HUGE Congratulations to the Boy's Swim Team who finished 10th at the State tournament out of 41 teams. The team was led by AJ Terry and Smith Connor. AJ took 3rd in both the 50 Free in a time of 20.64 and 100 Free with a time of 45.30 both in School Record Times. Smith took 4th in the 100 Back in a school Record time of 49.87. AJ and Smith were joined by Noah Ehersman and Ben Connor to take 12th in the 200 Medley Relay and break school records at both LaFollette and East in a time of 1:38.17. The roll continued as AJ, Smith, and Ben were joined by Grant Haselow for the 8th place finishing 400 Freestyle Relay which also broke school Records at both schools in a time of 3:10.52. Ben added an 8th place finish in the 100 Back as well and a 13th place finish in the 50 Free. Smith also placed 15th in the 200 Freestyle to round out his day. All swimmers swam lifetime best swims and every swimmer scored points for the team! Way to end the season strong boys!!!

Congratulations to our traditional cheer team for qualifying for State! Saturday they will be completing in Oshkosh! Follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.

Next week (February 27 - March 3) is "Spread the Word: Inclusion" Week. This is a time to encourage our community to think about the language that we use and the actions that we take in our building and community to include friends of all backgrounds and abilities.

"Spread the Word to End the Word", the campaign which focused its first 10 years on addressing a particularly powerful form of exclusion: the word ‘retard(ed)’, became "Spread the Word", in 2019, with a focus not just on the elimination of a word but on the creation of a new reality: inclusion for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Exclusion and discrimination continue to divide people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Excluding, dehumanizing, and demeaning language has a hurtful impact on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Therefore, cultivating a respectful and inclusive language is an essential part "Going All In(clusive)," meaning speaking up against the wrong and demeaning use of the R-word in conversations. It is part of an education effort that showcases that language informs attitudes and attitudes impact actions.

We invite members of our East community to join us in making a pledge and taking action for a more inclusive world. "Pledge to Include" and combat the hurtful and dehumanizing effects of exclusion at www.spreadtheword.global/pledge. But don't stop there; spread the word. Tell your friends and family and even share your pledge publically. Social media is a powerful way to raise awareness for Spread the Word. Social media platforms can be influential storytelling tools that allow people to engage in conversations that help change attitudes and drive people to pledge to take their own action for inclusion. There are conversations taking place every day about inclusion, support, perseverance, unity, people with intellectual disabilities, sports, and friendship. Find a topic you care about and share your perspective. Engage online communities and spread the word about inclusion. Keep interactions respectful and moving forward by always encouraging people to join in taking the pledge to include.

The Boys Basketball team will host Madison West in a first round playoff game on Tuesday, February 28th at 7:00pm at East. A reminder to all spectators - tickets are $6 and no passes can be accepted. This includes Athletic Passes. Everyone that wants to enter the game will be required to pay the $6 ticket cost.

The MMSD Board of Education will hold four in-person listening sessions at the district’s comprehensive high schools in March. Families, staff, students, and the community are welcome to attend any session to share with the Board what’s going well or opportunities for growth. The in-person listening session at East will be held in LMC Gold on Wednesday, March 1st at 5:30pm. Additional listening sessions will be held on March 2nd at La Follette, March 15th at Memorial, and March 16th at West.

Check out these slides with next week's new scholarships, jobs, events, and college visits.