Wauwatosa West Updates

Our Fall production of Frozen was nominated for Jerry Awards in 16 categories this year including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Orchestra. The Jerry Awards, one of Wisconsin’s High School Musical Awards Programs, encourages, recognizes and honors excellence in high school musical theater. Educators and industry professionals review productions at more than 85 high schools in 30 counties around the state providing valuable feedback. The program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools

You can see all of the nominees in the image below. Congratulations and good luck to our Trojan Thespians.

The Wauwatosa West Scholarship Foundation (WWSF) was established in 2004 by a group of volunteer parents to recognize and award scholarships to graduating Wauwatosa West students with post-secondary plans. For each of the past several years they have awarded ten, $1000 scholarships at the West Local Scholarship Awards Night. Please consider attending their wonderful community event and annual fundraiser with through the flyer portrayed below. You can also learn more and make a direct donation on their website linked here.

You and your student(s) are invited to attend Course Information Night in preparation for course selection for the 2024-2025 school year. Course Information Night will be held Monday, January 8th at 6:30 p.m. Please note that this date is earlier than in previous years.

A program for current 9th through 11th graders and their parents will be held from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 7:00 p.m. in the Wauwatosa West cafeteria. The course selection process will be described and questions answered about course offerings, including the new courses for 2024-25, followed by the opportunity to meet with teachers from every department to ask questions. Clubs and athletics will also have representatives available.

A program specific to current 8th graders will also be held from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 7:15 p.m. in the Wauwatosa West Auditorium.

Planning for success after high school will be an area of focus for us in the months and years ahead. We will be building our capacity to support student goal setting and purposeful academic planning to improve engagement at school and help assure that they are prepared to live the life they imagine after high school. The continued partnership with families in these activities is critical to student success.

Semester Exams will be held on January 17-19th. Some classes will have performance based exams that may impact their exam schedules. Our teaching staff will communicate the specific requirements for students in their classes.

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

March 19 all 9th-12th graders will be taking the Pre-ACT test (9th and 10th) or the ACT test (11th) as required by the DPI. Seniors will be excused from school that day.

In light of the recent incident during the East/West Basketball doubleheader we will be requiring student IDs for all students. This has been communicated to our visiting teams as well. While necessary, it is a challenging process that will result in further delays to get into the event. Please plan for an earlier arrival and dress appropriately as the line for entrance will extend outside the school. We will continue to refine our processes to expedite our entrance as much as possible. The following expectations will continue.

After school: If you are attending or participating in an event you must exit the building after school. Students will not be allowed to loiter in the building until game time. Students who do not follow this protocol will be asked to leave the school grounds

Tickets: All Tickets are Cashless, and can be purchased on our website or by CLICKING HERE! Everyone needs a ticket unless they are on the VARSITY roster for that specific game. **There will be no entry after halftime of the varsity game, doors will be locked and entry to the game is closed!**

If a student at any co- curricular event meets any of the following criteria they will be denied entrance or asked to leave the event:

• Is in possession of any banned substances
• Suspected, based on observation, to be under the influence
• Is found to be in a single bathroom stall with other students
• Is loitering closely with a group of students when banned substances (vape, smoking, alcohol, etc.) are being used

All spectators must leave within 20 minutes of the end of the game

By coming to an event you agree to follow appropriate spectator expectations, outlined in the student handbook

These expectations are in place to maximize the enjoyment for all of our fans. We are excited for the events ahead. Go Trojans!

Deciding when to keep a sick child home from school can be a difficult decision. The following guidelines will help you decide whether your child is too ill to attend school. This information does not take the place of consulting a medical provider.

Send your child to school if they have a runny nose, minor sore throat or just a little cough, but no other symptoms above their baseline (allergies, asthma, etc.) without fever. Learn when to keep your child home here: WSD Illness Guidelines.

Regular daily attendance is important to a child’s development. If your child is absent often, it may be harder to keep up with the class. It is important that your child stay home when sick to help them heal quickly, and to come to school when they are healthy. Should you decide to keep your child home, please contact your school’s attendance line. To help identify illnesses in our schools, caregivers are encouraged to report their child’s specific symptoms when calling in sick to the school attendance line. If your child is seen by a physician, please request a medical excuse to provide to the school office upon your child’s return.

Remind your child to wash their hands, cover their coughs, and catch their sneezes. This will help them stay healthy and keep their friends healthy. If you are ever unsure if your student should stay home, please contact your school's health aide or nurse.

It will be important for the future of Wauwatosa West that our families stay engaged with the Board and the work of the Tosa 2075 Task Force.

The Tosa 2075 Task Force will meet again on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at Underwood Elementary School. The meeting agenda and presentation will be available on the Task Force web page prior to the meeting. As always, members of the community are strongly encouraged to stay informed about the Task Force’s activities by reviewing materials, meeting agendas and recaps on the Task Force web page.

The Board of Education’s Engagement Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the Wauwatosa East library. The theme of the meeting is academic culture, and members of the community are encouraged to attend to learn about the steps District leaders are taking to enhance the academic culture in our schools.

New student enrollment will open to the community on Friday, January 5, 2024. Please visit our Enrollment web page to learn more and begin the enrollment process.

A survey will be launched for students in grades 4-12 in January 2024. Families are able to opt their child(ren) out of this survey. Families who wish to opt their child(ren) out of the survey should contact their building principal prior to January 2, 2024.

Student survey results along with ongoing focus groups with students at West drive our improvement efforts. Please encourage your child to share their authentic voice.

Your Voice Matters!

The Board of Education will hold a community engagement opportunity on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 6 p.m. at the Wauwatosa East library. The theme of the meeting is academic culture, and members of the community are encouraged to attend to learn about the steps District leaders are taking to enhance the academic culture in our schools.

The Board of Education’s Legislative Advocacy Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at 6 p.m. at Underwood Elementary School. The Wisconsin Public Education Network (WPEN) will be a guest at this meeting, and community members are encouraged to attend to learn more about ways to support their public schools.