Wauwatosa West Updates

Our Spanish Honor Society recently inducted over 80 students in a ceremony in the atrium at Wauwatosa West. To qualify for the Spanish Honor Society students must have completed three semesters of Spanish, have a B+ or better in their Spanish class, and be an honor student at West. As members students participate in service projects specific to Spanish speaking communities while continuing their studies in Spanish. You can see more information and the full roster of inductees in the program linked below.

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.

Wauwatosa West is thrilled that our School Board has approved courses for future educators. The first of these will be offered during registration for the coming year. West English teacher, Karra Esenberg will be teaching Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning during the 2024-25 school year. This course will run the full year. The outcomes are aligned with the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (TASC) and are "designed to deepen understanding in learner development, learning differences, learning environments, planning for instruction, instructional strategies, and professional learning/ethical practices. These learning standards will be explored through a culturally responsive lens".

The class aligns with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's EDUC 206 and students may choose to enroll for UWGB credits in addition to high school credit. We are hopeful that we will continue the development of this strand by offering Concepts, Issues and Field Experience in Education the following year. This strand combined with other existing courses (Child Development, Unified Physical Education, AP Psychology) and experiences at District schools nearby could position aspiring educators at West to be leaders among their peers as they leave high school. We are excited to grow our own succession plan within our walls where they can learn with and from our very best.

The Wauwatosa West National Honor Society (NHS) inducted nearly 70 new members on November 28th. Students are selected based on a consistent demonstration of excellence in four areas that represent the pillars of NHS. These include academic achievement, leadership, service and character. Congratulations to these students and their families for their relentless pursuit of excellence, they are models for us all. Please see the program with the complete list of names below.

This is a reminder of the expectations for all students planning to attend athletic games at West in the upcoming season. 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!

Semester Exams will be held on January 17-19th

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.

Objective 1.2 in our Strategic Plan indicates the development of an academic results dashboard that will be accessible to the public and reviewed by the Board of Education quarterly. We are excited to share that our Strategic Plan Dashboard meets this objective, and is available for stakeholders to view here. The dashboard is also available via the District webpage by clicking Menu → Strategy + Accountability → Strategic Plan Dashboard. Please note that this dashboard will be updated no more than quarterly with available information.

Families in need can get up to $60 per month in fresh fruits and vegetables through Instacart for the months of December, January and February and receive a free Instacart membership during that time. An optional survey at the end will allow families to receive an additional $15 Amazon gift card. View this flyer for more information.

The Tosa 2075 Task Force met on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at Underwood Elementary School. The meeting agenda and presentation materials are available on the Task Force web page. The meeting summary will be published shortly. 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.

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 held an engagement session related to district facilities on Wednesday, November 29. The event garnered great community attendance and high engagement from attendees. The Board recognizes that not everyone who wanted to attend was able to participate. A web page has been created for community members to explore materials presented at the meeting and add suggestions to the questions that were explored during the session. Choose the 'view as a visitor' option to gain access and add virtual sticky notes to the page. Community members who prefer to just view the presentation from PRA related to our facilities can access that here. All documents from the meeting are available in this Google folder.

The next WSD Parent University professional learning session, Understanding Individualized Education Plans, will take place on Tuesday, December 19th, from 6-7 p.m. at the Fisher Administration Building, Conference Room C. Please RSVP by completing this form.

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.