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NEWS
Appleton, Wisconsin March 2017 Volume XXII
Issue V Page 2
9 10 11 12
Spring is the perfect
time to start decid-
ing what clubs and
activities you want to
deepen your involve-
ment with. Now that
you’ve had more than
a semester of high
school, start to seek
out opportunities
within those activi-
ties to improve both
yourself and the group
as a whole. And, you
can start planning
what you’d like to be
involved with next
school year. Con-
sistent and focused
involvement is a major
asset for the college
acceptance process,
so make sure to start
as soon as possible!
Soon, you will be taking
the ACT Aspire, a test that
can be very helpful for pre-
dicting your future perfor-
mance on the ACT, an im-
portant college admittance
factor. Although the scores
you get on the test later
this spring may not fully
predict your ACT score,
they can be helpful in
pinpointing areas that you
need to focus on, so take
the test seriously even if it
will not directly be used in
your college applications.
Also, make sure to keep
involved and meeting your
academic goals. Every
year counts when applying
to college, so work hard to
be consistent with grades
and clubs and it will pay off
in the long run.
Congratulations for mak-
ing it through the ACT and
WorkKeys! These scores
can be helpful in planning
for the rest of the year and
even past high school. But
remember, they are just one
aspect of the college admit-
tance process, so don’t be
too concerned about the
score that you get. Consider
taking the SAT later in the
year now that you’ve been
preparing for standardized
tests for a while, since four
free scores can be sent to
colleges with each SAT or
ACT retake. This is often the
most cost-effective strategy
if you aren’t planning to
take tests too many times
since you won’t need to pay
to send your scores sepa-
rately.
You’ve likely heard back
from a few colleges so
far, and may have even
decided which college to
attend. Even if not, now
is the best time to apply
for other scholarships,
so make sure to pick up
the updated scholarship
list in the guidance of-
fice. Taking time to apply
now could save you time
working for the same
amount of money later, so
it’s smart to seek out as
much money for college
now from both universi-
ties and outside sources.
If you have accepted or
are about to accept a
college’s offer, make sure
to confirm housing and
scholarship offers sooner
rather than later.
Focusing on college readiness and preparation during March
By Erik Bakken
Each month, the Noctiluca
will provide college advice for
each grade level at Apple-
ton North in the “Noctiluca
University”. Advice will be
specifically tailored to each
month in order to provide the
most timely help. Juniors and
seniors: pick up a copy of
college readiness timeline in
the guidance office for more
in-depth information regard-
ing the college application
process.
Todorova,
Immigration
protests, from
page 1
Lawrence University. In our
student population, we as a
community came together,
have large talks, open conver-
sation and was a bonding point
for many of us.”
Has it changed your per-
spective on other social and
political groups?
“Not really, at least not from
this. I’ve always had a fairly
negative view on conserva-
tives, this didn’t really change
that. I feel like moderates need
to step it up and make their
perspectives on issues more
clear, as it could highly influ-
ence the state of our own poli-
tics in this community and the
countries, if they decide to fall
on either side of the political
spectrum.”
What is the difference be-
tween now and a year ago?
“I’ve definitely seen a dif-
ference, people are bring-
ing activism up, people you
wouldn’t expect to be politi-
cally involved are coming to
protests and getting involved.”
Alejandra Alareon, Olivia
Soule, Lawrence University:
How has this affected you
personally?
“I was told I shouldn’t go
home, as I was planning on
visiting some family in Ecua-
dor, and I shouldn’t because
of Trump’s immigration ban.”
- Alareon
“This hasn’t affected me
personally, but I feel strongly
about these issues, as the ban
is unconstitutional, it’s just an
excuse to ban Muslims, and
countries that are considered
to be dangerous. The whole
idea that Islam is ‘awful’ is
racist and horrible in and of
itself”. - Soule
What is your relationship
to the community and has it
changed?
“I feel afraid, not safe any-
more. It’s scary that people
think that sexism, even rape is
okay.” - Alareon
I don’t feel like I face any
threat, but as a woman I’m
disgusted in people who think
what the president is doing
is okay, and I fear for other
women and people of the
LGBT community. - Soule
What’s the difference be-
tween now and a year ago?
“I don’t think that hatred
and bigotry is more preva-
lent, I feel like it’s not be-
come more accepted and it’s
the “norm now” as seen by
Trump’s statements. It gives
racists a reason to feel justi-
fied in their opinions.”
- Soule
Protesters in Houdini Plaza
show opposition to Trump’s
immigration signing.
Photo by
Salma Abdel-Azim
give up his own time to allow
students to come in at lunch
or after and before class.”
The idea for the staff North
Stars program was initially
thought of by Mrs. Zitzels-
berger, an art teacher at Ap-
pleton North. She got the
idea from Madison Middle
School, which has a similar
teacher recognition program.
“North Stars helps staff mo-
rale because they’re getting
positive feedback from stu-
dents about how they’re do-
ing,” said Mr. Salm. “I hope
all students think about who
to nominate and get active in
the program because it is nice
for teachers to get positive
feedback from students.”
Both North Stars programs
aim to get North students and
faculty thinking about the
North Nine as well as giving
recognition to people who ex-
emplify the traits.
“It builds a nice climate in
the building,” said Mr. Sug-
rue. “The program gets peo-
ple thinking about positive
characteristics that we want
to build in one another, and I
am looking forward to seeing
other teachers recognized.”
Price,
North Stars,
from page 1
September: Acceptance
October: Achievement
November: Character
December: Compassion
January: Excellence
February: Integrity
March: Perseverance
April: Respect
May: Responsibility
Henry Ptacek and Elyse Lucas are honored by Fox Cities’ Fu-
ture 15 Award.
Photo used with permission by Trove Photography
ACA teacher Ms. Lucas has
been an educator for the past
five years. “It feels wonder-
ful to be acknowledged as
a Future ‘15er’ for my work
in the community!” Lucas
said. “I was recognized for
starting the Fox Cities Edu-
cators for the Arts collective
which functions to provide art
teachers...a platform to come
together and discuss.” Be-
ing an active member of the
Fox Valley’s art scene has en-
riched Lucas’ life, getting her
involved in organizations like
Make-A-Wish, WAEA, and
NAEA.
Pulse is an organization
that promotes young entre-
preneurs in the Fox Valley.
Their vision is a diverse and
innovated Fox Cities that is a
hub for young professionals to
gather and settle down and the
Future 15 award isn’t the only
thing that Pulse does. Various
programs such as Bazaar After
Dark, a street market full of at-
tractions along with food ven-
dors and art; the Artery, which
is the area’s first urban art
market; and Fox Cities SOUP,
a place where every person
has a voice. The event boasts
Fonkem,
Future 15,
from page 1
grant proposals for projects in
the area, and every attendee
gives five dollars for a vote
in which project will receive
the grant money, along with a
soup meal. Pulse is a creative
organization striving to adapt
Appleton and the surrounding
areas into the modern times by
offering innovate opportuni-
ties to young people.