SPHS Parent Newsletter October 2024

What a phenomenal start to the 2024-25 school year! Students have been awesome. Doing great work every day! Our staff is working hard to provide great learning! And the weather this fall has been nearly perfect!

And now after 24 days of school, we get to experience HOMECOMING WEEK! We are all looking forward to a great week of festivities and an awesome dance next Saturday!

Just a reminder to students and parents - we have had two years of no staff members homes being targeted for toilet papering or other vandalism. It is my expectation that will continue for a third year. If this expectation is not met, we will pursue consequences to the full extent of board policy and the law. So please encourage your student to meet this expectation so that their homecoming week isn't ruined.

Homecoming 2024 - Haunted Hoco

DATE: Saturday Oct 12th

TIME: 7-10:30

LOCATION: South Gym

TICKET SALES :- Start Oct 7th - Oct 11th during the lunch periods and GoFan

TICKET PRICE: $15.00

The SPHS Student Council is excited to share with you our dress-up days for Homecoming Week! Homecoming Week starts Monday, October 7th. We wanted to give you a heads up so you could be prepared with your best outfits.

• Monday, Oct. 7th is Adam Sandler Day.
• Tuesday, Oct. 8th is Groutfit Day.
• Wednesday, Oct 9th is Casino Night.
• Thursday, Oct. 10th is Country vs. Country Club.
• Friday, Oct. 11th is, as always, Spirit Day.
• The following Monday, Oct. 14th is PJ Day!

Follow us on Instagram at sphs.spirit for more outfit inspiration!

The Sauk Prairie High School National Honor Society will be collecting non-perishable food items and toilet paper during the homecoming parade on Friday, October 11th. The members of the NHS will be at the beginning of the parade collecting those donations, which later will be donated to the Sauk Prairie Food Pantry.

The parade begins at 2:00 PM and starts at the (Oak Street) SPHS bus parking lot, left on Maple, right on Hemlock, right on Sycamore, past Maplewood, right on Grand, right on 9th, and finishes at the bus parking lot.

Thank you so much for all of your support over the years. We now have members of the NHS who remember taking food to the homecoming parade. Everything donated will be greatly appreciated!

We will continue to have parent teacher conferences flexibly scheduled during the week of Oct. 14-18 this year. Teachers have been instructed to share their availability with you by Thursday Oct. 10th. This year, as a result of parent feedback last year, all teachers will be using the same method of scheduling for conferences, using Google Classroom Appointment booking. This should streamline the way you as parents book your conferences with teachers.

Conferences can be held in-person, via phone, via video conference, or in an email exchange based on what makes sense for parents, students and teacher needs. Ideally, the format would be mutually agreed upon.

If you have any problems scheduling a conference with a teacher or a teacher does not offer you an option for conferencing about your student, please email me so that I can help resolve any issues.

Lastly, we are in the 2nd year of our full school transition to Grading for Learning (Or Standards Based Grading). Last fall I wrote extensively about the reasons for this change. If you did not read that then or you want to revisit that document before conferences, here is a link to what I wrote a year ago about Grading for Learning.

When: Wednesday, October 30th - During Homeroom

Who: All students

What: The BASC-3 BESS is a brief, screening tool that identifies students who are at risk for social-emotional behavior (SEB) problems. We believe this survey is valuable because the BASC-3 can be used to identify students who may struggle with social, academic, and/or emotional concerns. This information will be used to help support students. Please reference the letter below for more information:

24-10-30 BASC 3 BESS Parent Consent - SPHS

24-10-30 BASC 3 BESS Parent Consent Spanish - SPHS

All students that have not had their picture taken for this school year will need to have their picture taken, including seniors, on Picture Makeup Day on October 15, 2024h as school photos are required for their school ID and for our student information system; no purchase is necessary however.

LifeTouch will be here ready to take photos starting at 7:15 am. Students can report to the Giese Green Room (right next to Leola Hall), to have their picture taken before school. Once school starts students will be called down via the school PA system from 8am - 9:15 am.

If you do wish to preorder pictures please use this website and enter in our school Picture Day ID number - EVTXV9RWZ

Save the date: High School Winter sports meetings with coaches

When: Monday, November 4, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

Where: In person at the Sauk Prairie High School- starting in the main gym.

Please Note:

• The purpose of this meeting is for parents/guardians and the athlete to learn from their coaches the season expectations and deadlines.

• Online registration will be active on your primary skyward family access account Oct 18, and stay open until 8 am Nov. 5th. After this time you will need to contact the athletic office to activate late online registration.

• A current WIAA physical is necessary. You may view your student WIAA physicals on file with us in Skyward at: (Health info/display options/show physical exams)

Winter sports are listed below along with the sport registration cost.

• Boys Basketball- $80

• Girls Basketball- $80

• Wrestling- $80

• Hockey- $550 (boys & girls)

• Boys Swim- $80

• Gymnastics- $80

• Winter Cheer- $80

An inability to afford the participation fee should not be an impediment to participating in activities.

If you cannot afford the fee, please contact the athletic office for scholarship details before practices begin. All previous athletic fees need to be paid before starting a new season

Thank you for your support!

Information for Seniors including credits, early graduation, planning and much more, can be found here: Senior Information

If you need to send a transcript to a college, please follow this link to the Parchment Website: Parchment - Order Transcripts

Class of 2025 Senior Portraits are due December 20th, 2024 in order to be used in the yearbook. Any students who do not have a senior picture submitted by the deadline will have their Sauk Prairie School ID picture used for their senior yearbook picture.

Submission Instructions

• To submit senior pictures, complete this form. Seniors will also receive this form within the first few weeks of school.
• Photos should be a high resolution digital image in the file format of JPG, TIFF, or PNG. Please do not send screenshots of senior pictures - they cannot be used.

If you have any questions regarding the yearbook, please direct them to ryan.gahm@saukprairieschools.org.

Order your 2024-25 yearbook here! Yearbooks start at $60 (plus processing fee) with additional options for personalization and add-on accessories. Delivery date TBA (summer of 2025).

Effective September 9, UW help is now Go Wisconsin Team. Follow this link for information regarding the Universities of Wisconsin.

They have also created a new tool called MyMajors. Complete a 15 minute self assessment and receive a list of suggested majors at UW Universities.

Direct Admit Wisconsin is an initiative by the Universities of Wisconsin to proactively offer admission to qualifying high school students in between their junior and senior years of high school. Sauk Prairie High School is participating in the Direct Admit Wisconsin program. Direct Admit Wisconsin does not require a traditional application for admission. If your student qualifies for Direct Admit Wisconsin, they will have a letter in their Skyward Student Access account under attachments. The letter will indicate which Universities are offering them admission. Students offered direct admission will need to complete the Direct Admit Form. Please follow the link below for instructions on how to complete this process:

DIRECT ADMIT WI FORM INSTRUCTIONS

More information can be found here: Direct Admit WI Website

Small Talks, Big Results: Let’s Talk Vapes & Alcohol Webinar

10/22/2024 6-7pm

Join P4P for a one hour live webinar on current brain science as it relates to youth growth and substance use, current substance use trends in Sauk County and tips on how having small talks with youth about substance use can lead to big impacts. Participants who attend live or watch a recording AND complete a brief survey will receive $20 Kwik Trip gas cards (while supplies last). This event is for parents/guardians of youth in grades 3- 12. Parent discretion advised: the presenters show examples of popular vape devices that may look appealing to youth under age 21. Register Now!

Can’t make the live event, register anyways to receive a recording of the event after 10/22.

Parent Focus Groups (For parents of High School Students Only)

Do you have a high school student living in your household? We want to hear from you! Join one of our focus groups to share with us what you think and feel about underage drinking in Sauk County. In this one-hour focus group, we’ll ask you questions about your experiences and opinions in a confidential small group setting. Your input will help our Sauk County communities develop health education campaigns and support programs for teens and parents.

Dates:

Wed. 10/9/24 5:30-6:30pm Virtual

Thurs. 10/10/24 5:30-6:30pm Baraboo (West Square Building, 505 Broadway, Baraboo, Wi 53913)

Sun. 10/13/24 4-5pm Virtual

Registration required. All eligible parents or guardians who fully participate in the entire group session will receive $100 in Kwik Trip gas cards. Virtual groups will require a laptop or smart device with camera.

Space is limited. Register Now!

Oct 9th - HS ONLY Early Release - 2:37 PM for Weekly Collaborative Time

Oct 11th - Homecoming Friday

Oct 12th - Homecoming Dance

Oct 15th - HS Picture retake Day

Oct. 16th - PLC Day - District Early Release 1:50 pm HS

Oct. 23rd - HS ONLY Early Release - 2:37 PM for Weekly Collaborative Time

Oct. 24th - No School

Oct. 25th - No School

Oct. 30th - Weekly Collaborative Time - 2:37 PM HS ONLY Dismissal

Nov. 6th - Weekly Collaborative Time - 2:37 PM HS ONLY Dismissal

Nov. 13th - Weekly Collaborative Time - 2:37 PM HS ONLY Dismissal

Nov. 20th - PLC Day - Early Dismissal for students at 1:50 PM

Nov. 26th - Last day of Trimester 1

Nov. 27th - No School - PD Trade Day

Nov. 28th - No School - Thanksgiving

Nov. 29th - No School - Holiday

Dec. 2nd - No School - Teacher Workday/Team Meeting Day

Dec. 3rd - First Day of Trimester 2

Website: https://high.saukprairieschools.org/
Location: 105 9th Street, Prairie du Sac, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 643-5900