October 21st Weekly Blog

Purpose Corner - You all get a break from me talking this week, but I still offered the opportunity to travel through the mountain lake I journey on during my videos, as you journey through this blog post! Have a great week!

Looking for work....become an AVID tutor! - The School District of Waukesha and West High School are continuing to look for AVID tutors. We are looking for people who want part-time work and are seeking to make a difference with our students. We have a consistent need district-wide to fill tutoring positions as AVID is continuing to bring success and is spreading throughout our district. Please consider joining our successes with AVID or pass this information along to someone you think would be a great fit. The flyer and information for the position are below:

"State Marching Band" - Once again the Cadets of Waukesha West delivered a dynamite performance on a beautiful fall evening (where we finally didn't get soaked) as part of a very talented Triple-A group designation at Perkins Stadium on the UW-Whitewater college campus this past Saturday. Congratulations to the Cadets, band directors and all the parent/volunteer support for another outstanding season which resulted in multiple first-place finishes in various competitions and a third-place finish at the state competition in class Triple-A. To give some perspective, the Cadets finished in 5th place overall out of 29 teams statewide showing the talent of their division, which is exceptional! Way to go Cadets! We also sent the marching band off in style as students filled the hallways at West to wish them the best. Enjoy the videos of the send-off and their 2019 state  performance below:

Please click here to access this 1:19 video

State Tennis - Sophomore Molly Asfeld made it to the state tennis competition for the second year in a row. Last year Molly won her first match and once again accomplished that feat this year. Congrats on a great season Molly and for representing the West tennis program well! Molly is in the middle of her sisters Katelyn and Brittany.

  

 West & Aquaponics - On Thursday, October 17th West 8th hour Science students welcomed 16 visitors from "Waukesha Reads" into the West greenhouse which houses our Aquaponics program. The students were able to show them the work they do such as compost, planting, and learning. They had the opportunity to explain how the book "The Lorax" fit in with classroom discussions about deforestation and how Aquaponics is an alternative way to grow food. This was a great experience for the students and the visitors as well. We are very proud of these students!

Orchestra - I am very fortunate that my job allows me to enjoy the talents of our students. A great way to practice performing is to do it outside of the classroom for a new audience. Sometimes that means filling our halls with sweet sounds, which happened recently when our orchestra class performed for any to hear in our atrium. Enjoy the sounds of the video below, as my phone camera needs to be fixed and is very blurry!

Please click here to access this 0:39 video

The Christmas Clearing Council - This organization works to provide a brighter Christmas for children throughout Waukesha County by promoting and coordinating giving to families in need during the Holiday season. This post is for families who may be in need or for any who wish to give back and help support. To help, please visit this link: Christmas Clearing Council - How to Help

To apply, families must live with the child or children for which they are requesting gifts and families must qualify for the free/reduced lunch program. If there are multiple children at various schools, one application is needed for the entire family.  Applications are currently being accepted and are due back to West High School by October 30,  2019.  Applications are available in the student services office.

For more information, please contact:

Catherine Callahan, School Social Worker  

(262) 970-3933 


ccallahan@waukesha.k12.wi.us

Do not forget "Challenge Day" - Last year we started the school year off with an outstanding event known as "Challenge Day." Currently, 75% of West students had exposure to the events of this week along with almost all current staff. Let us not forget the impact this week had on us as a West community and may we go forward truly "being the change we want to see in the world!" For those that want to know more about what we did, ask a student or a teacher, plus read what I wrote below last year along with accessing their website and enjoy the pictures from the week!

What a week it was last week as 300 students and 75 adults volunteered to be part of three days of small group work for "Challenge Day" centered around being real about who we are as people with our celebrations and our struggles. On our fourth day, the entire school was allowed a glimpse into this same mindset, all for the purpose of knowing we all struggle and can relate, and that we must have each other's backs!! Last week has propelled us to do more to support one another and I will continue to showcase what that looks like throughout the course of this school year. For now, I will share with you our West logo (embedded is universal sign language for love) to support the work of "Challenge Day" and some pictures from our all-school assembly, with some great dancing among staff and students!! I encourage anyone to access the Challenge Day website to learn more about it. https://www.challengeday.org/

  

Guest Blogger - I have challenged people for the last two weeks to become guest bloggers and I still have only received one correspondence that has the potential to join me. The challenge is still out there...I am open to any students who may want to become a guest blogger, please contact me directly, thanks!

College & Career Fair - Please come and engage at your leisure in this outstanding event...flyer below:

Principal Advisory Committee - Below are the names of the individuals on the Principal Advisory Council for 2019-2020. We met this past Wednesday, October 16th so please contact any one of the representatives with questions you may have. Please access the minutes for more information about our discussions for this school year. The meeting minutes are linked here:

Nate Houlton	Nvhcoach@yahoo.com (Gr. 10)
Cortney Youngblood	cortneyyoungblood@gmail.com (Gr. 10)
Jackie Papageorge	jackie@gpg3.com (Gr.10)
Michelle Cameron	tiki424ma@gmail.com (Gr. 10)
Jennifer Schmeichel	jschmeichel@bethany.org (Gr. 11)
Wendy Dahl	wdahl@gswise.org (Gr. 12)
Michelle Kuokkanen	mkuokkanen@yahoo.com (Gr. 12)
Jana Manning	jmanning@waukesha.k12.wi.us (Gr. 9)
Carri Marlow	carrimarlow@yahoo.com (Gr. 9)
Clifton Hoffman	Clif.hoffman@att.net (Gr. 9)
Katie Pantzlaff	pantzkat@gmail.com (Gr. 9)
Kristi Fischer	kristifischer17@gmail.com (Gr. 9)
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com (Gr. 11)

Archived Announcements (Link) Please access this link to find all of the information in our daily announcements from previous weeks.

Preview of this week: Please check the calendars here: West Main Page Calendar (Link)

October 14th Weekly Blog

Purpose Corner - This week on "Purpose Corner" I remind all students of the importance of checking their school email on a daily basis, during proper times throughout the school day as we use this to provide important information to students. I also discuss "threat assessment" as it pertains to school safety at West.

Please click here to access this 2:30 video

West Woods Project - The West Woods Project has been ongoing over the past couple of years and has resulted in many volunteer hours, several hours of fundraising, a few donations for materials, and a consistent purpose to make the patch of woods in the southwest corner of our campus accessible for enjoyment. English teacher Fred Jonas has been the constant and I want to share with you his latest update on the project with some pictures.... a big shout out to Joe Ginter who focused on the West Woods for an Eagle Scout project and rocked it!!

A quick update on the West Woods Project:

Yesterday, a group from the Boy Scouts/ Eagle Scouts, parents, staff and students were here from 8:30 - 5:30 working on the path. Specifically, Joe Ginter, freshman student, led the Scouts and donated two benches and provided many people with rakes to level the path. He was instrumental yesterday and deserves a major shout-out.

Two of our senior girls helped spread chips by Teri's memorial bench and provided the mortar mix, and three senior guys (A.Owusu-Asiedu, Z.Kluge and E. Duberstein) helped reassemble the stone wall by the waterfall - and learned some masonry skills in the process. Mr. Patt, Mr. Knutson, Mr. Jeff Lane (retired), Mr. Gray, and countless staff, parents and all others helped, supported, and encouraged everyone to get this moving and keep going when we were cold and tired - but the path is (nearly) done. We literally ran out of gasoline and had to stop. Specifically, Mr. Dave Thompson donated machinery and crew/ operators to lay the 1/2 mile of stone (as did Mr. Patt until a tragic equipment failure). It should be fully graveled by tomorrow thanks to Tim W and Dennis W!!!!!! Lastly, thanks, as always, to Ms. Kirsten Ellsworth for her unending support, encouragement and work to help this become a reality. 

If you get a chance later this week or next, please walk the path. The new stone is soft, but it's not mud. It's there for everyone's use and it's beautiful in the fall. It is the ultimate decompression/ wellness experience. Again, I apologize if I missed anyone. You know I am eternally grateful to all who have made this become a reality. Go West!

The Cadets of Waukesha West!! - The Cadets have been setting the standard for excellence throughout the marching band competition season earning multiple first-place victories throughout. Well, they did it again this past weekend in preparation for the state competition this coming weekend at UW-Whitewater. The Cadets posted season high scores and received 1st place in Class Triple-A at both events this past weekend held at Milton and Sauk Prairie High Schools. Come out and support the Cadets’ final performance of “Eyes of Athena” at UW-Whitewater this Saturday, October 19 at 9:00 P.M. at the state competition!!

Guest Blogger - I challenged some people last week to become guest bloggers and I received one correspondence that has the potential to join me. I look forward to meeting with this student and making this happen, but in the meantime, the challenge is still out there...I am open to any students who may want to become a guest blogger, please contact me directly, thanks!

College & Career Fair - Please come and engage at your leisure in this outstanding event...flyer below:

Principal Advisory Committee - Below are the names of the individuals on the Principal Advisory Council for 2019-2020. We will be meeting this Wednesday, October 16th so please contact any one of the representatives with questions you may have. Please access the minutes for more information about our discussions for this school year. The meeting minutes are linked here:

Nate Houlton	Nvhcoach@yahoo.com (Gr. 10)
Cortney Youngblood	cortneyyoungblood@gmail.com (Gr. 10)
Jackie Papageorge	jackie@gpg3.com (Gr.10)
Michelle Cameron	tiki424ma@gmail.com (Gr. 10)
Jennifer Schmeichel	jschmeichel@bethany.org (Gr. 11)
Wendy Dahl	wdahl@gswise.org (Gr. 12)
Michelle Kuokkanen	mkuokkanen@yahoo.com (Gr. 12)
Jana Manning	jmanning@waukesha.k12.wi.us (Gr. 9)
Carri Marlow	carrimarlow@yahoo.com (Gr. 9)
Clifton Hoffman	Clif.hoffman@att.net (Gr. 9)
Katie Pantzlaff	pantzkat@gmail.com (Gr. 9)
Kristi Fischer	kristifischer17@gmail.com (Gr. 9)
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com (Gr. 11)

Archived Announcements (Link) Please access this link to find all of the information in our daily announcements from previous weeks.

Preview of this week: Please check the calendars here: West Main Page Calendar (Link)

October 7th Blog (Tuesday Edition)

Waukesha West Wall of Fame - As part of our annual tradition, this week Wednesday, October 9th we will be honoring the newest member of our West Wall of Fame, world-renown musician Michael Hey. His induction credentials are below.

A member of the graduating class of 2009, Michael Hey was an integral member of the marching band, choir, and symphonic orchestra, becoming a natural selection as Best Musician of his senior class.  Michael’s exceptional talent led him to The Julliard School where he received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in organ performance. Among his many prestigious professional accomplishments, Michael has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and the New York City Ballet.  His tremendous musical prowess has also been on display at Carnegie Hall (New York), Madison Square Garden (New York), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), and the Esplanade (Singapore).

As the Associate Director of Music and Organist at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, Michael has played and continues to perform over 700 services per year, including paying tribute to fallen members of the NYPD and NYFD.  He welcomed Pope Francis during his first visit to the United States and oversees the Guest Choir Concert Series at the Cathedral. Michael Hey is a tireless performer and educator, one whose brilliance and gifts to the musical and greater community are an inspiration to all. 

Purpose Corner - This week on "Purpose Corner" I explain our teacher, professional development model.

Please click here for this 3:46 video

Hey....what was in that picture?? - Last week in my blog I shared pictures of our Freshman tailgate. I received several inquiries looking to confirm if the two towerlike items in the pictures were rock climbing walls... and the answer is yes! Did you know we have a rock climbing club here at West? Well, we do and it is lead by Ms. Ponkratz who is an English teacher here at West. A big thank you to her for working to have them set up to benefit our Freshmen in having a fun experience! You can contact her if you are interested in joining at aponkratz@waukesha.k12.wi.us The picture that sparked the inquiries is below:

National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist - West has three students who moved into semi-finalist standing in the progression to be recognized as a National Merit Scholar. This is a national designation and see below what it means to achieve this status:

Over 1.6 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than 1% percent of U.S. high school seniors...

What this means is that Brady Chyla, Eric Dubberstein, and Matthew Langer's achievements have put them in the top 1% of all high school students nationwide! They will be recognized by our school board this week. Congrats to all of them for this distinct honor!

College & Career Fair - Please come and engage at your leisure in this outstanding event...flyer below:

Guest Blogger's Invited - Today I was fortunate to spend some time with Mrs. Menzel's 5B Writing for Publication course and discuss blogging as well as writing in general. I want to give them a shout out for having me in and letting me talk about how writing fits into my every day, and let me tell you that I can talk a lot!! They were attentive, asked great questions, and provided me with some feedback. While discussing my class visit with Mrs. Menzel, she came up with a great idea of asking me if I would be interested in having "guest" bloggers on this blog.... and the answer was yes, what a great idea!!! I invited members of her class today to be the first to join me and contribute a segment to this blog. The pressure is now on 5B for someone to reach out....looking forward to this new segment of my blog!!

Archived Announcements (Link) Please access this link to find all of the information in our daily announcements from previous weeks.

Preview of this week: Please check the calendars here: West Main Page Calendar (Link)