MHS Newsletter

December:

23 - Jan 1 - Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

26, 27 - MHS Main Office CLOSED

January:

13 - Professional Development - NO SCHOOL

21, 22, 23 - Semester 1 Final Exams

24 - Semester Break - NO SCHOOL

27 - Start of Semester 2 - 8 Period Day Schedule

29 - Course Information Night - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Prom: May 17

Last Day of School for Seniors: June 4

Last Day of School for 9th-11th Grade: June 11

Graduation: June 8

During the 12 days of Winter Break, the Main Office will be open on Monday December 23rd and Monday, December 30th from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. If you need access either of these two days, please hit the entry buzzer by the Main Entrance (Door #5). All other days during break we will be closed. Happy Holidays!

In January, we will kick off our process for having students register for classes for the 2025-2026 school year. We have a few important dates in this process for families. On Wednesday, January 29, we will have our course information night from 6:00-8:00. On this evening, parents and students will have opportunities to attend presentations to help with the scheduling process and meet with teachers to ask questions about specific classes.

Counselors will be going into every English classroom to help prepare students to choose classes. We will share these presentations with parents in a future newsletter.

On February 11, 2025, all students will choose their classes for next year in an advisory period.

Last August/September, we had 900+ schedule changes. This extreme number of schedule changes makes it very difficult to plan for appropriate staffing in the building and balance class sections. Our goal this year is to have all students' schedules set in by early June. We will not alllow schedule changes in late August except in rare situations. It will be important that students take their time to choose classes carefully. We will be communicating often in January and early February so families have the necessary information to make solid choices.

The 2025-2026 course guide will be available on Friday, January 3, for parents and students to begin looking at options.

As part of our process of identifying ways to improve student achievement at Mukwonago High School, we are going to have all Grade 9 and Grade 10 PreACT Secure testing for the Wisconsin State Assessment System be conducted on a single day this spring. To facilitate this, juniors and seniors will not have school during the testing day. This would align with our assessment practices for the Statewide ACT date in March each year and provide our freshmen and sophomores with a better testing environment, smaller testing groups, and encourage better effort during testing.

The Pre ACT testing date will be Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

During Advisory on December 11, all students in grades 9-11 received information about the PreACT and ACT tests this spring. These very thorough and helpful presentations can be found here:

Grades 9-10 PreACT Secure Kickoff Advisory

Grade 11 ACT Update Advisory

Important upcoming dates include the following:

PreACT/ACT Season Advisory December 11

Optional ACT Prep Class January 15 (after school) or Semester 2 (during school)

25-26 Course Registration February 11

Optional Full-Length Practice ACT February 15

Statewide ACT Test March 11

Statewide PreACT Secure Test April 8

**Changes to student schedules impact many other factors and, therefore, will only be made on a limited basis.**

When to Request a Schedule Change for Semester 2: The time period to request a Semester 2 schedule change is Monday January 13th - Friday January 31st. Counselors will not be making any Semester 2 schedule changes prior to January 13th.

Requesting a Schedule Change: Please note the following acceptable reasons for a schedule change before you fill out the schedule change request form. Schedule changes will only be approved for reasons listed below:

Acceptable Reasons to Request a Schedule Change:

1. Student has been approved for the any of these 3 programs:

• Early College Credit Program (Click Here)
• Start College Now Program (Click Here)
• Youth Apprenticeship (Click Here)

2. Student earned the credit over the summer/through credit recovery and no longer needs the course

3. Student would like to add or remove a study hall. Student must maintain a minimum of 6.5 credits.

4. Senior is missing a graduation credit

5. Student would like to change levels of a course

6. Student has medical documentation supporting a change in schedule (submit this documentation to the appropriate counselor)

My request falls into an acceptable reason to request a change - now what?

Step 1: Print and complete a schedule change request form, which can be found on the Counseling Website. Hard copies of the form are available in the counseling office if you are unable to print.

Step 2: Submit your completed request form to your assigned school counselor between the dates of Monday, January 13th - Friday, January 31st. Counselors are available for appointments during those dates to discuss schedule changes. All forms must have a parent signature prior to any changes being made.

Click Here: Schedule Change Request Form

This document contains information about summer online courses offered through MHS (for-credit classes), including Online Physical Education 1, Online Physical Education 2, Online Health, and Online Personal Finance.

Course Access:

Requesting MASD Online Summer Courses does not guarantee access. Priority to take these courses is given to incoming seniors, then incoming juniors, followed by incoming sophomores, and incoming freshmen. If more students at a grade level register then slots are available, slots will be filled by lottery. Students and families will be notified of course placement upon the completion of the registration window.

• Link to course descriptions HERE

Registration Dates:

Registration for summer online for-credit courses through MHS (Online Health, Online PE, and Online Personal Finance) will take place January 6th - 10th, 2025. Students entering 9th - 12th grade interested in taking one of these courses must follow instructions included in this handout to register for the course. Registration will open on January 6th at 8:00 AM. The registration process must be completed by the student or parent in Infinite Campus by 4:00 PM on Friday, January 10th, 2025.

• Link to summer school registration directions HERE.

Important factors to consider prior to registering for an online course:

• Summer Online courses will be included on a students official transcript and the grade is included in the students cumulative GPA.

• In order to find success in an online course, student attributes should include - self motivated, independent, able to follow directions, meet deadlines, and communicate effectively via email.

• Last Day to Drop PE or Health: June 27th, 2025 Online courses are graded with a letter grade. Courses dropped after midnight on June 27, 2025 will be recorded with an “F” on the student transcript.

• Last Day to Drop Personal Finance: June 17th, 2025 Courses dropped after midnight on June 27, 2025 will be recorded with an “F” on the student transcript.

If there are questions regarding these online courses or the registration process, please contact the MHS Counseling Center.

Sincerely,

MHS School Counseling Team

Mrs. Kristin Koepke (A-Dh)

Mr. Jake Burkee (Di-J)

Mrs. Shelley Mitchell (K-M)

Mr. Stephen Zeckowksi (N-Sc)

Mr. AJ Paul (Sd-Z)

Today is Jason Steinbrenner's last day with us as the SRO at Mukwonago High School. Jason has given 15 years of his professional life to ensure the safety of MASD students and staff. Thank you to Jason for all of his dedication. Jason, you will be missed!

On January 2, Cory Kirkpatrick will begin as the SRO of MHS. We extend a warm welcome to Cory!

Dear Parents/Guardians of 12th-Grade Students,

As part of Wisconsin's College and Career Readiness initiative, all students in grades 6-12 participate in guided Academic and Career Planning (ACP). In the Mukwonago Area School District, we refer to this process as our “Muk Ready” initiative. This initiative connects the present to the future and the future to the present, preparing students for their next steps after high school.

In addition to each family’s individual efforts, we hope that the activities facilitated by the school from grades 6 through 12 have helped develop informed decision-makers who are ready—or nearly ready—to take intentional steps toward their future careers. The final step for our Mukwonago students in becoming “Muk Ready” is the completion of the Muk Ready Capstone Project.

The Muk Ready Capstone Project is a ten-minute slideshow and presentation summarizing each student’s high school experience. The project includes meaningful coursework, co-curricular activities, post-secondary research, and any other transformative experiences. Students are also encouraged to share their future plans and offer advice for the next group of MHS students.

To ensure students have time to reflect and create a meaningful project, we have allocated sufficient Advisory periods during the school day for project completion. Ultimately, students will screen-record their presentations and share them with at least three staff members as well as their families.

The Muk Ready Capstone Project is due on May 2, 2025.

Thank you for your continued support as we guide our students through this important milestone. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns about the process.

Dustin Lehman, College and Career Readiness Coordinator, 262.363.6200 ext. 25525, lehmadu@masd.k12.wi.us

AJ Paul, School Counselor/Senior Grade Level Advisor Team, 262.363.6200 ext. 25405, paulan@masd.k12.wi.us

Looking for something to do this weekend? Come cheer on any of the following MHS Varsity games, meets & invitationals, or simply just wish them luck! Go Muk!!!! 👏

Boys Varsity Wrestling Invitational: ~ Away - @ West Allis Central HS - Starts @ 5:00 p.m.

Girls Varsity Wrestling Triangular: ~ Away - @ Holmen HS - Starts @ 5:15 p.m.

Boys Varsity Basketball Game: ~ Home - Starts @ 7:00 p.m.

Girls Varsity Basketball Game: ~ Away - @ Arrowhead HS - Starts @ 7:00 p.m.

Boys Varsity Wrestling Invitational: ~Away @ West Allis Central HS - Starts @ 9:15 a.m.

Girls Varsity Basketball Tournament: ~ Away - @ Janesville Craig - Time TBD

Boys Varsity Wrestling Invitational: ~ Away - @ Dekalb HS - Starts @ 9:00 a.m.

Girls Varsity Basketball Tournament: ~ Away - @ Janesville Craig HS - Time TBD

Boys Varsity Wrestling Invitational: ~ Away @ Dekalb HS - Starts @ 9:00 a.m.