The Howl

Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

As we enter this Thanksgiving week we are thankful for you. Thank you for partnering with us on this grand adventure we are on. Thank you for being our cheerleaders and innovators in the work. Thank you for your feedback so that we can reflect, adjust and improve. Thank you for being present and diving in us. As we enter this 2 day school week we prepare to give it our all and then to rest well as we have all worked so incredibly hard during this first part of the school year. As we enter this week we also acknowledge and celebrate that it is Native American Heritage Month, we honor our Native American students, staff and acknowledge we live, work and play on the land of the Ho-Chunk Nation that was taken and used by Europeans to create settlements, including Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Please reach out if you would like to be a part of establishing celebrations of Native American Heritage Month now and/or into the future we would love your partnership as we Create the Future to Leave a Legacy.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

We are looking forward to our next Principal Advisory Parent/Caregiver Meeting NEXT Tuesday, 11/29. It was originally calendared for this week but based on feedback received from parents/caregivers are moving it due to people traveling and/or preparing for the time off this week. See you next Tuesday to co-create our Family Engagement Plan: creating our purpose, goal setting, etc.

It is hard to believe that it is almost December! This means that course selection is coming up! Now is the time to start to review your student’s transcript and graduation requirements. In preparation, here is what you need to know:

• NEW Sun Prairie Course Guide will be available before Winter Break

• Course Expo

• SP East - January 10, 2023 from 5-7pm

• Virtual Course Expo - January 11, 2023 - Available on the website

• SP West - January 12, 2023 from 5-7pm

• Students will receive support in choosing courses from teachers in January

• Students can schedule individual appointments with their counselor at any time, if they need support

• Students will submit course selections in Xello early February

Please continue to look for more detailed information in December.

As we enter this Thanksgiving week. Please consider taking a moment to celebrate a staff member that has had a positive impact you so far this year! This may be someone that you have connected well with, you have seen working hard, has tried something new or you just want to pause and recognize for all of their work as we launch SP West. You can fill out the form as many times as you would like to recognize different staff. They will receive an email with your note and, if public, will be included in our staff Newsletter next week! https://tinyurl.com/SPWestStaffShoutOut

General Wolf apparel through Ameriprint is available to purchase. Store closes Sunday, November 27, 2022. Visit tinyurl.com/spwhs-store to place your order today!

Please note, orders will be available for pick-up in the physical school store (Pack Shack) once they arrive from Ameriprint, which should be a few weeks after the close date.

Please direct any questions to Jason Benisch via email, jcbenis@sunprairieschools.org. Thank you!

The main entrance door closes at 4:00pm. Athletes that may leave and come back please enter through door 24. Also a reminder that the building closes at 4:00pm. At that time all students need to exit the building or be with an adult.

We are incredibly grateful to our community for this magnificent building and opportunity to create a new educational community. As we launch SP West, Create the Future and build a Culture of Care please check in with your student on a few things:

• Class Bell to Bell: We are continuing to work to create a culture in which ALL students are in class from bell to bell. This includes: Having a pass every time you are out of class; using the 2 minute warning "ding dong" sound to move quickly to your next class; staying in class until the bell rings; working with your teacher if you need a break within the 85 minute block, taking a break in the den area and then returning to class.

• Taking Care of the Building: We have a state of the art, amazing building. We are also short staffed on our custodial team and working with the District Support Center (DSC) to problem solve ways to support this team and increase the amount of custodians on our team. We ALL play a part in taking care of the building including: cleaning up after yourself, particularly at lunch; picking up trash even if it's not yours; talking to your friends/the people around you to clean up after themselves. It truly takes each and every one of us to take care of this beautiful space.

• See Something, Say Something If you see something that shouldn't be happening... SAY SOMETHING to any adult in the building and they will get it to the right place. Go to a trusted teacher, trusted office staff, youth advocate, dean, AP, Principal JP, anyone. This includes any vandalism in bathrooms or other locations. Together we can take care of this beautiful facility and leave a legacy for the generations to come.

In partnership with the City of Sun Prairie and the Sunshine Place, we are looking for YOUR help in lifting Hispanic/Latinx voice and heritage in Sun Prairie as a whole. Please complete this short survey so we can hear YOUR voice: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YMRYS7G

Bus Tags

Students must have their bus tag with them when riding the bus and may be denied if the driver doesn’t recognize the student or if they don’t have a bus tag. Replacement bus tags can be picked up at the school. Students can keep a picture of their bus tag on their cell phones.

Bus Stops

Students should be waiting at the bus stop at least 5 minutes prior to the scheduled pick-up time.

If you drive your child to the bus stop in the morning, please park at least 50 feet away from the stop to give the bus room and to ensure good visibility. Students should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop before approaching the bus to board.

Riding an Unassigned Bus

Students are only allowed to ride their assigned bus and may not ride home with friends, even with a note from a parent. Please make alternative arrangements for these special circumstances.

As we are preparing for our mid-semester progress update and you are diving into your student's grades you will notice that grades are broken into two categories: formative and summative assessments.

Formative Assessments (10% of the grade in most classes): These are assessments for learning during the learning process, practice on the way to the goal! These could include: homework, in class assignments, discussions, etc.

Summative Assessments (90% of the grade in most classes): These are assessment of learning at the end of that particular learning cycle, "game day". These could include: tests, projects, essays, presentations, etc.

Students have the opportunity to redo formative and summative assessments until 2 weeks before the end of the semester to demonstrate further mastery of learning and improve their grade.

As we launched West we have provided student an opportunity to order in lunch, however, we have seen an uptick in incidents related to food ordering recently. A reminder the expectation is that food is ordered during the first 15 minutes of lunch and students are eating in assigned locations and NOT missing class for food. Additionally, we need every student to be honest and not take others food. We do not have the staff to manage food deliveries and if we do not see an improvement in food delivery related behavior this week we will need to change our policy and no longer allow deliveries.

We continue to increase to develop and increase our supports around student attendance. Student attendance is one of the biggest indicators of academic success and graduation rate!

Please remember to call in your student BEFORE they are absent so that we know that they are safe and can excused their absences: 608.478.1707. If you are unable to in advance please call in ASAP all absences must be corrected within 2 weeks of the date missed.

As we prepare to start the year we are in need of awesome subs to help take care of our students when staff are out. Are you looking for a new opportunity? Do you know someone looking? Can you help spread the word? Please help us get the word out so that we can ensure that our students have the very best people supporting them even on days staff (teachers or support staff) need to be out. Having an ample supply of fantastic subs is also a great way to support our staff by allowing them peace of mind when they are out. Contact mtiseli@sunprairieschools.org with any interest/questions or contacts.

• Support Staff Substitutes

• Substitute Teachers