THE HOWL

September 14th - Homecoming Guest Forms Available in the Front Office

September 17th - Picture Make Up Day

September 22nd - Fall Pre-ACT for 9th, 10th, 11th Graders. (12th Graders - Future Focus Day)

September 25th - Homecoming Guest Forms Due

September 28th - October 2nd - Homecoming Week! Check out more homecoming information below!

Homecoming Week is just around the corner! September 28th–October 3rd will be a week full of school spirit, activities, athletics, and opportunities for our Wolves to come together and celebrate our school community.

Our goal is for Homecoming to be fun, inclusive, respectful, and safe for everyone. All Homecoming activities are school-sponsored events, so school expectations and rules apply throughout Spirit Week, at athletic events, the parade, pep assembly, dance, and on social media connected to school events.

Spirit Week Themes

• Monday, Sept. 28: 💤 PJ Day

• Tuesday, Sept. 29: 🤠 Country vs. Country Club

• Wednesday, Sept. 30: 🪩 Disco

• Thursday, Oct. 1: ✨ Dress to Impress

• Friday, Oct. 2: 🐺 School Color Day

• Freshmen: Gray

• Sophomores: Light Blue

• Juniors: Navy

• Seniors: White

Homecoming Events

• Monday, Sept. 28: Homecoming Flag Football

• Wednesday, Sept. 30: Homecoming Parade

• Friday, Oct. 2: Pep Assembly + Homecoming Football Game

• Saturday, Oct. 3: Homecoming Dance

🎟️ Important Dance Information

Students planning to attend the Homecoming Dance should keep these important dates in mind:

Guest Forms

• Available in the Front Office beginning Monday, Sept. 14

• Due by Friday, Sept. 25 at 3:45 PM

• No late forms will be accepted.

Dance Tickets

• Available through GoFan beginning Monday, Sept. 28

• Hard deadline: Thursday, Oct. 1 at 12:00 PM

• GoFan access code: Student ID Number

• Students must bring their Student ID or Infinite Campus summary page to enter.

Dance Eligibility
Students must meet all eligibility requirements to attend. A student may not have:

• An OSS between Sept. 14–Oct. 2

• An ISS between Sept. 28–Oct. 2

• An overall attendance rate below 90%

Families and students can check attendance through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

🛡️ Safety & Expectations

Student safety remains our top priority. Limited bag and pocket searches will take place upon entry to the dance. Alcohol, drugs, vapes, tobacco, THC products, and other prohibited substances are not permitted. Students who engage in unsafe behavior or violate school expectations may be denied entry and/or lose eligibility for future school events.

One important reminder: Once a student leaves the dance, re-entry is not permitted.

We can't wait to see our Wolves show their school spirit and make Homecoming 2026 a great week for our entire school community!

Pre-ACT Snack Donations Needed!

Help fuel our students during the Pre-ACT on Sept 22! We are collecting individual, store-bought snacks to keep energy high during exam breaks.

• Accepted Items: Granola bars, pretzel packs, crackers, fruit pouches, whole apples, whole oranges, water, and boxed juices.

• Requirements: All items must be store-bought, individually wrapped, and non-perishable (no refrigeration available).

Thank you for supporting our test-takers!

We’re off to a great start with our cell phone expectations this school year! At the two-week mark last year, we had already administered 84 purple passes for cell phone policy violations. This year, during our second year of the cell phone policy and our first year using cell phone caddies, we have administered just 18 purple passes.

That’s a significant decrease and a great indication that students are adapting to the expectations and that our caddy system is providing an additional layer of support for students and staff.

Thank you to our students for making the adjustment and to our staff for consistently reinforcing the expectations. Additionally, thank you to the Cell Phone Action Committee for all of your work! Let’s keep the momentum going! 🐺📱

🚗 Pick-Up Line Reminder

To help keep dismissal safe, smooth, and fair for everyone, we ask that all families join the end of the pick-up line and wait their turn. Please do not pull in or cut ahead of vehicles already waiting.

Bypassing the parent pickup line can result in being sent to the end of the line and repeat offenses will involve revocation of student pick up privileges.

Each parent/caregiver should remain in the pick-up line until their student comes out and is ready to be picked up. Thank you for your patience and cooperation in keeping dismissal running safely and efficiently!

We want to bring to your attention that for the 2026-2027 school year, we are adjust locations for our bus pickup/drop off and our parent/caregiver pick up/drop off. Please refer to the map to see the new route.

Avoid using the Bus Drop Off and Pick Up lane during the hours of 8:15 - 8:45am and 3:30 - 4:00pm during the school day. Please see the additional information regarding general parking and traffic expectations below.

🚗Arrival & Dismissal Safety Reminders

Keeping our students safe is our top priority. Please review these important procedures carefully:

🔄Drop Off & Pick Up Lane

❗❗NEW Bus Lane & Student Parking = No Parent Drop Off❗❗

ALL parents/caregivers must use the designated drop off/pick up lane located in front of the Main Entrance.

Using other areas to avoid the line creates serious safety concerns. Please allow extra time in the morning and afternoon so you are not rushed.

🚫Do NOT drop off in:

• The bus lane

• The student parking lot

We will be monitoring these areas closely.

♿Respect Disabled Parking — 24/7

Accessible parking spaces are reserved for individuals with disabilities at all times.

🚫Do NOT:

• Park in disabled spaces without authorization

• Block these spaces while waiting

These actions prevent students and families with disabilities from safely arriving and leaving.

🎫Ticketing will be enforced.

📢Student Parking Requirements

Students must:

• Have a current student parking registration

• Park ONLY in the designated student lot

Students parked in:

• Staff lots (front of building)

• Athletic side lots

• Visitor or staff spaces will be ticketed.

🚒Fire Lane — Emergency Use Only

🚫The fire lane behind the school is NOT a shortcut.

No driving around the building through the fire lane.

📅Beginning August 26 - Gates will be closed on school days from 7:00am–4:00pm.

West Side Circle Drive

The circle drive on the west side of the building is RESERVED for specialized transportation only.

When other vehicles use this space for drop off or pick up, it creates a significant safety hazard for students with disabilities who rely on specialized transportation.

Please respect this reserved area.

Painting 1 students started practicing Sumi-e exercises this week. Sumi-e is a painting style that originated in China and Japan which attempts to capture the essence of Nature without copying it exactly. Students are working on four exercises (Bamboo, Orchid, Plum Branch, and Chrysanthemum) that were traditionally practiced by Chinese scholars who were learning this style of painting.

AP Biology students made graphs and then did a gallery walk to check each other's work and provide feedback on what graphs should look like in AP Biology.

Genetics & Biotech students extracted DNA from strawberries!

Physics students engaged in a vector addition treasure hunt.

JUNIORS and SENIORS interested in taking early college courses in Spring 2027 should submit applications by OCTOBER 1. Applications are available in Student Services. The Start College Now program is for courses at Madison College, and the Early College Credit Program is for courses in the UW System.

AP Students & Families: Over the last several years, Sun Prairie West High School has been left with a large bill of unpaid AP exam fees. In an effort to become more fiscally responsible and ensure that our AP exam order accurately reflects students’ plans, we are changing the date of when AP exam fees are due. This year, AP exam fees will be posted to students’ Infinite Campus accounts by October 1st, 2026. Each AP exam costs $99, and payment for AP exam fees will be due by November 1st, 2026. Please be aware that students whose AP exam fees have not been paid by the deadline will not have an AP exam ordered for them. Students who need to order a test after November 1st will need to pay an additional $40 late order fee. These fees are set by the College Board, not the district. For students who are on free or reduced lunch programming, AP exam fees are waived due to Wisconsin state law (Wis. Stat. sec. 120.12(22)).

Please reach out to Amy Cassiday, AP Coordinator, at akcassi@sunprairieschools.org or 608-478-1700 ext. 1888 with questions.

AP Capstone Diploma

This past school year we had several SP West students earn their AP Capstone Diploma! To achieve this, students need to earn scores of 3s or higher on their AP Seminar and AP Research exams, along with four other AP exams of their choosing. Congrats to Abigail Wells (‘26), Devin Willis (‘26), Emmalyn Larkworthy (‘26), Hanshika JaipravinKumar (‘27), Mark Vitale (‘26), and Sadie Sidel (‘27) on this awesome achievement!

Spring AP Test Dates have been set. If your student is taking an AP course, please make sure that there are no planned absences for the day of their exam, such as medical appointments or college visits.

Attention Seniors! Future Focus Day!

On Tuesday, September 22nd, you're invited to an event designed to support your post-secondary planning. Meet in the Commons to start the day with FREE Breakfsat—the event will be held during the Pre-ACT from 9am-12pm. A variety of valuable resources will be available to help you explore your next steps after high school. Don't miss this opportunity to get ahead on your future!

The following resources will be available:

• Application help

• Essay and Resume writing

• FAFSA help/preparation

• Madison College Representative

• WEF Registration Help

• Access to Virtual Tours of colleges and universities on SS website

• Military Representatives

• Career Quizzes: https://www.wtcsystem.edu/programs/career-quiz/

• UW Journey Exploration: https://uwjourney.wisconsin.edu/welcome

• Individualized support from CCLR/Counselors

To purchase a yearbook, go to www.jostens.com. Type in “Sun Prairie West” and make sure you click Sun Prairie West High School. You may also visit the following link directly:

https://tinyurl.com/SPWestYRBK27

Yearbooks must be pre-ordered by February, 19th 2027 to be guaranteed a copy of the 2027 Yearbook.

All senior portraits will need to be uploaded directly to Jostens.com using the following link: https://photos.jostens.com/CC2FPK

Be sure to include the student’s first name, last name, and grade (12) in the file name. Ensure that you spell the name correctly, as this is how it will be printed in the yearbook.

All senior portraits are due by Friday, November 13th, 2026.

All senior grad ads will be 1/8 of a page and completed directly through Jostens using the following link: https://www.jostens.com/apps/jcom/router.mvc?affiliateId=3151854

You will need to create a Jostens account to create and submit your senior’s grad ad.

All grad ads are due by Friday, November 13th 2026.

A reminder that during the school day, students will be required to show their school ID when entering the building. We will be using a new scanning system to help manage student arrivals and departures during the school day. Your school ID will be needed for this.