is ready to step up as a leader for our community. Activities for leaders of the pack include: serving on Student Senate, volunteering at school wide events, giving school tours, being a buddy for new students and being a guide for our incoming 9th graders. Sign up today!