Wauwatosa West Updates

My apologies for the late newsletter. As most of you are aware our network was down during the day on Friday. The system was restored today.

There is no school on Monday, February 19th. This was a scheduled day off for students and a collaboration day for teachers. These days and our Wednesday afternoons are important for teachers to connect, refine their work for students and continue long term curriculum and learning improvements that will positively impact students for years to come. My day will begin with the English Language Arts department as they continue their planning for the curriculum adoption slated for next year. Our ELA teams are already piloting many of those materials. I will continue with the World Language team as they hear the results of their curricular audit in anticipation of curriculum improvements as well.

This past week during our staff meeting we heard presentations from our Algebra and English 9 teams. Students in these classes have realized noticeable gains in the past semester. We saw an improvement on classroom Algebra assessments, growing numbers of students earning a C or better and demonstrated improvement among 9th graders on our STAR testing. Similarly 9th grade students saw improvements on their STAR proficiency and growth as well.

Teams were asked to share their thoughts on what they have done instructionally that has contributed to the growth. Our intention is to "learn from the bright spots" and these team members had significant and specific highlights to share from their collaborative work that others can learn from. They were asked to connect their work to the Improvement Model used at West that is featured below.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to improve by making the time available to our staff.

Parent and teacher conferences are coming up soon. Please watch for the scheduling information and links this week.

You can see the details on our 3-day format in the graphic below that was sent out in an additional message this week. This format replicates what was done in the Fall with two dates available to all families (3/1 and 3/7) and one reserved for pre-planned meetings. Those invitations are already going out to families. Thank you for your feedback and patience as we continue to work to find the format that best meets the needs of our students.

Our students at West are thriving, sometimes despite barriers beyond their control. We face a mental health care crisis that is without historical precedent, dangerous narcotics threaten the wellness of our students and are harder than ever to detect and 1 in 4 families in our District face economic hardships. The wellness of or students will require a community effort.

Discover support and resilience at Wauwatosa School District's second annual Inclusion Resource Fair on February 21, 2024. Join us for an evening of hands-on activities, informative workshops, and a community dedicated to the support and inclusion of those with disabilities, mental health and more. This event is free of charge, open to the public and welcomes those of all ages and abilities. Click here for more information.

The Wauwatosa West Art Department is an exceptional program where student voice is elevated in skillful works of art. Many of our artists earn distinction through public competitions and exhibitions through the year. The Tosa West Art Department is pleased to announce the results of the Scholastic Art Competition for the State of Wisconsin:

16 Honorable Mentions (1 portfolio)

14 Silver Keys (2 portfolios)

10 Gold Keys (1 portfolio...NOTE: This is one of only 9 gold key portfolios awarded in the entire state of Wisconsin!)

You can view all of these pieces on THIS slide deck. Please take the time to explore the works; you will be moved.

All Silver and Gold Key awards will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum until March 19th.

The Gold Key Award winners also will go on to compete at the national level with those results coming later this Spring

Great news! Our production of Disney's Frozen: The Broadway Musical has been selected to perform on the main stage at the International Thespian Festival - the Super Bowl of High School Theatre! This is our championship. We are grateful for this incredible opportunity. You can see more information in the links below.

Tosa West Frozen to perform at ITF

ITF Main Stage Lineup

Following a nationwide screening and adjudication process, only nine schools were selected. The highly coveted invitation is a huge honor. Tosa West will perform Frozen at the 2024 International Thespian Festival (ITF), held June 23-29 at Indiana University in Bloomington. And, guess what? We'll be re-mounting our entire production of Frozen at Tosa West and will have 4 public performances before traveling to ITF. Who wants to see Frozen again?!?

Thank you for your continued support of our theatre students. And, a special shout out to Mr. Hunt and Ms. Melcher for their tremendous talent and dedication to Frozen. I'm very proud to have them a part of the Tosa West Theatre Team. The Frozen journey continues and the road to Indiana begins.

Wisconsin Junior Classical League State Convention

Latin students from East and West (among 11 total high schools in Wisconsin) competed in academic contests during the week of 1/25-1/27. This is "State" for Latin students. I'm attaching the summary of our successes. Students on this list can claim Top-Ten in the State for the various contests. Because of the nature of some of the contests (and due to time-constraints during the event), ties are permitted. Congratulations to the students listed in the document listed here.

Future Health Professionals (HOSA)

Ten students took an online test and via Zoom performed skills in their chosen Competitive Event in January to qualify for the HOSA State Leadership Conference in April. They will compete against other Wisconsin schools at the Chula Vista after honing their skills even further. Layla Fredricks will move on in Healthcare Photography, Cooper Whale and Jacob Zielinski will move on in Forensic Science and Lochlainn Whale and Colman Hanlon are alternates in CPR/First Aid. If you see these students, wish them luck and congratulate them on their hard work. Following are the placements:

Layla Fredricks--Gold

Rory Petitt and Aili Rogers (Healthcare Display)--Silver

Jacob Zielinski and Cooper Whale--Silver

TaylorAnn Boldon (Medical Terminology)--Silver

Anika Goodman (Pathophysiology)--Bronze

Sam Sanders (Epidemiology)--Bronze

Colman Hanlon and Lochlainn Whales--Bronze

On Wednesday January 24th, the Wauwatosa West APPSE(We the People) Team won the Wisconsin State Competition qualifying them to compete at the National We the People Finals. The students had to work around weather delays earlier in the month that postponed the competition for a few more weeks but they stayed locked in. The kids performed via Zoom and had judges from all around the country evaluating and scoring their performances. The class won the State Competition for the 16th time in the 17 year history of the program here at West. The students now set their sites on fundraising to help get to Washington DC for the April Competition and to try and reach the Top 10 in the country for the fourth straight year. Stay tuned to see what fundraising events are coming up and how you might be able to help support the class. Additionally, this year PBS is filming a docuseries which is following about 10 schools that run the We the People class around the country and Wauwatosa West's APPSE class is being featured. Stay tuned for that docuseries to air later this fall.

The "We the People" competition challenges teams of students to present responses to questions posed about constitutional issues. The students are then questioned by a panel of judges that typically include attorneys, judges and adults working in public policy. West has a long tradition of excellence with continual qualifications to nationals and multiple top 10 finishes in recent years.

We have received our first nominations and will continue to solicit more. Please share the information about our Wall of Recognition with friends and family on your social media. The Wauwatosa West High School Wall of Recognition was formed for the purpose of sharing the accomplishments of Wauwatosa West High School graduates with our students and community hopes that these people will inspire current students and promote pride in our school. The inaugural, and only three inductees, were honored in 2016. We are excited to continue this initiative and are seeking nominations through the remainder of this school year. Our intention is to recreate a selection committee this spring and summer and to honor a slate of new inductees in the Fall of 2024 and continue the tradition each year. Please consider submitting a nomination using the form below.

The most important thing we can do to promote reading for students is to read with them and be seen reading. The 11th annual Tosa’s All-City Read is hosting events from mid-February through mid-March. Most of the events are based on this year’s adult/teen book, We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter, but there are also events based on two companion books for children, Number the Stars (for ages 9-13) and Out and About (for ages 3-8). Please go here to find out more about events.

Tosa’s All-City Read is sponsoring an essay contest for adults and students with cash prizes. Consider entering the contest yourself - or encourage your children to enter. First and second place cash prizes will be awarded in four age categories: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12 and Adult (19+). More details and the submission form can be found at tosasallcityread.com/contests. Entries are due March 11.

Wisconsin Forward exam in Social Studies will be done during class within the state mandated test windows (March 18-22 and April 1-5)

PreAct for 9th-10th grade and ACT for 11th grade students is scheduled for March 19th. Please mark this on your calendars. More information will come from your child's school in the coming weeks. If your child would like to take a free ACT practice exam, you can access one at http://academy.act.org!

Test takers can improve their scores by taking at least one full-length, timed practice test before test day.

Seniors will be excused from school that day.

If you were once a Wauwatosa resident and have recently moved (or if you are currently a resident and plan to move) outside of Wauwatosa School District boundaries, and if you wish for your child(ren) to continue attending school in the Wauwatosa School District, you must complete a tuition waiver as soon as possible upon moving. Upon completion of the tuition waiver for the current school year, you will then need to apply for open enrollment should you desire a seat for the 2024-2025 school year. The Open Enrollment application period runs February 5 - April 30, 2024.

Families who move and complete a tuition waiver application before April 30, 2024 will be guaranteed continued enrollment whereas those who move after April 30, 2024 will be given a preference for Open Enrollment based on Board-approved space availability. The District will apply the Department of Public Instruction's tuition waiver matrix in moving through decision points based on the date of your out-of-District move.

Individuals who have moved outside District boundaries and do not complete an Open Enrollment application for the 2024-25 school year will not be entered into the Open Enrollment Lottery and their child(ren) will no longer be eligible to attend school in the Wauwatosa School District. Should you have any questions, please call the Division of Pupil and Family Support's enrollment office at 414-773-1085.

The Wauwatosa Health Department is offering a free Narcan training on March 7, 2024, from 5-6:30 PM at the Lower Civic Center in the Wauwatosa City Hall. Narcan is a medication used to prevent opioid overdoses. For more information on the session, click here.

Each winter, the Wauwatosa School District develops an Annual Report that highlights our schools, our staff and their accomplishments, our students and their achievements, and the financial state of the District. The Annual Report will be mailed to all residential addresses in Wauwatosa, and can also be found on our website here.