NOCTILUCA June 2018

GRADUATION Appleton, Wisconsin June 2018 Volume XXIII

Issue VI Page 4

Inspirational art teacher retiring Terri Westby leaves a legacy of inspiring art students

Seniors Reflect on High School The Noctiluca asked seniors what their favorite memory in high school was and how they have changed. Head to northnoct.com for more interviews! Nathan Syring: “Performing in the musicals has been my favorite thing here at North. Hunchback was easily my favorite. The end of each show was an incredibly emotional mo- ment for the entirety of the pit. We al- most had a hard time playing because so many of us were tearing up.” “I’ve definitely learned how to actually work hard. People in college right now might laugh, but up until this point, high school is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Madison Berlowski: “Let’s see….. Starting the ukulele club. It died in a year, but like still. It was really cool to see people who are very musi- cally talented but who aren’t in band or orchestra have an opportunity to share what they can do. So many people were so passionate and excited about it and that was really cool for me.” “I’ve definitely gotten past caring what people think of me. Freshman year I re- ally cared about what people thought of me. At this point you start becoming your own person and stop caring about other people judging you for being you. I know this sounds cliche, but you also discover who your true friends are and that’s re- ally important.”

By Silvia Knighten

Appleton North and Re- naissance teacher Terri Westby is retiring after this school year. She has spent 29 in the Appleton Area School District splitting her time between North and Re- naissance. She teaches a va- riety of students in a range of different art forms, main- ly drawing and painting, and other 2D visual art forms. During her time at North, Westby made an effort to engage students in Knitting Club as well as art projects around the school. Her stu- dents were involved in the depiction of multinational figures in the library and are currently working on con- structing a permanent mu- ral. Westby herself helped create the lightning mural within the entryway of the school. Through her time here, Mrs. Westby said she truly enjoyed watching stu- dents grow and evolve with their art. She has many trea- sured memories of students involved in art shows and competitions, where their art went on to be featured in gal- leries and on the electrical boxes on College Avenue. Although she was new to teaching in a high school when she first started, West-

Photo by Silvia Knighten .

by was optimistic and said her original goals were sim- ply to engage students in art, “I wanted to make the classes as successful as I could and connect with stu- dents through art as much as possible.” She wanted to create many different op- portunities that would allow students to connect with art and with themselves, and apply the art on a personal level. She wanted to ac- knowledge the different lev- el of students and how much they are willing and capable of putting into art, and have every student understand that talent does not mat- ter as much as effort does. After retiring, she has a whole host of activities planned. Her husband is also an artist, working in ceramics and sculptures, meaning their house is al-

ways full to the brim of different projects. Westby hopes to continue explor- ing art in forms of drawing, painting, fabrics, and jew- elry-making. She plans to remain active in the art com- munity. Westby hopes that the Appleton North com- munity remembers her as a teacher who helped motivate and inspire students to fol- low their artistic passions. She also hopes people will continue to value and en- courage artistic endeavors. Westby has thoroughly enjoyed her time teaching and working in the AASD. She is truly impressed and proud of the level of artis- tic maturity students have been able to achieve. West- by has found helping stu- dents with their art to be an incredibly rewarding career. Some of Milheiser’s major goals was to get all students reading books, successfully gathering in- formation for research, and correctly citing sources in order to gain a new level of understanding and appre- ciation for literature and education. ”When I ask a student what book they are reading, I always want them to have an answer. I want reading to have an impact on everyone’s life, and is something that stu- dents get used to doing,” said Milheiser. Milheiser also left a significant im- pact on the importance of spreading awareness on mental health. She, along with others, contribut- ed to the school’s new club called Sources Of Strength, an undertaking the school and community have taken to increase the support given to people

Book-champion librarian retiring

to further pursue her pas- sion. While in retirement, Milheiser will continue to be involved and offer support to the Appleton North theater, music, and arts programs. “The art programs at North are ex- cellent as they allow for talented students to grow and fulfil their passion,” Milheiser stated. Most im- portantly, Milheiser will continue reading books and volunteering at the Appleton Public Library. Milheiser hopes to have impacted the members at North through helping them attain their academic, artistic, musical, and liter- ary aspirations and contrib- uting to the wellbeing of the entire community. She thanks the wonderful, sup- portive and hardworking staff members and student body at making her time at North a wonderful one.

who are struggling with mental health. She pas- sionately talked about the importance of the club, saying “the club enables students to get the assis- tance they need to succeed in life. Everyone has their ups and downs, and we feel it is important to give stu- dents the opportunity and the support they deserve to fully express their poten- tial. We want everyone to reach a better mental and physical state of health.” Though her departure from North will be bitter- sweet, Milheiser is excited to embark on new adven- tures, discover newhobbies and passions, and spend more time with her loved ones. One of her favorite pastimes is gardening, and she maintains a vegetable and flower garden of her own. She is hoping to take a master gardening class

Photo by Sarah Fleming.

Appleton North librar- ian Mrs. Patricia Mil- heiser is retiring after seven outstanding years of working at North, and 27 years at Madison Mid- Mrs. Milheiser will miss working with dedicated staff and students By Adithi Reddy

dle School, for a total of 34 years in the AASD. Milheiser is very grateful for her time spent at North and the relationships she was able to build with oth- er staff members and dedi- cated students; their hard work and commitment to- wards making the school and community a better place is something she admires and endeavoured to accomplish herself.

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