The Howl

Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

With a little less than two weeks to go, the educators here at SP West are ready. We have been waiting and preparing for you. The excitement to open up our new learning communities/spaces to the West community is stirring. We would love to see you ALL at our Grand Opening Sunday afternoon from 3:00pm-5:30pm to walk our incredible halls and feel the anticipation as we prepare to welcome all of our staff back on Monday, August 29th and students on September 6th.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

We have over 45 students that have been nominated for Leaders of the Pack! Leaders of the Pack is our general student leadership umbrella. These students will be invited to help at various community events throughout the year serving as ambassadors of SP West and showing the community what it means to be a Wolf! Our Leaders of the Pack will represent ALL of our student body: our diverse races, languages spoken at home, students with and without IEPs, and a variety of school experiences. This is also a great opportunity for National Honor Society students for volunteer hours.

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.

As we quickly embark on the upcoming school year, most of our scholars are feeling a variety of feelings, including: nervousness, loss, excitement, hope, fear, and confidence. Here at West, we acknowledge and recognize ALL of those feelings and that you are likely feeling a mix all at once. We are dedicated to creating a culture of care in which ALL are seen, heard, welcomed, and most of all valued.

Don’t worry scholars and families, staff will be available to help students find their classrooms throughout the day. Our focus for the day is to ensure we begin to learn about each other through community building activities. Also, throughout the day, scholars will be engaged in scheduled activities to help with start us off on this great year.

We are excited to welcome about 500 scholars to our first Keys to Success event on August 29th from 12pm-3pm. Students will get to know some of the staff, begin to build relationships with other students in their advisory/homeroom, participate in a schoolwide scavenger hunt and be able to find their classes on their schedule to begin to feel at home in the building. If you did not register and are still interested, please email jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org. A reminder that this is a student only event. We welcome parents/caregivers to join us at orientation nights or our Grand Opening.

Please join us next week during your scholar’s orientation night. At this event, you will learn more about the exciting things we have in store for the school year. We will also share helpful tips/suggestions on how to be a successful Wolf along with some general West Wolf information. There will an opportunity for parents/caregivers and friends to tour our new learning spaces and for students to find their classrooms. All orientation nights will be held in SP West PAC at 7 pm.

• August 29th: 9th Grade
• August 30th: 10th Grade
• August 31st: 11th Grade
• September 1st: 12th Grade

Visitors accessing the building use the orange spaces and access this lot near Rebel Rd

Caregiver drop off and pick up is indicated in red with access from Blue Wolf Way

Student parking is indicated in green and can be accessed from Blue Wolf Way or Ironwood. More details on student parking will be shared at orientation night.

What do I need to bring to apply for a parking permit?

• Make, model and color of any cars the students would drive to school

• A valid driver’s license

What is the process in determining who will get a permit?

\In order to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to apply for a parking permit, students can apply at registration or during lunches on September 6th and 7th. On September 8th/9th, we will evaluate how many students have applied and randomly match students with a parking spot. If we do not have enough parking for students who applied, seniors will get first priority, then juniors and then as many sophomores as possible. Lottery drawings will be held at the sophomore level, if needed.

When will I find out if I get a parking permit?

Students will receive a parking permit by Monday, September 10th in their SP30 class. Parking enforcement will begin on Tuesday, September 11th. The first week of school numbered parking spots will be available on a first come first serve basis.

Parking Permit Guidelines

Schedules will be available in IC on August 26th at 4:00pm. If you have questions or concerns about your schedule please reach out to your high school counselor. For students last names A-G Chelsea Saldana, H-O Keith Medema, P-Z Monica Wagner (and include our email contact information below) NOTE: Between now and the first day of school, there may be slight, but necessary changes to student schedules (room assignment, hour placement, teacher assignment, etc.) We recommend that all students check their schedule again the night before school starts to ensure your student has the most up to date version possible for the first day of class.

Bus Information should be available in Infinite Campus today. Please make sure to check back for updated times/locations as the school year gets closer.

Greetings Sun Prairie West!

My name is Josh O’Connor and I will be teaching Social Studies at SPW, while also being the head football coach during the fall. I was born and raised in Belleville, WI, a small town just south of Madison. I spent my first two years of college at UW-Madison and then transferred to UW-Stevens Point where I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in education. My first seven years of teaching were at Oconomowoc High School. When I was there I taught AP Psychology and U.S. History, took on various coaching roles as a football coach, spent four years as the head track coach, and ran our strength and conditioning program.

My wife and I are excited to be a part of the Sun Prairie community. Personally, I’m excited for the opportunity to teach Foundations of American Democracy and World History, while also contributing to build a culture at Sun Prairie West that makes the community proud of. Go Wolves!

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

• 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!

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

Does my student need a graphing calculator for math?

If your student is planning to take PreCalculus, AP Calc, and/or AP Stats, they will benefit from having a graphing calculator, which can also be used for the ACT and in Algebra 2 math classes and beyond. The TI84+ or TI84+ CE are what most students use, but there are other types of graphing calculators as well. The school does have a limited number of graphing calculators available to be checked out, and priority is given to students in AP math classes. For students in other classes who wish to have a calculator, a scientific calculator such as the TI-30 is sufficient. Students will have access to online graphing calculators through their Chromebooks.

As we prepare for our first home Wolf football game this Friday night, 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.

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.

While our excitement is building to start the school year and officially open the doors of SP West High School some of our students have already started their year! SP West students have an incredible opportunity to apply to and attend the Madison College Early College STEM Academy. These SP West (East and PPA) juniors and seniors attend Madison College full time while they are SP West students. These Wolves still have opportunities to participate in extracurriculars and are thriving in college classes and earning FREE college credit as they finish out their High School experience. Scholars attending the Early College STEM Academy have the opportunity to graduate with their High School AND Associate’s Degree at the same time!!!! We are so proud of our Early College STEM Scholars and are here to support and walk with you every step of the way. Sophomores be on the look out for this awesome opportunity this Spring.

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.