Principal Blog Week of October 23rd, 2023

Early Release Schedule for 10/25/23 - Tomorrow students have an early release and follow a "Monday" early release schedule. The schedule for the day is below. Busses will arrive on campus at 1:05 P.M. and will depart campus at 1:13 P.M. As a final reminder there is No School for students on Thursday, October 26th, or Friday, October 27th as shown on the district flyers below:

State Cross Country - Congrats to Girls Varsity Cross Country runners Valerie Bratt and Lily Newmeister who ran career-best times in qualifying for the State Cross Country Meet this past Saturday at the Mukwonago Sectional! They will compete in the WIAA State Cross Country Meet at 3:05 PM this Saturday, October, 28th at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids.  We wish them continued success at State!

Welcome to West Night - It is an expectation for students at West High School to stretch themselves and select a rigorous course schedule. For all underclassmen, the scheduling process happens in early February, but we encourage our students and families to begin thinking about that schedule today! All current families are welcome to attend our “Welcome to West Night” on Monday, December 4th, 2023 to connect with teachers and learn more about the courses and programs we offer at West. Below is the one-page flyer for this event, we hope to see you there!! If you are not coming please tell a friend to ensure anyone who is attending West knows about this opportunity!!

Rigorous Course Schedule for 2024-2025 - 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 60-plus% of students will make it past year one of college 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 their college and/or career path is high school course selection. Course scheduling is not far away and is coming up in early February 2024! 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 for next school year. Attending our "Welcome to West" event on Monday, December 4th (see info above) can be helpful to learn more about the areas you want to stretch in, that is what the night is for!

Student Fees - Please take a few minutes to log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal to pay any unpaid fees from this year and/or past years.  Any unpaid fees at the end of the year will be sent to collections by the Business Office. If you would like to apply for a fee waiver for the current year, please fill out the Household Fee Reduction Request Form.  Thank you.

Macbeth - I wanted to give a shout-out to the cast and crew of our most recent play Macbeth that took place this past weekend and extended into yesterday and today as English 10 students from West, North, and South High Schools took a field trip to watch the production. The reason for this was that these students just went through this Shakespearean play in class. This is a rigorous piece for students and watching the play made their learning about the play relevant. Great job!! Enjoy some pics below:

AP Letter & Information for Exams! - A reminder that AP exam registration is due by November 8th, 2023! Here is a link to the "AP Letter" that has all of the information students and families need about this process. This information has been sent to all families and is also in our daily announcements!!

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:

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

GO WOLVERINES...WHOOP!!

Principal Blog Week of October 16th, 2023

Purpose Corner - Welcome to my blog for the 2023-2024 school year!! This week I talk about all of us moving together towards a common goal!!. The transcript of the video can be accessed through this link.

State Marching Band - Way to go Cadets!! The Cadets of Waukesha West finished in 2nd place at the State competition this past weekend in Class AAA to River Falls High School who had the highest score of all bands at the competition! The Cadets put on their best show of the season when it mattered most!! Additionally, a big round of applause to the Cadet Percussionists who won 1st place in their class and took home the trophy for Best Percussion!! You can catch the Cadets one more time this Sunday, October 22nd at the Cadet Community Celebration, here at Waukesha West of which the details are further down on this blog. Enjoy some pics I took from the competion, and a video of their perfromance below!!

State Girls Tennis - Congratulations to Stella Van Andel who forced an individual set tiebreaker and a match tiebreaker against Brookfield East before ending her season with a State Playoff appearance! It was a great senior season! Congratulations as well on a great season to Ava Hotter & Lilly Tinder who won their first round State doubles match against Badger High School 7-5, 6-3 but lost in round two to DePere High School!!

Kwik Trip Innovation - Congrats to West students Rida Suheer and Carlie Rousseau for great work!! You will have to read the "Freeman" article below to find out more...

Boys Soccer Conference Champs - Congrats to Coach Bryce Warner and the Varsity Boys Soccer team on their Classic 8 Conference Champioship!! The first in Coach Warners tenure!

Macbeth - The West End Players' production of Macbeth opens this Friday night and runs through the weekend. Break a leg!!! Show times are at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20th, and Saturday, October 21st, and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 22nd. Tickets can be purchased online at westdrama.com and will also be available at the door. Contact Kim Dutelle with any questions about the show at kadutelle@waukesha.k12.wi.us

 

"Cadet Community Day" 1st Annual - This Sunday, October 22nd come and join us for the first annual Cadet Community Day featuring live music of course and more! See the flyer below for all of the details! Additionally you can help the Waukesha West Band raise money for their upcoming Disneyland LA trip with a Ford Test Drive! From 2 pm-6 pm, anyone 18 and older with a valid driver's license can test drive a Ford at West High School. See additional details linked  Drive For Your School Information

AP Letter & Information for Exams! - A reminder that AP exam registration is due by November 8th, 2023! Here is a link to the "AP Letter" that has all of the information students and families need about this process. This information has been sent to all families and is also in our daily announcements!!

Infinite Campus for grade checks! - This is your friendly reminder to check grades in Infinite Campus (IC) as teachers have posted student progress grades at the 4-1/2 week mark which is halfway through quarter one of the school year. This grade is a sample in time. Please reach out to any teachers for which you have questions about your childs classroom grade!

Principal Advisory Committee - The Principal Advisory Council for 2023-2024 has been set and we will be meeting for the first time tomorrow, Wednesday, October 18th. The meeting minutes will be shared out monthly through my blog. Please contact any one of the representatives (below) to bring up topics or questions you have to bring forward for our meeting next week:

Manisha Nabke	mynabke@hotmail.com
Robin Herbner	rherbner@gmail.com
Audra O'Connell	audraoconnellis@gmail.com
Melissa Shera	Melissa_marie423@yahoo.com
Elizabeth Mcdowell	elizabeth.mcdowell526@gmail.com
Kari Doepke	Teamdoepkewarnes@gmail.com
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com

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

GO WOLVERINES...WHOOP!!

Principal Blog Week of October 9th, 2023

Purpose Corner - Welcome to my blog for the 2023-2024 school year!! This week I talk about what we are focused on as a school organization around professional development for our staff to ensure our students are prepared academically for their future. The transcript of the video can be accessed through this link.

Homecoming 2023!! - Well I was gone for the week of homecoming but heard that our pep rally was pretty spectacular, and of course all the other activites were great! Our students were well behaved at the dance and were respectful of their peers when dancing and interacting with each other. Below is a picture of our Hoco court! Thank you West for a great homecoming week!

Left to Right:  Dominic Williams, Lilly Tinder, Chase Frea, Tess Roubik, Tosta Nkoto, Reilly O'Keefe, Brady Raabe, Eugene the Wolverine, Payten Groff, Lucy Friess, Adam Mackie, Valerie Bratt, Cooper Peters

Advanced Placement (AP) Recognition - West High School was recently recongnized by the College Board who coordinates our AP course programming by being awarded AP Honor Roll Silver status. Congrats to our students, staff and community on this recognition! What does this mean? You can see below were we are regarding the metrics they use for criteria. We have things we can improve on such as meeting our goal that ALL West students take at least ONE AP course while at West High School!! We move towards this by encouraging students to stretch themselves academiclly with a rigorous course schedule. Scheduling is only a couple months away and all students should consider strectching themselves by taking an AP cor\urse for next year!!!! We are currently at 6 out of 10 West students doing this, so lets step up!!

U.S News & World Report Recognition - West High School earned high National and metro-area rankings in 2023-2024 Best High Schools. Here is our updated U.S. News profile page, with details about its rankings: www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/wisconsin/districts/waukesha-school-district/west-high-school-21943.

By earning a national ranking in the top 40%, West High School achieved status as a U.S. News Best High School and gained eligibility to display a U.S. News-trademarked 2023-2024 Best High Schools award “badge” (logo). Waukesha West High School was ranked as number 1,693 out of 17,680 high schools nationally and number 46 out of 574 high schools statewide based on U.S. News criteria. That puts West High School in the top 9% of schools in our nation and the top 8% in our state!!

AP Letter & Information for Exams! - A reminder that AP exam registration is due by November 8th, 2023! Here is a link to the "AP Letter" that has all of the information students and families need about this process. This information has been sent to all families and is also in our daily announcements!!

PSAT Commendation - Congratulations to West High School Senior Jackson Gross who was the only West student to receive a "Commendation" for his achievement on the PSAT assessment!! About 34,000 of the highest scorers out of the 1.3 million students or approximately 3% who took the PSAT will be designated "Commended Students." Jackson was named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index qualifying score that may vary from year to year.

In recognition of his outstanding ability and potential for academic success in college, NMSC honored him by sending a Letter of Commendation to him. Although Commended Students will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some may be candidates for Special Scholarships offered by corporate sponsors. Way to go Jackson!!

 

Infinite Campus for grade checks! - This is your friendly reminder to check grades in Infinite Campus (IC) as teachers have posted student progress grades at the 4-1/2 week mark which is halfway through quarter one of the school year. This grade is a sample in time. Please reach out to any teachers for which you have questions about your childs classroom grade!

Principal Advisory Committee - The Principal Advisory Council for 2023-2024 has been set and we will be meeting for the first time next week Wednesday, October 18th. The meeting minutes will be shared out monthly through my blog. Please contact any one of the representatives (below) to bring up topics or questions you have to bring forward for our meeting next week:

Manisha Nabke	mynabke@hotmail.com
Robin Herbner	rherbner@gmail.com
Audra O'Connell	audraoconnellis@gmail.com
Melissa Shera	Melissa_marie423@yahoo.com
Elizabeth Mcdowell	elizabeth.mcdowell526@gmail.com
Kari Doepke	Teamdoepkewarnes@gmail.com
Wendy Hamilton	wendyhamilton4@gmail.com

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

GO WOLVERINES...WHOOP!!

Principal's Blog Week of May 22nd, 2023

Last blog of the 2022-2023 school year!

Memorial Day - Unofficially marks the end of school and the anticipation of the start of summer. I wish all West families a wonderful summer! Please remember this holiday is about remembering those throughout the almost 247-year history of our nation who made the ultimate sacrifice to give their lives in defense of it for the freedoms we enjoy every day!

Road Construction around West this summer... - Beginning after graduation, the intersection of West's main entrance and Saylesville Road will be under construction. This will push all the way down Saylesville Road to Lawrence Ln. The intersection will be getting updated traffic lights and an updated right turn lane when coming out of West High School. We will keep the main entrance open as much as possible, however, we have a second entrance off of River Rd./Cty H that may have to be utilized. Please be patient and be prepared for this construction!

Graduation 2023 - I cannot believe we are so close to graduation day!!! Waukesha West High Schools' graduation ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 10th, 2023. Will be holding graduation ceremonies in the West Fieldhouse beginning at 1:00 P.M. All of the information that is needed for graduation is linked here in this "Graduation Letter." This information has been sent to students and families and is available on the West website as well!

Senior iPad Important Information! - This information was also sent to all Senior families. Please access the Senior iPad Collection Information link here. It is also pictured below.

Seal of Biliteracy & Global Scholars - On this past Wednesday evening May 17th, we celebrated West's Seal of Biliteracy recipients and Global Scholars. We commend these students for their hard work, academic achievement, and commitment to multilingualism. Students who achieved this honor received a cord of distinction for our graduation ceremonies. Félicitations! Félicidades! Congratulations!

What are these awards:

Seal of Biliteracy: Awarded to seniors by school districts, as approved by the State of Wisconsin, in 49 States who are able to demonstrate achievement:

• a Level 4 or above on the AP Spanish or French Assessment, or a Level IH on all indicators of the AAPPL Assessment (for languages other than these, contact D)

• A score of 18 or higher on the ACT ELA or Reading Sections, or if an English Learner of Former English Learner, am Access Score of 4 or above.

• An essay in English and an essay in the partner language following specific prompt guidelines.

The Distinguished Seal of Biliteracy, in addition:

• Requires a Level 5 on the AP test or levels IH and Superior on the AAPPL test.

Global Scholars Award: Awarded to seniors by the State of Wisconsin who are able to demonstrate completion and participation:

• Course Completion which includes:

• 4 years of the equivalent of one World Language

• Meet graduation course requirements

• Submits 8 independent reviews (4 media/community reviews, and 4 text reviews)

• Completes 20 hrs of service learning in Waukesha dedicated to advancing issues impacting our global community (must be approved)

Seal of Biliteracy: Jaelyn Krohn, Emily Maigatter, Ali Mehling, Eli Panzlaff, Leah Pena, Evelyn Reyes Nolasco, Mia Schmidt, Sarah Schwab, Myra Stray, Caroline Treichel, Kaitlyn Ulalisa, MacKenzie Zuelsdorf

Global Scholars: Anthony Gonzalez, Jaelyn Krohn, Ali Mehling, Klein Saravia Quintanilla, Sarah Schwab, Caroline Treichel, Kaitlyn Ulalisa

West Scholarship & Awards Night - On Wednesday, May 17th we had the honor to recognize West Senior students who will be attending colleges and universities and the scholarship/awards they earned for attending. West students collectively will be receiving over 1 million dollars for their post-secondary education!! Enjoy the pics below from the event...

Inaugural West "Senior Decision Day" - As an AVID School of Distinction we look to celebrate the college and career acceleration of our students by celebrating our Seniors through showcasing their post-secondary decisions. This past Friday, May 19th, we celebrated their next steps after high school. During their morning classes, Seniors had the opportunity to come up and collect their class ring [pop] and take pictures by our photo booth. They wore their future (college, career, or military) apparel to help us celebrate them! A few pics below..

Waukesha West is a Heart Safe School!! - What this means is that through the leadership of Athletic Director/Assistant Principal Mr. Kyle LeMieux along with the support of Project ADAM through Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, we have met criteria as a team that allows us to respond more quickly and proficiently to medical emergencies and utilize CPR as well as our AED's. Pic is below...

Final Exam Schedule - The Semester II Final Exam schedule is below and also linked here.

Early Release Schedule for Friday, May 26th - This is your friendly reminder that we have an early release Friday schedule for all students on Friday, May 26th. The schedule for that day is below.

ACT 30+ Club - We are celebrating students who achieved a score of 30 or better on the state-mandated ACT exam that was given this past March of 2023. This score puts these students in the top 8% of scores or higher nationwide. Congratulations to the members of the ACT 30+ Club!! Membership comes with a T-shirt!

Back Row (left to right)

Natalie Warnes, Kerianna Buck, Grace Vandenberg, Bryant Ansley, Jackson Gross, Samuel Cook, Grant Nicholson, Odin Colque

Middle Row (left to right)

Aubrey Klima, Ealen Wegner, Lisa Eapen, Katelyn Leinss, Alexander Richards, Dylan Raikes, Cooper Peters, Jonas Siebert, Xander Kuokkanen, Samuel Kneser

Front Row (left to right)

Annika Anchan,  Teresa Roubik, Elena Franz, Elise Windisch, Valerie Bratt

Not Pictured:Christopher DeCorte, Brandon Koehler & Yannis Tsiamis

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

GO WOLVERINES...WHOOP!