Principal's Page
Dear TC West Parents:
Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year at Traverse City West Senior High School!! I hope your summer was relaxing and that you were able to spend quality time with family and friends.
This summer has been a very busy one at West Senior High. A new gym, two locker rooms, a concessions area and a new Athletic Director office was added to the high school. Our West Senior High Physical Education facility expansion is funded through TCAPS' 3.1 local capital millage approved by our community in 2007. TCAPS recognized how mandated changes to high school athletic seasons and the 9th grade moving to the high school would increase capacity and usage demands on all physical education facilities and set forth a proactive capital plan to ensure all high quality, accessible physical education environments for teaching, learning, and interscholastic athletics. Capital funds can only be used to upgrade and expand facilities and to maintain or replace significant capital assets such as technology, buses, educational, and maintenance equipment. By law, funds generated by the local millage cannot be used to pay employee salaries or benefits or any other day-to-day operation. Everything will be ready by the time school starts. We will have an “Open House” to showcase the new facility in late August or early September. Please stay tuned!
For the second year in a row, MME and ACT scores improved and we continue to be higher than the state average. This past school year, ACT Language Arts scores were up 7%, and Reading 8%. In Math, student proficiency was up 5% and 4% in Science. We also continue to excel in Advance Placement as 96 % of the AP Calculus students, 84 % of the AP English, 65 % of the AP Science and 76 % of the AP Social Studies students passed the exams with a 3 or above. Nationally, between 50 to 60 percent of students pass Advance Placement tests.
Throughout the summer, I took some time to read some of the current research on parental involvement at school and its impact on student achievement. Guess what? Very little has changed! Research still points out that the more parents are involved with the school, the higher the academic success of the student. Our students have had great success at T.C. West Senior High School, but there is always room for improvement.
I sincerely believe that your active involvement can make this a better place for students, staff, parents and community members. Please consider volunteering in the Noon Activity Program (NAP). Be an Academic, Athletic or Music Booster. Attend the monthly West Parent Advisory Committee (WPAC) activities and come to co-curricular events. Visit a class and use Parent Viewer to keep current with classroom assignments and your student’s grades. Use the T.C. West Senior High web site (www2.tcaps.net/wsh) to access daily announcements, and e-mail or call me if you have any questions or concerns.
If I don’t have your e-mail address, please send it to me at tibaldijo@tcaps.net and I will include you in my bi-weekly parent update. We need and sincerely want you to be an active member of the T.C. West Senior High community!
Registration for 10th, 11th and 12th grade students:
Wednesday, August 26th from 11:00 am. – 7:00 pm. Thursday, August 27th from 9:00 am. – 3:00 pm. Parent Orientation will also be held on Wednesday, August 26th at 7:00 pm in the auditorium.
Freshman orientation and registration will be on Tuesday, September 1st from 8:00 am. – 1:00 pm.
Since our opening in 1998, we have worked hard to establish a school environment based upon mutual cooperation, respect, and high expectations for all. We believe the foundation of this positive school culture rests within our Standards of Practice. The Standards were mutually developed and are reviewed annually by parents, students and staff to serve as a guide for our school. We believe that a continuing commitment by everyone puts our school standards into practice and plays an important role in the continued success of T.C. West Senior High School.
T.C. WEST SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
We will treat all people with dignity, honesty, respect and trust.
We will be positive contributors.
We will foster a safe and orderly environment.
We will provide all students opportunities for success.
We will demonstrate quality work.
Thank you for sending us such great young adults!! Enjoy the last few weeks of summer.
I hope to see you at registrations, Parent Orientation on August 26th and throughout the school year at our events and activities.
Joe Tibaldi, Principal
West Parent Advisory Committee (W.P.A.C.)
We cordially invite you to attend the following West Parent Advisory meetings for the 2009/2010 school year:
Monday, September 28
Monday, October 26
Monday, November 30
Monday, January 25
Monday, February 22
Monday, April 26
Monday, May 24
All meetings take place in the library and begin at 7 pm. These meetings are open to all parents and we encourage your attendance. This important group helps us to make decisions that affect all students.
We hope to see you there!