Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Final Blog of 2019-2020 (Tuesday & COVID-19 Edition)

Weekly Video Update - Thank you Seniors/Graduates!! We all wish that this year had been different but sometimes things are out of our control! My hope is that you have rolled with these punches and stayed positive when it is so easy to focus on what has been lost. You all have your future ahead of you and I encourage you to relish in the possibilities of what that can be for you and always push through obstacles as you have this year!! Godspeed! This week I say thank you to Seniors/Graduates, provide reminders on important dates coming up, provide a preview of the celebrations in this blog, and talk about the start of next school year?


Please click here to access this 3:05 video


West Celebrations & Recognitions!! - As the year comes to a close I wanted to share with you some of the videos and presentations that have been created to celebrate our graduates along with other aspects of building life that occurred this past school year. Please click on any one of the links below to access the compilation:














Senior/Graduate Pickup/Dropoff 
Attn: Seniors & Graduates

June 2nd, 2020 will be the pick-up and drop-off date for all graduates! Below are the timeframes you are to be at West for picking up your items as well as returning what belongs to West:

Last names (A-G) - 9:00 - 10:00 A.M.
Last names (H-N) - 10:30 -11:30 A.M.
Last names (O-Z) - 12:00 - 1:00 P.M.

From 1:00 - 2:30 P.M. We will have open time for those who could absolutely not make their designated timeframe, however, we ask that you do all you can to adhere to your timeframe for keeping a safe and efficient flow to this process. 

In order to help us retrieve all of your items as well as provide us with information to expedite this process, we are requiring all graduates to fill out the "Senior/Graduate Pickup Day" form. This form will be critical to help us find your items as we will be looking through the entire building to get your things, the information you provide will make this much smoother... thank you!! Through this form we are also seeking information regarding graduation orders, so please answer this question as well. This form must be completed by Tuesday, May 26th, 2020, and linked below.

The  Map (linked below) shows our traffic flow for this process and provides you the numbered stations you may need to stop at. If a station does not apply to you, there is plenty of room to cautiously drive on. All stations will be clearly labeled. We ask that all drivers adhere to this map and follow the traffic flow to avoid issues and keep this process going smoothly. 

*This is a drive-by process and we ask individuals to stay in their vehicles unless a specific circumstance arises of which our staff will ask for your assistance! Our staff will be social distancing and will have the individual choice to wear masks. 

*We ask that all are patient during this process, as it is new to us and we will be working to make things go smoothly.


Principal Patt









Grades 9,10 & 11 Pickup/Dropoff 
Attn: Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors

June 8th & 9th, 2020 - On this Monday or Tuesday will be the pick-up and drop-off dates for all 9th,10th, and 11th-grade students! Below are the timeframes you can be at West for picking up your items as well as returning what belongs to West. Students in any grade can come during their designated time (by alpha) on either day for pickup/dropoff.

Last names (A-G) 9:00 - 10:00 A.M.  (June 8th or June 9th)
Last names (H-N) 10:00 - 11:00 A.M.  (June 8th or June 9th)
Last names (O-Z) 11:00 - 12:00 P.M.  (June 8th or June 9th)

The  Map (linked below) shows our traffic flow for this process and provides you the numbered stations you may need to stop at. If a station does not apply to you, there is plenty of room to cautiously drive on. All stations will be clearly labeled. We ask that all drivers adhere to this map and follow the traffic flow to avoid issues and keep this process going smoothly. 

*This is a drive-by process and we ask individuals to stay in their vehicles unless a specific circumstance arises of which our staff will ask for your assistance! Our staff will be social distancing and will have the individual choice to wear masks. 

*We ask that all are patient during this process, as we will be working to make things go smoothly. Finally, if you had items in someone else's locker, you will need to reach out to that person directly to retrieve those items. Thank you and contact me with any questions.

Principal Patt





Graduation Update - Last week I previewed that the time for the West graduation ceremony which is scheduled for Saturday, July 18th will most likely change, because of streaming ability. It is currently scheduled for 11:00 A.M. and when I find out a final time I will communicate it out with all graduates and their families. 


Fee Update - I have sent the following information to all families previously about fees, here is another chance to look at it:


Due to the Virtual Learning environment, the school district is crediting the following fees to your student's Infinite Campus account.  If you have a surplus balance, the surplus will be automatically applied to 2020-2021 Student Fees when assigned in August.  
  • Seniors with a surplus balance will receive a check mailed to the primary household in July after books and iPads are turned in.
  • Field Trips- Field Trips are being credited to Infinite Campus as the list of students and amounts are turned into the business office.
  • Parking Passes- Spring Parking Permit purchases will receive a $60 credit
  • Athletic Fees- The entire $150 athletic fee will be credited to Infinite Campus for those students that participate in only Spring Sports (athletic coaches who collected additional funds for equipment/apparel are working with our athletic department to refund these fees
  • Lifeguard Training Course- The $85 course fee for the Spring Semester Lifeguarding Course will be credited to Infinite Campus
  • Pay to Ride Transportation- 60% of Second Semester Pay to Ride Fees will be credited to Infinite Campus


Rental Assistance Resource - Please see the information below from the State of Wisconsin. If you have any further questions regarding this information please contact our school social worker, Mrs. Cathie Callahan, at ccallahan@waukesha.k12.wi.us





Housing Instability - Please see the information below if you or any families you are aware of with students within the School District of Waukesha are experiencing housing instability.









End of Year Letter - 






AP Pacesetter Recognition for 2019 - The Wisconsin Advanced Placement Advisory Council (WAPAC) recently announced the 2019 Advanced Placement Pacesetter Awards. WAPAC is comprised of Wisconsin secondary and collegiate educators that are dedicated to expanding access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and rigorous learning for all students. The Pacesetter Awards are unique to Wisconsin. They recognize schools for promoting both access to and excellence in AP courses. Schools are acknowledged for their efforts at three different levels. West High School was recognized at level 1 which is the highest level! Approximately 140 schools meet the criteria for recognition at one of the levels. West was 1 of 24 schools to receive level 1 distinction which puts us in the top 17% of all schools that qualify. This is a community celebration!!










U.S. News Best High Schools - According to U.S. News & World Report, West High School was ranked 1,189 out of 17,792 high schools nationally who qualified, putting us in the top 7% of high schools in the nation! We ranked 32 out of 551 high schools statewide putting us in the top 6% comparatively in the state of Wisconsin! The entire Waukesha West community contributes to this distinction and we need to celebrate it while keeping our growth mindset! Way to go West!







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

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

May 18th Weekly Blog (Tuesday & COVID-19 Edition)

Weekly Video Update - This week I look to provide updates on Senior/Graduate pick-up day, grade 9 through 11 pick-up day, iPad purchase, graduation, project graduation, prom, next week's schedule, and a couple of celebrations!

Please click here for this 2:59 video


Schedule for week of May 27th (Memorial Day) - Next week Monday, May 27th is Memorial Day and there are no classes on Monday. This results in a schedule shift for staff and students for the week. We have recently moved to a 4 day week with virtual classes running Monday through Thursday and Friday being a catch-up type day with no new instruction. Next week Tuesday through Friday will be a Monday through Thursday schedule due to the holiday.


Senior/Graduate Pickup/Dropoff 
Attn: Seniors & Graduates

June 2nd, 2020 will be the pick-up and drop-off date for all graduates! Below are the timeframes you are to be at West for picking up your items as well as returning what belongs to West:

Last names (A-G) - 9:00 - 10:00 A.M.
Last names (H-N) - 10:30 -11:30 A.M.
Last names (O-Z) - 12:00 - 1:00 P.M.

From 1:00 - 2:30 P.M. We will have open time for those who could absolutely not make their designated timeframe, however, we ask that you do all you can to adhere to your timeframe for keeping a safe and efficient flow to this process. 

In order to help us retrieve all of your items as well as provide us with information to expedite this process, we are requiring all graduates to fill out the "Senior/Graduate Pickup Day" form. This form will be critical to help us find your items as we will be looking through the entire building to get your things, the information you provide will make this much smoother... thank you!! Through this form we are also seeking information regarding graduation orders, so please answer this question as well. This form must be completed by Tuesday, May 26th, 2020, and linked below.

The  Map (linked below) shows our traffic flow for this process and provides you the numbered stations you may need to stop at. If a station does not apply to you, there is plenty of room to cautiously drive on. All stations will be clearly labeled. We ask that all drivers adhere to this map and follow the traffic flow to avoid issues and keep this process going smoothly. 

*This is a drive-by process and we ask individuals to stay in their vehicles unless a specific circumstance arises of which our staff will ask for your assistance! Our staff will be social distancing and will have the individual choice to wear masks. 

*We ask that all are patient during this process, as it is new to us and we will be working to make things go smoothly.

The graduate iPad purchase process is being sent out at the district level and will be coming out soon. Also, remember that I have sent information out about how fees will be handled, which you can find through my blog. See me with any questions...

Principal Patt







ACT 30+ Club - This year we had 46 Junior students score a 30 or better on the ACT!!! I looked back a few years and did not find that we have had more students than this in the 30+ club since my time at West, which has been 11 years! Congrats to all students in the club!!


Please click here to access this 1:39 video


AP Pacesetter Recognition for 2019 - The Wisconsin Advanced Placement Advisory Council (WAPAC) recently announced the 2019 Advanced Placement Pacesetter Awards. WAPAC is comprised of Wisconsin secondary and collegiate educators that are dedicated to expanding access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and rigorous learning for all students. The Pacesetter Awards are unique to Wisconsin. They recognize schools for promoting both access to and excellence in AP courses. Schools are acknowledged for their efforts at three different levels. West High School was recognized at level 1 which is the highest level! Approximately 140 schools meet the criteria for recognition at one of the levels. West was 1 of 24 schools to receive level 1 distinction which puts us in the top 17% of all schools that qualify. This is a community celebration!!






Class of 2020 Slide Show - Please enjoy the slide show of the Waukesha West Class of 2020 !! Click here to access the slides.




Fee Update - I have sent the following information to all families previously about fees, here is another chance to look at it:

Due to the Virtual Learning environment, the school district is crediting the following fees to your student's Infinite Campus account.  If you have a surplus balance, the surplus will be automatically applied to 2020-2021 Student Fees when assigned in August.  
  • Seniors with a surplus balance will receive a check mailed to the primary household in July after books and iPads are turned in.
  • Field Trips- Field Trips are being credited to Infinite Campus as the list of students and amounts are turned into the business office.
  • Parking Passes- Spring Parking Permit purchases will receive a $60 credit
  • Athletic Fees- The entire $150 athletic fee will be credited to Infinite Campus for those students that participate in only Spring Sports (athletic coaches who collected additional funds for equipment/apparel are working with our athletic department to refund these fees
  • Lifeguard Training Course- The $85 course fee for the Spring Semester Lifeguarding Course will be credited to Infinite Campus
  • Pay to Ride Transportation- 60% of Second Semester Pay to Ride Fees will be credited to Infinite Campus

CTEERS... What in the world is this?? - Juniors & Seniors complete the CTEERS survey with regards to your post-high school plans!!! It is a Qualtrics survey that was sent to you recently!! It is 9 questions in length and is critical for the future funding of West High School Career & Techincal Education programs...please take the small amount of time to fill it out, as the more who fill it out, the more funding West can acquire to enhance our CTE programming!! Thank you in advance.


Graduation Letter - Please see the letter below that was shared with West families via email last week:

Dear Families of the class of 2020,

During this continued pandemic, the health and safety of all of our students and families continue to be our top priority. We understand that this has been a difficult time for families, especially for our seniors who will be graduating.

Thank you to the many students who completed a survey regarding graduation options. 
Based on student responses, our graduates overwhelmingly prefer in-person graduation later in the summer, rather than virtual graduation in June. 

Governor Evers's decision to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year means that no school events can take place before June 30, 2020. Therefore, we are selecting Saturday, July 18, 2020, as our graduation date with an outdoor morning ceremony at West High School. The ceremony will begin at 11:00 A.M.  Should this day not work due to inclement weather or any other unforeseen circumstance, we will use Saturday, July 25th, 2020 as our alternate date. Further communications will be issued with details regarding the logistics of the graduation ceremony.

We appreciate your patience and support during this ever-evolving public health crisis. We are continuously following the directives of federal, state, and local governments and agencies while trying to accommodate the requests of our families. We will keep you apprised of any updates.

We are excited to be planning and celebrating with you and your graduate in July!

Sincerely,

Ryan J. Patt

South Graduation - 8:00 A.M.
North Graduation - 9:30 A.M.



End of Year Letter - 





Parent Resource - Below is a one-page parent resource document that was shared via email last week. It may be useful for you in this stay-at-home environment. Here is the link to the official document.





U.S. News Best High Schools - According to U.S. News & World Report, West High School was ranked 1,189 out of 17,792 high schools nationally who qualified, putting us in the top 7% of high schools in the nation! We ranked 32 out of 551 high schools statewide putting us in the top 6% comparatively in the state of Wisconsin! The entire Waukesha West community contributes to this distinction and we need to celebrate it while keeping our growth mindset! Way to go West!




Housing Instability - Please see the information below if you or any families you are aware of with students within the School District of Waukesha are experiencing housing instability.





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


Monday, May 11, 2020

May 11th Weekly Blog (COVID-19 Edition)

Weekly Video Update - This week I look to remind all stakeholders about important dates coming up as we come down to the final month of this school year. 

Please click here for this 1:50 video

CTEERS... What in the world is this?? - Juniors & Seniors complete the CTEERS survey with regards to your post-high school plans!!! It is a Qualtrics survey that was sent to you recently!! It is 9 questions in length and is critical for the future funding of West High School Career & Techincal Education programs...please take the small amount of time to fill it out, as the more who fill it out, the more funding West can acquire to enhance our CTE programming!! Thank you in advance.

West Choir Teacher News Story... Mr. Moore, the West Choir Director has utilized this virtual time to get creative with and share his passion for music, please access the story below that recently ran on CBS 58 to see what this looks like.

Click here to access this news story...


Graduation Letter - Please see the letter below that was shared with West families via email last week:

Dear Families of the class of 2020,


During this continued pandemic, the health and safety of all of our students and families continue to be our top priority. We understand that this has been a difficult time for families, especially for our seniors who will be graduating.


Thank you to the many students who completed a survey regarding graduation options. 
Based on student responses, our graduates overwhelmingly prefer in-person graduation later in the summer, rather than virtual graduation in June. 


Governor Evers's decision to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year means that no school events can take place before June 30, 2020. Therefore, we are selecting Saturday, July 18, 2020, as our graduation date with an outdoor morning ceremony at West High School. The ceremony will begin at 11:00 A.M.  Should this day not work due to inclement weather or any other unforeseen circumstance, we will use Saturday, July 25th, 2020 as our alternate date. Further communications will be issued with details regarding the logistics of the graduation ceremony.


We appreciate your patience and support during this ever-evolving public health crisis. We are continuously following the directives of federal, state, and local governments and agencies while trying to accommodate the requests of our families. We will keep you apprised of any updates.


We are excited to be planning and celebrating with you and your graduate in July!


Sincerely,


Ryan J. Patt

South Graduation - 8:00 A.M.
North Graduation - 9:30 A.M.



End of Year Letter - 





Parent Resource - Below is a one-page parent resource document that was shared via email last week. It may be useful for you in this stay-at-home environment. Here is the link to the official document.





U.S. News Best High Schools - According to U.S. News & World Report, West High School was ranked 1,189 out of 17,792 high schools nationally who qualified, putting us in the top 7% of high schools in the nation! We ranked 32 out of 551 high schools statewide putting us in the top 6% comparatively in the state of Wisconsin! The entire Waukesha West community contributes to this distinction and we need to celebrate it while keeping our growth mindset! Way to go West!





Housing Instability - Please see the information below if you or any families you are aware of with students within the School District of Waukesha are experiencing housing instability.





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