WEST SIDE
STORIES March 2012
• Wauwatosa West High School • 11400 W Center Street, Wauwatosa WI • Volume 16, Issue 5
Paper or ? Plasticp. 2 See
www.wauwatosawest.com
Ben Makhlouf g West Side Stories WEST JUNIOR CHINA CHAMBERS felt particularly affected. “I saw all these people getting hurt and all this stuff happening. I thought I was the only one who was alone in the world,” she said. The “If You Really Knew Me” board erected by Wauwatosa West’s SPIRIT committee was displayed in the Learning Center February 20-24. Students submitted anonymous note cards describing the struggles they went through each day. Administrators sorted through the note cards turned in and removed any note cards that were inappropriate or contained identifying information.
“We the People” to D.C.; Most Wins in WI APPSE team members prepare statements for fifth consecutive appearance at national competition Sabrina Black g Staff Writer
APPSE, or American Public Policy Special Emphasis, is a version of the usual junior-level Social Studies class, American Public Policy (APP), which focuses on American government. What makes this class different? The class’s teacher here at West, Chad Mateske, explained that “this particular section knows that they are going to take part in the accelerated learning of the material, so that
by semester, they will be prepared to take a [. . .] state competition for the We the People program.” The “We the People” web site clarifies, “the competition takes the form of [a] simulated congressional hearing. During the hearings, groups of students testify as constitutional experts before panels of judges acting as congressional committees scoring the groups through a performance-
based assessment.” The students themselves, but perhaps this year will bring an already-written, four-minute be different. statement, but they cannot know exEven before the funding cut, not actly what the judges will ask, an expe- many schools participated; Mateske rience which Dana Kautzer, a current pointed out, “you need kids who are APPSE student, describes as “nerve- willing to do the work and take part wracking.” However, the students are in the competition…you do need a able to predict and prepare for things teacher who is dedicated to put in the that might come up. time beyond the contract time period, In addition to West’s team, Wau- to get the kids ready, and is willing to watosa East has two teams, South have their name shown as part of the Milwaukee has a team, and Hartford product at the competition [. . . .] A lot has an exhibition team (a participat- of teachers might be [. . .] intimidated, CULTURE ing team which is not in competition to [thinking] ‘Look! Those kids are about win). West’s team placed first at State, to go out there, and all day long I can’t meaning that these APPSE students do anything about it, and they’re going will be competing at Nationals in to say what they’re going to say, and Washington, D. C. that might make me As well as the A lot of teachers might be [. . .] intimi- look bad.’” usual challenges of dated, [thinking] ‘Look! Those kids are The APPSE team Katherine Janiszewski g Staff Writer the class, this year about to go out there, and all day long will leave for NaThe hallways of Wauwatosa West High school are a medley of many culthe financial part is I can’t do anything about it, and they’re tionals on Friday, tures and ethnicities; there are African-American students, Latino students, harder. Previously, going to say what they’re going to say, April 27th and rewhite students, Asian students and so many more different races and culfederal funding was and that might make me look bad. turn Wednesday, tures. Wauwatosa West is literally a melting pot of cultures and traditions offered for any class May 2nd. The comfrom all over the world, and the purpose of the Multicultural fair is to make that wished to make use of the curricu- petition is the Saturday and Sunday, everyone aware and proud of their cultures, and how their cultures can come lum. Unfortunately, this year, the fed- and if West’s team places in the top together to make Wauwatosa West a very interesting place. eral funding has been eliminated. ten, they will also compete on a third Señora Patrias, the head of a small committee that runs the Multicultural Due to this lack of federal funding, day. In fact, two years ago, West did fair, hopes that the cultural fair will make students aware and proud of their the APPSE students’ fund-raising goal have the opportunity to compete on the heritage. It is important to know that everyone has a culture. Patrias said, is even higher this year. There has third day, finishing as the tenth team “in homeroom... all the white students said that they had no heritage...but been plenty of fund-raising going on in in the country. Mateske reminisced, they do.” They can be Irish or German or Polish, each of which has a full, rich an attempt to reach the sum of money “[they] got to compete in the Senate culture that can influence their lives. required to pay for the trip to Wash- hearing rooms on Capitol Hill, so they The Multicultural fair is divided into three parts. The first part is an outington, D. C. In previous years, the were literally sitting in the nice, leathreach program that allows high school students to g Please see p. 9 g Please see p. 5 students have never needed to pay for er seats, speak-
Embracing Diversity Preparations underway for Multicultural Fair