Cardinal Call

The first week of school is in the books! Thank you to all the students that attended our class meetings last week. It was wonderful to see the students eager and ready to learn. This week's Cardinal Call has a deeper dive into PreACT testing and important Homecoming dates. Also, the administration wanted to provide an update on the implementation of our Bell to Bell - No Cell Policy. Let's have a great week, Cardinals!

Sincerely,

Jim Ertel

Principal

As we get closer to our homecoming celebration, please keep a lookout for communication around guest forms and ticket sales. In the meantime, here are our celebration dates.

• September 22 - Homecoming Guest Forms are available in the main office
• October 2 at 3:45 pm - Guest Forms Due

• October 6 at 8 am - Homecoming Tickets go on sale via GoFan

• October 8 - Homecoming Parade, 6 PM on Main Street
• October 9 at midnight - Ticket Sales End
• October 10 - Homecoming Football Game, Kickoff 7 PM
• October 11 - Homecoming Dance, 7 PM - 10 PM

Students! We need your votes on the homecoming theme for 2025! Please see the link/QR code below.

Also, a big thank you to our staff and families for helping to make this a smooth implementation. Go Cards!

Officer Davis is our School Resource Officer at Sun Prairie East. Should you need any assistance with any police related matters, feel free to reach out to him. Thank you!

Email: jdavis@cityofsunprairie.com

Phone: 608-834-6731

• Voicemail Box X5606

Loaner Chromebook Procedure Update and Reminders:

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.

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)

Linked below is this month's French newsletter.

Please join us for Hmong Family Welcome Back Night on September 10th from 5 PM to 7 PM at Sun Prairie East.

Stop by Meadow View Elementary on October 2nd for Hispanic and Latino Family Night!

Parking Enforcement

• PARKING ENFORCMENT WITH BEGIN THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15th.
• Students will need a parking pass to avoid getting a parking citation.

Student Bike Parking Locations

• By door 22 on the west side of front entrance

Drivers Drop-off and Pick-up Location

• Drivers - always yield to walkers and bike riders.

• Drivers should enter via the front entrance of the school from Grove St or the rear entrance from Marshview Dr.

• Please drop off students at door 1 or door 6 prior to the start of the day. After 8:35 AM please use door 1 for drop off. After school, please use door 1 or door 6 for pick up.

Parking Areas

• Drivers - always yield to walkers and bike riders.

• Drivers who are visitors who need to park their vehicle and come into the school should park in the angled parking stalls at the front entrance of the school or in the visitor overflow lot outside of door 6.

• Once your vehicle is parked, please enter through the main entrance, door 1.

• Student Drivers who need to park and come into the school should park in the student parking lot

• Once your vehicle is parked, please enter through the main entrance, door 1.

Bus Drop-off and Pick-up Areas

• Buses will drop off and pick up students at door 16 or door 10 depending on the bus route

• Taxis will drop off and pick up students at the main entrance, door 1

• Specialized transportation will drop off students at door 6 and pick up students at door 8

Before School Gathering Locations

• When students arrive, they should proceed to commons

• Students should enter the school through the main entrance, door 1

After School Dismissing Locations

• Students should exit the school using any exit

MAPS here and with the following info:

• Bus transportation drop off and pick up areas are marked in YELLOW color.

• Areas for drivers to drop off and pick up students are marked in RED color.

• Main parking entry areas are marked in GREEN color.

• Staff parking areas are marked in ORANGE color.

• Visitor/student parking areas are marked in PURPLE color.

• Handicap parking areas are marked in BLUE color.

Sun Prairie Area School District schools are closed campuses, which means students may not leave school property during the school day for lunch and must adhere to the excused absence procedures previously outlined.

Students may leave school only with permission from a parent/caregiver and only for excused activities. Parents/caregivers should not excuse their students from school to leave campus to have lunch offsite. Caregivers are welcome to drop off food for their students in the main office, but please do not utilize delivery services such as Door Dash.

Information on our closed campus can be found on pages 23-24 of the student handbook.

• Students will test during the regular school start time.
  

• Dismissal will be at 12:30 pm for all 9th–11th graders. STEM Academy students and students with individualized testing schedules will receive additional communication from assessment coordinators.
  

• Students should bring a fully charged device, along with a water bottle and snack (to be eaten during the scheduled break). All other testing materials will be provided.
  

• Testing room assignments will be posted in school common areas.

In the Fall, the PreACT is for practice and feedback and is not used for college admissions or state reporting. In addition to providing data to our educators to inform future instruction, it also provides valuable information to support student growth. The assessment helps students:

• ⭐ Identify academic strengths
  
  

• 🔍 Spot areas to improve
  
  

• 📝 Gain experience with ACT-style questions
  
  

• 📊 Plan for college and career readiness
  
  

Results will be available about three weeks after testing and will be shared with both students and parents/caregivers.

👉 Learn more about the PreACT here

👉 The PreACT mirrors the ACT, so any prep materials can double as preparation for both assessments: Test Prep & Kaplan Test Prep.

👉All students also have access to free ACT & SAT prep through a program called Methodize that students can find under the Resources tab on Xello (an academic & career planning application on school issued devices).

• Reading – 30 minutes | 25 multiple-choice questions
  

• English – 30 minutes | 45 multiple-choice questions
  

• Math – 40 minutes | 36 multiple-choice questions

• Science – 30 minutes | 30 multiple-choice questions

Seniors (12th graders) will not attend school on September 23. This schedule allows us to provide a focused testing environment for underclassmen. Classes for seniors will resume on Wednesday, September 24.

Early Graduation: Students interested in applying for early graduation should schedule a meeting with their counselor to review eligibility and other important considerations. The completed application form must be submitted to Student Services no later than 4:00 pm on Monday, September 15th.

Attention Juniors & Seniors!

Thinking about life after high school? Whether college, technical school, military, or other options, the Wisconsin Education Fair (WEF) is a great place to start!

Event Details:
📅 Thursday, October 2nd, 2025
📍 Sun Prairie West High School
👥 Juniors & Seniors ONLY

What’s WEF?
Meet reps from 4-year colleges, 2-year/technical schools, military branches, and career programs. Get info on admissions, financial aid, housing, and more—all in one spot!

How to Attend:

• Pick up a permission form in Student Services, return to Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Thao
  

• OR complete the Google Form: WEF LINK
  Deadline: Monday, Sept. 29th, 3:45 PM (No late forms accepted)
  
  

Important:

• This is an authorized school trip with school transportation and supervision.

• Students may NOT drive themselves.

• Bus Departure: 9:45 AM (students must have permission slip on file in student services and will be released from class at 9:30AM)

• Bus Return: 11:30 AM

• As this is an optional trip, students will be expected to make up any work that was missed during their absence from class.
  
  

Don’t miss this chance to explore your future! Questions? Visit Student Services or your School Counselor.

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 15th, please complete the attached Google form by Monday September 8th, 2025.

For more details or questions, feel free to reach out to Ms. Thao at pthao@sunprairieschools.org.

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

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEwMS5S9y9xPxVv8moKi-bCHjgk3oZAKk3mORPxyMJN8GEaA/viewform?usp=dialog

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. We will be holding an informational day for students, parents, and teachers on Wednesday, September 17th, to see presentations on the service academy admissions process. You will have

the opportunity to speak to representatives from each of the five academies and staff from our district office. 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.

Fall sports are in full swing! Please look through the information below for important updates from the athletics and activities office.

Thank you!

Jenna Boberg, CAA

Athletics & Activities Director

We are excited to have our fall sports in full swing. We have already started to host home events. 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 East 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. Also, please download GoFan to purchase digital tickets to our events.

Sun Prairie East and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) require good sportsmanship at education-based sporting events. Attendance at interscholastic activities is a privilege with the expectation to exhibit positive and respectful behavior. For the enjoyment and respect of all, your cooperation in demonstrating high ideals of sportsmanship is expected and greatly appreciated. A recent WIAA Constitutional amendment will require an ejected spectator to complete the free, online NFHS Sportsmanship course available at http://NFHSLearn.com and submit verification to school officials before attending any future home athletic events. This is in addition to the current, required one-game suspension.

• September 18th - Free Sports Physicals by appointment only at the District Wellness Clinic (for those who qualify, Caregiver must call to schedule) 608-834-6977
• September 22nd - Homecoming Guest Forms Are Available
• September 25th - Club Expo during lunches
• October 1st - Winter Sports Registration opens
• October 2nd at 3:45pm - Homecoming Guest Forms Due

• October 6th at 8am - Homecoming Tickets Go On Sale

• October 8th - Homecoming Parade
• October 9th at midnight - Ticket Sales End
• October 10th - Homecoming Football Game
• October 11th - Homecoming Dance

Come show your school spirit and support our athletes in the East vs West competitions!

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:

• Sept 30, 2025: NIL 101 & Personal Branding Fundamentals

• 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

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.

Please see the linked information for upcoming contests.