What a fantastic week 1 of the school year. The excitement and momentum in the building was palpable, while also working as a community through the grief of the loss of Coach Chris. This week we started strong building relationships, establishing community, setting high expectations with high support for all students and staff. We can't wait to dive into Week 2! Check out this week's Howl:

• Greetings Wolf Pack!
• Upcoming Events
• Remembering Coach Chris
• One West as a PACK
• Classroom to Home Communication
• Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
• Pre-ACT Information
• Last Call for Schedule Change Requests
• SP30/WIN Time
• Direct Admit
• Normal Bell Schedule Start this Week!
• Yearbook!
• Parking Update!
• Classroom Corner and Student Celebrations
• Your Ideas in the Howl
• 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

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

As we begin the school year we continue to grieve the death of Coach Chris. The memorial table in the commons will continue to be available for students, staff and community (during public events) to share their memories or the positive impact that Coach Chris had on their life. The memories will be collected before the memorial service on the 21st to share with the family.

Ms. Vivi will continue to be available in 1423 (Restorative Practices room) and Student Services will be available on the 3rd floor to continue to help students process their grief. Grief is non linear and will continue to be something we work through as a community for the days and weeks to come. If your student had a close relationship with Coach Chris please check on them and connect to their Student Services support team as needed. One West is who we are in moments of joy and celebration and moments of loss.

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:

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.

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

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

A reminder that this is the last week to request schedule changes. A reminder that schedule changes that have direct implications for graduation requirements will be prioritize. Schedule changes for changing electives will be considered based on the availability of courses. Schedule change requests based on being in the same class as other students, a different teacher or wanting a specific class during a specific hour will not be considered. Thanks!

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.

At key times of the year, including the beginning of the year we also use Block Lessons, which are lessons taught in the context of students regular classes for universal expectations. Please connect with your student about what they learned regarding expectations in Block Lessons this past week.

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).

This week we start our normal bell schedule with 30 minute SP30. We will continue to have Monday-Friday SP30 as we continue to develop our Restorative Practices skills and build community. East will be on the modified schedule we were on last week. If you travel to or from East you will travel on the "Normal" bell schedule (shown here) and East will have a spot for you to wait while you wait for the shuttle.

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.

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.

Last week we celebrated the beginning of the school year with an INCREDIBLE Hmong Community night. The night was full of music from our own DJ Myxee, food, community, school resources, relationships and fun!

9th grade networks are off to a great start! Thank you to these former FIRE network students who joined the new 9th grade FIRE students to share insights about high school, time management, network competitions, and more!

Students in our 9th grade AIR network are coming together as a team to support each other to have an incredible 9th grade year!

9th graders in the Earth Network have come together this week to create community commitments of what it means to be rock solid in Earth!

Community building isn't just for our 9th grade students. Students in 9th-12th grade spent time this week in SP30 learning more about Restorative Practices and used restorative practices to build a strong community foundation. Bonus: it was gorgeous outside so many classes got to spend some time in the fresh air while building connections.

Check out our Cross Country team after they participated in the Verona Invitational this weekend.

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!

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!

If your student is planning to take PreCalculus, AP Calc, and/or AP Stats, they will benefit from having a graphing calculator, which can also be used for the ACT and in Algebra 2 math classes and beyond. The TI84+ or TI84+ CE are what most students use, but there are other types of graphing calculators as well. The school does have a limited number of graphing calculators available to be checked out, and priority is given to students in AP math classes. For students in other classes who wish to have a calculator, a scientific calculator such as the TI-30 is sufficient. Students will have access to online graphing calculators through their Chromebooks.

Over the summer we have taken a deep dive into our data to analyze the first 2 years of West. There is so much to celebrate! There are many metrics by which our School Board and our community evaluate our success. One of them is a Student Perceptions survey. This survey is a chance for students to have their voice heard on how things are going.

From the Spring of 2023 to the Spring of 2024 we experienced growth in all domains of the the student perceptions survey with accelerated growth happening for our students who have been historically marginalized by our school system.

All of our students are growing in their understanding of the Instructional Framework in, a sense of belonging and safety and security but it is growing exponentially for students who have not always experienced that in our school system. (Please note that our Asian student growth is the smallest and also had the smallest room to grow.) Nearly all of our indicators for nearly EVERY group is not only meeting expectations but is far exceeding expectations.

As we enter year 3 of West we also enter year 3 of focusing on disrupting inequities and creating a culture of care. We also enter year 2 of a focus on rigorous and coherent teaching. Our data shows that we have an incredible foundation in our first two areas of focus and are now perfectly positioned to dig deeper and strive higher into rigorous and coherent teaching with a focus on attendance.

Each of our West scholars is brilliant and we need their excellence as a part of the learning community bell to bell each and every day. Our teachers cannot facilitate learning if all of our scholars are not there to learn and contribute to the learning community. As we enter this school year we are focused on: high expectations with high support and attendance specifically for our Black student scholars as these are the scholars we have not served well yet in this area.

From year 1 to year 2, all but one of our subgroups of students increased the percentage of students with above 90% attendance (our and state expectation). This year we level up again, ensuring that our students are receiving their education from bell to bell each and every day to be prepared for today, tomorrow and beyond!

Next week we will take a deeper look into why attendance matters and the goal for attendance for each and every Wolf.

Did you know?

• Students who participate in extracurricular activities are 15% more likely to have a higher GPA than those who do not.
  
• 95% of hiring managers believe that students who participate in extracurricular activities have valuable skills that are transferrable to the workplace.
  
• Participation in extracurricular activities is linked to a 25% decrease in feelings of anxiety and depression among students.
  

You in 2! We are committed to each and every Wolf finding TWO extra/co-curriculars to be involved in throughout the year. That could be two sports, a sport and a club, two clubs, the musical and Leaders of the Pack, the possibilities go on and on. Over the next several weeks we will continue to highlight the opportunities available. What will be YOUR TWO?

As we move into year 3 of an SPASD community with 3 High Schools in Sun Prairie (Sun Prairie East, Sun Prairie West and Prairie Phoenix Academy) we are united in our high expectations and high levels of support for students. Please grab a cup of coffee, refill your water or your favorite beverage and carefully read through our Student Handbook. This includes LOTS of important information from academics to student/parent/caregiver support to school nutrition and student fees.