Westfield Area HS/MS December News
Go Pioneers!
The month of December is always a fun and festive time at Westfield Area HS/MS. Staff and students are working hard, preparing for concerts, fun activities, and upcoming exams. December always bring a feeling of excitement to the school as we all look forward to Christmas and Christmas vacation! In this newsletter, the following topics are discussed:
- Band and Choir Christmas Concerts
- Bowls for Hunger
- ACT Prep: Coming Soon!
- National Honor Society Induction
- Secret Santa
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
Mr. Moody: Principal
Mr. Saloun: Vice Principal
Our talented high school and middle school musicians and their teachers have been working hard to prepare for their upcoming concerts. Members of the public are warmly invited to watch our students' concerts that take place on December 16th and 17th.
The Westfield Area Middle School Band and Choir Concert takes place on Monday, December 16th, starting at 6:00 PM. The Band will perform at 6:00 PM in the Gym. At the conclusion of the Band's performance, there is a short break followed by the Choir concert in the Auditorium.
The Westfield Area High School Band and Choir Concert takes place on Tuesday, December 17th, starting at 6:00 PM. At the high school level, the Band performs first starting at 6:00 PM in the Varsity Gym. After the Band's performance, there is a short break followed by the Choir concert in the Auditorium.
We hope you are able to attend to see our incredibly hardworking and talented students perform!
Concert Times
- Monday, December 16: MS Band Concert - 6:00 PM: Gym
- Monday, December 16: MS Choir Concert - 7:00 PM: Auditorium
- Tuesday, December 17th: HS Band Concert - 6:00 PM: Auditorium
- Tuesday, December 17th: HS Choir Concert - Approximately 6:50 PM: Auditorium
The prep sessions consist of video lessons taught by John Baylor, followed by quizzes and activities that correlate with the video lesson. The lessons cover English, Math, Science, Reading, and Writing. By the end of the ten-week course, students have covered all topics they will encounter on the exam and take the equivalent of three full ACT practice examinations.
In January, we adjust the daily schedule by starting school one minute early, extending the school day by four minutes, and shortening each class period by one minute in order to create a 45-minute Flex Period at the end of the day for the students to get to their test prep rooms and engage in their prep lessons. The school day will start at 8:03 AM and the day will end at 3:36 PM. Juniors are unavailable for any kind of Flex Offerings (besides ACT Prep) from January through March 25th. Our implementation model has been highly successful and we have received national recognition for how we prepare our students for this exam. Out of the 600+ high schools in the nation that use On to College with John Baylor, Westfield High School is ranked #1 in terms of student growth.
We devote a great deal of time & energy to our ACT Prep program because all juniors are required by the State of Wisconsin to take this exam. The ACT score is the standard by which we are judged, so we take every necessary step possible to make sure our students are fully prepared for success. On to College with John Baylor is a highly successful test prep program, and we are proud of how well our students perform on the exam. Last year, Westfield students improved their ACT score by an average of 2.6 points as compared to their predicted scores! This increase is extremely significant and is the reason why Westfield High School consistently has the highest ACT scores in the South Central Conference.
One very encouraging piece of information is how well our students did on the ACT last two years compared to other schools in our conference and across the nation. Nation-wide, schools reported significant score decreases. Westfield students actually improved their scores compared to pre-Covid. Our school report card score reflects the outstanding performance on this exam.
This year's NHS officers include:
- President: Owen Hendee
- Vice-President: Robbie Moody
- Secretary: Natalie Grant
- Treasurer: Carter Bolton
Other second year members include:
- Kylie Barton
- Madyson Bitsky
- Chloe Kerschner
- Hunter Peschel
- Alyssa Rich
- Haddie Showen
New inductees include:
- Matthew Alcorta
- Abigail Anderson
- Haile Barrera
- Sergio Berruecos-Morales
- Ella Carroll
- Micah Coenen
- Halle Drew
- Landan Escoto
- Paige Goodwin
- Lauren Holly
- Ari Klitzke
- Saydee Kohnke
- Boyan Krastev
- Eli Olson
- Holly Swan
- Mikayla Vanderwerff
- Gavin Vossekuil
- Lydia Wentland
The Westfield High School Student Council is kicking off their annual "Secret Santa" activity with staff members. Every year, Student Council representatives play Secret Santa to a staff member of their choice. Throughout the week, Secret Santa delivers small gifts to the staff members and leave clues about their identity. On the morning before Christmas vacation, staff members and Student Council representatives meet in the LMC for the Secret Santa Reveal Party. Staff members give their Secret Santa small Christmas gifts and everyone enjoys donuts & hot chocolate prior to the start of the school day. This annual tradition helps our students and staff members to have a little fun and develop positive relationships.