March 19th Weekly Blog (Tuesday Edition)

March 14th - I would like to give a shout out to the approximate 175 students who came down to our Fieldhouse on March 14th to support Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. All of the students were respectful, courteous, and exceptional during this voluntary event. The student leaders of the event read the biographies of the students who were victims and had a moment of silence to honor their memory. Students then signed a poster that is being sent in support of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Students also wrote individual letters in support. A special thanks to those who lead and organized this event to bring our students together. Please enjoy the pictures below:

Blood Drive March 23rd - On Friday, March 23rd student council will be hosting a blood drive at Waukesha West. Please see student council members or Mrs. Ortega to get signed up to save some lives!

West Forensics - On Saturday, March 17th Waukesha West hosted the District Level Forensics Festival. Approximately 350 students from 29 schools performed for judges in hopes of earning scores to qualify them for the State Speech Festival at UW Madison in April. West will be sending 23 of our own to the WHSFA State Speech Festival. Way to go West Forensics!!

Senior Vs. Staff Basketball Game - The game will be on Thursday, March 29th. Will the Seniors finally win this year? The faculty keeps getting older but our Senior students are the same age, yet year after year we seem to be unbeatable! I have a strong feeling staff will conquer once again! Please see a recent picture of me in training as I have been working hard all year to be ready for this competition... the picture does not show me clearly, but I am 99% sure that may be me playing for the Waukesha Jazz local team this winter on a 9-foot hoop...

Vaping 101 - We have seen an uptick in vaping occurring within our building at Waukesha West. Students seem to not understand the personal effects or consequences that go along with vaping in school. It is at minimum a suspension from school, loss of vape, and athletic/activities violation.....simply put...it is not worth it. Please click on the linked article below that was sent out to Waukesha South families as well to learn more about vaping.

Click here for "Vaping 101" Article!

National Theater Month - March is the "official" National Theater in Our Schools month. In celebration of this month, West drama was fortunate to receive an anonymous donation to upgrade the twenty-five-year-old auditorium sound system that has been barely held together. West has an amazing performing arts program and we are excited to offer a better product for the audience as sound quality will be the best it has been! Thank you to our anonymous donor who was gracious in their giving for the benefit of our students.  

"Shrek The Musical" has one weekend left - If you did not make it to the first weekend of "Shrek The Musical" there are tickets available for this coming weekend March 23-25. Now, would be the time to enjoy the brilliant work of our students! If you want to see a bit of behind the scenes for "Shrek" please access this Shrek Video Announcement Link

Principal Advisory Council - Below are the names of the individuals on the Principal Advisory Council. We will be meeting on Wednesday, March 21st. Please access the minutes for more information and be sure to contact your representatives with questions/comments for our next meeting. The meeting minutes are linked here:

Amy Holzinger	aholzinger@sbcglobal.net
Ann Pascavis	mapascavis@hotmail.com
Cathy Frantz	cathyk21@gmail.com
James Boling	jmbjrboling@gmail.com
Jennifer Engel	j_rengel@sbcglobal.net
Jim Karpowitz	karpman@aol.com
Mark McGinnis	wxmarkmc@gmail.com
Mercedes Rawson	Rawson96@wi.rr.com
Sarah Bristol	north_physics@yahoo.com
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com
Betsy Peters	bpeters1247@gmail.com
Michelle Werner	michelle@hatchstaff.com

Homelessness - Homelessness is continuing to affect more students an families in the School District of Waukesha. The effect of homelessness on students is vast and we want to ensure families can define their situation against criteria and receive support if needed.... please see the flyers below:

                

    

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 by clicking on these two links to preview what is happening at West High School this week:

West Main Page Calendar (Link)

March 12th Weekly Blog

March 14th District Clarification:

• As the Waukesha Patch reported on plans for a Waukesha school walkout and a march on Wednesday, March 14, please be reminded that this is not a school or district-sanctioned event.  

• The School District of Waukesha has no connection to any outside events taking place that day. The organizers do not have permission to use the district’s name or refer to this event as a school district event.                                                                 

• Students who want to attend must have parent permission to be excused from school. Those who attend without being properly excused by a parent will be absent as unexcused.

• There will be no staff supervision at this event. The school or district cannot guarantee the safety of any student attending a non-school event off school premises.

• Student-led commemorative moments will be taking place inside our schools, and our school administrators are available to provide any support.

March 14th Student Activities Letter

Dear Waukesha West Students,

            The aftermath of the February 14th school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has left an undeniable imprint upon our nation. As many of you are aware there is national walkout planned for 17 minutes from 10:00 -10:17 A.M.  for this Wednesday, March 14th in support of the 17 victims of the shooting. While the Waukesha West community will not be part of an event that is asking students to actively disrupt the educational environment, West Administration supports the actions of our students supporting Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, because it promotes people, not politics. I have worked with our Random Acts of Kindness Club who will offer activities from 10:00 - 10:17 A.M. in our Fieldhouse to honor and support Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the victims of this tragedy.

            This event is voluntary and any student is welcome to come and be supportive by quietly leaving their class at 9:55 A.M. on Wednesday March 14th and thoughtfully proceeding to our Fieldhouse to arrive for the start of the 10:00 A.M. student-led activities. The class hour will be extended for two minutes and the bell will ring at 10:17 A.M. marking the end of the activities and the transition to the next period.

It is important to respect fellow students and ensure that any student participating in the activity is not disruptive when leaving class and walking through our halls. This solution was brought together through working with West students as an alternative to students walking out of our building as this provides a safe place and controlled environment for our students to supports others.

Additionally, I will be hosting a school safety discussion from 3:15 - 4:30 P.M. in the West Media Center on March 14th for any student and/or faculty member. The goal of this discussion is to provide information on how we approach school safety and to answer the many questions individuals have about it. I want students to be empowered by having an understanding of what safety measures we have in place and how we can come together to make West the safest place possible. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ryan J. Patt

Principal

Waukesha West 

 
 Waukesha West Fishing Club - The club was at it again this past weekend as they pulled in some quality trout. See Mr. Anderson of Mr. Jenna if you are interested in joining the club as there is lots of fishing to do this spring yet. Enjoy the pictures!

Blood Drive March 23rd - On Friday, March 23rd student council will be hosting a blood drive at Waukesha West. Please see student council members or Mrs. Ortega to get signed up to save some lives!

Academic Decathlon - Congratulations to the​ West Acadec Team ​for their fantastic work this past weekend at the State Competition!​ The team placed Second in Division 1 and Fourth among the 20 teams competing for the State Title. Multiple team members earned individual awards, and Naveen Albert was recognized as a Top Scholar. Great work, Naveen, Christian, Brady, Zach, Lucy, Jackson, and Heaven. And thanks, West, for the awesome sendoff! Listen for future announcements to find out how you can be part of the team and this West tradition of excellence! Please enjoy the two clips below, one introducing our team at the super quiz and the other showing some superfans from another school getting their groove on!

Please click here for this 0:15 clip

Please click here for this 0:10 clip

Youth Alive Speaker - This past week on Thursday all four grade levels were able to see our guest speaker Terrence Talley and hear his powerful story to support his message about never giving up and knowing that everyone has someone who believes in them!! There were lots of tears shed among students and staff as we all let each other know how much we care about one another and we will not give up on each other! Lots of hugs were given and I hope to share some video clips of his message for our community to see. Thank you to all staff who participated and to Terrence and Youth Alive for the hope they bring in their mission!

Science Fair Accolades - A shout out to current West student Riyana Chawla as she represented us in the Waukesha County Science and Engineering Fair, where along with her partner they took 1st place in the Engineering and Physics Special Category and 2nd place overall at the fair. They were also selected to participate in the upcoming Badger State Science Fair! Congrats Riyana and good luck at the state competition! Check out the link.

Vaping 101 - We have seen an uptick in vaping occurring within our building at Waukesha West. Students seem to not understand the personal effects or consequences that go along with vaping in school. It is at minimum a suspension from school, loss of vape, and athletic/activities violation.....simply put...it is not worth it. Please click on the linked article below that was sent out to Waukesha South families as well to learn more about vaping.

Click here for "Vaping 101" Article!

National Theater Month - March is the "official" National Theater in Our Schools month. In celebration of this month West drama was fortunate to receive and anonymous donation to upgrade the twenty five year old auditorium sound system that has been barely held together. West has an amazing performing arts program and we are excited to offer a better product for the audience as sound quality will be the best it has been! Thank you to our anonymous donor who was gracious in their giving for the benefit of our students.  

"Shrek" the Musical - If you have not seen one of our drama productions, now would be the time to enjoy "Shrek" the musical that will have numerous showings coming up in March. Please come and enjoy the brilliant work of our students! See information below:

Congrats Mr. Brennan! - On March 7, 2018, Mr. Brennan was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Service Learning Award.  For four months, James led a group of 18 Waukesha West teachers in a "Beard Club" called Beard for Change. The mission of the club was to get students to invest in a fundraiser for the building of a community center for an area in the city of Milwaukee near 26th and Capitol. Through student donations, Beard for Change raised $5,000! The award was well earned.

 

Homelessness - Homelessness is continuing to affect more students an families in the School District of Waukesha. The affect of homelessness on students is vast and we want to ensure families can define their situation against criteria and receive support if needed.... please see the flyers below:

                

    

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 by clicking on these two links to preview what is happening at West High School this week:

West Main Page Calendar (Link)

March 5th Weekly Blog

Purpose Corner - In this short "purpose corner" I share what professional development our staff engaged in this past week.

Please click here for this 1:06 video

State Champion!! - Congratulations to Georgia Williams who was the Division 1 State Champion for balance beam! Great job Georgia in representing West High School!

Press Coverage - A shout out to Janaka Subotnik and two photos she took this past Friday at the Waukesha West boys basketball home game. The photos were used by the Freeman as part of the game story. Below are the photos and a shot of the actual article...great work!!! Also a shout out to our boys basketball team who finished the season with a winning record and solid conference individual recognition. Off season starts in the weight room next week!!

All State Performer - Lucy Schroeder was selected as an All-State Cheer performer for this season. Thank you Lucy for representing the cheer team and all of the hard work you and the rest of the team puts in throughout the school year !

Empowering Parents Series - The next presentation will be on Academic & Career Planning and will be held tomorrow night March 6th from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Waukesha West Media Center. Please RSVP using information on the flyer. Below is a link to the sign up and a visual of the flyer.

Empowering Parent Sign Up Link

Waukesha Wings! - Congrats to our Waukesha Wings hockey team and their state semifinal appearance. Once again they showed as one of the best teams in the state for hockey, great season! 

Academic Decathlon - This Friday, March 9th, ​West Academic Decathlon​ is going to State,​ and the team is asking for all Acadec fans to be there! Take a break from your typical Friday routine and spend the day with Acadec at the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells​. Please get your information in to take a fan bus which leaves at10:00am and will return around 4:30pm. Permission slips and payment are due in the office by Wednesday, March 7​. Transportation and admission are $16.50. Cheering the team onto victory is free! The following Acadec team members good luck as they prepare for State: Naveen Albert, Christian Brantner, Brady Chyla, Zach Nelton, Jackson Otto, Lucy Schroeder, and Heaven Rhodes!

Vaping 101 - We have seen an uptick in vaping occurring within our building at Waukesha West. Students seem to not understand the personal effects or consequences that go along with vaping in school. It is at minimum a suspension from school, loss of vape, and athletic/activities violation.....simply put...it is not worth it. Please click on the linked article below that was sent out to Waukesha South families as well to learn more about vaping.

Click here for "Vaping 101" Article!

Advisory at West - During our Monday schedules we have "Advisory" time built in. About half of the Advisory times we have this year are dedicated to Academic and Career Planning or ACP. ACP is state mandated and our district has created the ACP lessons for each grade level so our students receive a common curriculum at all grade levels and across all schools. Please access the links below for an update on our ACP process for this school year.

ACP Q2 2018 Message to families

Method Test Prep- Spanish 

Method Test Prep- English 

"Shrek" the Musical - If you have not seen one of our drama productions, now would be the time to enjoy "Shrek" the musical that will have numerous showings coming up in March. Please come and enjoy the brilliant work of our students! See information below:

Principal Advisory Council - Below are the names of the individuals on the Principal Advisory Council. We met most recently on Wednesday February 21st. Please access the minutes for more information and be sure to contact your representatives with questions/comments for our next meeting in March. The meeting minutes are linked here:

Amy Holzinger	aholzinger@sbcglobal.net
Ann Pascavis	mapascavis@hotmail.com
Cathy Frantz	cathyk21@gmail.com
James Boling	jmbjrboling@gmail.com
Jennifer Engel	j_rengel@sbcglobal.net
Jim Karpowitz	karpman@aol.com
Mark McGinnis	wxmarkmc@gmail.com
Mercedes Rawson	Rawson96@wi.rr.com
Sarah Bristol	north_physics@yahoo.com
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com
Betsy Peters	bpeters1247@gmail.com
Michelle Werner	michelle@hatchstaff.com

Homelessness - Homelessness is continuing to affect more students an families in the School District of Waukesha. The affect of homelessness on students is vast and we want to ensure families can define their situation against criteria and receive support if needed.... please see the flyers below:

                

    

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 by clicking on these two links to preview what is happening at West High School this week:

West Main Page Calendar (Link)