This week during Purgolder Time, staff and students learned who the support staff are that work with each Neighborhood.

This week we held a press conference with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, to celebrate the success of the AVID/TOPS (Advancement Via Individual Determination [AVID] / Teens of Promise [TOPS]) program. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative, a third-party evaluator engaged by MMSD and BGCDC, found that AVID/TOPS helps to narrow achievement gaps in college, in tandem with college prep and other supports. Thank you to all who work to make this program such a meaningful and dynamic pathway to success for so many enterprising district scholars!

East High School senior and AVID/TOPS student Khady, said it’s one of her favorite classes, where “we do a lot of good stuff for each other” and work together to confront challenging classes. “If I didn’t have AVID/TOPS, I’d probably do bad in some of my classes,” Khady said.

Classmate Gigi, said being in AVID/TOPS “is like being part of a family where I know the people around me will push me to do my best. For me, the most important opportunity is being a part of the youth apprenticeship and internships of our interests, because it opened many doors for us and helped us figure out what we want to do."

“High school is already hard, especially this year, junior year. This is definitely gonna be one of my most stressful years,” East student Joof-Jarboh said. “But with AVID, I know I’m gonna be able to conquer it.”

Some students in the program say, they feel they are on the path to an education.

"Overall, it's about making my parents proud," said Hugo Torres, an East High School student.

"Barbering is just like algebra! If you take a little from one side you gotta take the same from the other side,” explained The Velo Barber during a presentation to East students this week. Students loved hearing about all the places he’s visited around the world to cut hair. Julien shared the importance of connecting with your clients, doing precise, careful, clean work and how all these practices of being an excellent barber are practices to implement in the rest of our lives. He promoted being a blessing to others and his visit to East was a blessing for all of the students who had the opportunity to spend some time learning from him.

This week, East's Raza United ventured to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the Madison-area Latinx community at the 13th annual Hispanic Heritage Luncheon Celebration.

It did take some time for Madison East Senior, Fernando Silva Boudewyn, to come out of his shell. Before COVID-19 began several years ago, he said he was very much an introvert and wasn’t very social until he joined the Madison East boys cross country team as a freshman in 2020.

“I feel like I would not be where I am right now without the sport mostly because I met a lot of really cool and amazing people with cross country,” he said. “It showed me a different way to see every day. You can improve and put work into something. You can always improve and see the results from all the hard work you put in.”

Since his sophomore year, his biggest improvements are his mentality and the way he runs races. His mentality of running for fun has changed to running competitively, which has helped him enjoy the sport more.

“It’s really great to see all the hard work you put in,” he said. “Then you see all the results after you run a race.”

He’s now helping the Purgolders, who are ranked for 13th with Middleton in Division 1 by the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association, attempt to do something they haven’t done in 43 years: earn a trip to the WIAA state championships at the Ridges Golf Course, in Wisconsin Rapids on Oct. 28.

They will get a chance Saturday when the Purgolders participate in the WIAA Division 1 sectional at DeForest. The top two teams in each division advance to state.

“I’m really happy to be part of this team if we can make it to state,” he said. “I will be happy to try my best and fight for that. During sectionals, I will try my best and fight for it, just to give my team a chance.”

View Upcoming College & Career Visits and Post-Secondary Opportunities which include scholarships, jobs, events, college visits, and more.

This week's slides feature:

Families interested in learning more about employment and apprenticeships should attend our Apprenticeship & Employment Night on Thursday, October 26th from 6-7pm via Google Meet.

Students who would like their photo retaken by Lifetouch may do so on Wednesday, October 25th between 8:00am-12:30pm in the Multipurpose Room at East High School.

All East students who have not changed their passwords since the beginning of the school year will be prompted to change their passwords by Monday, October 23rd. Here are resources to help students change their password and/or set up password recovery:

East families can sign up to receive Thanksgiving groceries through the Goodman Community Center. Thanksgiving Baskets contain a frozen turkey, pumpkin pie, ice cream, fresh potatoes, onions and carrots, eggs, milk, butter, dinner rolls, cooking oil, stuffing, gravy, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce and macaroni & cheese.

After registering through the google form, a bright orange postcard will be mailed to your mailing address the week of November 13th with pick up instructions. Pick up dates will be November 18th-20th, with specific times assigned.

Registration for a Thanksgiving Basket is limited to one per household. This registration form should only be used by families with children enrolled in MMSD.

The Madison Starlings are a non-profit volleyball club for boys and girls interested in both learning the game and taking their skills to the next level. Teams are offered in several age groups and all are welcome to give the sport a try. Financial Assistance is available for the registration and membership fees! East students who participate in the program were recently featured in the October/November edition of the Northside News.

Tryouts for the Starlings High School Volleyball Winter Season Teams are coming up for ages 15 and up!

Email madisonstarlings@gmail.com with any questions.