The Howl

September 23rd- PreACT testing for 9th–11th graders with a 12:30 p.m. early release. This release time is updated from the printed calendar. No school for 12th graders. More details coming soon.

September 29th- SP West Homecoming Dance GUEST FORMS available in the FRONT OFFICE

October 2nd- Hispanic/Latino Family Night, 5:00-7:00pm at Meadowview

October 9th- SP West Homecoming Dance GUEST FORMS due in the wooden box in the front office 3:45pm- HARD DEADLINE

October 13th- SP West Homecoming Dance TICKETS on sale on Go Fan, use your ID number as the code

October 15th- SP West Homecoming Parade- 6:00pm- on Main

October 16th- SP West Homecoming Dance TICKET SALE closes- 12:00pm (HARD DEADLINE- no exceptions)- NOON

October 17th- Homecoming Game at 7:00pm Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium

October 18th- SP West Homecoming Dance 7:00-10:00pm at West

October 22nd- PSAT (Optional test for Juniors- pre-registration required)

October 31st- Senior Pictures due for the Yearbook. Upload here: https://photos.jostens.com/CC2FPK

November 14th- Senior Grad Ads due for the Yearbook jostensadservice.com/student

Representatives from the following colleges will be in Student Services during WIN time this week. Sign up in FlexiSched with Mrs. Griffin.

Wednesday, Sept. 24 - University of Chicago

Thursday, Sept. 25 - Madison College (Start College Now advising)

Wolves helping wolves! 🐺 The AP HUG classes welcomed 16 different AP HUG mentors as guest speakers this week to share howls of advice on how to have success in the class. Because most AP HUG students are in 9th grade, this is the first AP class they take. They appreciate the advice and insight shared by their older wolves who once roamed the AP HUG path. 🌎🐺🌍

Attention Seniors! Future Focus Day!

On Tuesday, September 23rd, you're invited to an optional drop-in event designed to support your post-secondary planning. Stop by the PAC lobby anytime between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM—the event will be held during the Pre-ACT. A variety of valuable resources will be available to help you explore your next steps after high school. Don't miss this opportunity to get ahead on your future!

The following resources will be available:

• Application help

• Essay and Resume writing

• FAFSA help/preparation

• Madison College Representative

• WEF Registration Help

• Access to Virtual Tours of colleges and universities on SS website

• Career Quizzes: https://www.wtcsystem.edu/programs/career-quiz/

• UW Journey Exploration: https://uwjourney.wisconsin.edu/welcome

• Individualized support from CCLR/Counselors

• OTHER KEY INFO:

• Students can access busing to and from, like with students who are testing

• Students can get breakfast & lunch as normal

On Thursday, October 2nd, juniors and seniors have the option to attend the Wisconsin Education Fair during the school day, where they will have a chance to meet with over 80 College/University representatives. Students can gather valuable information from 4 year schools, 2 year schools, military and specialty schools. Here is a LIST of the schools attending.

• Juniors and Seniors will attend from 9am-9:45am

• Students should register HERE

• Once registered students will receive a barcode. Students will use that barcode when communicating with the representatives. This way the schools can send follow up material.

• **This will be a one time exception for students to use their cell phones during class time. Students can also choose to use their chromebook to access their barcode.

• All bags must be left in block 1

• Traveling juniors and seniors are welcome to attend and should start the day in room 1202 so we can take their attendance

Students who registered for the PSAT should log into Infinite Campus to pay the $18.00 testing fee as soon as possible.

The PSAT will be administered on Wednesday, October 22nd, from 8:45 AM to 12:00 PM in the North Gym. Students are expected to arrive by 8:25 AM on the day of the test.

Students who registered for the PSAT will receive a follow-up email after the form has closed.

Juniors and Seniors interested in taking college courses in Spring 2026 should submit applications by October 1! Applications are available in Student Services.

preACT Local Communications

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As we begin Year 4 as a Wolf community we continue to run together as a PACK. Our universal expectations are that we approach everything we do in our community with Pride, Accountability, Collaboration and Kindness.

Grounding ourselves in the concept of One West and PACK is the foundation of all that we do. It takes each and every one of us doing our part to make this community the incredible place that it is and it is growing into being. Everything that we do as individuals and a community is to bring our West Equity Vision to life:

• Doors open at 8:05am. If you have to arrive earlier you may stand inside the double doors until 8:05am- although weather this week is looking gorgeous.
• Grab breakfast and stay in the commons until 8:20 at 8:20 you can start to head to class
• 8:30 all students need to clear the commons and head to class
• Be IN YOUR CLASSROOM by 8:35 ready to start the day.
• Buses arrive to Door 1.
• If you are driving make sure you have a parking pass, you can get them in the Front Office.
• If you are being dropped off, make sure that the person dropping you off is only using the drop off lane and no where else: no fire lane driving, no student parking lot, no staff parking lots, no bus lane, no culdasac on the side of the building. These are all incredible safety hazards. Make sure you have plenty of time, the drop off line does get a bit long but we need all drop offs using it.

• Closed campus- no leaving during lunch- this is for your and school safety

• No Food delivery

• No outside delivery orders this is a security hazard, resulting in suspension!

• Stay in designated eating areas

• Commons

• 1300/1400 Distributed Dining

• 1500/1600 Distributed Dining

• Courtyard

• Need a quiet space? Ask an adult in the commons to let you into 1202

• Bell rings and students are dismissed at 3:45pm.

• Busses leave at 3:55pm: Door 1. Be quick!

• Parking Lot Safety

• Drive Slow

• Watch for cars and walkers

• Parent/Caregiver Pick up Drop Off Lane

• Don’t wait past stop sign

• No staff parking lots, student lot, fire lane or culdasac

• Students need to be out of the building by 4pm unless they are participating in any sports practices or club meetings- by 4:00pm need to be with an adult

We are excited to start the school year focused on building learning communities in our classrooms with less distractions with cell phones. The first two days of the school year we will be teaching and practicing the new cell phone expectations. We will then begin to enforce the expectations with true "purple passes" and consequences on Thursday and Friday this week. Here's a quick FAQ for Bell-to-Bell No Cell: Phones Down. Futures Up.

Students will be given specific lessons on Bell-to-Bell No Cell on Tuesday 1st block, then every class, every day for 2 weeks.

• Detailed cell phone launch

West will have turn in locations at the Front Office, Admin Office and Student Services office.

Check out these frequently asked questions and responses.

Students should be coming to school with their charged Chromebooks each and every day. If they are having technical issues with their Chromebooks, their Library Media Center is the place to take their Chromebooks to be exchanged or repaired. With the new Bell-to-Bell No Cell expectations having school issued Chromebooks is essential for daily success.

Students WILL ONLY be issued a loaner Chromebook for the reasons listed below:

• Lost device

• Broken device (if there are no devices available for exchange)

• Testing

Loaner devices must be returned to the library before the end of the school day. Loaner Chromebooks that are damaged, or not returned will incur charges.

Keep in mind that there are a limited number of loaner devices at each school. Therefore, if a student forgets their Chromebook, there will likely not be a loaner available for them to use.

Please support your student by ensuring they bring their charged Chromebooks to school each and every day.

Securly is the tool used by the District to keep harmful content on school-issued devices away from our students. This year, we’ve added a feature that will allow our teachers to directly observe what is on the Chromebook screens of the students in their classrooms.

The Securly tool also allows parents and caregivers to observe their child's activity while using school-issued devices. Parents and caregivers can access this information by viewing their child's Activity Feed. Parents and caregivers also receive Flagged Activity notifications that inform them of any flagged activities pointing to self-harm or bullying related to their child.

Please see the instructions included in the links below for more information on how to access the Securly app:

Securly Information for Caregivers & Students (ENGLISH)

Securly Information for Caregivers & Students (ESPANOL)

As we enter the 25-26 school year we are committed to strengthening our partnerships with parent/caregivers. This includes two way communication. If you have not yet you will be hearing from your child's classroom teachers over the days to come:

Classroom to Home Communication

• Every Wolf Connecting: A connection with your student's SP30/Advisory teacher to begin the year
• Beginning of Year Communications: Each classroom teacher in the first two weeks of school will be sending home an email communication introducing themself and sharing the best ways to contact them.
• Signatures on Email. We are working to have all staff members have their email signature updated within the next 3 weeks so that when you receive an email from any West staff member you know who they are and their connection to your student (ie: English teacher, etc).

Parent to Classroom Communication

• Share with us about your student: We encourage all families to complete this Google Form by the beginning of the school year. This will be shared with classroom teachers to help us better understand how to support your student!
  

Research has shown the number one predictor of a student's success in High School is the student being involved in activities/clubs/sports outside of the classroom. Specifically our goal is that every student is connected to TWO different activities/clubs/sports throughout the course of the school year. Don't know where to start? Check these out!

Sun Prairie United Esports is looking for interested students to join and try out for spots this year for our competitive gaming state league. If you're interested or would like more information please head to our website HERE and reach out with any questions. Find information about what games we participate in and how to join. There will be a future informational meeting held in our event space at East High School very soon.

Checkout sports available throughout the year!

There are an incredible number of clubs/activities here at West. Please check in with Ms. Beaver regarding available Clubs & Activities. If you're interested in a Club or Activity that isn't currently running, you can start a new club here at West!

See something that interests you? Ready to get connected? Stop by the Athletics and Activities Office (near the pool) and talk to Ms. Beaver, Ms. Ripp or Mr. Nee or send them an email to get the conversation started. Ms. Ripp: mjripp@sunprairieschools.org; Ms. Beaver: albeave@sunprairieschools.org; Mr. Nee: eanee@sunprairieschools.org. Feel free to put them all on an email and they will get you connected!

To purchase a yearbook, go to www.jostens.com. Type in “Sun Prairie West” and make sure you click Sun Prairie West High School. You may also visit the following link directly: https://tinyurl.com/SPWHSYRBK26

Yearbooks must be pre-ordered by February, 20th 2026 to be guaranteed a copy of the 2026 Yearbook.

• All senior portraits will need to be uploaded directly to Jostens.com using the following link: https://photos.jostens.com/CC2FPK
• Be sure to include the student’s first name, last name, and grade (12) in the file name. Ensure that you spell the name correctly, as this is how it will be printed in the yearbook.
• All senior portraits are due by Friday, October 31st, 2025

• All senior grad ads will be 1/8 of a page and completed directly through Jostens using the following link: jostensadservice.com/student
• You will need to create a Jostens account to create and submit your senior’s grad ad.
• All grad ads are due by Friday, November 14th 2025.

I'm pleased to share that the State of Wisconsin has just released an announcement for Grant Funding to help cover the costs of Drivers Ed. The grant can be used with Private Driving Schools

If you are interested the information is linked below.

If you are interetsted the information is linked below.

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.

(SPASD District Policy JB)

If a student or parent/caregiver 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/caregiver 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.

We are so excited to have our fall sports in full swing. We have already started to host home events, including our first home Football game this past Friday night. Please review the SPASD event guidelines. Our athletes are ready to take the field, stage, pool, court, pitch, course and so much more this school year. Together we will continue to make these fantastic, safe and enjoyable events for all.

All West students will need their student ID or if they have not yet received their 25/26 student ID, they will need to look up their Infinite Campus profile. This can be done in advance and screenshotted for quick access.

• Building opens at 8:05: Students may enter the building at 8:05 and will remain in the commons 8:20. Between 8:05-8:20 students may eat breakfast and socialize in the commons. At 8:20 students may begin to move to their classes.
• If your transportation situation makes it impossible to drop off your students later than 8:05 they will be allowed to stand in the vestibule (between the glass doors) until 8:05, particularly on inclement weather days

• Building Closes at 4:00: At 4:00pm the building closes daily. All students must be with an adult (coach, club/activity, 5th hour tutoring, etc) or leave the building for safety as we do not have supervision available after 4:00pm.

Please plan rides, drop off/pick up accordingly.

If your student is planning to take PreCalculus, AP Calc, and/or AP Stats, they will benefit from having a graphing calculator, which can also be used for the ACT and in Algebra 2 math classes and beyond. The TI84+ or TI84+ CE are what most students use, but there are other types of graphing calculators as well. The school does have a limited number of graphing calculators available to be checked out, and priority is given to students in AP math classes. For students in other classes who wish to have a calculator, a scientific calculator such as the TI-30 is sufficient. Students will have access to online graphing calculators through their Chromebooks.

The PSAT (Preliminary SAT) is a valuable standardized test co-sponsored by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. It serves as both practice for the SAT and as the first step toward qualifying for scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Program. The PSAT helps students assess their skills in key areas—Reading, Math, and Writing/Language.

This test is particularly important for 11th-grade students who are looking to gain insight into their SAT performance and open doors to scholarship opportunities. The PSAT is typically offered in the fall, and 11th-grade students can register to take the exam on an optional basis.

Important: If you would like to take the PSAT exam during the fall of the 2025-2026 school year on Wednesday October 22nd, please complete the attached Google form by Tuesday September 16th, 2025.

For more details or questions, feel free to reach out to Ms. Thao and Mr. Medema!

Don’t miss this opportunity to start preparing for the future and potentially earn scholarships!

Did you know that EVERY Wolf has a team of adults specifically here to support them? That team includes: an Associate Principal, Dean of Students, Counselor and School Social Worker. Additionally we have: School Psychologists, Restorative Practices Coach, Youth Advocates and College, Career and Life Readiness Coach to support ALL students. If there are specific things you would like members of your student's team to know or specific supports they may need, please reach out to their team.

While this year's outcome focus is on reading and math, our work around attendance will always continue. Our incredible teacher's cannot impact a student's reading and math outcomes if the student is not in the classroom. Attendance is affected by many things and your Wolf Support Team is here to help with those factors and help support attendance. Check out the information below regarding attendance. Pick up your SP West attendance magnet at registration.

In the 25-26 school year we are continuing of our focus on disrupting inequities, creating a culture of care and rigorous and coherent teaching. This year we will also start to layer on the next three components of the Instructional Framework: multiple means to demonstrate understanding, learning partnerships and culturally and linguistically responsive teaching. Over the last year we had a hyper focus on attendance and our data shows that we have a strong foundation in addition to build on to now focus specifically on literacy and numeracy (reading and math outcomes).

We will bring our SP West Equity Vision to life and disrupt inequities in our math and reading outcomes through the following Theory of Action:

• IF we use professional learning teams (teacher teams that teach the same classes) to intentionally design and implement instructional strategies and supports of the essential standards
• AND Work to repair and transform relationships to create a stronger sense of shared identity through restorative practices
• AND Impactfully collaborate to improve practice and outcomes through analyzing and owning data including focus group (reading and math outcomes for our Black students)
• AND Take action to challenge and dismantle oppressive systemic, personal, and instructional policies and adult practices through resources including the iceberg protocol (from our training resource Courageous Conversations Around Race)
• AND Design rigorous and responsive instruction as professional learning teams through the use of culturally responsive teaching based on knowledge of students and knowledge of standards (ASL, AVID, Developmental Designs, RCT Framework, SEL, Scaffolds, Multiple Modes of Assessment).
• THEN we will increase reading and math outcomes for Black/African American students (and all students- Black students were selected as our focal group as our data indicates that we have not done right by these students... yet).

In SPASD we break our year long school improvement plans to bring our Theory of Action to life and make progress to our Scorecard into 3, 100-day plans. Our 3 adult practice areas (gaols) this yeaer are:

• Adult Practice Focus #1 - Use knowledge of students and knowledge of standards to collaboratively design rigorous and responsive instruction for all students
• Adult Practice Focus #2 - Facilitate healing the harm to relationships and restoring community
• Adult Practice Focus #3 - Use data to challenge and dismantle oppressive systemic, personal, and instructional policies and practices

Grading is an iterative process that we are constantly reflecting upon and adjusting. For the 25-26 school year we are making some adjustments to our past grading practices- here's what you need to know:

• Deadlines: All formatives and summatives due by the end of the quarter, which includes retake
  attempts. Assessments returned to students with feedback less than one week before the
  end of the quarter will be put on the next quarter’s grading window.
• Missing Work: M=40%. Missing assessments at the end of the quarter will remain M, 40%. The
  lowest possible score for an attempted assessment is 50%.
• Retakes: Every student is guaranteed an opportunity to take and retake an assessment once within the quarter the assessment was assigned. Students can makeup an assessment from an absence regardless of attendance coding. Departments aligned across East and West can determine if they will allow more than one retake can determine what must be complete before a retake (study guide, test corrections, etc)
• Attempting Summatives: Students must attempt at least half of summatives to be eligible to pass the class (not new this year, but important to be aware of).

A common question we have received recently are we moving away from the A-F grading?

Student schedules are available for viewing in Infinite Campus. A few things to note:

• All schedules are subject to change based on staffing, room assignment and balancing of courses. We ask that all students check their schedule the day before school starts one more time to see the most up to date information.

• You will notice that SP30's are not entirely assigned yet. We are working to assign those over the next week or so, so please do not worry. Another great reason to revisit your schedule shortly before school starts.

• While we try to accommodate all student course requests, there are times when a student's course requests may not get all the classes they originally requested. This happens for a number of possible reasons, including but not limited to: lack of student interest, staffing, space availability, schedule conflicts, etc. In these cases, we default students to alternate courses.

• If you see a course on your schedule that you do not remember signing up for, please know that we work very diligently to ensure students get as many of their requested courses as possible. Sometimes, however, there are conflicts that require us to default to a student's alternate courses, which is likely the course your student does not remember requesting.

• This year we are using a new feature of Infinite Campus called Cross Site Enrollment. If you are an East student and receiving this email and The Howl, that is an indicator that you are scheduled for a course at West. If you are taking a course that is scheduled at the other high school from your typical boundary school (I go to West but have a class at East or I go to East but have a class at West) it will be indicated in their schedule with a blue location symbol (similar to a Google maps symbol). If you are in a “traveling course” information regarding shuttle times, etc will be shared before the first day of school.

• If you are wanting to request a schedule change, please review the Schedule Change Policy for eligibility first. If the request meets the eligibility requirements, please see the Student Services Website to request a schedule change.

If you have specific questions regarding your students schedule, please feel free to reach out to your students school counselors at the contact information below:

Students last Names A-G:

Chelsea Saldana

cmsalda@sunprairieschools.org

Students last names H-M:

Keith Medema

kamedem@sunprairieschools.org

Students last names N-T:

Monica Wagner

mmwagne@sunprairieschools.org

Students last names U-Z:

Phau Thao

pthao@sunprairieschools.org

We are in year 4 of an SPASD community with 3 High Schools in Sun Prairie (Sun Prairie East, Sun Prairie West and Prairie Phoenix Academy), and we are united in our high expectations and high levels of support for students. Please grab a cup of coffee, refill your water or your favorite beverage and carefully read through our Student Handbooks. This includes LOTS of important information from academics to student/parent/caregiver support to school nutrition and student fees.

Preliminary transportation information is viewable in Infinite Campus by logging into Campus Parent, click on ‘More’ then choose the Transportation tab. If the bus stop does not look accurate, please contact Kobussen. Pickup and drop off times are continually changing as new students enroll and other students move out of the district.

This year High School students will NOT receive bus tags. Students will need to be able to show their bus assignment through Infinite Campus when asked. Once bus information is available take a picture of it and mark it in favorites for easy access.

Please contact Brinda Thompson at brinda.thompson@kobussen.com or (608) 825-8700 ext. 5509, if you have questions or concerns about your child’s bus route or stop. If you have any other questions related to busing, please contact either Lisa Sprindis at lasprin@sunprairieschools.org or Rhonda Page at rspage@sunprairieschools.org. If your child is NOT going to ride the bus but is eligible please stop by the bus table at Registration or reach out to one of the people above.

Why: Recent research has shown that cell phones in the classroom have been associated with negative effects including, academic achievement, social engagement, anxiety, etc. Even having the phone on the table has negative side effects. In the Spring of ‘25 94.8% of SPASD High School staff reported that cell phones were having an impact or serious impact on learning in their space.

What: The district policy has been and will continue to be that students should only be using school issued devices when directed by the teacher during class. The shift is consistent implementation of no cell phones or personal electronic devices in class, bell-to-bell, every day at both East and West.

How: Students have learned in SP30 and content area classes about electronic device expectations. Our top priority is teaching students how to use devices responsibly and to build skills around safe and productive technology use.

As we head into year 4 of Sun Prairie West we are excited to build on the successes that have been created in our first three years. The SPASD communications team put together beautiful Points of Pride and Data Dashboards for each of our schools. Check out West's below:

Additionally, our Equitable Multileveled Systems of Support Coordinator, Amy Cassiday helped us analyze our AP data over the last three years and there is MUCH to celebrate. A HUGE shout out not only to our brilliant scholars but their dedicated and committed educators who go above and beyond expectations to help them thrive in and out of the classroom.

Shout Outs to the following teachers who are a part of the 90%+ club with their students celebrating over a 90% pass rate (3 or higher):

• Ms. Dorner- AP English Lit

• Ms. Peters- AP US Government
• Ms. Updike- AP Seminar

Shout Outs to the following teachers whose students beat the average pass rate for their specific national exam:

• Ms. Andreasen- AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics
• Mr. Barth- AP United States History
• Ms. Bosonetta- AP Environmental Science
• Ms. Dahlgren- AP Human Geography
• Ms. Dorner- AP Literature
• Mr. Hall- AP Physics 1

• Ms. Herrera- AP African American Studies
• Mr. Ladell- AP Psych
• Ms. Meier- AP Drawing
• Mr. O'Connor- AP Psych
• Ms. Peters- AP US Government

• Mr. Pibal- AP Comp Sci Principals
• Ms. Piotrowski- AP Language and Composition

• Ms. Rogers- AP Calc AB
• Mr. Swanson- AP Calc AP
• Mr. Thompson- AP United States History
• Ms. Updike- AP Seminar

Our A/B Day Schedule and our Regular Bell Schedule. The A/B Day schedule is set for the year and will not change even if we have snow/cold days. Please note that Semester 1 starts and ends on an A Day and Semester 2 starts and ends on a B Day.

Do YOU want to be a Leader of the Pack? Leaders of the Pack is open to any West Wolf that strives to embody PACK each and every day and is ready to step up as a leader for our community. Activities for leaders of the pack include: serving on Student Senate, volunteering at school wide events, giving school tours, being a buddy for new students and being a guide for our incoming 9th graders. Sign up today!