With a new school year just
beginning, there are many op-
portunities to get involved,
and people like Carmen Danz
are taking advantage of them.
This year, she will be play-
ing on the tennis and lacrosse
teams, be involved in the the-
ater program, read the morning
announcements, and be a Link
Crew commissioner.
“I think being involved is
super important because that’s
where you’ll meet new people
and find your niche. It gets you
out of your comfort zone in a
way,” said Danz.
With forty-nine clubs and
fourteen different sports avail-
able, Appleton North has of-
fered students like Danz many
ways to get involved and meet
people in their school. She
started her freshman year by
joining lacrosse and theater,
later joining tennis as a sopho-
more, Link Crew as a junior,
and the announcements readers
as a senior. She recommends
always being willing to try new
things, especially as a fresh-
man.
“Explore all the different op-
tions, even if it’s nerve-wrack-
ing,” said Danz. “You can even
start small; just join one club or
talk to a few different people.
It’s all about baby steps. North
allows so many different op-
portunities for this to happen
with so many different groups
available to people.”
Further growth
With this year’s freshman
class being the biggest one yet
and North’s population grow-
ing each year, there are more
people than ever who are able
to get involved. North’s pro-
grams are part of what is draw-
ing people to the school.
“Our theater program is
phenomenal. I know we have
students come just for the-
ater. We’ve had students come
for our performance team, so
sports can play a role in that,
too,” said Associate Principal
Mr. Dave Pynenberg. “But I
would say that a majority of
the time people are looking at
the academics piece. We were
a USAToday award winner for
testing. Those things all play
a part [in attracting new stu-
dents].”
Due to a variety of factors,
Appleton North’s student pop-
ulation has been consistently
growing over the past few
years. One of these reasons in-
cludes the growing freshmen
classes each year. This year’s
freshmen class included 476
students as of Aug. 16, but this
number is expected to grow at
least six or seven students be-
tween then and the third Friday
count, which is a final count of
students that occurs on the third
Friday of September.
North is also gaining stu-
dents in all grades due to open
enrollment. Each year, schools
will have students transfer in
and out of the school, but North
usually gains more students
than they lose. This year, North
is projected to gain 30 or more
students from in-district open
enrollment and 60 to 75 from
out-of-district.
Students are gaining new op-
portunities to open enroll that
weren’t available in previous
years. Outside of the regu-
lar open enrollment period,
which closes late in the previ-
ous school year, students can
now apply through alternate
open enrollment, which doesn’t
close until the new school year
starts. Due to this new system,
students can open enroll all
throughout the summer, which
can greatly impact class sizes;
North generally gains 60 to 75
students in the month of July
alone.
Lessons from experience
With all of these new stu-
dents, the beginning of the
school year can be a great time
to meet new people and try new
things. Getting involved has
helped people like Danz learn
to be themselves and explore
their community.
Appleton, Wisconsin
September 2016
Vol. XXII
Issue I
Whenever I’m asked to de-
scribe what I enjoy most about
Appleton North, I say the op-
portunities offered. Because
there are a lot of them, oppor-
tunities that is.
As a young freshman these
opportunities could seem over-
whelming; as a senior perhaps
they’re a bit under whelming.
Regardless of their percep-
tion, these opportunities exist
in service of all students. And
it’d be naïve not to take ad-
vantage of them, to challenge
high school’s stereotypical lull
through active engagement. It’s
one thing to attend class and
do homework, it’s another to
immerse yourself in fulfilling
activities.
Participation in the myriad of
clubs, sports, and activities of-
fered in and out
of high school
must be done
in moderation
however. Too
often, students
are pushed to
become in-
volved for the
wrong reasons
and at an in-
correct depth.
Regardless of
the current so-
cietal narrative, you cannot and
should not do something solely
to pad a resume. Because ulti-
mately, why invest your time in
something you have no passion
for? Time is one of the most
rare and valuable resources and
must be used thoughtfully.
After becoming involved in
many activist related organi-
zations such as Youth in Gov-
ernment, Student Council, and
the school paper I realized sur-
face level involvement was a
hinderance and stepped out of
Student Council despite its un-
deniable value – an important
lesson I learned about balance.
It’s also important that peo-
ple know there’s no specific
formula for involvement. Some
students don’t have the ability
to invest time in extracurricu-
lars – maybe they care for a
family or work long hours.
Being intentional about the
investment of time is the best
way to have a positive and ful-
filling high school experience.
Involvement
is key in
high school
By Nora Ptacek
Nora Ptacek
is the Senior
Editor-in-
Chief of the
Noctiluca.
Class growth links students to opportunity
By Ally Price
See
Price
, Page 2
Related article
Noctiluca editorial: the
importance of getting
involved, Page 2
During freshmen orientation on Thursday, Aug. 25 freshmen walk through the ceremonial tunnel to signify the transition into high
school.
Photo by Olivia Molter
Link Crew members go through activities with freshmen during
orientation.
Photo by Olivia Molter
Class-size comparison
This year’s freshmen
population is bigger than in
North’s previous years:
2013-14 ..................... 437
2014-15 ..................... 457
2015-16 ..................... 471
2016-17 ..................... 476
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