A HUGE shout out to all of our students and their guests who helped us have a fantastic 2nd Annual SP West Prom last evening. It was a beautiful event and the students looked stunning. Thank you for setting the bar high for future students and events with your behavior, respect and demonstrating how to have a great evening for all! We continue through May with celebrations, community and commitment to ending the year strong. THIS Friday is the LAST DAY for students to turn in late work to their teachers. This is a hard deadline, make sure you are taking the necessary steps to ensure you are finishing your year strong! This week the evenings are full of celebrations, from concerts to AVID, NHS and 8th grade Wolf Welcome. Check out this week's Howl for lots of important information including an update on bathroom closures (and openings!).

Due to Memorial Day next weekend there will be no Howl next week. Look for our final Howl of the school year on June 2nd. The Howl will then return in August as we prepare for the 24-25 school year!

In this week's Howl:

• Upcoming Events
• Daily Announcements
  
• May Celebrations and Recognitions
• Bathrooms- Open!
• Talk about Vaping
• Welcome to West!
• Root to Rise
• Free Sports Physicals
• Youth Arts Festival
• Open Mic for Pride!
• Junior Information
• Senior Information
• Summer Opportunities
• 8th Grade Wolf Welcome
• Library Materials and Chromebooks
• Yearbooks
• 5th Hour Tutoring
• Classroom and Student Spotlights
• In Case you Missed It!

• May 21st- AVID Senior Celebration Night @ SP East 6:00pm-8:00pm

• May 21st- Orchestra Concert @ SP West PAC, 8:00pm

• May 22nd- West Wolf Welcome- 8th Grade Transition Day and Evening

• May 22nd- Night of Scenes- SP West Small Theater 6:30pm-7:30pm

• May 23rd- NHS Induction Ceremony @SP West 6:00pm-7:00pm

• May 24th- LAST DAY TO TURN IN LATE WORK (hard deadline!)

• May 30th- Band Concert, 8pm, West PAC

• June 4th- Choir Concert, 6:30pm, West PAC

• June 5th- Senior Graduation walk at feeder schools

• June 6th- SP West End of Year Student Celebration (afternoon)

• June 7th- Graduation at 5:00pm at Alliant Energy Center (no tickets necessary)

Have you ever walked by the screens while in the building at West and thought, I want to make sure my student knows about that? Here are our student announcements so that parents/caregivers can have the same information to remind and encourage student involvement.

This past week we welcomed in the artists from the Madison Area Chinese Community Organizaiton visit the art show that we currently have on loan from their organization in the commons/library through the month of May!

Also, on Saturday Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) hosted their annual Guruvandana (Teachers’ appreciation) celebration. During this celebration students expressed their gratitude to teachers followed by a brief cultural show and light dinner. Several of our SP West students and families were integral leaders in this beautiful celebration and Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Quale were celebrated at the event.

Learn more about Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in the US with the "Fun Facts by the numbers" below from the US Census Bureau.

Mark your calendars to stop by the annual Hmong Community picnic. A time for community celebration and honoring this year's seniors.

This week's focus on Mental Health Awareness Month: Students can sign up for Mental Health Awareness events this upcoming week! Staff and Students are encouraged to wear green on Monday.

As we continue in the month of may learn more about Jewish Americans that have had an incredible impact on our society, many of whom were highlighted in the videos last week with more information provided here.

Over the last week, following additional bathroom closures due to students flushing vapes and the article published in this week's Howl we have had countless conversations with students, students to students, staff to students and with our community members about working together as ONE WEST to keep our bathrooms open, safe and accessible for all. THANK YOU for all of your work and partnership. We did not have one instance last week of an additional bathroom needing to be closed due to vape flushing. Together, we are creating the culture and identity of West that we all want and need. Due to the communal effort, the work of our maintenance team, Youth Advocates, Deans, Custodial Staff, Admin and ALL Staff and students, we will be opening all of the bathrooms in our academic areas starting tomorrow, 5/20. Commons bathrooms will be open before school, during lunch and after school when we have additional staff to supervise these high volume bathrooms that have also been hot spots for vandalism and vaping. Over the next week we will have rolling closures as doors are replaced that were damaged over the last two years.

As we have refurbished and reopened bathrooms it will take every member of our community to ensure that these bathrooms stay open, in excellent condition and safe for all students. We cannot and will not experience the level of vandalism that we did initially again and we have implemented additional strategies as a system to prevent this from happening, but need student support and positive behavior to make this a continued reality.

The following signs will be posted outside of all communal restrooms reminding students of expectations, monitoring and consequences. Students participating in vandalism will receive citations in addition to school consequences.

Vaping is an epidemic among teenagers across the US. As we partner together to decrease and eliminate vaping at West we will continue to provide weekly resources between now and the end of the year to help empower parents/caregivers to talk to their child/student about vaping. We need your partnership to keep vapes from entering the building. Our Student Services team members are available to help support parents in their questions about supporting their child/student as well as connecting with students who want resources and help to quit vaping.

Here are examples of common NICOTINE vapes being used by Sun Prairie youth.

Here are examples of common THC (marijuana) vapes being used by Sun Prairie youth.

It has been a busy spring and hiring season is in FULL SWING! We are excited to welcome ROB GILKEY-MEISEGEIER as our permanent Dean of Students heading into the fall (along side Jamie Diaz). We have welcomed KAWONIS JACKSON and QUINTON CANNON as Youth Advocates. We are welcoming MADISON FAUST as a permanent Science teacher and MATTHEW COOK remaining in his Social Studies role. We are also welcoming TRAVIS SPRAGUE who will be full time at West in the fall and split in the spring at Prairie View in Agriculture. We give a warm Wolf welcome to NEHEMIRAH BARRETT who will be joining us as an Associate Principal from Patrick Marsh. We also welcome PHAU THAO as a SCHOOL COUNSELOR shared between East and West (new allocation!). We also have recently welcomed TIM BERG and JASMIN RIVAS as second shift custodians. WELCOME WOLVES!

I would like to make a formal and public apology for the way that Root to Rise was depicted in a previous Howl newsletter. In an effort to highlight this incredible program we used language from the partner's website which is incomplete, misleading and caused harm to members of our community. I apologize for that harm and we are working with our partners at Root to Rise to update their website so that it more accurately depicts this awesome program. Let's try this again:

Did you know that Meadowview Elementary and Sun Prairie West are the first SPASD schools to have a partnership with Root to Rise? Root to Rise is an incredible program that partners our High School Scholars with a local elementary (or middle school) and allows the High School students to become teachers for the younger scholars. SP West Students attend for an hour and a half on either A or B days and become an integral part of the classroom in a PAID internship format. Their teacher responsibilities could include: tutoring students 1:1, leading small groups, providing class support and above all they make incredible connections with our Meadowview Otters. Our Wolves have an opportunity to explore education and our Otters have an opportunity to connect with an additional teacher that they can see themselves in. We know that teachers of color are significantly underrepresented within our current staff composition. This program allows elementary students to see themselves as a teacher while our Wolf scholars experience a PAID internship experience in education. If you are interested in Root to Rise for next year please reach out to Rebecca Griffin.

Again our sincerest apologies for the language that was used previously that did not accurately capture the brilliance of our scholars in this program and the incredible experience that students on both sides are having.

MS and HS students who receive from and reduced lunch qualify for a FREE SPORTS PHYSICAL! Please call the clinic at 608-834-6977 to schedule an appointment for June 25th or July 23rd.

Reach out to Ms. Beaver and Ms. Ripp in the Athletic Office for more information.

Two new important laws/policies regarding admission to the UW system have been adopted by the state/UW system and are set to roll out shortly for this year's JUNIOR CLASS. You should have received the following information in a separate email and we want to make sure you have had a chance to sit and read it through.

Last week during advisory, seniors gathered to discuss the graduation ceremony on Friday, June 7th. You can access the Powerpoint using this LINK.

Senior Yard Signs will be available for pick up during our Senior Celebration Night on Wednesday, May 15th. Don't worry! If you are not able to attend, you can grab your sign starting Thursday, May 16th in the Front Office. Reminder, it is one sign per Senior student.

Graduation Walkthroughs to West HS feeder Elementary and Middle Schools will happen Wednesday morning, June 5. Please check your email for more information. Permission slips will also be available in both Administrative Offices.

Graduation is quickly approaching. Wondering: Where is graduation? What time does it start? Do I need tickets? More questions about graduation can be answered using the FAQ document below (Spanish Version). Any additional questions about the graduation ceremony can be directed to John Barth (jebarth@sunprairieschools.org) or Tess Reimer (tareime@sunprairieschools.org).

On Wednesday, May 22 all 8th grade students will be coming to Sun Prairie West High School in the morning to get an introduction to the high school, take a tour and meet staff during our 8th Grade West Wolf Welcome events! That evening from 6pm-7pm, families will be invited to an 8th Grade Introduction to High School presentation and tour. We hope to see you there! Go Wolves!

This letter is to provide information about your student’s chromebook as we approach the end of the year. Students in grades 9, 10 and 11 will keep their school-issued device over the summer unless they are leaving the district, in which case the device should be returned by June 7th, 2024. Students can still access school applications and use their device. Filtering software will still be active throughout the summer. Students are expected to care for their device over the summer just as they would during the school year.

Seniors must return their devices before graduation on June 7th, 2024.

Device Collection for Seniors will begin on June 5, 2024 in the LMC. Students will be called to the library by last name. If you no longer need your device, feel free to turn it in earlier. Devices and chargers will be collected. If you have lost your charger, there will be a charger sale on Thursday, May 16th in the cafeteria. Chargers will be $15 - cash or card will be accepted. The regular price for a missing charger is $30.

Google Takeout Instructions (transferring student account data to a personal account) were posted in the senior class Google Classroom and are linked below. Seniors will lose access to their district accounts on June 30, 2024 and should begin transferring their data as soon as possible to avoid loss of files. Since your personal Google account is not considered the “owner” of your school account’s data, you may lose access to those files once your student account is deactivated, unless you go in from your personal account and “MAKE A COPY”.

Fines for overdue library materials, missing Chromebooks and chargers will be assessed on June 7th. Any materials needing to be returned after this date should be brought to the District Service Center at 501 S. Bird St.

Link Here for Google Takeout Slideshow

Link Here for One Pager Instructions for Google Takeout

Congratulations! Best Wishes!

Ms. Walters & Mrs. Dahl

Yearbooks are in! Yearbooks will be available for pick up on Tuesday, May 21st, Wednesday, May 22nd, and Thursday May 23rd before school (8AM-8:30AM), during both lunches, and after school (3:45-4PM).

Early Grads: Yearbooks could be picked up during the distribution times listed above or in the Main Office from May 28th and beyond.

As we begin to approach the end of the school year, remember that 5th Hour Tutoring is available to ALL students. Make plans to come and get that extra help/encouragement to get that grade up! Coaches encourage student-athletes to ensure their academics are taken care of first, so if you need to attend and may miss some practice, please talk to your coach!

During Teacher Appreciation Week our staff participated in "The Contest". Checkout this amazing highlight video created by our Library team of Ms. Walters and Ms. Dahl.

Did you know as we prepare for our June 7th graduation that some of our SP West scholars have just celebrated their graduation from Madison College as well! These students have participated in the Early College STEM Academy and are graduating with both their High School diploma AND their Associate's degree.

Ecology students recently went on a field trip to the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sun Prairie.

Chemistry students recently burned different alcohols to collect data and calculate the amount of energy released by the fuel (system) and absorbed the water (surroundings).

Our students in Baking and Pastries competed in our own West version of cupcake wars!

We recently hosted a district Multilingual Family Night in which Multilingual Families from all backgrounds, languages and school levels came and joined an evening of games, food, celebration and community. Thank you to everyone that made this beautiful event possible.

Last week we celebrated our Senior Class with the distribution of Academic Awards, Department Awards and Local Scholarships. It was an incredible evening! More pictures to come...

The Jerrys, one of Wisconsin's High School Musical Awards Programs, encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater.

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.

Information from previous Howls that's too important to miss!

Over the last several weeks we have made tremendous gains in the vandalism that we were experiencing previously in bathrooms: kicking in of doors, breaking of sinks, breaking of paper towel dispensers and stealing of soap dispensers. We have also improved and increased our use of our vape detectors and increased our consistency in following up with any student suspected of vaping in the bathroom. This has led to identifying many students who have been vaping and following up with consequences and support. We have also seen an increase of students sharing information with staff so that we can work together to ensure our bathrooms are open and safe to all.

However, due to these increases in monitoring, follow-up and community collaboration (staff and students), we have a new problem. Students are flushing vapes at an alarming rate. Students have now taken to flushing vapes when finished or when an adult enters the space. This is causing additional bathrooms to have to be closed because toilets are becoming plugged. Often, when we are working to solve when systemic problem the pressure put on the system causes new behaviors and new problems on the path to a true solution. That is what we are experiencing now.

We need your help and partnership. Please take to your student about the dangers of vaping in general and ensure that your student is not bringing vapes to school. We have learned from students that they are hiding them in bras, underwear, etc... places we can't search. Students who are suspected of flushing vapes will have an administrative conversation and phone call home. Students who are found to be flushing vapes will face consequences equal to vandalism and violation of school rules.

We are making progress in establishing the culture that we all desire: One West an intentional school community where students, staff and families feel seen, valued and heard. We work to: understand our own story and the story of others, identify and eliminate barriers; problem solve solutions; build relationships; actively listen to and lift the voices of our students, in order to create equitable opportunities and outcomes. Our community supports and empowers high expectations for all students and all staff so that all students are college, career and community ready AND where bathrooms are open and safe. Together we can get through this latest challenge to be able to reopen bathrooms for all.

There is a common misconception that vaping is completely harmless. The truth is, vaping is not safe, especially for teens and young adults. Research shows that 66% of teens think their vaping instrument only contains flavored liquid.

What many don’t understand is that these liquids may also contain toxic substances such as formaldehyde, diacetyl, and acrolein. Inhaling these chemicals can significantly harm their lungs. Many vaping liquids also contain nicotine, which can be very addictive for teens and young adults, and can seriously impact their brain development.

Exposure to nicotine at a young age can make it easier for teens to get hooked on vaping and using other tobacco products. Research has also discovered that individuals who vape are more likely to go on to use marijuana or smoke traditional cigarettes compared to their non vaping peers.

Resources: Your student can work with West Student Services staff on a quit plan, for more education, and other community resource referrals. You can also call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT NOW or text "READY" to 200-400.

Conversation Starters: Talking to Your Teen About Vaping

How to Talk to Kids About Vaping Risks Visual

Looking for housing or more information on housing stability steps? Check out these community events coming up with our partners at Sunshine Place!

Students also have the opportunity to attend the Renting 101 workshop! If your student is interested, have them speak with their school social worker Ms. Sirianni or Ms. Fahey

Kobussen has a Lost & Found for items left on the bus. The driver keeps the lost item on the bus for a few days, then turns it in at the Kobussen terminal. If your child has a lost item don’t forget to check with Kobussen. Feel free to stop by the terminal at 1500 Forward Drive, Sun Prairie or call (608) 825-8700.

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 on their website or 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/

Do you have the Infinite Campus app on your phone? If not, please download it today! See the directions below on how to access Parent Portal.

Why is Parent Portal important?

• Get real time updates on grades
• Get real time updates on attendance
• Set notifications to keep you up to date on your students progress

Infinite campus is our Number 1 communication tool with parents/caregivers. Have it right at your finger tips!

1. Go to the Sun Prairie Area School District web page

2. Click on Infinite Campus

3. Click on Campus Parent

4. Enter your Username and Password (if you’ve already logged in to Campus Parent Portal

previously/have a username and password)

5. Click on New User? (if you have not set up your Infinite Campus Parent Portal

6. I need to obtain my Activation Key: Please email: enroll@sunprarieschools.org

7. Once you’ve received your Activation Key, copy and paste it directly into the Activation Key

area. You will be prompted to move forward with setting up your Campus Portal Account.

1. Search your app store for Campus Parent
2. Enter your Username and Password (if you’ve already logged in to Campus Parent Portal
3. previously/have a username and password)
4. Click on New User? (if you have not set up your Infinite Campus Parent Porta
5. I need to obtain my Activation Key: Please email: enroll@sunprarieschools.or
6. Once you’ve received your Activation Key, copy and paste it directly into the Activation Key area.
7. You will be prompted to move forward with setting up your Campus Portal Account

A few important parking reminders and expectations as we continue to have situations that are unsafe for students.

• When dropping off students ONLY use the RED Student Drop Off Zone. We are seeing many parents/caregivers dropping students off in the YELLO Bus Loading Zone, Student Parking and Visitor Staff Lots. This creates situations in which there are moving cars where others are trying to park, blocked parking spots and student being nearly hit by cars when trying to walk through designated areas.
• Do NOT pull into light blue designated accessible parking, or block these spots, for any length of time if you do not have a government issued tag/license plate. We have students that require the use of these spots and on a regular basis are having their access limited due to others blocking or being in the locations.
• The DARK BLUE service road behind the building is for Emergency Use only. Prepare for these gates to begin being closed as we have seen an increase in individuals using this back road at the end of the day in an attempt to avoid traffic. Unfortunately this creates unsafe circumstances and a student was nearly hit last week.
• The gray circle near the end of the staff parking and service road is designated for specialized transportation pickup only. The only pick up that should take place in this location is specialized buses and parent/caregivers working with their student's IEP team.
• Finally, students a reminder to park in your student designated parking spot in the GREEN LOT.

We are working to have an increased presence in these locations with our School Resource Officer and Administration to enforce these important safety measures, warnings and tickets may be issued for infractions.

We know that drop-off, pick-up and parking can be difficult and busy times at a comprehensive High School. Please ensure that you are planning ahead with appropriate time. If we all work together the system will work and keep everyone safe.