The Howl

As we enter Week 3 of the school year we also have begun our celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage month. Over 10% of our student population at SP West, in addition to several of our staff and many of our parent/caregivers and community members, identify as Hispanic/Latinx.

Hispanic Heritage Month does not cover one single month but instead begins in the middle of September and ends in the middle of October. The timeframe of this month is significant because many Central American countries celebrate their independence days within these dates, beginning on September 15 with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. By aligning with these independence dates, Hispanic Heritage Month honors the resilience and determination of the Hispanic community. Key Independence Days celebrated within Hispanic Heritage Month include:

• September 15 - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
• September 16 – Mexico
• September 18 – Chile
• September 21 - Belize

During September 15th- October 15th we intentionally celebrate them, their identity, the incredible diversity and beauty within the Hispanic/Latinx community, their history and incredible contributions to our community. This week students in our Spanish 1 class, along with our phenomenal custodian Jose Gonzalez, hung our banner and flags to begin the visual celebration in our commons. Be on the look out for other ways we will be celebrating as a community during the upcoming weeks! Happy Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Ed Ford- Associate Principal- ebford@sunprairieschools.org

As we start the school year please take 2 minutes to provide us feedback on our communication! Survey in English. Survey in Spanish.

We are very excited to be preparing for our 2nd Annual West Wolf Homecoming Celebration! The Homecoming dance is open to ALL West students 9th-12th grade. If you are interested in bringing a guest from another school (including SP East) you need to have a completed guest form turned in NO LATER than 1:30pm, this Wednesday 9/20. This is a hard deadline with no exceptions so please continue to plan to ensure you are able to meet this deadline. Guest forms continue to be available in the front office, please pick one up first thing tomorrow if you haven't gotten yours yet. ALL guest forms are turned into the wooden wolf box in the front office (no other locations accepted). We look forward to seeing you and your guest at homecoming! Tickets will be on sale from 9/25 - 9/29.

If you have been invited to a homecoming dance at another school we want to help support you in going. All local schools require a guest form very similar to ours in order to attend. Please bring your guest form to Ms. Blank in the admin office as early as you can to make sure that we get it signed off for you before the deadline at the other school. Ms. Blank is the only place you should take these forms. She will process it and get it back to you ASAP.

Students should have received their purchased parking passes this week. Starting last week students need to park in their designated parking spot. Each of the student spots are labeled with a number and students are expected to park in their personal spot. If someone has parked in your spot please come directly to the front office to complete a "someone parked in my spot" form. All students that desire to park on campus need to have purchased a parking pass ($30/semester) and have their parking pass displayed. Students that park in the front lot in front of the main entrance/athletic entrance or the side lot near Door 24 may receive a parking ticket. Officer Sessums issued the first round of warnings last week, this week we will be continuing with warnings for first time offense and tickets for repeat offenses. Please see the front office staff for questions on parking.

September is Suicide Prevention Month. Here are resources as we work as a community to destigmatize talking about mental health and suicide prevention.. Please remember you are not alone in supporting your child/children and they are not alone. We have student support staff available yet this summer and as we start the school year to support your student, please don't hesitate to reach out and we will get them connected: jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org.

When: Wednesday, September 20 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: Sun Prairie West High School Room 1202

Who: Any 8th - 12th grader considering play NCAA sports after high school

Please join us for an informational meeting with athletic advisor Tyler Kastner. He will provide guidance with the collegiate athletic process for high school student athletes and their families in their pursuit to play sports beyond high school.

Some topics covered include:

• High School Timeline

• Approved High School Courses

• Eligibility Requirements - 16 Core Course Requirement

• Differences among Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3

• Grade Point Average Scale

• How to register

• COVID Changes

During the first two weeks teachers and students have come together to create classroom norms, build community and begin to dive into teaching and learning together. Classroom norms may look like students participating in a restorative justice norm creating circle together, a circle of Power and Respect through Developmental Designs or discussing what PACK looks like, sounds like and feels like in the classroom. Classroom community building has included circles, games, conversations and rethinking how we teach our lessons to ensure that students are given opportunities to get to know one another while also getting to know the content. Checking in on learning: This week ask your student how they have been building community in their classrooms? Ask them about new peers they have met during the first 2 weeks of school? Also please check-in with them on how they are doing with the new cell phone policy and any modifications they may need to make in order for their phone to not be a distraction.

Please take a look through the links below for more information on some technology updates to our filter policy, our loaner Chromebook procedures, and our new focused browsing tool called Securly Classroom.

ENGLISH LINK

SPANISH LINK

We are committed to partnering with you in supporting your child as a strong learner. This school year, Sun Prairie West high school is offering a program to students who have experienced stressful events or who are experiencing other stressors in their lives. People who have experienced a trauma or those experiencing significant stress may develop symptoms. This can show up as not wanting to go to school or as difficulties with class work and concentration.

In partnership with Journey Mental Health Center and the United Way, we are offering a program for all 9th graders called REST (Resilient response to the Effects of Stress and Trauma).

The staff at Sun Prairie West High School will be screening all 9th graders on Monday October 9, 2023.

Students whose questionnaire score indicates symptoms of depression or traumatic stress will have a face-to-face conversation with a school staff or REST Team member. These conversations are meant to provide support and to determine what resources would be useful for the student.

This form only covers the screening and follow-up conversation. If you DO NOT want your child to participate in the REST screening, please complete the form below and return to Susi Sirianni, Sun Prairie West school social worker by Friday October 6, 2023 or just reach out to Susi Sirianni and express that you would like your student to NOT participate. If you have questions or would like more information about the REST screening, please call Susi Sirianni at 608-478-1700 ext 5335 or email sesiria@sunprairieschools.org.

• September 20th- Guest forms due for Homecoming
• September 25th-29th- Homecoming Tickets on Sale
• October 4th- Homecoming Parade- Main Street
• October 6th- Homecoming Game- Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium
• October 7th- Homecoming Dance- West Gym

he cast and crew of the Game of Tiaras held their first rehearsal this week! The show runs November 9-12th. You won’t want to miss it!

Our tennis players supported Ironman athletes from around the world in the Madison Ironman competition last weekend. Way to represent Wolves!

As we start the 23-24 if you are looking for Wolf Wear, please consider supporting the Pack Shack (our school store) and purchasing items for this online store.

Did you know that last year Sun Prairie Schools were the FIRST schools in the area to start an adapted sports league? Our students competed in soccer, floor hockey and whiffle ball. As the teams enter year 2 please consider supporting this fantastic program by purchasing ASL (Adapted Sports League) apparel: https://spadaptive2023.itemorder.com/

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/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.

As we prepare to start the year we are in need of awesome subs to help take care of our students when staff are out. Are you looking for a new opportunity? Do you know someone looking? Can you help spread the word? Please help us get the word out so that we can ensure that our students have the very best people supporting them even on days staff (teachers or support staff) need to be out. Having an ample supply of fantastic subs is also a great way to support our staff by allowing them peace of mind when they are out. More information!

• Our wages for substitutes are in the top 5% in Dane County.
• Control your own schedule.
• We financially support you with Department of Public Instruction training (8 hours) for a 3-year substitute teaching license.
• We will provide you with technology training so you have the skills you need to succeed in supporting students and staff.
• Earn a $100 bonus for working 5 days in a month. (More info about the incentive program below)
• Earn an extra bonus for working in targeted schools and positions.
• Lunch provided through our award-winning school nutrition program.
• Full or part time positions are available!

As we enter year 2 we are focused on LEARNING! This year in addition to focusing on disrupting inequities and building a culture of care, we are focusing on rigorous and coherent teaching. Our focus on rigorous and coherent teaching includes:

• Common slides at the beginning and end of every class for consistent expectations
• Schoolwide implementation of planners to explicitly teach organizational skills
• Intentional planning and use of the 86 minute block lesson including: beginning of lesson, 3 "engagements" including movement breaking the learning into smaller pieces and allowing predictability for students and a closing activity. The number one feedback we got from students last year was that 86 minutes is a long time to be in a classroom if there is not predictability, movement and variety in the teaching and learning, that's now the expectation consistently across classrooms.
• Our grading practices from last year continue with 90% of a student's grade coming from "summative" activities- tests, quizzes, projects, etc. This is "the game" in which students show what they know and are able to do at the end of the learning. 10% of a student's grade comes from "formative" activities- homework, in class practice, practice quizzes, etc. This is "the practice" in which students are still learning and growing.
• As our teacher teams have worked to identify the essential standards of what students need to know and be able to do by the end o the course new this year students will need to complete ALL summatives in a course to be eligible to pass. This ensures that the teacher has had an opportunity to assess the student on the essential skills and knowledge that they need to be prepared for the next step after that course. Last year this was true in some courses and now it is a common expectation across all courses at East and West. Teachers will be contact with parent/caregiver and student if a student is missing a summative and provide opportunities for the student to recover that opportunity.
• Additional Opportunities. We know that everyone learns at their own rate and in their own way. Students that do not experience success the first time on a summative will be given a minimum of 1 additional opportunity to show their knowledge/skills. Teachers will communicate with the students what learning needs to take place between the first attempt and second attempt to help the student learn and grow before the assessment is taken for a second time.

As we start year 2, united as One West, we need to talk about: vandalism and lunch rooms. Last year we had a problem with vandalism at West that cannot continue into year 2. It takes ALL of us to ensure that we are taking care of our beautiful building. Even if you never participated in any vandalism (which is 98% of the student body), together as a PACK we need to be united that this is not who we are as Wolves. If you see something, say something. Positive peer influences can stop the act before it starts. Additionally, if you see something damages report it to an adult right away. This will allow us to pinpoint the time to narrow our search to identify the responsible parties.

Additionally, last year we had a problem with students not cleaning up after themselves after lunch. Both inside in our dining spaces and in the courtyard. We have an incredible, beautiful building and 2 custodians for the entire building during the day. We will miss Alex as he moved to Oshkosh and welcome Dino to day shift. Jose and Dino are fantastic humans and they simply cannot cleanup after 1500 other people during the day. They are here to help make the system function by providing us with toilet paper, towels, etc. It is your responsibility to clean up after yourself. If you see something on the ground, even if it's not yours, pick it up. Clean up carefully after yourself during lunch.

Together we can and will take care of this amazing facility and live out PACK on a daily basis.

As we prepare for our first home Wolf football game of the year this Friday night, please review the updated event guidelines for the 2023/2024 school year. We are beyond excited to take the field, stage, pool, court, pitch, course and so much more as Wolves for the first time. Together we can make these fantastic, safe and enjoyable events for all.

During the month of August we will be sending the Howl out weekly with more information as we gear up for the start of the school year! What questions do you have that we could answer in a future addition of the Howl? We are co-creating a brand new school and we want to hear your voice! Please fill out this quick survey with questions, topics for future newsletters and highlights/future events.