Welcome to Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month! Throughout this month we will be highlighting the amazing contributions to our community from our Latinx community. We also use this time to intentionally learn about the incredible diversity within the Latinx community here at West, in Sun Prairie, in the US and beyond. Take time to watch the brief videos in this week's Howl that highlight why this month long celebration is important and then learn more from several AfroLatinos sharing their story.

Also this week we continue to celebrate the incredible start that we have had lifting up data that shows we are on the right path to our goals this year! "It just feels different... in a good way!" has been repeated over and over by staff and students. Year three is often the year when you find your stride in a new job or new environment, and it is no different for us. Year 3 is our year. One West: Our school. Our future. In this week's Howl we also address some concerns from the last week regarding altercations and use of phones (fights and filming of fights), have LOTS of opportunities for students to be involved, share information about additional opportunities for students in Driver's Ed, Free College Classes and By Youth for Youth. It is also still Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and we share another video to help educate around resources if a student is struggling with suicidal ideation.

Check out this week's Howl:

• Greetings Wolf Pack!
• Upcoming Events
• Happy Hispanic Heritage Month
• One West!
• Safe Learning Environment
• Proper Use of Technology
• SP West vs SP East Football Game
• You in TWO!- Club opportunities!
• By Youth for Youth
• Drivers Education
• Post-Secondary Planning for High School Athletes
• Remembering Coach Chris
• Free College Classes in High School
• Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
• Foster Homes Needed
• Classroom Corner and Student Celebrations
• In Case you Missed It!

September 15th- Kick off to Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month

September 16th- Last day to request a change for your 1st semester schedule

September 17th- Picture Retakes/Make-Up (if picture not taken during registration)

September 18th- 7:00-8:00pm- Post-Secondary Planning for High School Athletes- Sun Prairie West PAC - Open to ALL Sun Prairie Athletes 8th-12th grade that are considering playing NCAA sports after high school

September 20th- SP West vs SP East Football game at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium

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

October 9th- Homecoming Parade down Main St

October 7th-11th- Homecoming Week

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

Checkout Daily Announcements here.

Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communites beyond this month, from September 15 to October 15 we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more.

Today, the Latino population in the United States today is over 60 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This makes up 18.9% of the total population and is the largest racial or ethnic group. Latinos continue to help fuel our economy and enrich our nation as entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, entertainers, scientists, public servants, and much more. (Read more here)

Throughout the month we will celebrate the amazing intersectionalities, diversity and similiarties of our Latino community here at SP West. This week let's dive into the stories several Afro Latinos.

We have had an incredible start to the school year! Our Theory of Action this year is focused on strategies to increase the attendance for our Black students. This was selected as our data from last year showed that we were not yet serving our Black students well when measured by attendance and if we focus on serving them better and eliminating barriers for them it will benefit not only our Black students but ALL students.

As of this afternoon:

• 91.7% of students have 90% or better attendance
• Over 50% of students have not missed one class period and have perfect attendance
• 85% of our students who identify as Black have 90%+ attendance! (Last year it was 47% at the end of the year)
• Our overall attendance rate is 95.59% and full day attendance is 87.37%
• Our overall attendance rate for our students who identify as Black is 91.33%!

Classrooms are buzzing with positive energy. Students are building community with each other and making connections with their teachers. Teachers are centering student identity and engaging students through multiple ways to demonstrate learning. Even through an almost 24 hour internet outage. Students, staff and guests have all commented on how it "feels different" this year, in such a good way. The expectation has been set that students are learning in classroom from bell to bell. Students understand that their brilliance is needed in the classroom. Their future is simply too important to be lost in the hallway, and their insight to important to not be a part of the class community. We have had an incredible start. Now, it takes each and every one of us to continue to work to continue the momentum as One West from now til June!

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.

We are looking forward to hosting Sun Prairie East on Friday night this week at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium for our annual West vs East Football game. Please be on the lookout for additional communication from Athletic Director Nee this week with details for the game. Lets make it another fantastic community event.

Our data continues to show that students in 2 or more activities throughout the course of the year SOAR, in the classroom, outside of the classroom and after West. Check out these opportunities...

For more information about FBLA reach out to Mr. Wagner in 2400

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.

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

Do you have an athlete that is thinking about continuing their athletic career after High School? Join us THIS Wednesday night in the SP West Performing Arts Center for an informational meeting. This meeting will include: eligibility requirements, division differences (Div 1, 2, 3), GPA Scale, approved high school classes. Open to ANY 8th-12th grader and their family that is thinking about playing NCAA sports after High School.

The memorial for Coach Chris will continue to be in the commons through this Friday. Friday afternoon we will collect all of the memories and celebrations that have been written to present to the family Saturday at the memorial service. The pictures and candles will move to his former office in 3300 and that space will remain closed to give honor and respect to Chris and the impact he had on students at West.

Did you know that juniors and seniors can take FREE college classes while still a WOLF? Juniors and seniors can take up to college classes per semester of classes not offered at West. Students can earn high school credit, postsecondary credit or both. See Mrs. Griffin in Student Services (room 3412) for more information. Applications for SPRING 2025 due BY OCTOBER 1st.

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

Do you have room in your family for a foster child with autism? Dane County is desperately needs caregivers for children and youth with autism. Can you help?

Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Sun Prairie West is proud to announce that Yogitha Rajkumar is a Semifinalist this year! Yogitha has an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $26 million, that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition

Our 9th grade water network students are making a SPLASH!

Check out this beautiful wall in Ms. Pollard's class where students write down what it means to them to be a part of a Beloved Community as they create community together.

Check out the awesome display that Ms. Bembenek and the AVID Site team are creating to help staff share their stories with students and for students to have an entry point to talk to staff about their college story.

Our awesome Instructional Coach Ms. Bindl is taking on the West staff in a game of Scrabble. Currently she is beating the staff... we got to get on this.

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!

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!