IN THIS ISSUE...
IMPORTANT DATES
November
Monday, November 2nd
Beginning of 2nd Quarter

Tuesday, November 17th
Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 18th
NO SCHOOL
Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th
NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Holiday
December
Monday, December 21st - Friday, January 1st
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
West Virtual Learning Information
 
MMSD 2020-2021 School Calendar
QUICK LINKS
November 2020
From Principal Boran
Happy November

I hope you are enjoying the fall leaves and the dry fall days.  

This is a busy time of year, whether we are learning virtually or face-to-face.  

Monday, November 2nd marks the start of week 10 -- the semester is halfway over -- and teachers will finish entering 9th Week Progress Reports on Wednesday, November 4th.  When you review your child's results, please remember that these are rolling grades and that it's not too late to get help.  Now is a great time to reach out to your child's teacher to see what can be done.  Please remember that we have virtual tutors every day and your child can drop-in when classes are not meeting. Students can ask for tutoring using this form, and students can volunteer to be tutors using this form.
Your child also has a Virtual Mentor who can be a partner with you in supporting your student.  This is the person who takes attendance on Wednesday... Click here to read the rest of Dr. Boran's message (Parent/Teacher Conferences, the upcoming holiday, and more)
Counseling News
Check out the November Counseling Newsletter! Also, check out the West High School Counseling website  and Facebook page to stay informed about academic planning and more.
Yearbook Corner
Hello West High Students and Parents/Guardians!

During our COVID time at home, it's changing and challenging the way we approach content in the yearbook. This will become an essential space to communicate picture and content requests with all of you. Please visit the Madison West Yearbook Website for more information on the following items:

Senior Pictures 
Due October 16th

Senior Tributes
Due December 1st

Senior Quotes
Due December 1st

Grade Level Photos, Grades 9-11
Due December 1st

If you have any questions related to the yearbook, please email me at jengelbart@madison.k12.wi.us.

Thank you!
Global Navigator Scholarships
Scholarships Make Study Abroad Dreams a Reality
Get ready. This summer is going to be a game-changer.
 
West High has again been granted a minimum of $25,000 in Global Navigator Scholarships! These funds help students study abroad in destinations around the world and are offered by the Council on International Educational Exchange. (C.I.E.E.) Any student who is presently a freshmen, sophomore or junior is eligible to apply. Scholarships cover 10% to 100% of the program costs. (Airfare is not included)
Students can make a difference in the environment, education, or children's rights with a Service & Leadership program, or learn one of seven languages with a rich Language & Culture program. The Global Discovery program gives students hands-on experience in fields such as marine ecology, filmmaking, conservation and sustainability, or global entrepreneurship. Scholarships are awarded based on both merit and financial need. The deadline to apply is January 15th, 2021.

INTERESTED? Students and parents are invited to attend ongoing Virtual Presentations to find out more about these travel opportunities. For a quick peek at the exciting travel opportunities for summer 2021, check out the CIEE 2021 Flyer.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your local CIEE contact, Nicole Sprague, at nsprague@ciee.org or (207) 553-4083.



The coordinator for the program at West High School is West Spanish Teacher, Kathleen Schneider.
Rocket Club News
The Madison West Rocket Club has been hard at work this year, working virtually. Despite the cancellation of the final launch for the NASA Student Launch 2019-2020 teams this past spring, West was recognized in 3 categories. Well known in the community for their outreaches, the team took 1st place in the STEM Engagement Award, presented to the team that best informed others about rocketry and other space-related topics. This included a $1000 prize from the National Association of Rocketry. The team continued socializing their way to success and was rewarded with a 1st place finish for the Social Media Award, presented to the team that had the most active and creative social media presence throughout the project year. With their project, "Alteration of Behavior and Biocomputational Abilities of Physarum polycephalum Acellular Slime Mold in Response to Rocket Flight" , the team placed 3rd for the Judges Choice Award, presented to the team that was selected by a secret panel of judges to have had the most creative payload, best design and workmanship of its rocket. 

Congratulations to the 2019-2020 team members:
Kyle ADLER, Mazelie PASSMORE, Emilia NICOMETO, Jiaming MENG, Lukas WEINHOLD, Alex GOFF, Jacob MELLO, Ethan LAN, Emma WEISS, Liz LARSON, Nathan WAGNER, Brady NILSSON, Jameson SMITH, Nicholas JACOBS, Jack WEIGL, Ella PAULIN, Maya DESAI

A huge thank you to the junior mentors for this team:
Hyun-seok CHANG, Ryley BUSCH, Matilda CARNE, Sophia ZAPPIA

Carrying on their success as a team, the current junior and senior members have been working virtually throughout the summer and fall to submit their Statement of Work for the 2020-2021 NASA Student Launch. Their project, "Short Range Land Surveyor: Combination of NDVI and 3D Mapping of Land Surfaces" was selected as one of 14 projects to compete this year. Having recently submitted their Preliminary Design Review, they look forward to their NASA videoconference review this month.
New and returning Rocket Club members have been participating in the Rocketry-101 lessons through Zoom and look forward to the opportunity to work independently on their rockets with the goal to compete in The American Rocketry Challenge next spring.

Under normal circumstances, club members would be hard at work on the weekends raking leaves in our community as our annual fund raiser. To those clients we are unable to service this year due to the pandemic, we will miss you and we look forward to better days when we can rake your leaves again. If you would like to support the Madison West Rocket Club, please contact Chris Hager, Advisor at ckamke@madison.k12.wi.us or Pavel Pinkas, Mentor at pinkasp@gmail.com.




*Note: These photos were taken last year when social gathering was still possible - Rocket Club is gathering virtually this year!
Changes for Genin's Mobil
Change is happening at Genin's Autocare! They will soon be transitioning to a 6-bay Napa Gold Autocare Center. While Genin's will no longer sell gas, they will still be donating to the West Tech-Ed Department twice annually. We continue to thank Genin's for their support of West!
Information Regarding Flu Vaccine and COVID-19
The flu and COVID-19 are both respiratory illnesses that can result in serious illness. Because the symptoms for the flu and COVID-19 are so similar it is hard to tell the difference between the two. In most cases testing will need to be performed to determine the diagnosis.
 
A yearly flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine will reduce your risk of becoming seriously ill from the flu. The vaccine will also help keep people out of the hospital, leaving beds for COVID-19 patients and others who need them.
 
If you haven't already received your flu vaccination please strongly consider doing so as soon as possible. It takes at least two weeks for the flu vaccine to provide protection and flu season is right around the corner.
 
If you have any questions about the flu or COVID-19 please contact our school nurse, Stephanie Gramann, who is also West's COVID-19 Point of Contact at 204-4119 or sgramann@madison.k12.wi.us.
 
Stay Safe and Healthy!
National Honor Society
Who will solve the major questions of our time?

You guessed it--West High's National Honor Society members!
Juniors with a 3.5+ GPA will be invited to apply after the first
semester. This will be both by US Mail and email around March 1st. West's
proud heritage of requiring 60 hours of volunteer service will be reduced due
to substantially limited opportunities from the pandemic. Stay tuned in the
next Regent Reporter! We're proud to have a growingly diverse NHS
membership, featuring well-rounded students of every class, culture,
viewpoint and identity, all committed to the ideals of and SCHOLARSHIP,
CHARACTER, LEADERSHIP, and SERVICE. Feel free to inquire with Gary Powell, Chair of the Selection Committee, at gmpowell@madison.k12.wi.us  Any questions regarding this year's NHS Senior members can be directed to Karly Frisch, at kafrisch@madison.k12.wi.us.