WHS Newsletter
October 2018
Message from the Principal
Our academic focus at West High is literacy (reading, writing, listening, & speaking) in all content areas. Students should have completed their first Open Response in their English class. In an Open Response, students are given an article to read along with a prompt to develop an essay. Students will be completing these essays once in each class throughout the year. Our goal is to improve the number of students scoring proficient (80%) on the Open Response from Fall to Spring by 10%. Effective writing in all content areas is essential to student success in high school and will aid students in accomplishing their future college and/or career goals.
After School Tutoring
Winter Activities Update
Winter activities are right around the corner. The parent/athlete winter activities meeting is Monday October 29th at 6:00 pm in the West High Auditorium. The girls’ basketball team meeting will be at 5:30 in the library, while the bowling, wrestling, boys basketball, and swimming meetings will follow the large group presentation as breakout sessions. All students must have a current physical on file in the athletic office, a current Code of Conduct form in the Activities Office, and a Medical Release to treat form in the activities office to participate in winter activities. If you have a question about the end date of your student athlete’s physical please don’t hesitate to contact our activities office to inquire about it. We are still currently selling Family and Student activity passes in the activities office, so please stop by to inquire about those as well. If you ever have questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the activities office here at West High School 712-279-6772, or certainly reach out through email and contact Mr. Pace: pacea@live.siouxcityschools.com.
College Application Day
West High Homecoming 2018
Free ACT Prep Class for current juniors
What: FREE ACT Prep Class for GEAR UP students (all Juniors)
When: Tuesday’s & Thursday’s starting Oct. 23rd – Dec. 4th
Time: 3:10 – 4:10 p.m.
Where: Mr. McLey’s room (Success Strategies, Freshmen House)
How: Sign up outside of Mrs. Laboranti’s office in Media Center
Why: Prepare yourself to do your best on the ACT!
Juniors – Please see Mrs. Laboranti with any questions.
Students and Staff of the Month
September #WeAreWEST Pizza Winners
Let's Talk
Full-scale Active Shooter Drill Planned for October 10th at North High
On October 10th at 4 pm, North High School will participate in a city-wide full-scale active shooter drill. The drill is being hosted at North High School, but all emergency agencies from Sioux City will be actively engaged in the full-scale drill to emulate an actual active shooter scenario response.
This drill is happening outside the normal school day, therefore instruction time will not be interrupted. Still, at 4 pm, there are activities happening at the school, which allows for staff and student participation to still occur. The purpose of the Sioux City Community School District having an active role in this city-wide drill is to create an educational experience for all involved to apply the S.A.V.E. training skills that have been taught in the Sioux City Community Schools.
S.A.V.E. training has empowered our staff to lead students and peers in the event of a crisis by using the S.A.V.E. tactics: Shelter In Place, Awareness, Violence Stops Violence, and Evacuation. S.A.V.E. training was provided to all staff at the start of the school year and is something we continue to practice with staff and students on a consistent basis.
This drill is designed to stress our systems and test all involved to ensure that proper preparation is taken to plan for the unfortunate possibility of an active shooter in a school setting. The Sioux City Community School District will work closely with all emergency agencies in Sioux City, including the Sioux City Police Department, to reinforce our coordinated approach to counteracting potential threats.
We appreciate your support as we plan for this drill. If you have questions in advance, please contact Mandie Mayo, director of communications, at 712-224-7471.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul R. Gausman
Superintendent
Sioux City Community School District
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