THE HOWL

Dear West Families,

We are so excited to welcome our Wolf Pack back this year. We had a wonderful morning during our Keys to Success on Tuesday with ninth graders and new students. A reminder that this Wednesday, August 26 is our Back to School Night from 6:00 - 8:00 pm where you will be able to meet teachers, walk schedules, and in general orient your scholar back to school. Additionally at 6:30 pm there will be a presentation for new students and incoming ninth grade parents. This is optional and provides details about "all things" West High School!

Please read this weeks edition of Back to School with important information about the upcoming school year.

I am looking forward to a wonderful partnership with you this school year!

Peg Shoemaker

Principal

Dear Students and Families,

As we prepare to welcome our scholars back for the 2026–27 school year, we want to share an important new expectation for students in grades 9–12.

Beginning this school year, students will be expected to visibly wear their school-issued student ID on a lanyard from the first bell through the last bell each school day. This expectation will help support safe, welcoming, and consistent learning environments across our high schools.

We know this will be a new routine for many students. Throughout September, our focus will be on helping students understand the expectation and build the habit of wearing their ID each day. Wearing an ID each day will provide students access to various school spaces and activities throughout the school year while supporting a safe and connected school community. Beginning in October, students will be expected to consistently wear their ID throughout the school day.

We will share more details with students and families, including information about receiving IDs and lanyards and what this expectation will look like day to day at your school.

We appreciate your support as we introduce this new expectation for our scholars.

As we step into a new school year, our top priority remains providing a safe, healthy, and drug-free environment where every student can focus on learning and thriving. Youth vaping and substance use continue to pose significant health and safety challenges in high schools across the country. To address this issue proactively, we are sharing key health facts every family should know alongside our updated Vape & Substance Response Policy and Plan.

Why This Matters: The Real Dangers of Youth Vaping

Many teens view vaping as a harmless alternative to smoking, but public health research paints a very different picture. Electronic smoking devices—whether they contain nicotine or cannabis (THC) extracts—carry serious biological and cognitive risks for teenagers:

• Brain Development & Addiction: According to the CDC, the human brain continues to develop until around age 25. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can permanently alter brain circuit formation, impacting attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.

• Extreme Nicotine Concentration: Modern disposable vapes and pods can contain as much nicotine as 200 cigarettes (an entire carton) in a single device, leading to rapid, heavy dependence.

• Lung Damage & Toxic Chemicals: Aerosol from e-cigarettes is not harmless water vapor. It contains ultrafine particles, heavy metals (such as nickel, tin, and lead), volatile organic compounds, and flavorings linked to severe respiratory inflammation (e.g., "popcorn lung").

• Risks of High-Potency Cannabis (THC): Vaping THC extracts exposes developing brains to extremely high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol, which is strongly linked to increased rates of anxiety, memory impairment, academic drop, and psychosis risks in teens.

Policy Statement & Detection Measures

The possession, use, distribution, or sale of electronic smoking devices (vapes, e-cigarettes, mods, pods, or cartridges containing nicotine, flavorings, or cannabis extracts) is strictly prohibited on school grounds, on school buses, and at all school-sponsored activities.

To enforce this, our school utilizes vape detection technology in restroom spaces.

What Happens During an Incident

1. Immediate Response & Search: When a vape detector alerts staff,school personnel respond immediately to the restroom. All students present in the space are escorted to a secure location and searched by Administrators.

2. Immediate Confiscation: Any discovered devices or related paraphernalia are immediately confiscated.

3. Caregiver Notification: Administration contacts caregivers on the day of the infraction. Caregivers are also contacted if their student was present and searched during a detector response, even if no vape was found.

Tiered Policy Consequences & Interventions

Our policy pairs clear behavioral limits with educational intervention (AODA – Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse education) to help students make healthier decisions moving forward.

Nicotine Infractions

Offense Level

First Offense

Second Offense

Third & Subsequent

Marijuana & Alcohol Infractions

Offense Level

First Offense

Second Offense

Third & Subsequent

Working Together for Student Safety

We appreciate your partnership in keeping our school community safe and supportive. We encourage you to use this opportunity to have an open, non-judgmental conversation with your student about the pressures and health consequences surrounding vaping and substance use.

If you have questions about our policies or need resources to support a student struggling with nicotine or substance dependence, please do not hesitate to contact our administration or Student Services department.

As we work together to give our scholars the best possible high school experience, one of our primary goals is always maximizing classroom learning time. Every minute of instruction counts. When a scholar arrives late to class, they miss critical introductory instruction, distract their peers, and start their period on the back foot.

One of our key goals is to eliminate tardies to class. To help our scholars build habits of responsibility and punctuality, we are implementing an updated Weekly Graduated Tardy Plan. Phase 1 will address Tardy C.

How the Weekly Plan Works

We recognize that every week presents a new opportunity to succeed. To give scholars a fresh start while maintaining clear accountability, tardy counts reset every single week. However, chronic weekly tardiness may lead to lunch detention and in-school detention. Caregivers will be notified by email and phone calls. If these tardies become chronic, there will be a mandatory meeting with the caregiver and Assistant Principal.

Supporting Our Scholars

This policy is designed to build accountability while surrounding scholars with the support they need. From Counselor check-ins to team touch-bases with our Deans, teachers, and Student Support Leads, we are committed to identifying and resolving any barriers standing between your scholar and their academic success.

How You Can Help at Home

• Monitor Weekly Progress: Please check your students' attendance frequently in Infinite Campus. Stay connected with your scholar’s teachers.

• Communicate: If your family is experiencing unique transportation or morning challenges, please reach out to the school team early so we can support you.

We deeply appreciate your partnership in reinforcing the value of punctuality. By working together, we ensure our classrooms remain focused, respectful, and productive learning environments for every scholar.

Intervention & Consequence

2 Tardies

3 Tardies

4 Tardies

5 Tardies

6+ Tardies

A friendly reminder of attendance expectations for excused and unexcused absences: here

If you were unable to attend registration, you can still take care of everything you need once school starts!

📷 Picture Make-Up Day: September 17 — new student IDs can also be printed that day.

🚗 Parking Permits: Available for purchase in the Front Office.

🔒 Lockers: Stop by the Front Office to have a locker assigned.

📄 Schedules: Copies can be printed in the Front Office or Student Services.

Stop by the front office on the first day of school with any questions, and we’ll be happy to help you!

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.

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.

Please click here for the most current schedule to follow all the action for SPW Athletics.

Go Wolves!

All eligible busing students are authorized to ride the after-school activity bus. Students must present their bussing information to the bus driver. Activity buses do not have set routes. The bus drivers develop routes based on the students riding on any given day. The length of time and the bus stops can vary greatly from day to day. Student ride times may exceed one hour.

The pick - up time is 4:50 pm, Monday-Thursday at Door 2.

The Class of 2027 is entering their senior year, and we're looking for parents and caregivers who would like to help make it a memorable one! We are forming a Senior Celebration Committee to assist with planning and supporting special events, recognition activities, and traditions throughout the school year. We will tentatively meet quarterly and potentially more frequently as we get closer to graduation.

Whether you can help with event planning, fundraising, volunteer coordination, or simply lend a helping hand when needed, we'd love to have you involved. This is a great opportunity to connect with other families and help create meaningful experiences for our seniors as they celebrate their final year at Sun Prairie West.

If you're interested in joining the Senior Celebration Committee, please complete the interest form below or contact Natalie Fowler at nefowle@sunprairieschools.org.
INTEREST FORM LINKED HERE

Together, let's make the Class of 2027's senior year one to remember!

For more details or questions, feel free to reach out to Ms. Thao at pthao@sunprairieschools.org

PSAT GOOGLE FORM (Student access only! Please use your Sun Prairie School Email Address to

Sign Up) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPlbj32neJXDscUH0_cbhi3ZdCCQsYn3ZMVkeC2UG34II

-Aw/viewform?usp=publish-editor

A reminder that during the school day, students will be required to show their school ID when entering the building.