WHS Newsletter
September 2019
Message from the Principal
This year, West High has three goal areas: Literacy, Math and Behavior.
Literacy: Students will participate in daily writing and Close Reading in all of their courses. The students will also complete an Open Response essay in each course. The Open Response is an essay that students write after reading an article related to the course content. Our goal is that we increase the number of students proficient on the Open Response by 10% from Fall to Spring.
Math: Over the last few days students have taken a baseline math assessment in their math class. This assessment is aligned to the grade-level standards and will be used to measure students growth throughout the year. Our goal is to increase the number of students proficient on the Math Assessment by 10% from Fall to Spring.
Behavior: We want to continue to recognize students for positive behavior upholding the West High Motto: "We Are W.E.S.T." Staff will recognize students who are welcoming, engaged, safe and trustworthy. We will honor students of the month each month and hold larger assemblies by Quarter where we will recognize even more students and staff.
Attendance Matters!
The Sioux City Community School District recognizes that good attendance is essential to academic success. So, we’ve joined a nationwide effort to celebrate Attendance Awareness Month in September. Nationwide, far too many students are at risk academically because they are chronically absent. Chronic absence is described as missing 10 percent of the school year—or about 18 days – for any reason, excused or unexcused. Research shows that’s the point at which absenteeism begins to affect student performance.
During Attendance Awareness Month, we are asking you to help us reduce absenteeism locally by taking these steps:
• Build a habit of regular attendance.
• If there are challenges that make it difficult for your student to attend school, let us know so we can help.El Distrito Escolar de la Comunidad de Sioux City reconoce que la buena asistencia es esencial para el éxito académico. Por lo tanto, nos hemos unido a un esfuerzo nacional para celebrar la conciencia de Asistencia en septiembre. A nivel nacional, demasiados estudiantes están en riesgo académicamente, ya que están crónicamente ausentes. La ausencia crónica significa que los estudiantes están ausentes el 10 por ciento del año escolar- o alrededor de 18 días - por cualquier razón, con o sin excusa. La investigación muestra que es el punto en el que el absentismo comienza a afectar el rendimiento del estudiante.
Durante el Mes de la Conciencia de Asistencia, le pedimos que nos ayude a reducir el absentismo tomando estos pasos:
• Construir un hábito de asistencia regular.
• Si hay dificultades para que su estudiante asista a la escuela, háganoslo saber para que le podamos ayudar.
Attendance Phone Calls
If you have questions regarding a specific absence, you can email the teacher, or call the front office and they will transfer you to the teacher's voicemail.
Student attendance is key to student success in school. We want students to attend everyday. If your child must miss school, please be sure to call the attendance office by 9:00 AM 712-279-6093. You may leave a voicemail at any time. The office staff works diligently to update the absences ASAP.
WHS Make-up Picture Day
Wednesday, Sep 11, 2019, 07:30 AM
2001 Casselman Street, Sioux City, IA, USA
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Monday September 23rd, 8 AM - 8 PM
Tuesday September 24th 3:05 PM - 5:45 PM
You can schedule a conference with your student's homeroom teacher using the following link:
Online Verification
Attention Parents/Guardians! Online Verification is open August 1, 2019 – October 1, 2019. Many families completed the process in August, but we have some families who still have not completed the yearly online verification. Online Verification allows you to access the 2019-20 Parent/Guardian and Student Handbook, modify and/or confirm contact information, and complete appropriate District forms. Online Verification is critical to ensure the District has the most up-to-date information in case of emergency. Even if you have already updated your child’s information via the parent portal, please complete and submit the Annual Online Verification to confirm no changes.
This process is critical to ensure we have the most up-to-date information for your child in case of an emergency!
Annual Online Verification can be completed in the Infinite Campus parent portal. Sign in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account Now >>
Please contact the front office at 712-279-6772, if you need assistance in the process. Click here to view a PDF of the online verification process.
No School - Sept 23rd and 27th
Community Resource Fair
Monday, Sep 23, 2019, 01:00 PM
2001 Casselman Street, Sioux City, IA, USA
WHS Homecoming 2019
Mark your calendars!
Here is a brief overview of the Homecoming events for 2019.Monday, Sept. 30th - Coronation 6 PM, WHS Auditorium
Tuesday, Oct. 1st - PowderPuff 6PM
Thursday Oct 3rd - IronMan 6PM
Friday, Oct 4th - Parade 1:30, Football Game 7 PM, Olsen Stadium
Saturday, Oct 5th - Dance, WHS Den, 8 - 11 PM
Vehicle Registration 2019-2020
Below is the vehicle registration form which allows you to park vehicles on WHS property. All vehicles you drive on school property must be registered. The first sticker is free, all others $3. The deadline this year is 9/30/19. Please follow the instructions below in order to receive your vehicle’s parking sticker. If you have already registered your vehicle from past year(s), all you will need to do is take a copy of your insurance card to Officer Baker to update your records.
NEW DRIVERS/VEHICLES
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Download the form to your laptop.
2. Complete ALL required information, then save the form to your computer.
3. Email your completed form to: bakerw@live.siouxcityschools.com (Hand written copies will not be accepted)
4. After you send your completed form to Officer Baker, you will need to go to his office and take the following items:
(1)Drivers’ license
(2)Vehicle Registration
(3)Proof of Insurance Card
If you follow these steps exactly, Officer Baker will issue you a parking sticker. Failure to comply with these instructions by 9/90/19, may result in your vehicle being towed off the school property. Only students who have completed drivers education, received their driver’s license and insured their vehicles are allowed on school property. Instructional permits do not meet this requirement. This policy is to protect you and your vehicles. If you have knowledge of a student driving illegally, please report it to Officer Baker or Hollopeter immediately.
Remember, always drive safe on school property with extra caution during winter months. Please see Officer Baker with any additional questions.
Message from our PBIS Team
I’ve recently been made aware of an issue that seems to plague those in the field of education across the country and I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to bring it to your attention as well. It’s not a new issue, but little has been done to bring it to a close and I fear it will only become worse with time. To put it quite simply, THERE ARE TOO MANY ACRONYMS on this planet. I mean I get how they can make your life easier but at the same time, it could also make life SO MUCH MORE CONFUSING. Last year I was on the phone with my mom and I excitedly told her that I made BLT, and she excitedly congratulated me. It wasn’t until a week later that I realized she thought I was THAT excited about making a sandwich (which unfortunately says a lot about my culinary expertise). The point I’m trying to make here is that forgetting what acronyms mean is totally a forgivable crime. But I do just want to offer a friendly reminder to all about a particular acronym – PBIS, or positive behavioral intervention and supports. Specifically, I’d just like to focus on the “B.” While I feel that I am reaching the point in my career where I can no longer blame my mistakes on my own inexperience, there is something that I’ve been guilty of because I didn’t know of any other way. I have an embarrassing tendency to view a misbehaving student as a problem, rather than their behavior as the problem. It’s a goal of the PBIS team to help everyone at West avoid making that same mistake. Kids are simply kids and their behavior is reflective of so many other things going on in their lives. We love our kids and we all know deep down that even the frustrating ones hold a special place in our hearts. But it’s easy in the moment to blame them when they do something wrong, when in all actuality, they may just not have the experience required to know how to behave appropriately at all times and in all settings. This year we aim to look specifically at repeated behaviors and help train our students to manage their actions. Students will have the opportunity to receive instruction individually or in groups. The PBIS acronym as a whole is likely very important, but know we are primarily in the business of working on behaviors, by labeling behaviors and not students we can work together to help students learn the skills they need to be successful."
Academic Assistance
This year we have several opportunities for students that may need some extra help, or time to catch up on their work.
After-School Tutoring: 3:00 - 4:00 PM Tues - Thurs in the Media Center
Night School: For Edgenuity courses. Tues & Thurs 3 - 7 PM, Wed 3 - 5 PM, in Room 265
Saturday Schools: At least once a month throughout the school year. Our First Saturday School will be Sept 21st 8AM - Noon in the Media Center
Study Sessions: structured study halls for academic support during the day
Dine Out for Education
Help fight hunger in the classroom and close the education gap by going out to eat on September 10th! Participating restaurants will donate a percentage of sales to the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation. Proceeds will help pay for delinquent lunch accounts and other equity issues facing our students. Applies all day and includes take-out and delivery.
Participating restaurants are: Alicia’s Taco Dome, Bar Louie, Brightside Café, Buffalo Alice, Burger King (all Sioux City locations), Chick-fil-A’s (Sergeant Road & the Southern Hills Mall), El Fredo’s, Hy-Vee Restaurants (Hamilton, Gordon Dr. and Sergeant Rd.), Navarrete’s (Hwy 75 & Riverside Blvd.), Trattoria Fresco.
School Safety
Student and staff safety is of paramount importance in the Sioux City Community School District. For this reason, the District exercises a host of crisis prevention and planning tactics. During the year, our school has fire, tornado, and intruder drills. The drills ensure our students and staff are prepared for potential emergencies. Watch for future newsletter updates that give you information on our drills, so you can continue the safety conversations with your child(ren) at home.
Should an emergency occur, the school notifies you through our Blackboard phone system. In an emergency, the system calls every phone number associated with your child in order to reach you. The message will give you details about the emergency and provide directions on when/where to pick up your child if the normal school day is altered.
For more information about school safety, visit our website at: http://www.siouxcityschools.org/safety/ or speak to our principal.
La seguridad de los estudiantes y del personal es de suma importancia en el Distrito Escolar de la Comunidad de Sioux City. Por esta razón, el Distrito ejerce una gran cantidad de tácticas de prevención y planificación de crisis. Durante el año, nuestras escuelas tienen simulacros de incendio, tornado e intruso. Los simulacros aseguran que nuestros estudiantes y el personal estén preparados para posibles emergencias. Esté al pendiente del boletín de noticias para futuras actualizaciones que le proveen información sobre nuestros simulacros, para que continúe las conversaciones de seguridad con su hijo(a) en casa.
En caso de una emergencia, la escuela le notifica a través de nuestro sistema telefónico Blackboard. En caso de emergencia, el sistema llama a cada número de teléfono asociado a su hijo con el fin de llegar a usted. El mensaje le dará detalles acerca de la situación de emergencia y proporcionar instrucciones sobre cuándo / dónde recoger a su hijo si se altera el día escolar normal.
Para obtener más información acerca de la seguridad escolar, visite nuestro sitio Web en: http://www.siouxcityschools.org/safety/ o hable con nuestro director.
Let's Talk
Una comunidad comprometida hace a nuestro distrito más fuerte. Es por eso que le facilitamos la conexión con nosotros siempre que sea conveniente para usted. ¡Lo animamos a que aprovechar ¡Hablemos!, nuestro sitio de comunicación en línea 24/7. Comuníquese para compartir sus ideas, hacer preguntas, expresar sus preocupaciones y elogios. Para enviar un correo, por favor visite http://www.siouxcityschools.org/lets-talk/ .
Non-discrimination Statement
The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It is an unfair or discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status (for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices. Inquiries or grievances, including Section 504 grievances and grievances under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, may be directed to Jen Gomez, Director of Student Services & Equity Education at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075,gomezj2@live.siouxcityschools.com. Please see District Board policies 103 and 504.4 for additional information on available grievance procedures.
Sioux City West High School
Website: http://www.siouxcityschools.org/west-high-school/
Location: 2001 Casselman Street, Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 7122796772
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SiouxCityWestHighSchool/
Twitter: @WHS_Activities