Principal Blog Week of February 14th, 2022

Purpose Corner -This week I say thank you to all of the parents and community members that support Waukesha West High School through their time and efforts! You can access the transcript of the video through this link.

Family Connect Conferences - Our one night of virtual Family Connect (formerly known as Parent/Teacher) conferences for West High School is tomorrow Wednesday, February 16th, 2022. Conferences will start at 4:30 P.M. and go until 8:00 P.M. We will be continuing on with our recent format for these virtual conferences by having them as an appointment only with a focus on family connection. The format of the connection time will be 7-minute conferences with teachers leading the conference by asking these two questions:

1. What successes and challenges have your student shared with you about their performance in this class? 

2. What do I need to know about your student academically and/or personally in order for your student to have a successful learning experience in my class? 

These conferences are in the place of traditional student/teacher conferences where grades and work completion were predominately discussed. Grades and work completion are just as important as they have always been, but technology allows families to track these things and communicate more efficiently with teachers. So, I have purposely changed the format so that connections can continue to be made to support student success! The sign-up sheet for the conferences is linked here, and was has been emailed to families, and is also on the West Website!!

February 17th and 18th Schedule - West High School students have an early release day on Thursday, February 17th, and No School on Friday, February 18th, 2022. The schedule for this week is below:

Valentine's Orchestra Dance - Thank you to all who attended the Valentine's dance this past weekend and supported the West orchestra. Below is some video and a picture from the event...

FBLA - West FBLA competed at Regionals on Saturday, February 5th! Congratulations to Isabella Rotfield and Ethan Tillis who finished 1st and are all headed to State in Madison! Good luck at state!

Dance at State - Congratulations to our dance team as they participated in the state competition on February 5th. They qualified to go in their Jazz and Poms routine!

Cheer to State - They will be participating in the state competition this coming weekend! Congratulations and good luck!!

Snowboard to State - Your Waukesha Women’s Snowboard Team is Conference Champion in Boardercross and your Men’s Team is Conference Runner up! Both teams head to State this coming weekend in LaCrosse! Congrats and good luck!!

 

Little Shop of Horrors - The West End Players will be performing the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" in early March. See the information below:

Graduation 2022 - Graduation day for all three Waukesha legacy high schools will be Saturday, June 11th, 2022. Waukesha West High School will be holding graduation ceremonies in the West Fieldhouse on this date beginning at 11:00 A.M. As we are one community divided into three high schools, this year graduation times among all three high schools are staggered to enable friends and family to attend multiple ceremonies if they so choose. South High School ceremonies will begin at 9:00 A.M. and North High School ceremonies will begin at 1:00 P.M. on this date. Please begin informing friends and family who will be attending!

Principal Advisory Committee - The Principal Advisory Council for 2021-2022 will be meeting on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022. The meeting minutes are linked here. Please contact any one of the representatives (below) to bring up topics or questions you have to bring forward for the next meeting.

Angela Schaaf	angelamschaaf@gmail.com
Erica Kasseckert	ericak0409@gmail.com
Keva Estrada	Fourestrada@gmail.com
Kim Sadowski	kimbersadowski@gmail.com
Karen Anderson	kammom@att.net
Tera Nehring	Teranehring@gmail.com
Michelle Cameron	tiki424ma@gmail.com
Krista Bitzan	smileyfish76@hotmail.com
Dean Chyla	dean@chyla.com
Patti Bloom	pbloom27@wi.rr.com
Susan Fogelstrom	beezerpup@gmail.com

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

Principal Blog Week of 1/31/22

Purpose Corner -This week I provide an update regarding our cell phone procedure change. The transcript of the video can be accessed through this link.

Black History Month - February is Black History Month. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. Student members of our BSU (Black Student Union) have worked to set up a speaker series during lunch on each Friday this month in our media center. All staff and students are welcome to attend. Also, BSU members have created a slide show that will be played throughout the month to showcase Black leadership and history. Some of the slides are below:

Family Connect Conferences - We will be having one night of Family Connect (formerly known as Parent/Teacher) conferences at West High School on Wednesday, February 16th, 2022. Conferences will start at 4:30 P.M. and go until 8:00 P.M. We will be continuing on with our recent format for these conferences by having them as an appointment only with a focus on family connection. The format of the connection time will be 7-minute conferences with teachers leading the conference by asking these two questions:

1. What successes and challenges have your student shared with you about their performance in this class? 

2. What do I need to know about your student academically and/or personally in order for your student to have a successful learning experience in my class? 

These conferences are in the place of traditional student/teacher conferences where grades and work completion were predominately discussed. Grades and work completion are just as important as they have always been, but technology allows families to track these things and communicate more efficiently with teachers. So, I have purposely changed the format so that connections can continue to be made to support student success! The sign up sheet for the conferences will be coming out soon!!

Congrats January Graduates!! - I wanted to recognize our January graduate and wish them well this semester in their individual endeavors. They will be joining us for graduation in June!! Below are the graduates, congratulations!:

Isabella Albiter

Molly Asfeld

Martreas Beachem

Zack Johnston

Jack Knaebe

Damien Krueger

Mackenzie Nelson

Amari Polar

Michelle Poquette

Katherine Powers

Yuna Vang

Emily Waldherr

Melanie Weis

Jordan Wilcox

Graduation 2022 - Graduation day for all three Waukesha legacy high schools will be Saturday, June 11th, 2022. Waukesha West High School will be holding graduation ceremonies in the West Fieldhouse on this date beginning at 11:00 A.M. As we are one community divided into three high schools, this year graduation times among all three high schools are staggered to enable friends and family to attend multiple ceremonies if they so choose. South High School ceremonies will begin at 9:00 A.M. and North High School ceremonies will begin at 1:00 P.M. on this date. Please begin informing friends and family who will be attending!

February 17th and 18th Schedule - West High School students have an early release day on Thursday, February 17th, and No School on Friday, February 18th, 2022. The schedule for this week will be coming out soon. 

Rigorous Course Schedule - Our data has been clear at West for the past several years in that approximately 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 weeks or so it is time for students to think about stretching their academic resumes. 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 like one of our many elective classes in the areas of Business, Family & Consumer Science, Technology Education, Art, Music, World Languages, or Drama!! Now is the time to think about your STRETCH class as part of your rigorous course schedule!!

Little Shop of Horrors - The West End Players will be performing the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" in early March. See the information below:

Principal Advisory Committee - The Principal Advisory Council for 2021-2022 met most recently on Wednesday, January 19th, 2022. The meeting minutes are linked here. Please contact any one of the representatives (below) to bring up topics or questions you have to bring forward for next month's meeting.

Angela Schaaf	angelamschaaf@gmail.com
Erica Kasseckert	ericak0409@gmail.com
Keva Estrada	Fourestrada@gmail.com
Kim Sadowski	kimbersadowski@gmail.com
Karen Anderson	kammom@att.net
Tera Nehring	Teranehring@gmail.com
Michelle Cameron	tiki424ma@gmail.com
Krista Bitzan	smileyfish76@hotmail.com
Dean Chyla	dean@chyla.com
Patti Bloom	pbloom27@wi.rr.com
Susan Fogelstrom	beezerpup@gmail.com

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