WEST SIDE
STORIES
Tardiness at West pg. 4
January 2014 • Wauwatosa West High School • 11400 W Center Street, Wauwatosa WI • Volume 18, Issue 1
New Science Curriculum Redesigned curriculum seeks to improve scores Nick Moroder • Photography Editor
Senior Nathan Eggenberger helps freshmen DeVaughn Warren prepare for his Algebra final exam at Cocoa and Cram event in the cafeteria on January 16th. “It was a great opportunity to get the help that I needed”, said Warren. Eggenberger and 40 other Link Crew mentors hosted the Cocoa and Cram event after school on January 14th and January 16th to help freshmen with their first final exams.
Link Crew Welcomes Freshmen Deanna Ross • Editor in Chief
On the first day of school, juniors and seniors gathered in the gym, awaiting the arrival of their newly assigned Link Crew. Link Crew is a program that encourages the link crew leaders, selectively picked upperclassmen, and their crews, the freshmen of West, to personally assist a group of freshman in the transition between middle and high school. The upperclassmen have met several times with their advisors, Social Studies teachers Andy Zeitlow and Chris Lazarski, and guidance counselor Nick Becker. One of Link Crew’s activities was an orientation
held on the first day of school. Freshman Emily Chiesa said that though it will help to know two new people at West, she wasn’t sure how helpful Link Crew is. “I don’t really think I am going to need my Link Crew leader this year,” said Chiesa. Chiesa said she was still confused about the school’s layout despite Link Crew’s orientation. “Even though I got a tour, I still got lost,” said Chiesa. The upperclassmen leading the program have passed through several tests to become leaders.
Starting on the day of September, 3 2013, all incoming freshmen were given new science curriculum which changed all semester long courses into year long courses. The process took roughly three years to determine how to help improve the students’ science skills. This year students will be required to participate in year long science courses instead of semester long courses. The district and teachers believe the new curriculum will help student gain more knowledge in science and improve standardized testing results. Over the next three years, science students will still have to fulfill the requirement of three credits for graduation. Students are required to take a full year of Biology, a full year of Chemistry, and a full year of Physics. “I think [the new science curriculum] is fine”, said freshmen Abby Strand. “I believe that we are not learning a whole lot of content, but I love the skill work and science.” Science year long classes will help diminish the pressure on teachers to cover everything in a semester long class. Students have the option of taking advanced courses instead of the regular courses as well. Biology teacher Bill Lund is very “excited because I see improvement from last year.” The school board believes that this change will help provide improvement in certain areas. Especially, this change will help increase the science scores on the ACT.
• See Link Crew on page 2
• See Science Curriculum on page 3
Teachers Leaving
District sees many staff members resign Mark Salamone • Web Editor
Following the 2012 to 2013 school year, several teachers have left Wauwatosa West and the Wauwatosa School District. The losses were heaviest at Wauwatosa East High School. East lost several teachers, and according to a report released by East Principal Nick Hughes, the school is adding 29 new teachers to its staff to recoup its losses. These teachers include staff members from other schools in the district, including Wauwatosa West, such as Mary Haasch and Amie Brooks, as well as outside teachers. Hughes is confident that the district has hired “exceptional teachers for the upcoming school year.” In addition, the new teachers are acclimated with “classroom walk-throughs,” as well as “district mentors assigned for two years.” According to Hughes, all of this helps ensure that even with the loss of experienced teachers, the new teachers provide “great instruction.”
• See Teachers Leaving on page 3