November 18th Weekly Blog (Tuesday Edition)

Welcome to West Night - We will be having our "Welcome to West Night" for all current  and prospective Waukesha West families on Monday, December 9th, 2019 from 5:30 - 8:00 P.M. The night will allow all in attendance to choose from a variety of break out sessions for acquiring information prior to scheduling for next year. Please check out the flyer below for an overview and click on this link to get a closer look at the information about the sessions that are available. Look forward to seeing you there!

School Report Card - The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has recently released the 2018-19 state School Report Cards for all public schools in Wisconsin.  I’m sharing our score with you for this past school year as we are proud of "Significantly Exceeding Expectations" for the second straight year because of the investment of our staff, students, parents, and community members. The criteria of this Report Card does not take into account all of the outstanding things that happen at West High School on a daily basis, but it is a measure that we celebrate as one indicator of our school's academic level. To give you a context, our state Report Card score for the 2015-2016 school year was 65.9 which “Meets Expectations," for 2016-2017 was 74.2 which “Exceeded Expectations," for 2017-2018 was 84.7 "Significantly Exceeds Expectations," and for 2018-2019 " 83.4 "Significantly Exceeds Expectations." You can access the Waukesha West School Report Card here.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions.

Girls Swimming - Congratulations to State Meet Participants: Rebecca Beam, Claire Wright, Campbell Hilson, Ava Mueller as they competed this past weekend at the state meet without any hardware to show but what an accomplishment to compete at that level!

Varsity Football - This past Friday night the Wolverines lost a tough battle to Waunakee in their level four WIAA playoff game. Thank you for an outstanding season with making it to the Division 2 state semi-final game!!

West One Act - Congrats to the cast and crew of the One-Act play "Proof" for their performance in the sectional qualifier two weekends ago at Waukesha West. Nineteen schools performed, and West advanced to State with the highest-rated show of that weekend as they have continued their annual dominance of being one of the areas top drama programs. Next up is the State competition on November 22nd at UWM. Best of luck!!!

Boys Soccer - Erich Legut....Congrats!! See Below:

Stretch Class - Our data has been clear at West for the past several years in that 90% of West students state they will go on to a two or four year college for their post-high school education, yet only 50% of students will make it past year one and that is why we push as a school to prepare our students better. A big part of preparing students to meet the challenges of the next level is course selection. With course scheduling coming up in a couple of months it is time to think about stretching your academic resume. A stretch class is rigorous, possibly AP or Honors, a class that a college admissions counselor would find impressive, and/or a class that will help you reach your fullest potential as a student. You could also choose to take an additional class instead of a study hall. This is a goal class for you. Think about what content area you excel in and stretch in that area or try something new and challenging!!

Principal Advisory Committee - Below are the names of the individuals on the Principal Advisory Council for 2019-2020. We will be meeting this Wednesday, November 20th so please contact any one of the representatives with questions you may have for our meeting. 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)
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)

NO BLOG NEXT WEEK!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

November 11th Weekly Blog

Purpose Corner - This week on "Purpose Corner" I review expectations around parking difficulties, hoods, earbuds, winter coats, checking email and Superfans when there is not an official Superfan around...

Please click here to access this 3:35 video

Veteran's Day - I would like to thank all staff members, parents, community members, and alumni who are Veterans of our armed forces for your service to our country! 

“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated this ground, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” 

- President Abraham Lincoln, 1863, in the Gettysburg Address.

West One Act - Congrats to the cast and crew of the One-Act play "Proof" for their performance in the sectional qualifier over the weekend at Waukesha West. Nineteen schools performed, and West advanced to State with the highest-rated show of the weekend as they have continued their annual dominance of being one of the areas top drama programs. Next up is the State competition on November 22nd at UWM. Best of luck!!!

Girls Swimming - Congratulations to State Meet Qualifiers: Rebecca Beam, Claire Wright, Campbell Hilson, Ava Mueller as they qualified in the 200 Medley Relay & 200 Free Relay! Claire Wright also qualified in the 100 Breaststroke! They will be headed to Madison on Saturday, Nov. 16th!

Varsity Football - This past Friday night the Wolverines shut out Burlington 49-0 to secure their level three WIAA playoff victory during their final home game of the season. This puts them as 1 of the final 4 teams in the State Division 2 football playoff. Please come and support our team this Friday night November 15th at Kettle Moraine High School as they take on Waunakee High School and look to advance to the Division 2 State Championship game!

Boys Volleyball - Lost in the State tournament quarterfinals this past Thursday, November 7th to Brookfield East. Congratulations on having the most accomplished boys volleyball season in West's history with a Classic 8 Conference Championship and State quarter-final berth for the first time ever in school history!

The Christmas Clearing Council Upgrade - This is more in-depth information about CCC at West High School! 

Feel good and help the community! We will do all the work for you! Waukesha West students are once again working with The Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County to help bring Christmas to Waukesha families.

Last year Waukesha West collected enough money to sponsor 52 children in 19 different families right here in Waukesha! 

With your help, we hope to fulfill even MORE children’s wish lists this holiday season! 

Want to help? Monetary donations can be dropped off at Waukesha West High School’s Main office Mon-Fri 7:35-3:05  now until Nov. 15th. Wrapping paper and tape also needed!

Every dollar puts us closer to sponsoring another child!

What will Waukesha West students do with your donation?

*Contact Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County 

*Contact each sponsored family and gather those Christmas wish lists! (Beginning with winter clothing needs!)

*Each child is guaranteed a fun gift!

*Shop

*Wrap

*Delivered to each family by Dec. 12th

THANK YOU!

Cash or checks- Please make checks out to Waukesha West  

*PLEASE LABEL ENVELOPE CHRISTMAS COUNCIL 

Waukesha West Interact Club -  They had their annual rummage sale fundraiser this past Saturday and I will let Interact Club Advisor Mrs. Corrao sum it up best below...

What a day!! Thank you to all staff who donated or stopped in at the sale. We were busy all day and raised $1825.75!! That money will go to the Guest House and NAMI Homeless Outreach that works with veterans and those with mental health issues who are struggling with homelessness. Leftover items go to The Hope Center, a church in Racine that distributes clothing to struggling families, and St. Vincent De Paul here in Waukesha. 

I am truly amazed at how students open their hearts to a cause and go out of their comfort zone to help.  Without the donations, planning committees, pricing team, bake sale bakers, set up crew, rummage workers, pizza pick up, and clean up help, we never would have been so successful. 

Sixty three members helped out at some point Friday or Saturday!!  Alex Wittwer, Courtney Zanon, Emma Ernst, Erin Phelan, Kalyn Otzelberger, Gabby Proffit, and Jaron Frank, spent their Friday night AND entire Saturday working their tails off!!  I am very lucky to be able to lead a club that truly does put "service above self".

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)

November 4th Weekly Blog (Tuesday Edition)

Purpose Corner - This week on purpose corner I talk about communication methods I utilize for all stakeholders at West High School so all know where to look/listen for information regarding all things West!

Click here for this 3:49 video

Waukesha West Interact Club -  Is hosting its 5th annual community rummage and bake sale on Saturday, November 9th from 10:00am to 4:00pm in the school cafeteria. Items include bikes, clean clothes, household goods, sporting goods, games, toys, books, DVDs, holiday items and much, much more. All proceeds will go to "The Guest House" and NAMI Homeless Outreach. Thank you in advance for joining Interact this Saturday!

Girls Cross Country -Congrats to the Girls' Cross Country Team who continued their annual strong showing at the State Cross Country meet in Wisconsin Rapids by finishing in 8th place out of 120 Division 1 teams this past Saturday. Congratulations on an outstanding year to Myra Stray, Berkeley Krell, Kylie Anderson, Emily Rather, Kaya Kuokkanen, Kiley Sereno and Erin Phelan!

Boys Volleyball - Defeated CMH this past Saturday 3-1 to win the Sectional Championship! The team is heading to State for the first time ever in school history! Fan buses will be available for the match this Thursday! Stay tuned for more information and congrats on an amazing accomplishment!

Varsity Football - This past Friday night the Wolverines shut out Wilmot to secure their level two WIAA playoff victory. This puts them as 1 of the final 8 teams in the state Division 2 football playoff. Congrats on a great season and another strong playoff run. Please come and support our team this Friday night at West High School as they take on Burlington High School and look to advance to the final four!

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:

The Christmas Clearing Council Upgrade - This is more in-depth information about CCC at West High School! 

Feel good and help the community! We will do all the work for you! Waukesha West students are once again working with The Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County to help bring Christmas to Waukesha families.

Last year Waukesha West collected enough money to sponsor 52 children in 19 different families right here in Waukesha! 

With your help, we hope to fulfill even MORE children’s wish lists this holiday season! 

Want to help? Monetary donations can be dropped off at Waukesha West High School’s Main office Mon-Fri 7:35-3:05  now until Nov. 15th. Wrapping paper and tape also needed!

Every dollar puts us closer to sponsoring another child!

What will Waukesha West students do with your donation?

*Contact Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County 

*Contact each sponsored family and gather those Christmas wish lists! (Beginning with winter clothing needs!)

*Each child is guaranteed a fun gift!

*Shop

*Wrap

*Delivered to each family by Dec. 12th

THANK YOU!

Cash or checks- Please make checks out to Waukesha West  

*PLEASE LABEL ENVELOPE CHRISTMAS COUNCIL 

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/

  

Fun in the snow! - Remember when it snowed last week?? Boys soccer was looking to clear off the field in hopes to play their scheduled home state playoff game. They had an outstanding season and though they worked hard at removing snow in hopes of playing, they were forced to go to Wauwatosa and play. They did lose the game after a hard-fought battle. Please enjoy the pics of their snow clearing expedition!

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!

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)