April is full of celebration, acknowledgement and acceptance. This week we highlight the Month of the Military Child while we also prepare for an in-person celebration of Hmong Heritage Month hosted in our very own SP West Commons. Spring is in full swing with athletics, music, academic accomplishments and finishing the school year strong with AP tests right around the corner. Check out this week's Howl to stay in touch with all the things coming up including important information regarding Prom.

This week's Howl:

• Greetings Wolf Pack!
• Upcoming Events
• Month of the Military Child
• Hmong Heritage Night
• SP30 Reset- Finishing the Year Strong
• Prom is Coming!
• Working Wednesdays
• SENIORS!
• Spotlights!
• Wolf Study Lounge
• In Case you Missed It!

April 17th- Cap/Gown delivery from Midwest Scholastic During lunches

April 21st- SP West Guest Forms for PROM Available in Front Office

April 24th- Hmong Heritage Night Celebration- at West- Our Roots, Our Legacy, Our Future- April 24th, 5-7pm

April 30th- Children's Day Festival at West 5:00-7:30pm

May 1st- Guest Forms due to the wooden box by 1:30pm (HARD DEADLINE)

May 2nd- School lunch hero day (celebrating our Nutrition Staff)

May 3rd- HOSA Night Out at Forward Madison

May 5th-8th- Prom tickets on sale for SP West Juniors and Seniors only through Go Fan- closes 11:59pm on May 8th (HARD DEADLINE).

May 10th- Prom!- 8pm-11pm- Monona Terrace- More details to come!

May 14th- Senior Celebration Night 6:00-8:00pm, West PAC, Free SP West Senior Yard Signs given out that night

June 12th- Last day of school

June 13th- Graduation!

As we continue through April we celebrate the Month of the Military Child. The life of a military-connected child is one of constant change. In addition to the typical stressors of being a kid, a military child faces a unique set of challenges, including separation during deployment and being relocated across the country – or even the world. This week we celebrate our military children amidst our One West community and all they bring. Please watch the short videos below and visit the links to learn more about this important community within our community. Are you a Wolf Military Child? Share your story with JP at jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org to be shared in next week's Howl.

In celebration of the rich and vibrant culture of the Hmong community, we welcome ALL families in SPASD to join us this Thursday for a evening of fun with music, performances, art, activities and food. This year marks 50 years since the Hmong people first arrived in the United States and we honor this milestone with the them: Our Roots, Our Legacy, Our Future. See you in our SP West commons this Thursday from 5:00-7:00pm.

Over the last week we have gotten a true sense of Spring, warmer weather, longer days and the sweet feeling that summer is around the corner. With that we also see a slip in student attendance. We continue to stay committed to EVERY STUDENT having 90%+ attendance to finish the year. Areas of focus continue to be:

• 1st hour tardies
• SP30
• 3rd hour tardies
• Leaving 4th block early

Please check in with your student to talk through how they are doing on all 4 of these areas. Ask to go over the email that they received last week with attendance updates and check Infinite Campus together.

NEXT WEEK, the Week of April 28th, we will be having an SP30 Reset. For one week we will NOT be having WIN time to help recenter students in the expectation of signing up using SP30 every week, going to and staying in their assigned areas. SP30 and WIN time are valuable times of the day and we need to ensure we are using them appropriately to finish out the year.

Prom season is upon us. A reminder about important upcoming dates for Prom:

• TOMORROW, April 21st- West Prom Guest forms become available in the front office of West. They will be on blue paper. If you are a West Junior and Senior and would like to bring a guest that is either from another school OR a Freshman or Sophomore at West they need to have a turned in and approved form to attend.

• May 1st at 1:30pm- Deadline for guest forms to be turned in to the wooden box in the Front Office. This is a HARD DEADLINE. Forms are ONLY accepted in the wooden box. No forms will be accepted after 1:30pm on the 1st. If your guest form is NOT approved you will receive communication.

• May 5th-8th- Prom tickets on sale and available for West Juniors and Seniors through Go Fan. Ticket sales stop at 11:50pm on May 8th. Hard deadline. No tickets will be sold after that time.

• May 10th- PROM! 8pm-11pm at the Monona Terrace. No entry after 9:30pm. If you plan to go to both East and West's prom that evening ensure you leave time for parking and walking in as you need to enter prom by 9:30pm.

• Dinner Reservations- May 10th is going to be a very busy night with many Proms and UW graduation happening. Please make plans now for your Prom dinner and consider eating in Sun Prairie and supporting local establishments before heading into Madison.

• Two Proms, One Night. A reminder that this year both East and West proms are happening on the same night due to the availability of venues. We have this problem resolved for 2026 and 2027. You are welcome to attend both proms, just remember that you will need to buy a ticket for both and arrive to the second prom by 9:30pm.

Looking for a prom dress? Know a Junior or Senior looking for a dress? Check out the Prom Pop Up Shop this Friday 04/25 with Sunshine Place. Students can sign up HERE to attend during school hours this Friday, with parent permission!

This past week, students and families of AP students received more detailed communication about our upcoming AP exams. It was sent to the email addresses on file in Infinite Campus and to the student’s school email. Below is a copy of the testing schedule set by the College Board which was also included in the email you received. If you did not receive the email or have additional questions, please reach out to Amy Cassiday at akcassi@sunprairieschools.org.

Mission Respite will be at lunches on Wednesday, April 23. Stop by to learn about job opportunities in providing enriching respite (relief) for families that have a child with a special ability.

Cap and Gown Delivery

Midwest Scholastic delivered caps, gowns, cords, and other supplies to Sun Prairie West last week.

• Unpaid orders were NOT left at school. These will be delivered after payment and will incur special handling costs.

• Paid orders were left at school and can be picked up in the front office.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please email Midwest Scholastic at payments@mwscholastic.com.

Any questions regarding the graduation ceremony? Please see the FAQ sheet on the Sun Prairie West Graduation website.

Cords and Stoles

Graduates who earned honor cords also received them with their caps and gowns. These are based on student’s GPAs after the first seven semesters. Below you will find a table explaining the colors:

Some students will also wear stoles at the ceremony. Graduation stoles are fabrics that drape on the shoulders and can represent many different things. Sometimes stoles are referred to as sashes--these are the same product.

Stoles that are acceptable to wear at graduation include:

• Perfect 4.0 Achievement

• National Honors Society

• Approved Sun Prairie Educational Programs (AVID, STEM Academy, Madison College programs)

• Representations of cultural identity (BSU, kente stoles, serape stoles, paj ntaub, etc.)

Stoles that are not acceptable to wear at graduation include:

• Images/messages that are not school appropriate

• Stoles that do not follow the approved guidelines.

• Other celebrations can be shown on cap decorations.

Sun Prairie West High School will be giving every graduate a yard sign at the Senior Awards Night in May. If students cannot attend this event, they can pick one up in the front office at a later time. This yard sign is FREE and is NOT the same yard sign sold by Midwest Scholastic seen in their email last week.

Students in English 9 classes recently finished a human rights book club unit. Students chose a human rights issue from their book (or one they were personally interested in) to study/research and turn their findings into a case study. Students in Ms. Archie and Ms. Dorner’s class presented their Human Rights Case Studies to a panel of teachers, students, district employees, and community members! Thank you to our panelists!

Multilingual students in the ESL Advanced English class participated in the Wisconsin Great World Texts exhibition after reading the international bestseller Kim Jiyoung: Born 1982. At the exhibition they created original projects, observed projects from students across the state, and met the author of the book and her translator.

ML Students have been creating artwork for a contest as a part of the Children’s Day Festival which will be celebrated here at SPWHS on April 30th.

Please congratulate SP West flutists Gabby Horan and Asha Sundaram who competed in the Wisconsin Flute Festival Young Artist competition this past weekend.

Gabby received Honorable Mention and Asha took home 1st prize. Way to Go - SPW Musicians!

Congratulations to all the 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who earned an Academic Award! Thank you to all the families, friends, and staff who came out to support these amazing scholars. If your student was not able to attend the ceremony, they can pick up their award in the front office.

On their second meeting of the year our Wolves took down the SP East Cardinals this weekend.

Check out these NEW SCHOOL RECORDS set recently by our Track and Field Athletes. Keep up the great work!

New Year, Same Supports! We’re excited to share some updates to our before and after school tutoring support program to better support your learning:

• Afternoon Study Lounge Relocated: The afternoon study hall has been moved to a new space—the Library—to provide a more focused and resource-rich environment.

• Additional Teacher Support: We’ve added more teachers to our tutoring sessions to ensure students get the help they need.

Be sure to take advantage of these new changes and set yourself up for success this year!

Let’s make this a fantastic year of learning and growth!

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!

Students!!! Shout out your teachers and show them some love with Teacher Superlatives. Take a quick minute to fill out this form!

We are teaming up with the @Wisconsin Department of Transportation to encourage students, staff, and families to take the Buckle Up Phone Down pledge! Over 9,000 crashes a year in Wisconsin involve distracted driving, and cell phones are one of the biggest distractions.

The challenge is on! Pledge to always wear your seat belt and put your phone down while driving at: wisconsindot.gov/bupd/spsd. Choose your high school so we can see which school gets the highest percentage of pledges!

We all have a role in keeping our roads and communities safe!

#BUPD #BuckleUpPhoneDown

This spring there have been measles cases in several states. Measles is a very contagious virus. It spreads easily and quickly when people cough and sneeze. If you haven’t had the measles vaccine, just being in a room with someone who has measles can make you sick.

Measles can be a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. It can be prevented by the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.

• The vaccine is safe and effective. The best protection against measles is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

• Most people are vaccinated as young children because two doses are required to go to school. One dose is usually given at 12-15 months of age, and a second dose is given before the start of kindergarten at 4-6 years of age.

• Most people who get measles are unvaccinated. When the measles finds a group of unvaccinated people, it can spread very quickly.

Check your immunization records

You can check your child’s immunization record on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or with your healthcare provider.

If our school records do not show that your child has received two doses of the MMR vaccine you will receive additional communication from the school.

Get Vaccinated

• If you have health insurance: reach out to your healthcare provider to make an appointment.

• If you don’t have health insurance or if your child is on BadgerCare: You can make an appointment with Public Health Madison Dane County by calling (608) 266-4821.

Watch for Measles Symptoms

Measles symptoms begin with a fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes, followed by a rash that usually spreads from the head to the rest of the body. If you or your child has these symptoms, call your healthcare provider. Do not go to a clinic, urgent care, or emergency room without calling first.

For more information on measles, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/measles/

Senior Celebration is on Wednesday, May 14th from 6:00pm-8:00pm. ALL Seniors and their Parents/Caregivers are welcome! Students who are being recognized at the event will receive an individualized invitation via email closer to the date. We will be celebrating the Class of 2025 through: Academic Awards, Local Scholarship Announcements, Department Awards with refreshments provided by our ProStart students. Excited to see you there!

Midwest Scholastic will be delivering caps, gowns, cords, and other supplies to Sun Prairie West on Thursday, April 17th during lunches (12:11-1:30pm) in the PAC Lobby. This is the only time Midwest will be at our school.

• Unpaid orders will NOT be left at school. This will be delivered after payment and will incur special handling costs. If you 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.

• Paid orders will be left at school and can be picked up in the front office.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please email Midwest Scholastic at payments@mwscholastic.com.

Any questions regarding the graduation ceremony? Please see the FAQ sheet on the Sun Prairie West Graduation website.

Check out this article written by a fellow high school student on AP test study tips. AP tests are coming. Study now and you've GOT THIS!

It's hard to believe that Prom is going to be here before we know it! Here are some important dates/information to put on your calendars as we get ready for Prom.

• SP West Prom is for SP West Juniors and Seniors. Freshman or sophomores may attend SP West Prom ONLY if a guest form is turned in and approved within the deadlines below.

• Due venue availability SP West and SP East's proms are BOTH on May 10th this year from 8pm-11pm.
• Can I go to both proms?
• Yes, but you would need to buy a ticket for both.
• When would I have to arrive?
• The last entry for both proms is 9:30pm
• Where are the proms held?
• SP West- Monona Terrace
• SP East- Alliant Energy Center
• Are there guest form for both proms?
• Yes, if students from East want to go to West's prom or students from West want to go to East's prom you MUST have a guest form approved during the deadlines below (deadlines are the same for both schools). Guest forms to attend West's prom will be on blue paper, guest forms for East's prom will be on red paper.

• Important information:
• SP West Prom- 8pm-11pm on May 10th at the Monona Terrace
• Guest Forms available starting April 21st in the FRONT OFFICE
• Guest Forms due in the wooden box int he FRONT OFFICE NO LATER than 1:30pm on 1st
• Guest Forms to attend EAST's Prom should be dropped off in the admin office with at least 24 hours allowed for processing.
• Tickets on sale for SP West Juniors and Seniors only May 5th to May 8th- 11:59pm on Go Fan.

Support scholars taking national exams by becoming an AP Proctor! We are seeking proctors to work between May 5 and May 23 at East High School, West High School, and the PLC at the Hilltop Campus. Test proctors are responsible for test room security and the administration of exams. We have many opportunities to help, both full day and half day. Pay is $20/hour and proctors must be high school graduates over the age of 18 and pass a background check. Please complete this form by April 2 to indicate your interest, and share with your neighbors!

Attention Seniors! If you received a Direct Admit Letter the deadline to accept the offer is May 1. You can find your letter in Infinite Campus under Forms. Follow the links provided in the letter.

Message from UW Systems:

• To connect with your Direct Admit UW universities and start your path to college, go to the Universities of Wisconsin admissions portal (apply.wisconsin.edu/direct-admit) and complete the Direct Admit Wisconsin form. The sooner you complete this step, the closer you are to becoming a Universities of Wisconsin student. Find a helpful checklist of next steps at wisconsin.edu/direct-admissions.

Juniors! Thank you to those who attended your Junior Academic and Career Planning Presentation on March 14, 2025 during SP30. Now that you have had time to review the Junior Planning Presentation, schedule a time TODAY to meet with your counselor for your 1:1 Junior meeting follow up. Our goal is to meet with 100% of our juniors to hear your wonderings, dreams, goals and plans for after high school so we can assist you in the next steps.

Parents, please encourage your students to use the following Booking Links below to schedule a meeting with their counselor:

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

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

• Ms. Wagner (Last names N-T): https://wagner-counseling.youcanbook.me/

• Ms. Thao (Last names U-Z): https://pthao-west.youcanbook.me/

Prom is upon us! Looking to donate a prom dress, or in need of a prom dress? Join Sunshine Place and our School Social Workers with Prom Dress Pop Up!

Questions, ideas, or looking for a dress?

Reach out to your SPW School Social Worker!

Susi Sirianni (last names A - K) at sesiria@sunprairieschools.org

Caitlin Fahey (last names L- Z) at cmfahey@sunprairieschools.org

Check out these awesome summer STEM opportunities