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Dialogue
Neenah Joint School District Newsletter - May 2024
First Graduation at New High School is May 22
The first graduating class at the new Neenah High School will have its commencement ceremonies on Wednesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. in the main gym. Tickets are limited to family members and the event will be livestreamed on the NJSD YouTube page. Seniors Annabelle Hodges and Macy Schmidt will serve as Class of 2024 commencement speakers.
The annual graduation parade will take place on May 22 at 10:45 a.m. on the high school campus. The public is welcome to attend and should enter off Winchester Road, since the Larsen Road entry way will be used as a staging area. The public may park in any lot and the parade route will circle the entire school.
Free Summer Lunches are Back in June
The free summer lunch program is back throughout summer school for all students in the community. Free meals are available for any child 18-and-under who resides in the NJSD boundary.
Meals will be served Monday-Friday, June 3-28 at Hoover, Horace Mann, Taft and Tullar. Meals will be available for students enrolled in summer school and their siblings from 11-11:25 a.m. and for all children in the community from 11:25-11:45 a.m. Meals will also be served Monday-Friday, June 3-28 at the Neenah Public Library from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for all children in the community.
All meals must be consumed on site. The meals will feature special guest appearances and students can register daily for a Nintendo Switch drawing that will be awarded on the final day.
NASA Event Celebrates Students of All Abilities
The second annual NASA (Neenah Applauding Student Abilities) day was held May 8 at Neenah High School for over 100 students from all levels and all schools across the District. The day celebrated those students with adaptive PE or other student disabilities. The event started with a kickoff event in the performing arts center and then proceeded to Rocket Stadium for games and activities. High school student volunteers assisted in running the games and activities while being student champions alongside their peers.
Neenah Honored for Project Lead the Way Curriculum
Those honored included Clayton, Coolidge, Hoover, Horace Mann, Lakeview, Spring Road, Taft and Tullar Elementary Schools. They were among 27 elementary schools in Wisconsin to earn the honor and 537 elementary schools nationwide.
This honor is given to schools for providing broad access to transformative learning experiences for students through PLTW Launch, an elementary STEM curriculum.
The Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, schools had to have more than 75 percent of the student body participating in the program and had to offer at least one PLTW Launch module at each grade level.
Two Students Earn Perfect ACT Scores
Neenah High School junior Tony Marose and senior Tristin Yun achieved perfect scores on the ACT exam.
To put into perspective, according to ACT data, a total of 2,542 students nationwide recorded perfect scores in 2023. A total of 1,386,355 students took the exam, meaning 0.18 percent of test takers finished with a 36. The national average for the exam is a 19.5. The 36 composite score does not necessarily mean the student answered every question correctly. The score represents a combination of the math, reading, science and English scores.
Marose is the son of Andrew and Carolyn Marose. He attended Hoover Elementary School. He has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and participates in cross country and tennis. Yun is the son of Bobby Yun and Justine Yun. He has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and participates on the varsity tennis team.
Debate and Forensics Teams Reap National Awards
Neenah High School Senior Berkley McInnis (pictured) is one of 13 Wisconsin students to earn the four-year gold medallion from the Wisconsin High School Forensic Association.
The award is presented to students who earn the top score in their specific category at the state speech festival. The 13 students honored earned the top score in each of the past four years. A total of 3,050 students participated in this year's state festival.
In addition, the Neenah debate team had six students receive Academic All-American honors from the National Speech and Debate Association. Those honored were Kale Hildebrandt, Drew Benthein, Harrison Flint, Aidan Listener, Elise Hendrickson and Chloe Sieman. Senior Sarah Hoffman also earned the award in 2023.
In order to earn the honor, students must have earned 750 points in competition, which means
competing in about 166 rounds. They also must have outstanding character and leadership, a 3.7 GPA and completed at least five semesters of high school.
What's Happening in Our Schools
High School Students Race at Road America
Neenah High School was one of 16 participating schools in the Formula High School racing event at Road America in Elkhart Lake. Built by the school's welding and fabrication classes, five students made the trip to race their car on the track. Neenah was the only school with a stock engine among the participating teams.
The teams practiced on the track and then competed in a time trial event.
EL Families Gather for Activities
Spring Road Gets Students Set for Summer
Spring Road Elementary held its annual fun run along with other activities preparing for summer. Students participated in the run around the neighborhood as well as a bike safety program and a healthy summer snacks presentation/sampling. The Fox Crossing Fire Department, Fox Crossing Police Department, Safe Routes to School and Chartwells also participated.
Celebrating Our Retirees!
A collection of 24 Neenah Joint School District employees will be retiring following the 2023-24 school year. The group combined for 594 years of service to the District and the children of Neenah.
Those retiring are: Dawn Albanese, Melissa Binsfeld, Dave Cepek, David Dunning, Rich Frost, Diane Gardner, Dennis Girard, Meg Gross, Lori Harness, Anne Hein, Barb Jirikowic, Teena Keesler, Jill Laeyendecker, Diane Luft, Mary Pfeiffer, Beth Plankey, Chas Pronschinske, Cathy Sebrowski, Gerald Spanbauer, Jodi Stanchik, Rebecca VanDuser, Cheryl White, TerriBeth Wood and Jennifer Wunrow. Thank you to all of these educators for their dedication to our children!
Hoover School Closing Event Set for May 30
The event will feature photos and memorabilia posted around the building and food trucks. There is no need to register in advance and visitors may arrive anytime within the two-hour window.
NJSD does not intend to sell the building at this time and plans to retain the building for potential future use.
Maroszek Transitioning to Spring Road Principal
Lyzette Maroszek has been selected as the new principal at Spring Road Elementary School for the 2024-25 school year. For the past two years, Maroszek has been the principal at Hoover Elementary, which is closing following the 2023-24 school year. Maroszek replaces DianÄ™ Luft, who is retiring. Luft has been at Spring Road for the past five years and worked 34 years in the District.
Maroszek was previously the principal at Hawthorn Hills Elementary School in Wausau for three years. Prior to becoming a principal, Maroszek taught eight years in the Howard-Suamico School District, teaching in third, fourth and fifth grades from 2011-15 and serving as a gifted and talented teacher for four years. Prior to her career in education, Maroszek worked in the business field in the Green Bay area for over 18 years.
Literacy Tip of the Month
For example, if he/she says, "I drew a truck," you can reply with, "Wow, what a big truck! Where is your truck going?" These simple questions help spark children's creativity and language.