Cardinal Call

A big thank you to all our student organizations that helped to make our homecoming week a success. This week's Cardinal Call is a bit longer because we wanted to share pictures from all the events last week. Looking forward, families can expect to see communications from staff in the coming weeks as we prepare for caregiver and teacher conferences on October 23 and 24. If you have questions about meeting with one of your student’s instructors, please reach out to them directly.

Sincerely,

Jim Ertel

Principal

Sun Prairie East was recognized as one of the best high schools in the United States. If you look at the rankings, we are listed under our old name, "Sun Prairie High School." We are working to have that updated.

Below are some photos from our homecoming celebrations! A big thank you to DECA for sponsoring the flag football and student vs staff volleyball games. Also, Student Council put in many hours planning the parade and dance. Thank you to all our student organizations who made the week a success! We will have photos from the Football game and the dance next week.

On Friday, 10/17 West will be running a modified assembly schedule for their homecoming celebration. Due to West being the only secondary school with a modified schedule, we will not have shuttles running between East and West. Students are welcome to self transport, but for those who are unable to do so, we will have the LMC open for them. West staff are aware of this adjustment, so please check in with your West teachers this week if you have classes on Friday.

The art departement would like to share some of the cool projects are students are working on.Check it out!

Please stop on by and enjoy our Trunk 'N Treat family event on October 22.

Our PBIS Food Truck Friday was a lot of fun. Students were able to celebrate their success in not using personal electronic devices during instructional time. Keep up the good work!

5th Hour Tutoring is up & running for 2025-2026! 5th Hour Tutoring runs Tuesdays - Thursdays from 3:50-4:40PM in the LMC, with teachers from English, math, science, social studies, art, and more available to work with students. Students are able to take the activity bus (which leaves at 4:45PM) home after 5th Hour tutoring.

Looking back at the month of September, our average for phones turned into the main office is 8.9 phones per day. Again, great work by our entire cardinal community in making this happen. Moving forward we will be providing monthly updates on collection data. Great work!

Linked below are the band program updates for the week of September 29th.

Linked below is this month's French Newsletter.

Students are able to check out from the office if they forgot something in their car during the school day. However, students will need to be escorted out by staff. We do not have adult supervision in the parking lot, so ensuring students are supervised is an important consideration when students leave the building to access vehicles. If you have any questions, please check in with the Deans of Students.

Cardinal Families, strong attendance is essential to student success, and we want to keep you informed about how the district monitors and supports attendance. Families will receive letters when students reach certain absence “trigger points” (5 or 10 days, unexcused and 10 days, excused); these are automatically generated and meant to keep communication open. Please call the attendance line by 9:00 a.m. to report absences, and know that you can check your child’s attendance anytime through Infinite Campus. Caregivers play a key role in helping students stay engaged, and we value your partnership. Please read the FULL attendance process HERE.

PSAT registration officially closed on Monday, September 8th. Students who registered should log into Infinite Campus to pay the $18.00 testing fee as soon as possible.

The PSAT will be administered on Wednesday, October 15th, from 8:45 AM to 12:00 PM in the Library. Students are expected to arrive by 8:25 AM on the day of the test.

A reminder email will be sent to all registered students as the testing date approaches

As a Member of Congress, Representative Pocan has the honor of nominating outstanding young people from the Second District for an appointment to one of our nation’s service academies. Although a nomination is not a guarantee that a student will attend a U.S. Service Academy, it is required to apply to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.

Our office is accepting nomination applications through Friday, October 17th. Please let any interested students know that they can contact our office at 608-258-9800 or email the Service Academy Nominations Coordinator at Diego.Benitez@mail.house.gov with questions.

Ms. Leja has access to copies of the application for interested students.

Thank you to all our student organizations and staff that helped make homecoming week a blast. As we start fall playoff season please keep an eye on the WIAA link under "playoffs." Seeding meetings for the state tournaments will be happening over the next few weeks as playoff brackets are built.

Jenna Boberg, CAA

Athletics & Activities Director

Congratulations to Braenna Stampf and Beatriz Coco Alfonso who beat La Crosse Central to advance and qualify for State Tennis!

Congratulations to Sun Prairie East girls golf team for qualifying to compete at Sectionals this past Tuesday.

On Wednesday at UW Platteville our FFA Land and Soil Evaluation team competed at the State Contest and they did pretty well and learned a lot. We also had two students completing a training workshop in Floriculture getting ready to compete in competition in March.

Land and Soil Judging:

Micheal Murdock
Ava Flores
Katie Vetter
Wyatt Washington

Floriculture:

Hanna Zimmerman

Vahnyah Vickerman Kelley

The fall sports teams will be headed into the playoffs in October, follow along on the WIAA site HERE

Winter Sports Registration is now open on infinite campus. Winter season athletes should not wait, register now!

We will offer the following sports:

Adapted Indoor Floor Hockey

Basketball - Boys

Basketball - Girls

Gymnastics - Girls

Hockey - Boys

Hockey - Girls

Swim/Dive - Boys

Wrestling - Boys

Wrestling - Girls

Our athletes and families are invited to join Influential Athlete’s monthly virtual NIL Masterclasses to learn how to navigate NIL safely while maximizing opportunities and building skills for life after sports. Sessions take place on the last Tuesday of every month (except December) at 6 PM CST.

2025 – 2026 Schedule:

• Oct 28, 2025: Social Media for NIL Success

• Nov 25, 2025: Storytelling & On-Camera Presence

• Dec 16, 2025: Identifying Potential NIL Partners

• Jan 27, 2026: Pitching & Negotiating NIL Deals

• Feb 24, 2026: Protecting Yourself in NIL Deals

• Mar 31, 2026: Financial Management for NIL Athletes

• Apr 28, 2026: Maximizing Media Exposure

• May 26, 2026: Life After Sports – Using NIL to Build Your Future

Please see the linked information for upcoming contests.