The Howl

Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

Welcome to Week 4! Wow! We are already close to finishing up our first month as a West Wolf community. First and foremost thank you for all of your support as we navigated a difficult situation last week. Our student, staff and community safety is our top priority and we will continue to learn and grow from this experience and move forward, together to have a safe and fantastic year. Despite this significant event we have had an outstanding first three weeks. Every block our collaboration spaces are filled with students learning, collaborating and growing together. Students are continuing to build community and team dynamics on the court, in the pool on the field, etc and we are extremely excited for our activity fair this week and the launch of clubs next week. As always please reach out with any questions, suggestions, partnership as we continue to Create the Future. Together.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeger@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

We are thrilled to be launching our Diverse Parent/Caregiver Group this week on Tuesday, September 27th at 6:00pm via Zoom. Meeting ID: 552 170 2722 Passcode: ApRKW8

All are welcome! This group will support building wide events and support staff- for example: helping celebrate teacher appreciation week, providing food for staff at PD, conferences, etc and be a two-way communication organization from Parent/Caregivers to West High School Administration. This team will serve as an advisory to the Principal team as we continue to co-create West: problem-solving, innovating, creating the future. Together! We look forward to seeing you Tuesday!

On Friday during SP30 all students participated in a lesson debriefing the news that they received about the incident on campus on Tuesday, reminders around school expectations and learning around action steps in different emergency situations. Please feel free to check-out the lesson here and check-in with your student about how they are feeling and re-enforce these expectations.

Lockers have been assigned and are available for use. You can find your locker number, location, and combo in Infinite Campus.

To open your locker:

1. Spin the dial a complete revolution to clear it
2. Turn to the right until you get to the first number then stop
3. Turn to the left…pass the first number….then stop at the second number
4. Turn to the right and stop at the third number
5. The dial will now be harder to turn. Continue turning to the right to open the lock.

This week we will be hosting our First Annual Clubs and Activities Fair for students to learn about our clubs and opportunities at West. Clubs and activities will launch next week- the week of October 3rd.

We can't wait for our inaugural homecoming celebration! We know with East's homecoming this week there are lots of questions and excitement about the launch of our homecoming. Our homecoming is the Week of October 10th. More details to come soon!

Dear Parent or Legal Guardian of 9th Grade Students,

We are committed to helping your student feel confident and safe at school so they are best able to learn. Sometimes stress or experiences with violence interfere with learning. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased attention on police brutality and other instances of discrimination, many young people and their families have experienced more stress than usual. Because of this, we are offering a process for 9th graders called CBITS or Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools. It is jointly offered by the Sun Prairie Area School District and Journey Mental Health Center. CBITS is designed to help students deal with stress and upsetting events they may have experienced.

The CBITS program has two parts. The first is a general screening of questions given to all 9th graders. Your student most likely participated in this screening program in 6th grade too. In other years, the questionnaire asks students about seeing or witnessing violent or upsetting events at school, in their neighborhood or other places. Due to the unique events facing our country, this year, the questionnaire asks your child questions about their experience during the pandemic and personal experiences with discrimination. The questionnaire is filled out by students during class. Their teacher and Student Support Services staff will be available to students during the screener administration. The screener takes about 20 minutes. If you would like to review a copy of the screener, please email Susi Sirianni CAPSW, School Social Worker at: sesiria@sunprairieschools.org

In the event that your child scores high on the questionnaire, school staff will conduct a face-to-face interview to determine if the CBITS group could be helpful. This will be conducted by a school support services staff member such as the school social worker or by a trained mental health professional from the community approved by your child’s school. If your child receives a face-to-face interview, you may be contacted afterwards to answer any questions you may have about it.

The staff at Sun Prairie West high school will be screening all 9th graders in October. If your child’s responses to the questionnaires and the face-to-face interview show that they are eligible for the second part of the program, we will describe that part of the program and seek consent to participate. Your child is under no obligation to participate in the second part of the program by participating in the screening and interviewing.

The results of your child’s screening are strictly confidential and will only be shared with you, your child, and the staff involved in the CBITS program. Non-identifiable, summary data of a grade, school or district may be shared with others for the purpose of quality improvement or shared in professional meetings without any link to an individual’s identity.

Participation in the screening is strictly voluntary. If you DO NOT want your child to participate in the CBITS screening, please complete the form below and return to Susi Sirianni, School Social Worker at West High School by October 5, 2023. You may also email your desire to opt your child out of the screener to Susi Sirianni, School Social Worker at sesiria@sunprairieschools.org. If you have questions or would like more information about the CBITS screening, please call Susi Sirianni at 608-478-1700 ext. 5335.

Please click here for the full letter.

As you prepare to support our Wolves at different events, please review the updated event guidelines for the 2022/2023 school year. We are beyond excited to take the field, stage, pool, court, pitch, course and so much more as Wolves for the first time. Together we can make these fantastic, safe and enjoyable events for all. Reminder: no backpacks at events.

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

Please check out this: Yearbook information! for important information about the FIRST EVER West Wolves Yearbook!

Our Leaders of the Pack have done an INCREDIBLE job of leading so far! We have had students leading tours, welcoming in families, students and community and they will continue to lead throughout the year!

We would love YOU to be a Leader of the Pack! If you would like to step into this leadership role or would like to nominate someone to become a Leader of the Pack please fill out this form. Parents/caregivers if you think this is an awesome opportunity for your student please talk to them about it and then encourage them to fill out the form. The interest form should be filled out by the student using their school email account.

Our motto this year is: Creating the Future! We are creating the future of SP West, the future of Sun Prairie and the greater community and the future of our scholars. One of the most important steps to adhering to our motto is attendance. Please read about our NEW attendance guidelines and procedures for the 22-23 school year.. Thank you!

New Attendance Guidelines and Procedures 22-23

Please bookmark these two VERY important documents so they are always at your fingertips. Please note that our bell schedule times have shifted this year (start time 8:35, end time 3:45).

Bell schedule A/B Day Schedule

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.