Greetings SPHS Caregivers and Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope that your winter break was joyful and relaxing. I also hope that 2022 will be an exciting and positive year for all our students, caregivers, and staff. As we start the new year still faced with COVID-related issues, we could use some good news and some positive happenings.

With only a few days left of our first semester, I want to remind everyone that there are no final exams this year. The first semester ends on January 10th and the second semester begins on January 11th (A day). There is no school on Friday, January 14th, or Monday, January 17th.

Although January just started, it is time to talk about the next school year already. We will be holding our Course Expo on Tuesday, January 11th from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm. This will be done in-person. After the expo, we will share a website with course videos for families to watch and learn about all the amazing course offerings at both of our comprehensive high schools, Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West. More details will be coming out soon! We will also be sharing out videos for students and caregivers to help with scheduling and the scheduling process for classes. Course selections for students will be open starting on January 3rd. Students will submit their class choices the week of January 31st and all final course selections are due by February 3rd. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make the right class choices. We determine staffing based on students’ selections and course changes will only be made for very specific, select reasons.

We want to make sure that students and families take time and select courses carefully. Please use this month to work with your child to select their classes. Students must also select three alternative classes in case they are unable to get into one of their first choices. Class changes will not be made unless for specific academic reasons that can be found on our student services website. We also have several options for students when it comes to selecting classes.

Below are important upcoming dates and reminders for our families:

• January 10 – Last Day of the Semester

• January 11 - First day of Second Semester (A Day classes)

• January 11 - Course Scheduling Expo (Hybrid)

• January 14 – No School/Professional Development Day for SPHS staff

• January 17 - No School/ Martin Luther King Jr. Day

As always, thank you for your support, and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Warmest Regards,

Renee Coleman, Principal

SPHS is a commUNITY on the R.I.S.E.

Sun Prairie High School Announces

2021-2022 “Wall of Success” Recipient

Each academic year, the “Wall of Success” program honors an outstanding graduate of Sun Prairie High School. By honoring distinguished graduates, we seek to identify and honor models of success for our students to admire and emulate. The program demonstrates to students the relationship between the education they receive at Sun Prairie High School and success in life.

Ajamu Olaniyan, known as Dean Cash in high school, is a 1988 graduate and is this year’s Wall of Success recipient. Mr. Olaniyan currently holds the record for the Triple Jump at SPHS as well as at UW-La Crosse and is a record holder in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Mr. Olaniyan is an educator and is the president of, and the coach at, Top Flight Sports Performance Engineering among many other achievements. He will be honored at an assembly at Sun Prairie High School on December 10, 2021. The students will also have the opportunity to interact with Mr. Olaniyan during the day. Community members are welcome to attend the assembly. The assembly will start at 10:30 a.m.

Please remember you need to have your bus tag with you in order to ride the bus to/from school. You can take a picture of your tag with your phone and show it to the bus driver or stop in the main office to see Mrs. Yunen if you need a new tag. Thank you

Wearing A Mask On School Buses

Masks remain a simple but powerful tool to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We want to remind parents that students (and drivers) must wear a mask on school buses, regardless of their vaccination status.

Thank you for helping to keep all students safe while riding the bus!

Waiting for the Bus

As cold and snowy weather is upon us, here are a few reminders when students are waiting for

the bus in the morning. Students should:

● be waiting at the bus stop at least 5 minutes before the scheduled arrival time.

● be dressed appropriately for waiting in cold weather. This includes jackets, hats,

gloves/mittens, and scarves.

● stay out of the road and others’ yards. Wait on the sidewalk or close to the curb if there

aren’t sidewalks.

● wait to cross the road until the driver signals and the bus comes to a complete stop

before attempting to board.

No Eating On The Bus

Please remember there is absolutely no eating allowed on district buses. Students may have

life-threatening food allergies that could be affected by others eating on the bus. If your child

does not get a chance to eat breakfast at home, please make sure he/she knows to wait until

they arrive at school. If your child is given a snack or treat at the end of the day, we ask that they

eat it before leaving school or wait until they get home.

If you have any questions or concerns about this information, or school bus safety, please

contact Kobussen at 825-8700, ext 5509.

There are 4 opportunities each year for students to participate in fun and challenging math contests, through the Madison Area Mathematics League(MAML). This series of meets are hosted by the Madison high schools and always occurs on a Wednesday after school. The contests are open to any student who has an interest and are filled using the first-come-first-served policy. Sample contests, sign-up information, and permission forms can be found in the Math League Google Classroom (join code: ls7swir). All announcements will be posted through Google Classroom.

This year’s competition dates are Oct. 27, Dec. 1, Feb. 9, and Mar. 16. The first two dates will be “virtual at home school”. That is, we will submit online but participate together from our own high school. Watch Google Classroom for details as the competition nears. Please feel free to contact Ms. Bethany Konz at bakonz@sunprairieschools.org with any questions.