We are officially over half way through the year and there are many outstanding things happening at West! Students, teachers and learning communities started the semester strong last week. Year long classes continued learning from 1st semester and new semester long classes began to build new community.

Winter sports continue going strong as several of our co-curricular clubs enter their competition seasons including Forensics and FFA. Spring sports will be starting registration THIS week. Reach out to Ms. Mindy Ripp or Ms. Amber Beaver in our Athletics and Activities offices to learn how to plug and in be a part of these awesome opportunities.

We are excited to wrap up January and looking forward a fantastic February. There is A LOT of important information in this week's Howl. Check it out!

• Upcoming Events
  
• Daily Announcements
• January- Mentorship Month
• Second Semester Schedule Changes
• SP100 Plan- Moving West Forward
• SchedFest CONTINUES this Week!
• TEDx at SP West- THIS TUESDAY
• Online School Store
• Classroom and Student Spotlights! Checkout the awesome things students and staff are doing.
• In Case You Missed It!
• Lots of important info including: Lost and Found Pictures, Info for Seniors and Sophomores about awesome opportunities, etc.

• February 1st- Launch of Black History Month

• February 1st- Course Requests for 2024-2025 DUE in Xello
  

• February 15th- Parent Teacher Conferences 4:15pm-8:00pm (more info to come)

• February 16th- Parent Teacher Conferences 7:30am-11:30am (more info to come)

• February 13th- Dane County Youth Assessment during school- Modified schedule- no SP30
• February 18th- February Frost 5K
• March 12th- Juniors (11th Grade) ONLY- ACT Testing
• April 9th- Freshman and Sophomores (9th and 10th Grade) ONLY- Pre-ACT Secure Testing

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.

January has been National Mentoring month. Did you know we have multiple mentoring opportunities developing at SP West?

Last spring during 4th Quarter we launched a pilot of the program Root 2 Rise with 4 students. As we launch Second Semester we have 18 Wolves that are investing time in our Meadowview Otter Neighbors. These scholars serve as teachers to the elementary school students providing incredibly positive experiences for both groups of students. Check out more about Root 2 Rise below.

This fall our MSAN scholars hosted this year's MSAN conference. During the conference the students created a project to better our Wolf community. This year's focus is on the development of a mentoring program focused on our 9th grade wolves. Upper classman Wolves are currently in the process of being trained to begin mentorship relationships with our 9th grade scholars during 2nd semester. Learn more about MSAN below.

We have finished our FIRST WEEK OF 2ND SEMESTER!!!! We hope that you had a fantastic week and are experiencing a great fresh start start to the semester. A reminder that grades started fresh last week as well as we are looking at new attendance trends starting this semester. Are you thinking about a schedule change? Checkout our schedule change procedure.

After reading through the schedule change policy are you interested in submitting a schedule change? Schedule changes MUST be submitted no later than the 10th day of the semester (February 5th).

As we head into 2nd Semester we want to reground ourselves as a community of who we are and who we are becoming. In SPASD every school has a Score Card that is reported out to the School Board which includes metrics such as: ACT and Pre-ACT scores for Math and Reading, Credit Attainment for English and Math, Family Communication, Sense of Belonging for Staff, Students and Parent/Caregivers, etc. After reviewing our baseline data we then created our West Equity Vision and Theory of Action.

We then develop our SP100 plans every 100 days to bring our Theory of Action to life through our specific West Goals:

Goal 1: PLTs collaborate to develop engaging lessons and meaningful assessments for a block setting and reflect/adjust based on feedback from students/peers

Goal 2: Students, staff and parents/caregivers will have a sense of belonging in the SP West community through consistent communication, collaboration and common expectations.

Goal 3: Every staff member will actively work toward creating an equitable SP West community.

Each goal is monitored by our Guiding Coalition and has specific action steps to help us achieve that goal as a community.

This semester we are focused on increasing student and parent/caregiver voice in our SP100 plan to bring One West more truly to life.

Students are you interested in being a part of this process? Please fill out the Student Senate interest form TODAY! Parents/caregivers join us at our next Parent Partnership Meeting on Feb 14th from 6:00-7:00pm as we dive into the SP100 plan and next steps.

We are in the heart of Course Scheduling for NEXT YEAR!!! Did you know that student Course Selection is one of the first and most critical steps in creating systems and structures for a school year? Student voice through course selection is the primary determining factor in: which classes run and which are unable to run on a given year, the number of sections that are available for a class and determines teacher allocation. Make sure YOUR voice is heard by carefully selecting your course requests.

SchedFest continues this week. You will be in Advisory Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday- affinity group clubs (BSU, LSU, Asian Club, etc) have the opportunity to meet to support students in the course selection process. Course selections are due Thursday, Feb 1st in Xello.

Please take time as a family to check out our: Virtual Course Expo available HERE

Important Scheduling Dates:

• Now - February 1: Students and families should explore the many classes offered at Sun Prairie High Schools by using the 2024-25 Course Guide (Spanish version).

• January 12-Feb 1: Students are encouraged to schedule a time with their counselor for assistance with scheduling and course selection if desired. Please visit the virtual course expo website for more information on our courses and contact information for our student services staff.

• January 23-February 1: Students will have dedicated time in SP30 to work on schedules and ask questions

• February 1: Schedules are due! Students will submit their schedules in Xello during SP30.

Here's a preview for "Schedfest" happening in SP30 with students starting in 2 weeks:

Have you heard of Advanced Placement or AP courses but weren't sure if they are for YOU? We offer over 20 different AP Courses. There is an AP Course for YOU here in SPASD.

Checkout this year's AP presentation from the Course Expo:

THIS TUESDAY we will be hosting our very own TEDx Event at SP West, led and organized by our very own student leader, Quinton Maddox. Sing up to attend TODAY! All students, parents/caregivers, staff and community welcome.

As we started 1st semester AP Environmental Science students participated in a cookie mining and reclamation lab as they studied coal mining from an economic vs ecological lens. Interested in learning more about AP Environmental Science for next year? Check out AP Environmental in our Virtual Course Expo.

The ability to measure very small amounts, microliters (µl), of liquid chemicals or reagents is a fundamental skill needed in the biotechnology or research lab. Scientists use a device called a micropipette to measure these very small volumes with accuracy. This past week genetics students practiced their micropipetting technique. Learn more about Intro Genetics and Biotech HERE.

We have a NEW flag to act as our traveling trophy for our Monthly 9th Grade Network Competitions!! Trivia was our January competition. The AIR Network wanted to let you know; the little known fact that you can’t spell Trivia without AIR!!

Here is our Network Competition updated scores going into 2nd Semester:

• 1st: Earth (17 points)
• 2nd: Air (15 points)
• 3rd: Water (10 points)
• 4th: Fire (10 points)

Checkout this week's coach's spotlight featuring our JV Boy's Basketball Coach: Coach Rob

Celebrations and Congratulations are in order! At the Leadership Development Contest Wednesday evening, members competed in various speaking and leadership contests.

Congrats to Jada as she placed 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking and will be advancing on to sectionals.

Congrats to both of our Employment Skills students! Maecie placed 3rd and Logan placed 4th.

Well done to all of our students for practicing their leadership and communication skills.

#FFA #evolveffa #growingleaders #WIFFA #wiffasection5 #sunprairiewest #sunprairieschools

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!

Inspired by the classic game of Monopoly, this unique challenge is designed to spark your imagination and reward you with awesome prizes. Westopoly will begin January 22nd and run until March 22nd. Westopoly is designed to challenge students with tasks related to the library, the school, and the community. Students who wish to participate should register here or by scanning the QR code.

How to Play: Roll the dice daily and move around the board. Complete the task you land on and gain (or lose!) tickets.

Once the program is complete students will have the opportunity to enter their tickets into a drawing for prizes from:

• Kwik Trip

• I’m Board

• Beans n Cream

• Timbers’

• and more!

Stop by the library or email Ms. Dahl at bedahl@sunprairieschools.org for more information.

Our lost and found has been growing over the last few weeks! Do you recognize any of these gems? Please have your student stop by to claim their items before 1/29/24 when they will be donated.

Our annual state wide exams are approaching. Mark your calendars:

• March 12th is our ACT testing day which is a JUNIORS (11th grade) only day. No school for 9th, 10th and 12th graders that day.
• We will follow that up with our Pre-ACT Secure Testing on April 9th for Freshman (9th) and Sophomores (10th) graders ONLY. April 9th is a no school day for 11th and 12th graders.

Once a month the library partners up with Melissa from the Sun Prairie Public Library to offer Creativity Time! Creativity Time allows students to participate in a library led craft, so far we have done: magazine strip art, TikTok ghost painting, luminaries, jar animals, and book hedgehogs.

On January 11th during WIN time we will be making yarn crafts. Sign up in Flexi under Ms. Dahl. You don’t want to miss out on this craftastic time!

Is your student looking for ways to get ahead in studying for the ACT? Here are a couple resources:

FREE - all students have access to Methodize in their Xello accounts. Methodize offers free study guides and practice tests

For Cost - ACT Prep Plus. Offered by CESA 5, students can register for prep sessions throughout the year.

As we reach the halfway point in the year a few parking lot reminders:

• When dropping off or picking up students use the designated drop-off/pick-up lane OUT SIDE of the student parking lot. We have had many parents/caregivers waiting for students IN the student parking lot, this blocks students in causing students to be late to work, etc. Additionally, student drop-off/pick-up should not take place in the visitor/staff parking lot at the front of the school, this additionally causes congestion.
• While waiting to pick up a student DO NOT pull into handicap parking lots if you do not have handicap plates or placard. We have had many instances of families picking up students that need access to these spaces to load the student and their wheelchair and they cannot access them because others are using the space for waiting.

We know that with a student population of ~1400 students drop-off/pick-up can be a very busy time and waiting can cause frustration. However, if we all work together and follow the system everyone's needs will be met. Thank you!

Since 1980, every three years over 20,000 Dane County youth in grades 7-12 are surveyed regarding their opinions, concerns, attitudes, behaviors and experiences to provide educators, community agencies, parents, policy-makers and funding bodies the data needed to inform grant writing, program development and public policy. The last survey was administered in 2021.

Dane County school districts, including SPW, will be administering the Dane County Youth Assessment to all students on 2/13/2024. Please review the links below for more details on the survey, participation options and who to contact for questions.

Parent consent HERE

Consentimiento de los padres AQUI