The Howl
Greetings Wolf Pack!
With the time change this weekend and the sunset sliding back an hour spring seems to becoming closer by the day! We are two weeks from Spring Break and this is an essential time for us to come together and focus so we can go into Spring Break strong.
This week we continue our Women's History month celebration with a Women's panel on Thursday. We also continue to highlight our 9th grade English scholars with their second day of Human Rights panels. This week softball and lacrosse join track in beginning their Spring sports seasons. Our next Parent Partnership meeting is this Wednesday night from 6:00-7:00pm in 1202 off the commons at West.
Check out everything in this week's Howl:
- Upcoming Events
- Daily Announcements
- March- Women's History Month
- Three-Sided Approach
- Parent Partnership- THIS WEDNESDAY
- Student Senate
- Raising Dough for AVID
- Academy Day
- Spring Sports Starting
- Upcoming College Visits
- Classroom and Student Spotlights
- In Case You Missed It!
Upcoming Events
March 1st-31st- Women's History Month
- March 12th- Juniors (11th Grade) ONLY- ACT Testing
- March 13th- Parent Partnership- 6-7pm in 1202- ALL are welcome
- April 9th- Freshman and Sophomores (9th and 10th Grade) ONLY- Pre-ACT Secure Testing
- May 18th- Junior Prom (open to juniors and seniors)
Daily Announcements
March- Women's History Month
This past week our SP West scholars celebrated the first full week of Women's History month with a dress up day and 9th grade scholars of all genders participated in Human Rights panels as they presented their learning from their Human Rights Book Groups. Students presented case studies including themes of: racism, Native rights, Syrian refugees, immigration, criminal justice reform, access to education, LGBTQ+ rights, police brutality, crisis in Palestine. Many of these presentations elevated the rights of women, the leadership of women and the scholarship of our female scholars.
This past week we also celebrated International Women's Day. International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality. This year's theme was "Inspire Inclusion".
We are incredibly proud of our SP West scholars, staff and community leaders that continue to inspire excellence. We have many female athletes and scholars that have attended State for athletics and activities, students competing internationally, students traveling internationally this coming Spring Break to expand their educational opportunities, overcoming barriers each and every day to create their future, earning state and national awards.
This week we continue our celebration with Women's History Panel on March 14th during 1st hour with a small group discussion taking place during SP30.
Do you have ideas to help celebrate Women's History Month? Share them using the QR code below!
Three-Sided Approach
Over the last two weeks we have shared that we have seen an uptick in bathroom vandalism that we are working to systematically address as a community. Bathroom closures will continue this week until we are able to identify students who are causing vandalism and complete necessary repairs to be able to reopen bathrooms. Additional updates on adjustments to supervision and systems to continue to work to eliminate bathroom vandalism will likely come later this week or at the latest next Sunday in the Howl.
Parent Partnership- THIS WEDNESDAY
Join us for our next Parent Partnership Meeting this Wednesday from 6:00-7:00pm in 1202 right off the commons. This is a monthly opportunity to discuss the successes and areas of growth that your student is experiencing, discuss our SP100 school improvement plan and discuss how we can increase parent partnership to help build One West that includes ALL members of our community. See you then!
Student Senate
Last week we were the first secondary school to include student scholars in our SP100 planning day away at the Professional Learning Center. Our three students represented our Student Senate and student population by bringing student voice directly to the table where decisions are being made for the last 100 days of our school year. We had one student join each of our subgroups of our 3 school goals: PLTs collaborate to develop engaging lessons and meaningful assessments for a block setting and reflect/adjust based on feedback from students/peers, 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. SP West Equity Vision: The Sun Prairie West High School is an intentional school community where students, staff and families feel seen, valued and heard. We work to: understand our own story and the story of others, identify and eliminate barriers; problem solve solutions; build relationships; actively listen to and lift the voices of our students, in order to create equitable opportunities and outcomes. Our community supports and empowers high expectations for all students and all staff so that all students are college, career and community ready. "
During our inclusion activity each school team created a bumper sticker of a slogan that they will live by for the last 100 days and then celebrated a Point of Pride related to our Problem of Practice (West's is the first poster on the left).
Raising Dough for AVID
Support the Sun Prairie AVID Program by ordering from MOD (serving individual artisan-style pizzas and salads) in Sun Prairie on Monday, March 18th. Show this flyer or mention Sun Prairie AVID when ordering in person, or include the code MODGIVES25 when ordering online. MOD will donate 25% of each bill to Sun Prairie AVID, which will help fund campus field trips and events for our AVID 7-12 scholars!
Academy Day
Spring Sports Starting
Our SP West winter sports are ending their season with a BANG! Appearances at the finals, conference champions, regional champions, state qualifiers. Be a part of creating the SP West legacy in SPRING SPORTS. Starting next week! Stop by the Athletic Office THIS WEEK to ensure you are all set and ready to go. Ms. Ripp and Ms. Beaver can answer all of your questions and ensure your paperwork is all ready to go. This week Softball and Lacrosse start their Spring season joining Track that started last week. Up next, next week Baseball and Girls Soccer. Then, Boys Tennis and Golf. Join today!
Upcoming College Visits
Classroom and Student Spotlights!
Student Spotlight- Mock Trial
Student Spotlight- Forensics Dominating
Tournament champions! SP West won first place in the large teams division and SP East won first place in the medium teams division. Congrats to Rishith, Mia, Shlok, Ishaan, Matthea, Chyler, Grady, and Tanish for being recognized as top novices. Shoutout to Kara for winning the triathlon award! Thank you to UW Whitewater Forensics for a great tournament!
Classroom Spotlight- Band
Sun Prairie students enjoyed some transformational experiences with composer Marie Douglas this week! She spent time working with our digital music makers, taught our concert bands how she layers trap music and hip hop into her band compositions, and brought the house down with a concert for elementary school students focused on Social and Emotional Learning themes in her music!
You can see the concert for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/live/pi4ApBYv_D8?si=9AsjbGIELmmtgdL1
Students were fantastically engaged, fearless in their willingness to try new things, and joyful in their music-making! Thank you to our outstanding music educators for making these learning experiences possible for our students!
Student Spotlight- Chris Davis Jr and Boys Basketball
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Statement of Nondiscrimination
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.
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.
In Case You Missed It!
Information from previous Howls that's too important to miss!
Bathroom Closures
As we shared last week we have unfortunately seen an uptick in vandalism in our bathrooms. Due to this vandalism the bathrooms in the 1300/1400 distributed dining and the 2500/2600 distributed dining are closed currently. Why are the bathrooms closed?
- To allow repairs to vandalism in the bathroom
- To concentrate supervision on fewer restrooms so that we can identify students causing vandalism. School consequences, including fines to repair the damage will be issued.
- We have an incredible building that we have been entrusted by taxpayers and we must all work together to take care of this beautiful tool for teaching and learning.
- Students who are in a bathroom when vandalism takes place will be interviewed and followed up with
- Vandalism puts additional strain on our custodians and maintenance staff and makes it very difficult for them to complete their jobs. We need to work together to help support them in their important task of taking care of our building.
- Students- If you SEE something SAY something. Report vandalism ASAP to any adult. This will allow us to run cameras. Together we can stop the vandalism and take care of the building.
- Parents/Caregivers- Please take to your students about the importance of taking care of our building and reporting any instances of vandalism.
- Staff- Please continue to stop by bathrooms during passing time and your prep periods to add additional presence in supporting our bathrooms as safe, clean and undamaged spaces.
Dine-In Only
A reminder that we are a Dine-In Only and Closed Campus. What does this mean?
- Students need to remain on campus from when they arrive until dismissal at 3:45pm including lunch.
- Students cannot order in food from Grub Hub, Door Dash, or have food delivered that has been paid for by parents/caregivers or others.
- Students can bring food from home, purchase food through School Nutrition, Timber's, or Pack Shack.
Why?
- When deliveries were allowed last year it caused a serious disruption to learning including: stolen food, conflicts revolving around food and stolen food, students waiting for their food outside of lunch times, too many food deliveries and disruption for our front office staff.
- Deliveries of food causes the front doors to be opened and closed circumventing school safety.
- Allowing parents to order food for students causes an inequity as students are not allowed to order food themselves and not all families are able to drop off or deliver restaurant based food during the day.
What happens if I do?
- Students leaving school during the school day will have a follow-up with dean of students and consequence for refusal to follow school rules.
- If you are found to be opening the door during the school day students will have a follow-up with dean of students and consequence issued for creating a school safety risk.
- If food is delivered during the school day it will be placed in the refrigerator and returned to the student at the end of the day. Contact home will be made. Repeated events will result in repeated refusal to follow school rules.
Active Threat Drill Follow-Up
On Friday we had our 2nd Active Threat Drill of the year. Overwhelmingly students and staff did a fantastic job during this complex event as we prepare for a situation we hope we will never face. Some reminders/feedback from the drill:
- It is essential that all students arrive to class on time not only to access their education but also to be a safe and known location. The drill took place at the very beginning of SP30 and several students were caught in hallways not knowing where to go. A reminder that SP30 attendance counts the same as every other class and students need to be in their assigned location for SP30 and WIN.
- Parents/caregivers- please connect with students about the importance of listening to their teachers/staff during emergency situations. We had several students not following adult directions which caused more confusion and unsafe situations if it were a real emergency. We will be following up with specific parents/caregivers and classes.
- It is important that all students remain silent in this type of emergency situation. If one student is making noise it makes an unsafe situation for everyone in the space.
- As we build One West on a day to day basis it is also essential that we work as One as we practice for emergency situations.
Infinite Campus
Do you have the Infinite Campus app on your phone? If not, please download it today! See the directions below on how to access Parent Portal.
Why is Parent Portal important?
- Get real time updates on grades
- Get real time updates on attendance
- Set notifications to keep you up to date on your students progress
Infinite campus is our Number 1 communication tool with parents/caregivers. Have it right at your finger tips!
From a Computer
1. Go to the Sun Prairie Area School District web page
2. Click on Infinite Campus
3. Click on Campus Parent
4. Enter your Username and Password (if you’ve already logged in to Campus Parent Portal
previously/have a username and password)
5. Click on New User? (if you have not set up your Infinite Campus Parent Portal
6. I need to obtain my Activation Key: Please email: enroll@sunprarieschools.org
7. Once you’ve received your Activation Key, copy and paste it directly into the Activation Key
area. You will be prompted to move forward with setting up your Campus Portal Account.
Download the App
- Search your app store for Campus Parent
- Enter your Username and Password (if you’ve already logged in to Campus Parent Portal
- previously/have a username and password)
- Click on New User? (if you have not set up your Infinite Campus Parent Porta
- I need to obtain my Activation Key: Please email: enroll@sunprarieschools.or
- Once you’ve received your Activation Key, copy and paste it directly into the Activation Key area.
- You will be prompted to move forward with setting up your Campus Portal Account
Wisconsin American Legion Law Enforcement Career Academy (WALLECA)
Do you have students who are currently in their junior or senior year and are interested in working in law enforcement or related field? If so, Wisconsin American Legion Law Enforcement Career Academy, WALLECA is a great opportunity for these students. WALLECA is a 5 day camp that offers physical fitness training, classroom instruction and hands-on experiences.
The 2024 academy is scheduled for July 29- August 2, 2024 at the Wisconsin State Patrol Training Academy at Fort McCoy. The academy is totally free to the cadets as we are funded by generous sponsors. The cadets stay in the dorms at the academy, all meals and supplies are furnished. A graduation ceremony is held on the last day of the academy that friends and family can attend.
Some of the classes offered during the academy are: Ethics, Crash Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, Tactical Response. Probation/Parole, Firearms Training, Confidence Team Building Exercises, Physical Fitness training, and many more.
The application process is now open until March 31.
The application must be printed out (we can print it for you in Student Services, talk to Ms. Beam), completed to include all required signatures. It can be mailed or emailed to Sheri Hicks at sheri@wilegion.org. Students that have any questions about the program can contact Sheri directly. Applications will be reviewed in the month of April and all applicants will be notified if they are accepted into the program by May 1.
College Access Program in Education (CAPE)
College Access Program in Education (CAPE): CAPE is a FREE two-week summer collegiate experience for rising high school seniors interested in education, the arts, or health professions. As enrolled students, CAPE students take a two-credit course in Art, Health Professions, or Education while living on the UW–Madison campus. By participating in CAPE, students not only gain valuable college prep skills but also earn college credits. It's also completely FREE! There are no costs associated with this program. Students can visit go.wisc.edu/cape to learn more and apply.
This summer, CAPE will offer the following Courses:
Rehab Psych & Special Ed 405: Disability and Society
Art 448: Special Topics in Art
Kinesiology 508: Health Promotion & Health Equity
For more information, you can contact: Maame Adomako, Ph.D. (she/her), Undergraduate Program Manager Phone: 608-263-2912
Juniors Academic and Career Planning
Graduation requirement review
Academic opportunities for senior year
Transcripts & GPA
ACP & Xello
2/4 Year Colleges
NCAA
Apprenticeships
Specialized Training School
Years of Service/GAP year
Military
Workforce
AND a Senior snapshot
The full slideshow will be available on our Student Services website following the presentations. Juniors are encouraged to set up individual Academic and Career Planning meetings with their counselors if they have any additional questions!
Parking Expectations
A few important parking reminders and expectations as we continue to have situations that are unsafe for students.
- When dropping off students ONLY use the RED Student Drop Off Zone. We are seeing many parents/caregivers dropping students off in the YELLO Bus Loading Zone, Student Parking and Visitor Staff Lots. This creates situations in which there are moving cars where others are trying to park, blocked parking spots and student being nearly hit by cars when trying to walk through designated areas.
- Do NOT pull into light blue designated accessible parking, or block these spots, for any length of time if you do not have a government issued tag/license plate. We have students that require the use of these spots and on a regular basis are having their access limited due to others blocking or being in the locations.
- The DARK BLUE service road behind the building is for Emergency Use only. Prepare for these gates to begin being closed as we have seen an increase in individuals using this back road at the end of the day in an attempt to avoid traffic. Unfortunately this creates unsafe circumstances and a student was nearly hit last week.
- The gray circle near the end of the staff parking and service road is designated for specialized transportation pickup only. The only pick up that should take place in this location is specialized buses and parent/caregivers working with their student's IEP team.
- Finally, students a reminder to park in your student designated parking spot in the GREEN LOT.
We are working to have an increased presence in these locations with our School Resource Officer and Administration to enforce these important safety measures, warnings and tickets may be issued for infractions.
We know that drop-off, pick-up and parking can be difficult and busy times at a comprehensive High School. Please ensure that you are planning ahead with appropriate time. If we all work together the system will work and keep everyone safe.
Celebrating Excellence
On Friday we celebrated students with an email to the student and their parent/caregiver for 1st semester excellence:
- 3.0+ GPA: 890 students were recognized for earning a 3.0 or higher GPA 1st semester
- Improved GPA: 531 10th-12th grade Wolves were recognized for improving their culminative GPA based their 1st semester grades
- 90% Attendance: 422 students were recognized for having a full day attendance of 90% or better for all of 1st semester
- Improved Attendance: 192 students were recognized for improving their attendance by at least 5% from 1st to 2nd quarter.
Summer School Registration for Strength &n Conditioning and Traffic Safety
See the links below to register for Strength & Conditioning and Traffic Safety
The Traffic Safety and Behind the Wheel are ONLY open to students who are CURRENTLY (Spring 2024) in grades 9-12. Although the law allows students who are 14.5 to be involved in Drivers Ed, we limit registration/participation to students currently in grades 9-12 due to the demand.
Westopoly
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.
Testing Season Approaching
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.
Creativity TIme
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!
ACT Prep for Juniors
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.
Parking Lot Reminders
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!
Dane County Youth Assessment
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