Welcome to June and Happy Pride!

This is the second-to-last edition of The Howl for the school year—our final issue will go out next week on June 8th, marking the end of the 2024–2025 academic year.

As we wrap up Year 3 as a One West community, there's so much to celebrate!

This week’s Howl includes:

• Pride Month celebration

• A request for parent/caregiver feedback as we reflect on cell phone use in the learning environment and begin planning for the 2025-26 school year

• Welcoming our new Associate Principal, John Barth

• Photos of lost-and-found items waiting to be reunited with their owners

• Reminders about student devices and elevator fobs

• Important updates specifically for current sophomores and seniors

Don't forget to check out our Shout Outs and Celebrations, where we highlight:

• Engaging classroom learning

• Athletic achievements

• Staff accomplishments

• End-of-year festivities
  ...and so much more!

June 4th-

• An evening of scenes- West Small Theater 6:30pm Join East and West Intro to Dramatic Arts and Advanced Drama in their final summative project! Wednesday, June 4, in the Small Theatre - Admission is free

June 5th-

• Choir Concert, 7pm, SP West PAC
• Last day for the Activity Bus

June 6th-

• May-ttendance Celebration- Food trucks during lunch
• Senior Theater Showcase- SP East PAC- 7:00pm - East and West Theatre students will be performing for the last time in our theatre. Join us as we celebrate all of their hard work and talents! Friday, June 6, 2025 - Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5.00 donation to help support the theatre departments

June 9th- Parent/caregiver feedback session on cell phones during instruction- East LMC- 7:30am

June 10th- Senior Walks in the morning

June 11th-

• Summer Celebration- 2:30-3:45 for all students- please see the article in "In Case You Missed It" for information regarding donations
• All library books due back to the library
• Seniors need to have chromebooks, chargers and library books turned in: End of Year Device Info for seniors
• Parent/caregiver feedback session on cell phones during instruction- West Commons- 6:00pm

June 12th- PPA Graduation

June 12th- Last day of school- 12:15pm release

June 13th- Graduation!

June 28th- Sun Prairie Pride Fest at SP West 12-4pm

Our SPASD school board and district continue to stand by and uplift our Board Equity Statement in which we stand by all parts of our beautifully diverse community. Throughout June, we celebrate, recognize, and uplift the members of our LGBTQIA+ community — including students, staff, and parents/caregivers.

We are proud to host the Sun Prairie Pride Festival at SP West for the second consecutive year on June 28th.

Please take a moment to watch the video below of last week’s celebration at our state Capitol in Madison, where the Progress Pride Flag was raised. (The ceremony begins around the 5-minute mark.)

Take a few minutes to watch this video on why Pride matters...

Both Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West are interested in making adjustments to how cell phones are utilized in school and during class time. To do this work well we would like to hear from you! Principal Ertel (East) and Principal JP (West) will be holding two parent/caregiver listening sessions. Session one will be Monday, June 9th at 7:30 AM in the Sun Prairie East LMC. Session two will be Wednesday, June 11th at 6:00 PM in the Sun Prairie West commons. All are welcome at either event, they will both be joint sessions of both East and West admin and parents/caregivers. We are looking forward to hearing parent/caregiver perspectives on this important topic!

We are thrilled to welcome John Barth to the SP West High School Principal Team as an Associate Principal, pending approval by the Board of Education on June 9th, 2025.

Mr. John Barth joins us in the role of Associate Principal at Sun Prairie West after teaching high school Social Studies in Sun Prairie for 13 years. In addition to his teaching experience, John has held positions as Summer School Principal, Department Chair, and Senior Class Advisor. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies Education from UW-Eau Claire and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Cardinal Stritch University.

John and his wife (also a Sun Prairie educator) live in Sun Prairie with their three children. Outside of school, you are likely to see John with his family at Piranhas swim meets, Sun Prairie soccer games, in the drive-thru at Culver’s (crazy for cookie dough is his favorite flavor of the day), or spending time outdoors.

John is honored and excited to begin his work serving the students, families, staff, and the community of Sun Prairie West when he enters his role on July 1. We sincerely thank the interview teams for volunteering their time to help with this incredibly important decision and invite you to help us warmly welcome Mr. Barth to his new role!

Missing something? This is your Last Chance to get it back! Everything unclaimed will be donated after the last day of school. So...many...water bottles... 🙃

This letter is to provide information about your chromebook as we approach the end of the year. Students in grades 9, 10 and 11 will keep their school-issued device over the summer unless they are leaving the district, in which case the device should be returned by June 9th, 2025. Students can still access school applications and use their device over the summer. Filtering software will still be active throughout the summer. Students are expected to care for their device over the summer just as they would during the school year.

Seniors must return their devices on or before our last day of school on June 12th, 2025.

Device Collection for Seniors will begin on June 9, 2025 in the LMC. Students will be called to the library by the first initial of their last name. If you no longer need your device, feel free to turn it in earlier. Devices and chargers and any Kajeet Hotspots or Smartspots will be collected. If you have lost your charger, there will be a fee of $15 added to your Infinite Campus account. Lost or damaged device fees will also be added to your account in Infinite Campus. This fee will vary based on the age of the device and type of damage.

Google Takeout Instructions (transferring student account data to a personal account) will be posted in the senior class Google Classroom and are linked below. Senior student accounts will be deactivated on July 1, 2025, and should begin transferring their data as soon as possible to avoid loss of files. Since your personal Google account is not considered the “owner” of your school account’s data, you may lose access to those files once your student account is deactivated, unless you go in from your personal account and “MAKE A COPY”.

Fines for overdue library materials, missing Chromebooks and chargers will be assessed on June 12th or earlier. Any materials needing to be returned after this date should be brought to the District Service Center at 501 S. Bird St.

Link Here for One Pager Instructions for Google Takeout

Congratulations Seniors! Best Wishes!

Ms. Walters & Mr. Coe

If you are in possession of an Elevator FOB, please turn it in to Nurse Stacy by the last day of school!

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!

PSAT GOOGLE FORM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHftwpLHIVTf6CuqwOYTFQ1Yv9wBkWgMNbdvMqdzLxcoCD8g/viewform?usp=dialog

Earlier this year, Ms. Rebecca Griffin (College, Career & Life Readiness Coordinator) & Mr. Jay Swanson (Math Teacher and Boys’ Basketball Head Coach) were nominated & selected to participate in the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s (ANG) Educator Experience to learn more about the ANG, their local and global missions and take part in an in air refueling mission on board a KC-135 aircraft, as the experienced aircrews and pilots refuel F-35’s, the new 5th generation fighter based out of Madison, WI, and F-16’s based out of Duluth, MN. They were able to experience the flight during the last week in May.

A week ago we celebrated our students that are graduating through the Early College STEM Academy at Madison College. Our very own Rishab was one of the student speakers and made us all proud.

Below are a few pictures from this year’s AVID Senior Celebration! Thank you all for your continued support of the AVID program. Here’s a condensed list of the Class of 2025’s post-secondary plans:

• Enter the workforce

• Attend a trade school, such as the Aveda Institute

• Head off to college at places such as:

• The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Green Bay, Stevens Point, Madison, Oshkosh, and Whitewater,

• Madison College,

• Mount Mary University in Milwaukee,

• Wittenberg University and Central State University in Ohio,

• Fisk University and Lane College in Tennessee,

• Loyola University Chicago, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Concordia University Chicago,

• Illinois State University,

• College of Dupage (also in Illinois),

• Minnesota State-Mankato, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Bethany Lutheran College also in Minnesota

• Northern State University in South Dakota

• Alabama A&M.

For their last summative of the year, students in Ms. Herrera’s class pick a topic of their choice, conduct research, and create one pagers showcasing what they learned to their classmates.

Congratulations to our 2025 Sun Prairie West, Big 8 All Conference Selections!

Senior #13 Reagan Hunley- Honorable Mention Outfield

Senior #7 Audrey Davis- Honorable Mention Infield

Senior #18 Luciana Moreno- 1st Team Infield

This just in: Graduating high school senior, Luci Moreno, will be following in the footsteps of her older brother, Liam Moreno, who has played for the Madison Mallards for five seasons. Luci is the FIRST-EVER graduating high school senior to play for the Night Mares. It’s giving brother-sister duo

When learning about the Women's Civil Rights Movement in Ms. Peters’ class, students were given quotes to read, reflect on and discuss in a forum-style activity. Pictured are the comments students made about some of the quotes they read.

The Wolves were fierce, when it mattered most! To state we go!

Students in Mr. Ladell’s class are using their imaginations to create something that represents their learning from the year. This student 3D printed a rat that represents the Operant Conditioning experiments done by B.F. Skinner with rats in a cage. A big thank you to Ms. Walters for helping with the 3D printing!

The Sun Prairie Ultimate Frisbee club team had an outstanding performance at the state tournament this weekend, breaking seed and finishing in 4th place. The team and coaches are incredibly proud of the players’ effort, growth, and determination throughout the season. A special thank you goes out to all the SPUF families for their continued support and encouragement.

Students in Mr. Ladell’s class designed their own city and included the population, interesting laws, what their city is famous for, and reasons for arranging the city in a particular way.

The Pre-Calculus classes used Slinky’s to create a sinusoidal (sine or cosine) function to represent the height of the Slinky at a certain time, taking in to consideration the dampening that will happen as the Slinky loses energy and varies less between maximum and minimum heights.

We need YOUR input too! Do you have an idea of something that should be included in the Howl? Your ideas are always welcome. Email our Admin Associate to the Principal, Jordain Blank at jnblank@sunprairieschools.org.

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.

We strive to keep The Howl as streamlined as possible with all of the important information for our community. To the end once something has appeared in The Howl, it will move here to the "In Case you Missed It!" section. Take a moment to peruse and make sure you have not missed important info!

Do you have a SP HS cap/gown sitting around? The high schools are seeking caps and gowns in good shape, for students in need! Graduation caps and gowns in good shape for SPE (Red) or SPW (Blue) can be dropped off that school's front office. Thank you for helping our kids celebrate this monumental moment!

If you are interested in contributing to the purchase of Caps, Gowns, and Tassel’s for students in need please reach out to Principal Ploeger, AP Ford, or AP Barrett!

Dear Sun Prairie High School Senior Parents and Caregivers,

This letter is to provide information about your student’s chromebook as we approach the end of the year. Students in grades 9, 10 and 11 will keep their school-issued device over the summer unless they are leaving the district, in which case the device should be returned by June 9th, 2025. Students can still access school applications and use their device over the summer. Filtering software will still be active throughout the summer. Students are expected to care for their device over the summer just as they would during the school year.

Seniors must return their devices on or before our last day of school on June 12th, 2025.

Device Collection for Seniors will begin on June 9, 2025 in the LMC. Students will be called to the library by the first initial of their last name. If you no longer need your device, feel free to turn it in earlier. Devices and chargers and any Kajeet Hotspots or Smartspots will be collected. If you have lost your charger, there will be a fee of $15 added to your Infinite Campus account. Lost or damaged device fees will also be added to your account in Infinite Campus. This fee will vary based on the age of the device and type of damage.

Google Takeout Instructions (transferring student account data to a personal account) will be posted in the senior class Google Classroom and are linked below. Seniors will lose access to their district accounts on July 1, 2025, and should begin transferring their data as soon as possible to avoid loss of files. Since your personal Google account is not considered the “owner” of your school account’s data, you may lose access to those files once your student account is deactivated, unless you go in from your personal account and “MAKE A COPY”.

Fines for overdue library materials, missing Chromebooks and chargers will be assessed on June 12th or earlier. Any materials needing to be returned after this date should be brought to the District Service Center at 501 S. Bird St.

Link Here for One Pager Instructions for Google Takeout

Have a wonderful summer!

-The Library Team

Dear Sun Prairie Parents, Caregivers and Students,

We want to alert you to a troubling trend circulating on TikTok that encourages students to intentionally short-circuit or damage their school-issued Chromebooks. This behavior poses significant safety hazards, not only to the students involved, but also to those around them as these actions have the potential to cause a school-issued device to start on fire. Such actions undermine and disrupt our learning environments. We take this matter very seriously and are committed to ensuring our schools remain safe and focused on learning.

Students found intentionally damaging their Chromebook - whether to follow this trend or for any other reason - will be held fully accountable. This includes being charged the full replacement cost of the device, which will exceed two-hundred dollars. Any additional damage to other school property from these actions will also result in fines. Beyond the financial consequences, such actions may also result in disciplinary measures according to district policy.

Our technology is a tax-payer provided resource that is a vital part of students’ learning, and its intentional destruction not only violates district expectations but also impacts the broader school community. We ask all caregivers to please speak with their children about the dangers and consequences of participating in harmful social media challenges. As always, we appreciate your partnership in helping us maintain a positive, safe, and respectful learning environment. Resources for parents and caregivers to reference for discussing social media and digital citizenship with their children can be found at https://www.commonsensemedia.org/.

If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to contact your school principal directly. Thank you for your continued support in putting students’ learning and safety first.

Regards,
Curt Mould
Director of Digital Media, Innovation and Strategy

When: Wednesday, June 11th in the afternoon

What: Outdoor Activities w/ Students & Staff, Cookout, & Food Trucks!!!

Time: 2:24pm - 3:45pm – bell schedule

Where: Athletic Fields & Outdoor Spaces

Purpose: To come together as a West Community before we leave for the summer, and to strengthen relationships and celebrate the year.

Donations: We are gearing up for our annual End of the Year Celebration! Details are being planned as we speak. This annual tradition is a wonderful way to celebrate teachers and students on a job well done throughout the year, and to kick off summer.

Please consider donating items in the form of food and/or cash donations. We will be accepting:

• Hotdog/brat buns - bring in perishable items the week of June 9th

• Condiments: ketchup, mustard, pickles etc.

• Assorted chips and/or snacks

• Bottled waters

• Water flavorings: crystal light packets, gatorade packets etc.

• Plastic silverware: forks, spoons, knives

• Plates

• Napkins

*Please bring all items, and cash donations to the SP West Front Office anytime from 7:00 am - 3:45 pm. Starting now until June 10th. Your contributions are vital to keeping our programs running, and celebrating our students! We greatly appreciate all your help and support!

Support our SP West GSA Club by purchasing some apparel to wear during Pride Month (or every month!). Store is open until May 11th, and orders will be ready for delivery around May 23rd. For each item purchased $2 will be donated to Sun Prairie Pride fest. Thank you for your support!

Yearbook distribution is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th through Thursday, May 22nd. Students who preordered a book can pick theirs up before school (8:05–8:35 AM), during their scheduled lunch, or after school (3:45–4:00 PM). Just bring your Student ID Number to pick up! Early graduates, STEM, and apprenticeship students are more than welcome to stop by during these times as well. If you're unable to pick up during distribution, books will be available in the Main Office the following week.

Still need a yearbook? We have fewer than 40 copies left! Order yours now while supplies last: Yearbook Purchase Link

If you have any questions, please reach out to Natalie Fowler at nefowle@sunprairieschools.org

Attention Incoming Seniors! It’s time to start thinking about your senior portraits! Many of you will be scheduling sessions over the summer, so please keep in mind that all senior portraits must be submitted by Friday, October 31st. An upload link will be shared at the beginning of the school year to make submitting your photo easy and convenient. Be sure to plan ahead and capture a portrait that reflects you!

Cap and Gown Delivery

Midwest Scholastic delivered caps, gowns, cords, and other supplies to Sun Prairie West last week.

• Unpaid orders were NOT left at school. These will be delivered after payment and will incur special handling costs.

• Paid orders were left at school and can be picked up in the front office.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please email Midwest Scholastic at payments@mwscholastic.com.

Any questions regarding the graduation ceremony? Please see the FAQ sheet on the Sun Prairie West Graduation website.

Cords and Stoles

Graduates who earned honor cords also received them with their caps and gowns. These are based on student’s GPAs after the first seven semesters. Below you will find a table explaining the colors:

Some students will also wear stoles at the ceremony. Graduation stoles are fabrics that drape on the shoulders and can represent many different things. Sometimes stoles are referred to as sashes--these are the same product.

Stoles that are acceptable to wear at graduation include:

• Perfect 4.0 Achievement

• National Honors Society

• Approved Sun Prairie Educational Programs (AVID, STEM Academy, Madison College programs)

• Representations of cultural identity (BSU, kente stoles, serape stoles, paj ntaub, etc.)

Stoles that are not acceptable to wear at graduation include:

• Images/messages that are not school appropriate

• Stoles that do not follow the approved guidelines.

• Other celebrations can be shown on cap decorations.

Sun Prairie West High School will be giving every graduate a yard sign at the Senior Awards Night in May. If students cannot attend this event, they can pick one up in the front office at a later time. This yard sign is FREE and is NOT the same yard sign sold by Midwest Scholastic seen in their email last week.

We are teaming up with the @Wisconsin Department of Transportation to encourage students, staff, and families to take the Buckle Up Phone Down pledge! Over 9,000 crashes a year in Wisconsin involve distracted driving, and cell phones are one of the biggest distractions.

The challenge is on! Pledge to always wear your seat belt and put your phone down while driving at: wisconsindot.gov/bupd/spsd. Choose your high school so we can see which school gets the highest percentage of pledges!

We all have a role in keeping our roads and communities safe!

#BUPD #BuckleUpPhoneDown

This spring there have been measles cases in several states. Measles is a very contagious virus. It spreads easily and quickly when people cough and sneeze. If you haven’t had the measles vaccine, just being in a room with someone who has measles can make you sick.

Measles can be a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. It can be prevented by the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.

• The vaccine is safe and effective. The best protection against measles is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

• Most people are vaccinated as young children because two doses are required to go to school. One dose is usually given at 12-15 months of age, and a second dose is given before the start of kindergarten at 4-6 years of age.

• Most people who get measles are unvaccinated. When the measles finds a group of unvaccinated people, it can spread very quickly.

Check your immunization records

You can check your child’s immunization record on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or with your healthcare provider.

If our school records do not show that your child has received two doses of the MMR vaccine you will receive additional communication from the school.

Get Vaccinated

• If you have health insurance: reach out to your healthcare provider to make an appointment.

• If you don’t have health insurance or if your child is on BadgerCare: You can make an appointment with Public Health Madison Dane County by calling (608) 266-4821.

Watch for Measles Symptoms

Measles symptoms begin with a fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes, followed by a rash that usually spreads from the head to the rest of the body. If you or your child has these symptoms, call your healthcare provider. Do not go to a clinic, urgent care, or emergency room without calling first.

For more information on measles, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/measles/

Senior Celebration is on Wednesday, May 14th from 6:00pm-8:00pm. ALL Seniors and their Parents/Caregivers are welcome! Students who are being recognized at the event will receive an individualized invitation via email closer to the date. We will be celebrating the Class of 2025 through: Academic Awards, Local Scholarship Announcements, Department Awards with refreshments provided by our ProStart students. Excited to see you there!

Midwest Scholastic will be delivering caps, gowns, cords, and other supplies to Sun Prairie West on Thursday, April 17th during lunches (12:11-1:30pm) in the PAC Lobby. This is the only time Midwest will be at our school.

• Unpaid orders will NOT be left at school. This will be delivered after payment and will incur special handling costs. If you would like to pay prior to delivery day, you may do so with a credit card by visiting mwscholastic.com and click on ‘Pay Invoice’ at the top of the page.

• Paid orders will be left at school and can be picked up in the front office.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please email Midwest Scholastic at payments@mwscholastic.com.

Any questions regarding the graduation ceremony? Please see the FAQ sheet on the Sun Prairie West Graduation website.