Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

We are excited to dive fully into 2nd semester this week. Last week we had a strong start with students being able to experience their A and B days before heading into their 3-day weekend. This week we start back on an A day and dive fully into second semester. During the 2nd half of the year we are continuing to Create the Future, building on our successes of 1st semester. Two areas of focus for us during 2nd semester are bathrooms and students being in class from bell to bell. Read on for more information on these two important topics!

As we head into February this week we are excited to honor, celebrate and recognize our first annual Black History Month at SP West! Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

The Black History Month 2023 theme for Sun Prairie Area Schools is “Black Renaissance.” “If the Harlem Renaissance stirred Black people to see themselves, if the Black Arts Movement stirred Black people to love themselves, then the Black Renaissance is stirring Black people to be themselves. Totally. Unapologetically. Freely.” - Ibram X. Kendi. We look forward to celebrating Black Excellence this month and all year long with you at SP West and at district wide events.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

As we start the week and dive fully into 2nd semester I want to pause for a moment and acknowledge the heaviness of the world right now. Over the three day weekend we learned more about the senseless killing in Memphis, Tennessee of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Over the last week 19 people lost their lives in three separate mass killings in California, their impacts being particularly devastating for the Asian American Community. Since the beginning of the year, just 30 days ago, we have experienced nearly 40 mass shootings.

Expressing and processing the pain and heartbreak we feel for those impacted by these tragedies is exhausting. The trauma we experience when consuming the news and processing these events is real, as is the weight of a world that continues to experience these atrocities on a regular basis. Please make time and space for yourself to process, heal and together to move forward to create a more just world starting in our corner. Our staff are available to process and support students if they need to talk, yell, cry, grieve or dream about a different way forward.

We are creating one Wolf community, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, disability, or how we identify. These are moments that can bring us together in our common humanity. Together we can take actions, big and small, to create a better future for ourselves, our loved, ones and for our future generations.

Course selection for the 2023-2024 school year (aka Schedule Fest) is well underway! This will run through Thursday, February 2, 2023. During Schedule Fest, students will be given lessons and materials in their SP30 classes to guide them through the scheduling process. Additionally school counselors will be available in the SP West Commons during SP30 for added support on TODAY, January 30 - Wednesday, February 1.

As a reminder, THIS Thursday, February 2nd is the deadline for students to submit schedule requests in Xello.

The Schedule Fest Slides will be part of the SP30 lessons. This is a fantastic resource for caregivers/parents to review with their students. Please make sure to check in with your student(s) regarding their scheduling choices.

How to select your courses using Xello

Cómo seleccionar tus cursos usando Xello (Español)

At last week's Parent/Caregiver Partnership meeting parents/caregivers commented that they love seeing the announcements on the TVs when they are at school and would love weekly access to them. Check out the first week of including a button in the Howl with links to the slides currently on the screens. Encourage your Wolf to participate in upcoming opportunities.

As we launch 2nd semester we had a fantastic meeting of our Parent/Caregiver Partnership meeting last week. Our Parent/Caregiver Partnership is a group for ALL Wolf Parents/Caregivers. While High Schools don't currently have formal SCOs, the partnership between schools and parent/caregivers is as critical while we are preparing to send your child off to life after High School as it was when we were welcoming them into kindergarten. Look for upcoming Parent/Caregiver partnership dates and new opportunities at additional times outside of the evening coming in next week's Howl.

Last week we had a round table conversation on the successes of 1st semester and areas of focus for second semester. We celebrated all of the incredible work that has been done to launch the school year and have a strong first semester. We all agreed that two areas of focus for second semester are bathrooms and students being in class from bell to bell.

• 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. I will be focusing 2nd semester on a student principal advisory board to help continue to get feedback from students across our student body on how we can continue to build a culture of care in which students are seen, known and valued in the classroom.

• Bathrooms: We know that we currently have students engaging in unsafe behavior in bathrooms (vaping, missing portions of class, vandalism) which makes it difficult for other students to feel safe and comfortable using the bathroom. We have already taken steps to address this including new floor assignments for our Youth Advocates and daily huddles of our "floor team". We also are in the process of finding additional ways that parents/caregivers can come partner with us for supervision as we have an incredible and very large building with limited staff. More to come soon!

• 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.

Did you know that you have the opportunity to graduate from SPASD with BOTH your High School diploma AND your Associate's Degree? The Early College STEM Academy is an incredible partnership between SPASD and Madison College. Focused on preparing students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math it allows students to take classes full time at Madison College while still being a West Wolf. The program is focused on providing opportunities for groups historically underrepresented in STEM including: first generation college students, students of color, female and gender expansive students, etc. For more information please reach out to Craig Smith at cmsmith@sunprairieschools.org.

Over the next several weeks we will be including different vaping education resources here in our Newsletter to help educate students, parents/caregivers, staff and the community on the dangers of vaping.

Vapes are unsafe whether a nicotine vape or THC vape and all are prohibited from school property (including adults attending events). The possession, consumption and distribution of vapes on school property or at school events comes with a consequence up to and including: in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension and recommendation for expulsion.

In Sun Prairie and in surrounding areas young people have been sent to the ER for reactions to vape cartridges. Is your student interested in confidential support around vaping? Reach out to your social worker Ms. Sirianni or Ms. Fahey.

Parents/caregivers check out this: sick from vaping? What It Means to Be "Nic-Sick"

When working with students around vaping one of the common questions we will ask is: what's in this vape? It is a question to start to identify if it is a nicotine or THC vape, but it is also a doorway to another conversation. The true answer to: what's in this vape? Is we don't know. We simply don't know and that is very dangerous. Vapes can be laced with a number of other drugs/chemicals. You may think that you are inhaling one thing and it may include something very different.

A few reminders as we start 2nd semester:

• Parents/Caregivers be sure to use the pick-up/drop-off lane for dropping off and picking up your scholar. DO NOT pull into the student lot or the staff/visitor lot as this causes congestion and potential accidents.
• Handicap stalls are ALWAYS reserved for vehicles with a license plate or placard. Never pull into a handicap stall to wait for someone you are picking up or dropping off. We have had several instances where our scholars are unable to be picked up by their accessible vehicle because other vehicles were in those spaces.
• Students: make sure you have your parking pass and parking in the student lot.
• As we start 2nd semester we will be rebooting parking lot enforcement including tickets. Please reach out with what questions you have.

Check out this week's events and activities here!

Fighting Heart Disease, Together.

Join your friends, your family, our community members and the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness – in-person or virtually** – for our 12th Annual National Wear Red Day celebration! This is a FREE event!

Wear Red Day is a day of awareness and education; a time spent together learning how to identify, live-with, and survive heart disease. As Black women, cardiovascular ailments represent the number one threat to our healthy lives. On February 18th, from 11am - 2:30pm, our community will come together to get more informed, more empowered, and more inspired to refuse to let heart disease make a deep-impact on our lives.

Register yourself and the other important Black women in your life! After a 2-year in-person hiatus, reunite with our community of Black women at the Goodman Community Center; remember to come dressed in your red best! When we come together, we create and sustain a communal sisterhood where Black women and girls can live healthy, happy and thriving lives.

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

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.

Bus Delays and Emergencies

Please remember that buses may be slightly delayed when we are experiencing snow and icy conditions. Anything within 5 minutes of the scheduled arrival time is considered “on time.”

If your child’s bus is delayed and/or evacuated for any reason (bus breakdown, emergency, etc.) students must stay with the driver and wait for further instructions. If another bus is dispatched, students are to ride that bus and only get off at their assigned stop.

Bus Tags- Every day.

A reminder that students need to show their bus tags to drivers every day to get on the bus. If you need a new bus tag please see Ms. Detert in the front office. You can also pull up your transportation tab in IC.

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