The Howl

Greetings West Wolf students, parents/caregivers,

As we continue to prepare for this upcoming school year, we are beyond excited. Our first athletes have taken to the field and soon our Wolves will take to the pitch, the court, dive in the pool, be center stage and be learning in community. We continue our weekly August updates and we build up to the first day of school and beyond. This week’s Newsletter includes: an unveiling of our theme for the year, admin team introductions, grounding information about CARES, athletics and activities calendar, CARES at athletic events, the student handbook, staff spotlight, PSAT information, annual asbestos report and reminders from last week. Keep this one in a safe spot as there is a lot here and you may want to refer back to it. Here we go!

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunpriaireschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

As we launch our SP West community we are centering our year on: SP West Wolves 2022-2023: Creating the future! We will be creating what it means to be a Wolf, co-creating a culture of care in which ALL students and staff are seen, known and valued and we develop meaningful partnerships with parents/caregiver and our community. We will be creating future doctors, welders, military members, community activists, construction workers, etc. Together we will be creating the future of Sun Prairie West and beyond.

We are very excited to introduce to you, our West admin team! Please continue to check The Howl for staff spotlights as we introduce our team to you in upcoming editions. We also received feedback that you would love to learn more about your teachers, stay tuned! We will have a teacher highlight once they return in a couple of weeks.

• Jen Ploeger- Principal

• Chad Whalley- Associate Principal

• Chai Lee- Associate Principal

• Felix Giboney- Dean of Students

• LaRon Ragsdale- Dean of Athletics

• Meghan Willauer- Instructional Coach

• Kellie Miesbauer- Program Manager (Special Education support)

• Branden Jones- Equitable Multi-level System of Supports (EMLSS) Site Coordinator

Hey everyone! I’m Felix Giboney IV and I’m the inaugural Dean of Students here at SP West. I’m still new to the district as I was one of three Deans at CHUMS last year. I’ve been in the Madison area since 2005. I am a father of four beautiful children that drive me absolutely crazy. I have a 23 year old daughter, a 12 year old daughter, an 11 year old son and a 9 year old son. None of which I’d trade for anything in the world. They keep me going for sure! I currently hold a Bachelors of Science in Organizational Behavior and Leadership, a MBA and a Masters of Psychology in Social Innovation and Sustainability all from Edgewood College. I’ve worked in education since 2018 starting with the Madison school district. Prior to working in education I worked in the healthcare field for over 10 years working for UW Health, with my last position being Customer Service Supervisor. After 4 years of dealing with angry patients the shift to education was a walk in the park. I’ve been a mentor and youth coach for the past 10 years in the area. This year I will be coaching our freshmen offensive and defensive linemen on the SPW football team. Working with youth is my passion and every day is another opportunity for me to interact and learn from them just as much as them learning from me. I look forward to working with all students, families and staff in our community. Feel free to connect with me as needed.

Sun Prairie West High School strives to foster a positive school culture and safe, effective, engaging learning environment for all students by showing CARES.

• Community: I am a reflection of the community

• Accountability: I one my actions and make things right

• Respect: I show kindness to myself and others

• Empathy: I understand how others feel

• Safety: We are all responsible; see something, say something

We will be grounding ourselves in CARES at the start and throughout the year in the classrooms, hallways and extracurricular events. Athletic and other curricular events are an extension of school and we will shine to the community by having high expectations in those spaces as well. We will be teaching and learning about CARES during SP30 to launch the year.

We are so excited as our athletes have begun to take our fields! Before we know it they will be on the pitch, in the pool, on the stage and on the court as well. Please bookmark our 2022-2023 Athletic and Activities Calendar to mark your personal calendars for exciting upcoming events for the year.

As we launch this school year with 3 High Schools in Sun Prairie (Sun Prairie East, Sun Prairie West and Prairie Phoenix Academy) we are united in our high expectations and high levels of support for students. Please grab a cup of coffee, refill your water or your favorite beverage and carefully read through our Student Handbook. This includes LOTS of important information from academics to student/parent/caregiver support to school nutrition and student fees.

The 27th Annual 100 Black Men of Madison Back To School Celebration will be conducted as a "drive-through" activity, Saturday, 13 August, from 8:00 – 11:00 am, utilizing the Goodman South Campus of Madison College, 2429 S. Perry St. Madison, WI 53713. Please share this information with your school communities!

The PSAT/NMSQT is a standardized test co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. This test gives students practice for taking the SAT and is the first step in entering scholarship programs conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The test consists of three sections: reading, math, and writing/language. 11th-grade students can register to take the optional exam in the fall. More details to come for all 2022-2023 11th grade students/parents/caregivers.

The safety of our students, parents/caregivers, staff and community is our top priority. Please see our attached annual asbestos report.

• Friday, August 26th- Staff return to work to prepare for students!
• Sunday, August 28th- 3:00-5:30pm West High School Grand Opening Event
• Monday, August 29th- 12:00-3:00pm Keys to Success (Please register here)
• Monday, August 29th- evening- 9th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Tuesday, August 30th- evening- 10th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Wednesday, August 31st- evening- 11th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Thursday, September 1st- evening- 12th Grade Orientation (details to come)
• Tuesday, September 6th- First day of school!

August 31, 8:00am-4:00pm and September 1, 8:00am-4:00pm

Click here to reserve your spot for SPWHS back to school registration!

Please note the following services that will be provided on these two days.

Infinite Campus Updates and Permissions

Chromebooks and assistance will be available for you to update your information in Infinite Campus.

Bus Tags

Bus tags will be issued to students who are eligible for transportation. These tags are necessary to ride the bus.

Parking Permits

Parking permit applications are completed at our back to school registration. Please have your student’s valid driving license to show at the time of registration. Further information will be coming in the next few weeks.

Lockers

Student locker use has been minimal the past several years. Because of this, our building has been designed with less lockers. Information will be shared in the first weeks of school on how to secure a locker should your student need one.

Fees

All fees are paid online via credit card or checking account information. Technical assistance will be available for families needing to pay fees. Activity passes will be printed on the student’s ID if paid before or during back to school registration.

School Pictures and ID Cards

Photographers will be on site to take school portraits. ID cards will be printed on site as well. Please click here for more information.

Schedules

Schedules will be open for viewing on Infinite Campus beginning August 26. More information to come on next steps if your student has questions/concerns about their schedule.

Yearbooks

You can order a yearbook or get the form to order a yearbook if you wish.

We are excited to offer multiple opportunities for students to get to know their new school as we launch this fall!

Keys to Success will be held at West High School on Monday, August 29th from 12:00-3:00pm this is an opportunity for students to ground themselves in some High School 101 basics (refresher for our upper classman and a welcome for our 9th and 10th graders), tour the building and begin to build community- this is a student only event. Please register your student here.

As we open our brand new school we are offering orientation nights at 7:00pm starting in the Performing Arts Center. 9th graders: Monday, August 29th; 10th grades: Tuesday, August 30th; 11th graders: Wednesday, August 31st; 12th graders: Thursday, September 1st. Join us for a Welcome from our West High School principal team and staff, walk your schedule to find your classes and begin to build community as we launch our school! This is a student/parent/caregiver event.

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.

We want to re-share resources that were provided by the district in an email to parents/caregivers last week on July 27th. Please take a moment to review this information one more time 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.