Wauwatosa West Updates

We have had a spirited Homecoming week at West and the events are concluding this weekend. Congratulations to our Senior girls for coming through in a tough football game on Wednesday night. Our pep rally is today at the end of the day. The public events are listed below. Consider coming out to celebrate a great start to our year with the Trojan School Community.

• 5:00 pm--Parade through the Tosa West Community (the route leaves our lot and heads west on Center st. followed by a short loop through the neighborhood directly north of Center)
• 7:00 pm--Football v. Pewaukee, Cheer, Dance, and Band performances
• End of game--Fireworks

IMPORTANT DANCE INFORMATION

The dance is on Saturday, September 23rd at 8:00-11:00 pm. Students will not be allowed in after 8:45pm. Consistent with our past practices we will select a random sample of students through a drawing to take a breathalyzer to test for alcohol. We do this to keep all students safe. We are strict with pre-purchased tickets and guest passes. Homecoming is a school event and it is challenging to manage student behavior with students we don't know. We work hard to assure that students are high school aged and that their school supports their attendance and good behavior.

Please be sure rides are here promptly at 11:00 pm. We want to keep students safe and our staff wants to be home at a reasonable time. There is no more depressing way for a student to end their bedazzled Homecoming event than waiting for a ride with a group of adults.

Please be sure you discuss behavior at events and through the weekend with your child. We care deeply for our students and know that risky behavior escalates during these events. We want students to have fun but I'll admit to always being nervous as principal through the weekend. I want all of our students back safe on Monday and don't want anyone to compromise their continued success at West with a bad decision. My message today is "Be safe, be smart and have fun".

Enjoy the weekend.

Wauwatosa West is proud to have a College and Career Center. The purpose of the center is to support students planning their next steps after high school.

One way we do this is by hosting representatives from various colleges. During these visits students can learn more about the college and admissions process. The complete list of colleges and schools scheduled to visit this year can be found here. Students need permission from their teacher if they are missing class. They can pick up a College Visit Pass from the Career Center or counseling office before the visit. This must be signed by their teacher in order to participate.

Students are also welcome to make appointments with Mrs. Webb for information and support related to college and career planning. This includes discussing options, completing applications, or admission essay feedback. Students who are considering trades, military, or apprenticeships are also encouraged to visit.

Alicia Webb

College and Career Coordinator

webbal@wauwatosa.k12.wi.us

414-773-3029

Last weekend the Wauwatosa West Class of 1973 had their own homecoming. Our student supervisor led them on a building tour on Saturday morning. Our alumni reminisced about their years at West and learned about the school today. The following note came to us in appreciation of the tour.

Thank you taking part of your Saturday to lead us on a tour of Tosa West! The highlight was seeing the cool wood and metal shops and learning about the Launch program....

....Culinary Arts has come a long way from the old "Home Ec" classes of the past. We appreciated your time and enthusiasm in sharing all of the great things about Tosa West 2023 version!

The Milwaukee County Youth Commission is seeking new members to represent one of nine open seats representing Milwaukee County’s 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 17th districts. The 5th and 6th districts overlap with the Wauwatosa city boundary, but many of the other districts may be of interest to those students who open enroll into the school district. Daisy Lehman did an excellent job representing the 6th district (my district) last year, and it would be great to find another motivated Tosa student like her to fill her shoes and represent young people on the commission. To apply and learn more, folks can visit https://County.Milwaukee.gov/youthcommission. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 29. If anyone is unsure what Milwaukee County district they reside in, they can visit: https://www.findyourcountysupervisor.com.

Beginning the week of September 25, 2023 and on the dates indicated below, families of middle and high school students will be able to view their child’s in-progress grade via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. For more information on how to view the in-progress grade report, please view these instructions. This will continue on a monthly basis. If parents/guardians have questions regarding in-progress grades, please contact the child’s teacher.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

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Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

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Tuesday, May 21, 2024

One of our most important goals of the district and at Wauwatosa West High School is making sure that our students have the social emotional skills to be successful in the classroom and in their future endeavors. Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important role social emotional skills play in each student’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making sound decisions, and working collaboratively in groups are all necessary to be successful students and adults. This will help us support student wellness at a time when we are faced with a mental health crisis among young people across the country. We’re writing to inform you how we are going to help teach these valuable skills through advisory.

The overall goal of Trojan Community Skills is for students to learn skills for managing their emotions, behaviors, and relationships and to be able to apply these skills to their lives outside the classroom. When students have better control of their emotions and form healthy relationships, they are better able to learn, and the impact of adverse outside-of-school factors on learning is reduced. The life skills learned through Trojan Community Skills can increase students’ success in the present and beyond graduation.

What are the Trojan Community Skill lessons and modules?

Students are taught social-emotional learning skills through lessons adapted from a research-based resource called, “DBT Skills in Schools: Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents.” The program has been shown to increase students’ social-emotional skill acquisition and reduce disciplinary actions. The specific lessons are taught through four different modules. These modules include mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. Below is a breakdown of each module and the skills students learn in each:

1. Emotion Regulation Module: Teaches skills for decreasing unpleasant, distressing emotions and increasing positive emotions.

2. Mindfulness Module: Teaches skills for increasing self-awareness, becoming less judgemental, and gaining control of one’s attention.

3. Distress Tolerance Module: Teaches skills for making distress endurable, so that an upsetting situation is not made worse by impulsive action.

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness Module: Teaches skills for asking for something or saying no to another person, while maintaining a good relationship and one’s self-respect.

Who will be taught the Trojan Community Skills and when?

Trojan Community Skills lessons will be taught to all high school students at West High School. These lessons will be delivered by general education teachers through a student’s advisory time along with lessons involving community and team building, student union group representation, academic and career planning, and academic check-ins. Students will not miss their scheduled classes in order to learn from the Trojan Community Skills lessons. School staff will reinforce the generalization of Trojan Strong Skills by practicing them with students. We will include more specific information about the lessons to families through this newsletter as they are completed during eight advisory sessions over the course of the year.

The need for this awareness and support was highlighted in this recent article that specifically addresses the issue among our adolescent girls.

If you have any questions or want additional information please contact

Sarah LaBonte, Secondary Mental Health Specialist, at (414)-773-3009.

Corey Golla, Principal, at (414) 773-3010

Multi Ethnic Parent Association aims to increase cultural awareness throughout the district, support academic achievement, foster social-emotional growth, increase opportunities and experiences, and create a space that will allow parents/guardians to work collaboratively to advocate for their children. Please join the group’s inaugural meeting on Thursday, September 28 from 6-7 p.m. at the Fisher Administration Building, Conference Room C, where you can learn more about MEPA and meet fellow parents who may share similar experiences. Please RSVP by completing this form.

West is fortunate to have a vibrant PTA that supports students, staff and our school. This is unique at the high school level and ours is among the largest in Wisconsin. During the 2022-2023 school year, the Tosa West PTA:

-Supported student recognition programs

JOIN THE PTA at our Givebacks page https://tosawestpta.memberhub.com/store ($12 individual or $20 for a family) or access the page with the QR code. You can also DONATE using this link or code.

You can also visit the SPIRIT WEAR store and show your Tosa West pride https://tosa-west-pta.square.site/ in the community and at all of our school events.

The Tosa West PTA meets regularly on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm in the Steiner Center. Thank you to the officers listed below for their support for the Trojans.

Wauwatosa West PTA Executive Board 2023-2024

President: Daniel Gugala

Vice President: Mike Zollicoffer

Treasurer: Jeannie Young

Secretary: Teresa Wooster

The Senate Scholar Program is an intensive week-long educational program offered by the Wisconsin State Senate. Admission to the program is highly competitive and is limited to 33 academically exceptional high school juniors and seniors from around Wisconsin. Each Senate Scholar receives a hands-on, up-close view of the Legislature’s role in our democracy.

Senate Scholars gain experience in such diverse areas as policy development, constituent relations, and processing legislation by working with Senators, legislative staff and University of Wisconsin faculty. Interested students should click here to learn more and submit an application. Applications are due by November 17, 2023.

You can see all district updates here.