The Howl

Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

We've made it to the week before break! We look forward to a wonderful week of fun, festivities and focus to set ourselves up well going into the end of the semester as we return from break. We hope that you and yours have a wonderful week this week and a restful break next week. See you in the new year!

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

We are thrilled to announce our first annual Hmong New Year celebration at Sun Prairie West High School. See you this Wednesday, December 21st from 6:00-7:00pm in our very own SP West PAC for this beautiful event.

As we continue our focus on students being in class bell to bell (our number area of growth for behavior is students being in class from bell to bell) a few updates/reminders/new information:

• Due to the upcoming holidays and families traveling, if you know your student will be leaving early or absent for a day, please let our attendance secretary, Renee Johnson, know ahead of time. 608.478.1707 or rjohnso@sunprairieschools.org.
  

• We want ALL students to be able to attend activities and events outside of the school day and they are a privilege. We need to make sure we are taking care of business in the classroom during the day first. Students must have no more than 3 tardies and no more than 1 unexcused absence in a week in order to attend events the FOLLOWING week. So attendance THIS week will determine if students can attend events next week 12/26-12/30. If a student needs an individual plan working toward this goal please fill out this form.

• We are a closed campus (as are all SPASD schools). If students are leaving during the school day without a purple pass from Ms. Johnson there will be consequences for failure to follow school rules. This will include leaving to visit cars during the school day as this privilege has unfortunately been misused. Please make sure you have all of your needed materials out of your car when you walk in the building.

• If students arrive after 8:35am they will need to show their ID or a screenshot of Infinite Campus and check-in with school staff. Repeated tardiness to school will result in a consequence.

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

Our very own SP West students will be featured on NBC 15 with other music groups at 10:00 PM on Dec. 24th and 6:00 AM on the 25th.

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.

Hi Parents and Caregivers! The Global Business Academy wants feedback on financial and banking practices of parents and the effect it has on teens. Please fill out this short survey to help them out! Thank you for your time!

https://forms.gle/BhTd6VD1RLrYMNbc8

DEC 12, 2022

Greetings Students and Families,

I am hoping that by sharing this information early with you, it will assist you in planning for and ultimately earning your WI Drivers License. The District no longer offers Drivers Education as part of the regular school year program. There are two required portions of Drivers Education - the classroom portion and Behind the Wheel. We offer the classroom portion as an online Summer School course. Students must successfully complete all of the online classroom activities (30 hours over 3 weeks) to pass and earn a Department of Motor Vehicle classroom completion certificate. The DMV completion certificate is one portion of the requirement to pursue a temporary license. The other portion is obtaining an MV3001. This form must be completed by the driving school where the student will be scheduled to begin Behind the Wheel classes within 60 days.

We want students and families to know that students who earn their classroom completion certificate through the school district are not eligible to earn their temporary license until they are registered to participate in a Behind the Wheel class within 60 days. Since we have only two certified Driver's Education teachers who provide Behind the Wheel classes outside of the regular school day (before/after school and weekends), it will be a very long time before students are scheduled.

Once students have completed the classroom portion of Drivers Education, they can complete an application to be put on a waitlist for the district Behind the Wheel classes or they can apply to a Private Driving School. The waitlist for the district is lengthy. We currently have students on the waitlist who completed their classroom portion two years ago.

We STRONGLY encourage students to pursue their entire Drivers Education program (classroom and Behind the Wheel) through a Private Driving School so they move directly from the classroom portion into Behind the Wheel. Participating in the entire program with a Private Driving School is the fastest route for students to complete the requirements for a WI Drivers License. Private Driving School classes are also in high demand and we want you to be well informed so you can make your decision and potentially contact a Private Driving School in a timely manner.

Please refer to the Sun Prairie Area School District Drivers Education website for more information. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Shelley Joan Weiss

Summer School Director & Drivers Education Coordinator

As cold and snowy weather is upon us, here are a few reminders for students riding the bus in the mornings:

• Arrive at the bus stop at least 5 minutes before the scheduled pick up time.

• Wait on the sidewalk or close to the curb if there aren’t sidewalks. Stay out of the road and others’ yards.

• Don’t cross the road until the driver signals and the bus comes to a complete stop before attempting to board.

Students must have their bus tag with them when riding the bus. Replacement bus tags can be picked up at the school. A photo of the bus tag on their cell phone is acceptable. Students may be denied if they don’t have a bus tag and the driver doesn’t recognize them.

Reminder if you are visiting us at West please travel around the turf field to our staff/visitor parking lot. You are welcome to park anywhere in that lot in front of the main entrance/athletics entrance. Please do not park in the student parking lot (has numbered stalls and green on this map) to leave that for our students. Students, a reminder if someone is in your spot to please park in the staff/visitor parking and see Ms. Kinsey to fill out the form in the front office to report someone in your spot and Mr. Whalley and Officer Sessums will follow up.

Our very own SP West Staff are behind the scenes dusting off their hidden, or not so hidden talents. Save the date for our inaugural SP West Staff talent show: The Inaugural Thursday, January 26th from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. All proceeds will benefit a local charity. MORE TO COME!

It is hard to believe that it is almost December! This means that course selection is coming up! Now is the time to start to review your student’s transcript and graduation requirements. In preparation, here is what you need to know:

• NEW Sun Prairie Course Guide will be available before Winter Break

• Course Expo

• SP East - January 10, 2023 from 5-7pm

• Virtual Course Expo - January 11, 2023 - Available on the website

• SP West - January 12, 2023 from 5-7pm

• Students will receive support in choosing courses from teachers in January

• Students can schedule individual appointments with their counselor at any time, if they need support

• Students will submit course selections in Xello early February

Please continue to look for more detailed information in December.

We are incredibly grateful to our community for this magnificent building and opportunity to create a new educational community. As we launch SP West, Create the Future and build a Culture of Care please check in with your student on a few things:

• 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.

• Taking Care of the Building: We have a state of the art, amazing building. We are also short staffed on our custodial team and working with the District Support Center (DSC) to problem solve ways to support this team and increase the amount of custodians on our team. We ALL play a part in taking care of the building including: cleaning up after yourself, particularly at lunch; picking up trash even if it's not yours; talking to your friends/the people around you to clean up after themselves. It truly takes each and every one of us to take care of this beautiful space.

• See Something, Say Something 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.

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