Wauwatosa West Updates

We have had an exceptional start to our school year and it was capped off by a festive, safe, and exciting homecoming week. School safety has been a focus for the past year. We started this year with direct conversations with all students about our mutual responsibilities to making this a great place to learn and work. We specifically asked them to seek help resolving conflicts that could be escalating. Our school community has responded. I am proud to celebrate that we have completed our first month of the school year with no fights at West and an incredibly calm start to the school year. Our students came to school focused and ready to learn and enjoy school together.

All of our events last week went on with no major incidents. Our students know how to celebrate homecoming. The week was capped off by an exciting upset win for the football team against an excellent Pewaukee program. The dance Saturday night was safe and fun as well. Similar to past practice, we randomly selected students to take a breathalyzer at entry. All tests for alcohol consumption were negative, earning each student a gift card to Starbuck or Chick fi la. It's fun to chaperone a dance where students celebrate being selected for the random test.

West is a great place to work and learn. I am proud of our first month together and excited to continue the success and fun through the year.

We are concerned with the volume of tardiness at West. When asked what is most important employees consistently say attendance and timeliness matter. At West we have 80-100 tardies to first hour everyday. Nearly 10% of our students are late to school. The problem continues through the day.

This results in lost learning time, interruptions of the classroom as students enter late and increased risk as students are in the hallway with less supervision during class periods. We will be focusing on this problem in the weeks ahead. A first step will be revoking open campus from students that have chronic tardiness. Students were warned of this in our opening meetings. We will also begin conducting hallway sweeps to better identify who is tardy and why they are not in class when it begins. That will allow us to focus on the barriers that are preventing on time behavior.

We will need family support. Please stress the importance of getting to class on time with your child. Please support our consequences if that becomes necessary. We will communicate clearly as our work on this develops.

Effective immediately, students will be required to purchase a ticket or pass on the GoFan ticketing app for entry into any Wauwatosa East/West sponsored sporting event. This includes games or events between Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West. Students will be required to show a valid student ID and present a pass or ticket to be redeemed at the gate for entry.

Additionally, policy 5855 states that it is recommended that any non-high school age student is accompanied by a parent or chaperone for admission to the game. We will continue to adhere to the following safety measures at our athletic events:

• No backpacks

• No re-entry

• Fans are to be in the stands when not visiting concessions or restrooms

• All spectators must leave within 15 minutes of the end of the game

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

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Students at West are fortunate to have a wide range of opportunities to take a college level course in high school. Many see this all the way through to the exam at the end of the term. As seen in the table below we see more students accepting that challenge every year. By choosing to take an AP exam at the conclusion of a course, students could potentially earn college credit depending on the score they receive and their university of choice. If a student elects not to take an AP exam, this will have no bearing on their final grade for their AP class. AP (Advanced Placement) exams are completely voluntary and are not required. That said, students are encouraged to embrace the challenge of the exam to better prepare them for college if they choose to pursue that route.

Wauwatosa is one of only a few districts that require an AP experience. All sophomores are required to take AP Human Geography. While we don't expect all students to proceed to college after graduation it is our goal to make that option available by engaging and supporting all students in rigorous coursework. New this year, the Wauwatosa School District will pay for the exam for any student in AP Human Geography that chooses to register for the exam. I am proud to work in a school that committed to removing barriers to success.

The deadline for registering for the AP exams is approaching. Brand new this year, the Wauwatosa School District has decided to use Total Registration for all AP exam registration and payments. By using this site, schools will no longer require a paper registration form to be collected.

Exam registration will be completed online and will begin today, September 27, 2023. Friday November 3, 2023 is the deadline to make either the $40 per exam deposit payment or full payment. All final AP payments will be due by the Friday, March 1, 2024 deadline. More detailed information has been sent directly to students that are presently enrolled in AP courses.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Bret Harttert at hartterbr@wauwatosa.k12.wi.us after October 9, 2023

Beginning the week of October 2, students in grades 4-12 will engage in a 10 question survey about their experience at school. We rely on these results to help us improve the student experience at West. Last year we saw consistent improvement in the student perception of safety as we continued our work in that area.

If you would like to opt your child out of participation, please reach out to the main office.

It is important that no student is hungry at school.

In an effort to ensure each of our students has access to healthy meals, all families are asked to complete the 2023-24 Household Application for Free and Reduced School Meals. While families may not have qualified in the past, federal guidelines have changed and your child/children may be eligible. Please also note that if your family’s financial situation changes during the school year, this form may be resubmitted to determine eligibility.

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.

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.

You can see all district updates here.