Greetings West Wolves and Parent/Caregivers,

Welcome back from break! We know that break can be a mixed bag of excitement, relaxation, new adventures, uncertainty, child care needs, etc. We hope that it was an opportunity for a break and chance to recharge for our Wolves and their families. We also come back from break we are deeply saddened by the events that occurred yesterday at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

As we transition back from break and students process the tragedy in Nashville, please know that we are here to support any needs that you may have. If your student has not yet connected with our Student Services team on the 3rd floor know that they have a team of a counselor, social worker, school psychologist and college, community, career readiness coach there to support them.

Additionally, we want to assure you that the safety of our students is our top priority. We are constantly reviewing our security measures to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect our students and staff. Please continue to remind your student of the importance of alerting a trusted adult in the school environment when they have information that may impact the safety of our school. As a reminder, our electronic safety tip line exists for just such situations.

Throughout this week, our focus will be on the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of our students. Please join us in keeping the Nashville community in our thoughts at this time. Thank you for your support.

Jen Ploeger- Principal- jrploeg@sunprairieschools.org

Chai Lee- Associate Principal- cmlee1@sunprairieschools.org

Chad Whalley- Associate Principal- ctwhall@sunprairieschools.org

Our monthly Parent/Caregiver Partnership Meeting is TONIGHT at 6:00pm off of the commons. Come to talk about planning for next year! Bring a friend. ALL parents/caregivers are welcome and encouraged to attend to help build the future of West... together! We know that Tuesday nights may not be the best time for all so please also see the following up coming opportunities to connect.

Parent/Caregiver Partnership Opportunities:

• TONIGHT- 6:00pm in person off of the commons at West
• Wednesday, April 5th at 12:00pm- Zoom- Lunch connection- Join us for an opportunity to Zoom in for a conversation over lunch.
• Thursday, April 13th at 7:15am- Coffee with the Principal in 1016 in the Front Office at West or via Zoom.

Dear Parent/Caregiver of 9th and 10th Grade Scholars,

Wednesday, March 29 is the day when our ninth and tenth grade students complete state testing. 9th and 10th grade students are scheduled to take the preACT Secure test, and 10th graders will also take the Forward Assessment. These assessments are required by the State of Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction and the Sun Prairie Area School District use the results of these exams to understand how well students are doing in relation to Core Academic Standards. Results from these exams also help inform schools of curricular and instructional needs and keeps schools accountable for improving academic outcomes for all. Please note that your scholar’s performance on this assessment will not affect any of their current grades or academic standing. Results from these assessments will be available in the Fall. More information about the PreACT Secure is available here and more information about the Forward Exam is available here.

School buses will run as normal, and the start and end time for school is unchanged. Attendance will be taken like any regular school day, the schedule is just altered for testing. Both exams will be taken online, so your student should come to school with a fully charged Chromebook. Please encourage your scholar to take the test seriously and to do their best! You can support your student by assuring them that the teaching staff is working hard to support their growth, encouraging your student to get enough sleep, and reminding your student that a single test score will not determine their future.

Wednesday March 29th:

Students should arrive at school at the normal time. Cell phones, smart watches, and bags are not allowed in the testing room. Students will be expected to check these items in a locked, supervised room before they enter the test room. Students will not have access to their phones. If you need to get a message to your student, please contact the school main office. Breakfast and lunch will be available through our school nutrition program as on any other school day. If your student does not plan to buy lunch, they should bring lunch. The PreACT will begin no later than 9:00, and students who are not ready to begin by 9 will not be able to take the exam.

In the afternoon, schedules are slightly different for each grade level:

1:00 - 2:00 – Ninth grade students will return to their testing spaces to complete lessons related to communication. Students in 10th grade will return to their testing rooms to complete the Forward Exam. During this time, students will not have access to their phones.

2:00 - 3:45 – Students will have participate in activities to balance out their day. The activities will be supervised and organized with the den teams within their testing locations. Dismissal will be at 3:45, our normal time, and buses will run their normal routes. If you choose to have your student picked up or leave school before 3:45 please contact our attendance line and/or Renee Johnson to excuse your student.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Brandon Jones

Sun Prairie West Assessment Coordinator

Blair Feltham

Sun Prairie East Assessment Coordinator

Annetta Wright

Prairie Phoenix Academy Assessment Coordinator

While our 9th and 10th grade students engage in the Pre-ACT tomorrow, 11th and 12th grade students will complete ASYNCHRONOUS work in Google Classroom. The lessons should be posted for you now! If you do not see a lesson for one of your classes please reach out to your teacher (the is no lesson requirement for study hall). Please aim to have your lessons complete by 3:00pm and they are due by 3:45pm this allows staff time to take attendance for the day. This is one of four days that we are making up instructional minutes from snow days this year. Please let us know what questions you have.

It's hard to believe but we are approaching the end of 3rd quarter! This means that mid-semester grades are coming up very soon. The quarter ends on April 6th and teacher grades are due on the 7th! Please connect with your student on their academic progress so that we can have a strong return back from break and a solid 2 weeks pushing to the end of the quarter.

SP30 Xello lessons! We have had one SP30 lesson due for each grade level so far this semester. Study Skills and Habits (grades 9-10) and Careers and Lifestyle Costs (grades 11-12): were due March 17th. These WILL be included in the students mid-semester grade. If the assignment is 100% done and complete the student is currently PASSING SP30 if not the student is currently not passing. Please use the next two weeks to ensure this assignment is in!

STUDENT ATHLETES! This is a VERY important grading window (different than other progress reports). Student-athletics with a failing or incomplete grade that is posted on April 10th for 3rd quarter will serve a 15 school day and night suspension. This includes SP30.

Please talk to your students now. If they are borderline or in danger of failing a class, please talk to them about working with their teachers to do what they can to bring their grades up to passing so they don't start out our spring season with a suspension. Once a grade is posted they cannot undo the athletic consequence by completing work (although they can still bring up their grade and work with their teacher to complete work). The posted grade is what will determine a suspension. The only exception will be a teacher error when posting a grade. Grades will be posted on April 10th so athletic suspensions would start on April 11th. Let's avoid that and make sure that our grades are on point.

Attention Seniors!

Graduation supplies, including caps/gowns/honor cords, will be delivered to Sun Prairie West High School on Wednesday, April 5 during lunch. If students are unable to be at school on delivery day, please have someone else pick up their order as this is the only time that Midwest Scholastic will be at our school to deliver your items. Any unpaid items will not be left at the school, and will incur special handling costs.

If you still owe a balance and would like to pay prior to delivery day, you may do so with a credit card by visiting mwscholastic.com and click on ‘Pay Invoice’ at the top of the page. You can also pay on delivery day, but payments will have to be cash or money orders.

PLEASE have your student try on the gown as soon as possible to ensure it is a good fit.

Any questions regarding your payment? Please send your emails to payments@mwscholastic.com.

If Seniors have not ordered a cap and gown yet, they should contact Midwest Scholastic immediately. The website for Midwest Scholastic is www.mwscholastic.com. If you have a question about caps and gowns please email them to questions@mwscholastic.com.

Seniors! Scholarship Information

Attention Seniors! Please remember to check our Scholarship Website regularly. Click on “List of Available Scholarships” to see listings of various local and regional scholarship opportunities.

Scholars of Promise (Madison College Tuition Assistance)

The Spring Semester is here, and the Scholars of Promise (SoP) Application deadline of Saturday, April 1 is quickly approaching! SoP is a needs-based program designed to support low-income students. “Low-income” is defined as students who are Pell Grant eligible on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The upcoming Scholars of Promise Apply Day event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Madison College Goodman South Campus (2429 Perry Street; Madison, WI 53713), located off the beltline.

Prospective students will receive assistance with submission of all materials needed to become a Madison College Scholars of Promise student.

Visit the SoP webpage here to learn more about the application process, eligibility requirements, and SoP Apply Day registration.

Thank you for everyone's partnership addressing our bathroom culture at West. Leading into break we had several strong days of no vandalism and decreased vaping in the bathrooms! As we return from break all of the restrooms in the academic wing have been reopened. Our goal is to keep them open with improved behavior and positive bathroom culture. This week we are launching our “Parents/Caregivers on the Premises” program in which we will have morning and afternoon shifts in which parents/caregivers can sign up to come help build connections with students and increase supervision. Please sign up here. Training will be provided to all volunteers. Thank you for partnering with us as we build our Wolf community, we truly are stronger together. Bathrooms should be a safe place for all students!

A reminder:

• Students should only be going into the bathroom to use the restroom. There is access to mirrors and sinks in the hallway to check your hair, wash you hands etc. Therefore, there is no reason for a large group of students to enter the bathroom together.
• Students that are in the bathroom in the bathroom when we receive a report of vaping will be searched.
• Students responsible for vandalism will be given consequences in our behavior matrix including paying for repairs, suspension and possible recommendation for expulsion for repeated behavior over time.

We are entering our 3rd and final week of our March Madness attendance challenge! Advisory classes have been competing throughout the last several weeks in over all attendance percentage and average number of tardies per student. This week we are focused on reaching our school wide goal of no more than 2700 tardies and absences as a school community for the week to unlock our staff vs student basketball games on April 6th. Please connect with your student on their attendance. You can view their attendance on Infinite Campus. If you need help accessing Infinite Campus please reach out to Melky Morales in Student Services at mtmoral@sunprairieschools.org.

BSU students and staff recognized at the March 15th Optimist meeting/lunch include the following:

Sun Prairie East High School Black Student Union

• Students: Nevaeh Tolson-Eveans (sophomore) and Calvin Henderson (freshman)
• Advisor: Mr. Reginald K. Williams

Sun Prairie West High School Black Student Union

• Students: Brandon Jones (senior) and Quinton Maddox (junior)
• Advisor: Mr. Felix Giboney

Please help us congratulate some of our FFA students. On March 16th, 4 of our FFA teams competed at the UW-Platteville Regional Career Development Events. Incredibly, 3 out of the 4 teams are advancing to state! If you see these students, please help us congratulate them (East and West students are listed) and wish our teams luck as they compete at State on April 27th.

Floriculture Team - 3rd Place out of 24 teams, 93 individuals - This team is advancing to State!

• Team Captain Martha Guelker - 5th Place Overall (Team Captain)
• Jada Danielson - 8th Place
• Andrew Knorr - 13th Place
• Maecie Ledden - 14th Place

Wildlife Management - 1st Place out of 46 teams, 171 individuals. This team is advancing to State!

• Jackson Nesbit - 2nd Place
• Daniel Reid - 11th Place
• Emma Washington - 12th Place (Team Captain)
• Logan Culbertson

Poultry Team - This team is advancing to State!

• Lillian Nichols (Team Captain)
• Joshua Swanson
• Jensen Kaeppel
• Cambria Waelti

Horse Evaluation - Unfortunately, our team did not advance, but still help us congratulate them on all of their hard work.

• Ava Anderson
• Celeste Hayes (Team Captain)
• Jorja Coutts

As we look forward to the next couple of months a couple important dates to put on your calendar.

• Wednesday, March 29th- FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE ONLY DAY. Our 9th and 10th graders will be taking the ACT Secure the new state assessment for 9th and 10th graders that also prepares them for the ACT. 11th and 12th graders will NOT come to school that day. 11th and 12th grades students will engage in asynchronous learning in their Google classrooms AT HOME. All asynchronous work is due at 3:00pm.
  

• Friday, April 7th- All students will engage in asynchronous learning in their Google classrooms AT HOME. All asynchronous work is due at 3:00pm.

• Friday, May 26th- This date was originally scheduled as a professional development day. With the snow day last week it is now a student attendance day. Please mark your calendars and plan for students to be AT school this day!

With the spring approaching, Counselors wanted to send the Junior presentation to all Junior families as a refresher one more time:

If any junior student would like to meet regarding their future planning, students are welcomed to make an appointment with their assigned counselor between March 26 and April 28, 2023. Please use the scheduling links below:

Ms. Saldana (Last names A-G): cmsalda.youcanbook.me

Mr. Medema (Last names H-O): https://keithmedema.youcanbook.me/

Ms. Wagner (Last names P-Z): https://wagner-counseling.youcanbook.me/

Summer School

Summer school registration is now open. To be eligible for summer school transportation, you must register by May 16. We have numerous summer opportunities for students:

• Initial Credit classes (meaning it is the first time the student is taking a credit-earning class)

• Credit Recovery options (students who have previously failed a class may have the option to retake it in the summer)

• Enrichment classes (no credit offered; students take these classes for personal enrichment)

Registration is in Infinite Campus. See here for more info: High School Summer School Information

Check-out the announcements that are currently running on our TVs in school and that were sent to your students last week of upcoming events/opportunities.

Check out this link with all of the start dates for the upcoming sports season.

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

Mock Trial! Mr. Quale has done an excellent job with a brand-new team (to SPASD not just new because of West) of mostly freshmen. They won the regional tournament, and went 3-1 at state to finish 6th overall, which is really an impressive achievement. Congratulations. The future looks bright!

We are excited to share some recent staffing updates/adjustments.

On Friday, we welcomed Ms. Jamie Beam as our new Welcome Center admin assistant. Jamie is the friendly face that you will see when you come into the building and most likely the person you will chat with if you call with a question. Jamie lives with her husband, her 9 year old daughter, and her cat, Guinness. In 2022, Jamie and her family moved into their newly constructed Sun Prairie home. During her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, travel, and cook.

Ms. Kinsey Detert will now be able to be our full-time Financial Admin Assistant! A HUGE shoutout to Ms. Detert who has been working as both our Financial Admin Assistant and still supporting the Welcome Center desk since January. As well as a cast of other incredible staff that have supported in this transition.

Mr. Robert Gilkey-Meisegeier will be serving as our second dean for the rest of the year supporting Ms. Nee in athletics and Mr. G, Coach Chris and Ms. Erin on the "floor".

Coach Harper will be transitioning from a Special Education Assistant to a Youth Advocate joining our "floor team" supporting students and building bridges between students, teachers and problem solving.

A few reminders as we continue 2nd semester:

• Parents/Caregivers be sure to use the pick-up/drop-off lane for dropping off and picking up your scholar. DO NOT pull into the student lot or the staff/visitor lot as this causes congestion and potential accidents.

• Handicap stalls are ALWAYS reserved for vehicles with a license plate or placard. Never pull into a handicap stall to wait for someone you are picking up or dropping off. We have had several instances where our scholars are unable to be picked up by their accessible vehicle because other vehicles were in those spaces.

• Students: make sure you have your parking pass and parking in the student lot.

• As we continue 2nd semester we will be rebooting parking lot enforcement including tickets. Please reach out with what questions you have.

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