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NEWS
Appleton, Wisconsin December 2016 Volume XXII
Issue III Page 2
9 10 11 12
About three months
into the school year,
you’re probably getting a
better idea of what inter-
ests you at North. Even
if you’ve started settling
into certain niches, make
sure that you continue
to keep looking for what
you’re interested in, be-
cause there are plenty of
options for engaging your
various interests. And
start thinking of your fu-
ture and what you would
like to do over the next
three years and after high
school. As your options
open up over the next
few years, it’s important
to have an idea of what
courses you’re interested
in as soon as possible,
so keep investigating
your opportunities.
During fall of your sopho-
more year, challenge
yourself to excel at your
courses and extracurricu-
lars. Now that you’re more
comfortable at North, it’s
important to not only be in-
volved, but to increase your
involvement, not necessar-
ily by joining more clubs or
sports, but by working hard
to achieve your goals in
the activities that you are
a part of. The first step in
this process is setting both
short-term and long-term
goals for yourself for the
next week, month or even
your entire high school
career. Even if these goals
change throughout your
time at North, starting to
set goals early helps to
provide multiple finish lines
for you.
In February and March,
you will be taking the ACT
with writing and the ACT
Work Keys tests, which
are important decision
factors for most colleges
and universities across the
country. Starting to study for
these tests now is recom-
mended, even if you start
off slow by only reviewing
a few problems a week.
Resources such as Kaplan’s
ACT Question of the Day
can help you prepare for the
test come spring. Also, con-
sider building your resume
through volunteering or a
part-time job. Earning both
experience and money may
be important factors in your
college acceptance and
decision, so it’s a good idea
to start thinking about that
as soon as possible.
Many of you will have
already applied to schools
with the Nov. 1 deadlines,
but it’s important to still be
fully engaged in the college
search process. Research-
ing financial aid and scholar-
ship options at colleges and
university is often integral
to choosing the best post
high school option. Visiting
schools and asking ques-
tions to current students
and faculty is also highly
recommended; making sure
to look at the people of a
school can be just as impor-
tant as evaluating the pro-
grams offered. And, make
sure to check your email
often. Even if you’re inun-
dated with college emails on
a daily basis, make sure to
sift through the emails you
get in.
Continuing with college preparations throughout December
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.
just to get something written.
“It still has some kinks, but
this is only a rough draft,”
said Iwanski. “The plot has
changed throughout
the
month. Mainly I’ve struggled
to find the antagonists in my
story.”
While not writing final
drafts, writers still benefited
from the writing process in
many different ways.
“Participating [in NaNoW-
riMo] has made my writing
style cleaner and more defini-
tive,” said Zajkowski. “It’s
less rigid than a school set-
ting. You can write whatever
you want in your own person-
al style.”
Besides providing a plat-
form for writers to join to-
gether, NaNoWriMo is also
a non-profit organization.
Donations are optional, since
signing up to write is com-
pletely free, but money raised
helps to send Young Writer’s
Program classroom kids to
over 2,000 classrooms around
the world, organize in-person
write-ins around the world,
and keep their website run-
ning. It encourages people
across the world to take time
out of their days and write.
“You can always make time
to write,” said Iwanski. “You
have to make time, because
it’s worth it. At the end, all
you can think is ‘Oh my god,
I did this.’ It makes me proud
of myself.”
Art of Music
Kayla Schang, a senior, has
been surrounded by music all
her life.
“We used to have opera day
at my house, where we would
sing everything we were go-
ing to say.”
To the delight of her moth-
er, a strings teacher herself,
Schang started playing the
violin when she was in sec-
ond grade, after her younger
brother picked up the instru-
ment as well. Her passion for
the instrument has only grown
since then.
Schang has participated in
many events that allow her
to showcase her talents with
the violin. She has played
for Solo Ensemble, and has
been a part of other orches-
tras including the WSMA
State Honors Orchestra, both
at the middle and high school
levels. She has been a part
of the Fox Valley Youth Or-
chestras for many years, and
has worked her way up to the
Youth Symphony.
“It’s neat hearing all of the
different parts to symphonies,
and violin is a way to be a part
of that. Music in general is
just been something that I’ve
grown up with. It was just a
natural thing to do, to pick an
instrument and join in.”
Schang does not feel pres-
sure from her musical family
to continue her study of mu-
sic, yet she still plans to make
it a part of her life, no matter
what she chooses to do.
Art on Canvas
Simon Garb, a sophomore,
is unique in the variety he
has with his art. Through
email, Garb said, “My roots
are in visual art but I create
all different sorts of things.
I make music, I have an al-
bum out and am currently
working on another. Me and
my friends have a podcast
series, I just released a 30
minute documentary called
FKA PA$TA $QUAD, so re-
ally I’ll do anything if I have
an idea that I like and care
about and I’ll pursue it.”
It is rare to have someone
with so many creative out-
lets. However, Garb is known
by most for his paintings and
drawings. He paints people
in a distorted manner, and
enjoys drawing realistically.
Garb has been selling his art
for some time.
When asked about pursu-
ing art in the future, Garb has
many plans. “I want to have
a music career, and just be an
independent artist that makes
paintings and films and music
and such and other projects
of art that are geared towards
affecting society and making
the world a better place for
everyone,” Garb said.
Art of Dance
Senior Abbey DesRochers
began dancing when she was
3 years old. She joined the
Makaroff School of Ballet
when she was 10.
When asked why she focus-
es on ballet, DesRochers said
“Ballet is the foundation of all
styles, it’s the core of dance,
it gives me the strength and
ability to explore other styles
if I [do] choose.”
DesRochers has been a part
of the Makaroff Youth Bal-
let Company for the past four
years, and has been a part of
productions including the
Nutcracker and various other
shows.
Through Makaroff she
has participated in events
throughout the community,
“exposing the community to
the art of classical ballet.”
When asked what she loves
about ballet,
DesRochers
paused. It was clear she was
trying to put into words a feel-
ing that is hard to describe:
passion.
“Ballet has taught me disci-
pline,” said DesRochers. “The
classes are intense, it’s time
consuming, but I just learn
so much. So much effort goes
into making it look effortless.
On stage people see a confi-
dent dancer, they don’t see
the insecurities. We have to
be athletic but still graceful.
It’s physically demanding,
and mentally challenging, but
each class I have something
new to work on. It’s difficult
to reach perfection but I can
always strive to be a better
version of myself.”
Price,
NaNoWriMo,
from page 1
Mariano,
Independent
artists, from
page 1
Above, Kayla
Schang plays
in Fox Valley
Symphony Youth
Orchestra. Left,
Simon Garb,
who works with a
variety of artistic
outlets.
Photo
above by Jamie
Lafreniere and photo
at left courtesy of
Simon Garb.