Vol 2. September 10, 2024 Versión en español

Dear Madison West Scholars and Families,

I’m excited to share that we’ve had a fantastic start to the 24-25  school year here at West. The energy and commitment shown by our scholars (and staff) have genuinely set a positive tone. Last week’s Aud’s and Regent Pride lessons really helped set expectations and went a long way in grounding us in a culture of teaching and learning.  We also shared our West High School HOUSE values with all students and staff. 

This year, we are placing a special focus on building a culture of positive attendance and engagement in class. We believe that consistent attendance and active participation are key to our scholars’ success. 

We are also looking forward to welcoming parents to our "Go To School Night" on September 25th. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet our dedicated staff and hear more about the exciting year ahead.

In the coming weeks, we will be conducting safety training using the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). SRP outlines clear, consistent responses to different emergency situations, ensuring the safety and security of our scholars and staff. The training will cover procedures for lockdowns, holds, evacuations, and other important scenarios, ensuring everyone knows how to respond effectively.

Thank you for your support and partnership. We look forward to a successful and rewarding school year together.

Warm regards,  

Dan Kigeya  

Principal, 

The Madison West High School

School pictures are ready to order!

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's school ID number.

All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card.

More about the Smilesafe program here.

Picture retakes will be on Tuesday, September 17th.

We are excited to invite you to our Go To School Night on Wednesday, September 25th! This will be a great opportunity to connect with our staff and learn more about your scholar’s Madison West school experience.

The evening will kick off with a Meet and Greet from: 

~   6:00 PM - 6:50 PM. During this time, you can meet with and learn more from our 

• Administration (Principals)
• LMC (Library Media Center) 
• Student Services Team
• AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination)
• ESL (English as a Second Language
• Special Education
• Restorative Justice 

For some added fun, we'll also be providing ice cream vouchers available in Center Ash (front of the school) and light refreshments in the cafeteria while they last.

~   7:00 PM - 8:10 PM, families will have the chance to follow their scholar’s schedule, spending 10 minutes in each class to meet teachers and gain insight into the coursework and expectations for the year. Please bring your student(s) and their schedule(s) with you.

See you on the 25th!

Click here for MMSD PSAT Information

The City of Fitchburg plans to build a teen center in the King James/Verona Road area of the City. A part of this process has included a feasibility study, surveying and interviewing young people and community members and having a teen led process for collecting and interpreting the data from community feedback. Young people from many of your schools have served as paid interns and have done some tremendous work in determining what a teen center would look like!

We are hosting a virtual public workshop on Thursday, September 12th 5:30-7:30. We want a huge showing from the community. Please join us!

MMSD is excited to introduce a new way for families to keep tabs on their students’ transportation: the FirstView app, from First Student. 

FirstView provides location data via GPS tracking, and sends notification alerts when a student’s bus is getting close. It can be used to track all of the students in a household/associated with a caregiver account. It’s the easiest and fastest way to get answers to questions like, “When will the bus show up?” and “How can I see when my child will be picked up or dropped off?” 

Athletics Admission: 

Adults = $6.00 

Students = $4.00 (Student ID required)

Madison West All Sport Home Game Passes = $30 (highly recommended)

Madison West Student Athletic Pass = $20 (highly recommended, West students only)

No Cash

To purchase all MMSD and Big 8 sporting event tickets (Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Track, Volleyball, and Wrestling) please visit our Madison West School GoFan webpage. Also, this year we will be charging for JV games that precede Varsity games. If you plan on attending more than 3 games this school year, we highly encourage you to purchase passes. These passes will get you into every event West hosts, except WIAA events such as Regionals & Sectionals. Students can purchase their athletic pass through Infinite Campus and families can purchase passes on GoFan.

Tickets will then be “redeemed” by ticket support gameworkers at each game. Do not redeem your ticket on your own ahead of time or it will be invalid! See how to use tickets here.

Fans are encouraged to make a GoFan account to buy tickets online before reaching the facility. For your convenience, there will be signage at the venue to help fans navigate an online purchase quickly and easily.

During the first week of school, all students participated in culture-building orientation lessons in their 4th hour class and a pep rally led by our West HS administrators. Many thanks to the West Cheer Team, Dance Team, and Football players who helped make the pep rally in the AUD a success. The week 1 lessons are available on the Student Resource Hub for student and family reference.

Students can find job, volunteer, and internship opportunities on the Job Board through the Student Resource Hub. Students update this board on a biweekly basis. Three new Volunteer Opportunities were just posted.

This past June, nine students from our West High HOSA Future Health Professionals chapter traveled to Houston, TX for the International Leadership Conference. In addition to competing at the international level, students attended workshops with guest speakers representing a variety of healthcare careers and visited the expo with hundreds of vendors from a huge number of businesses and universities. This was a huge event with over 12,000 students participating from all over the country and around the world! The following students received international recognition at the conference:

• Grace Huang - 3rd place in nutrition
• Chandrima Singh - 4th place in microbiology and 7th place in Occupational Health & Safety

We would like to thank all of our HOSA members for a successful 2023-2024 school year and we are looking forward to welcoming our new and returning members for another great year for our West HOSA Future Health Professionals chapter!

This form is for West students who would like a locker during the 24-25 school year. NOTE: FRESHMEN do NOT need to fill this out. Only 10-12th. Freshman will be automatically assigned lockers.

Locker Request Form

Please follow up with Ms. Kirsten in the Welcome Center with any questions, if you need a new lock or if you need help with finding your assigned locker.

Thank you!

Please note- once you have an assigned locker that is your locker for the entire school year.

The online application for Free & Reduced Meals is open to the public for the 2024-2025 school year. Families can apply for benefits by going to this link: https://www.schoolcafe.com/MMSD  Qualification in this program is needed to determine eligibility for a district funded student bus pass. Please fill this out as soon as possible.

MMSD has implemented a new Visitor Aware Software for all guests in the building. This includes all parents, volunteers, student teachers, etc. 

Please click this link to learn more about the Visitor Aware Software and process

Please click this link to pre register as a guest in the building anytime you plan on being in the school. You will still need to come in through the Welcome Center and have your visitor badge printed out at the iPad station. Ms. Kirsten can help you with this process in the Welcome Center.

Scholars who qualify for Free/Reduced lunch can now apply for a grant to cover Driver’s Ed. Those who qualify through a new state program can receive driver education courses at little to no cost. See this link for more info. 

Please follow these instructions for reporting attendance for your student(s):

IC Parent Attendance Portal (Prefered Method) 

Scroll to the bottom of the menu options to ‘more’, then you will see ‘absence requests’ and it will prompt you to put in the time and date.

Attendance Line: 204-4100, option 1

This line is set up for voicemails only and they are checked periodically throughout the day. Please clearly state your students name, student number, why they are leaving, the time they will be gone and when/if they will be returning. We only need that information, short and sweet!

Please note: Your student is responsible for knowing when they need to leave for their appointment. Students should let their teachers know before the start of class of when they need to leave and then at that time quietly gather their things and exit the building. You do not have to come into the building and check them out.

West’s College & Career Center hosts a variety of events throughout the school year. Examples include: college rep visits, visits from professionals in the trades, college essay writing workshops, and career panels. These events are important opportunities for students to connect with professionals and build their knowledge of educational and career possibilities.

If you are interested in being part of a career panel &/or assisting students with college essays, please reach out to Sarah Quinn sequinn@madison.k12.wi.us