Dialogue
Neenah Joint School District Newsletter - October 2023
Rain Doesn't Hamper Annual Homecoming Festivities
The week culminated with the eighth annual Hall of Fame inductions (see below) on Saturday followed by the Homecoming dance that drew nearly 1,500 students to the new atrium area in the high school.
District Exploring Elementary Boundary Changes
With recent shifts in population and the opening of Horace Mann Elementary School, the Neenah Joint School District is considering a shift in school boundaries that could potentially impact families living in the southern portion of the District.
We anticipate that a potential boundary revision proposal will be presented to the Board of Education sometime in the winter of the 2023-24 school year. The public is invited to attend one of two informational meetings to be held virtually on Tuesday, October 24 at 11 a.m. and Wednesday, October 25 at 5:30 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide information about potential boundary changes to our families, specifically those currently living in the Hoover Elementary, Coolidge Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, Tullar Elementary, and Lakeview Elementary boundary areas.
The link to the meeting will be available on the main page of the District website at the time of the meeting. Questions will be taken at the meeting and through a form that will be provided at the meeting and on the District website. Answers to common questions will be posted along with other information to the District website following the meeting.
Mamma Mia! Set to Open New PAC Stage Next Week
Neenah High School will host five shows of Mamma Mia! for its annual fall musical on October 18-22. Shows will be Wednesday, October 18 through Saturday, October 21 at 7 p.m. each night. There will be a matinee on Sunday, October 22 at 2 p.m. Shows will be held in the new Neenah High School Performing Arts Center. Reserved seat tickets are on sale now at rocketplayers.com. Tickets will also go on sale one hour prior to the show at the PAC box office, pending availability.
"Mamma Mia is the perfect inaugural show for Neenah's new High School Auditorium," said Director Kathleen McCurdy. "It's a high energy show with fun, memorable music. We hope that everyone leaves singing the songs of ABBA and smiling ear to ear. Our students are so excited to entertain the entire community!"
Developmental Screenings Offered for Three-Year-Olds
NJSD offers child developmental screenings for three and four-year-old children prior to four-year-old kindergarten. The screening looks at all areas of child development such as how your child talks, listens, thinks, moves and uses their hands. The screening is available to families who reside within the District boundary, have a child who is three years (or near) of age and whose child is not already enrolled in the District's Early Childhood Special Education or four-year-old kindergarten programs.
For more information, visit the Child Developmental Screening page on the District website. Those who would like to request a screening can click on "Click here to request the ASQ" at the bottom of the page.
Board Accepts Property Purchase Offer on Jacobsen Road
The NJSD Board of Education approved an offer to sell a 15.7-acre property on Jacobsen Road in the Village of Fox Crossing to Good Faith Funding, LLC for $500,000. The property is located west of Irish Road. Most of the acreage is located north and west of the intersection of Jacobsen and Gavin Roads. After its initial discussion about the sale, the Board received a second $500,000 offer. The additional offer was approved as a secondary offer should the offer from Good Faith Funding not meet contingencies regarding zoning and bedrock. Good Faith Funding plans to establish a single-family residential subdivision on the property.
2023 NJSD Hall of Fame Inductees Honored
Five individuals were honored with induction into the NJSD Hall of Fame during homecoming weekend. Those honored included Jack Ankerson ('60), a standout in three sports who also served as the first general manager of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs; Byron Bell ('32), who wrote the school's fight song, played basketball and in the band at the UW-Madison and taught music in Lake Geneva for 39 years; Tori Bohannon ('03), who participated in three sports and band in high school before starting four years in soccer at Northwestern University and a career in teaching underprivileged children; Andrew Coan ('95), who was a national runner-up in debate and is now a Constitutional law author and professor at the University of Arizona; and Marty Robinson ('87), who is a highly-regarded musician throughout the Midwest and has been a jazz professor at UW-Oshkosh for the past 20 years.
Nominations are being accepted for future Hall of Fame classes. Nominations may be made through an online form or by filling out a paper form and submitting to the District office. Nominations must be submitted by November 30, 2023 to be considered for the 2024 class.
Pictured following this year's induction ceremony in the new NHS Performing Arts Center (left to right): Jack Anderson '60, Tori Bohannon '03, Marcy Bell (daughter of Byron Bell '32), and Marty Robinson '87. Andrew Coan '95 was unable to attend.
Three Students Earn National Merit Scholarship Honors
Three Neenah High School seniors were honored for their performance in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. The students were among the more than 1.3 million students nationwide who entered the 2024 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Allie Bradshaw and Tristin Yun were among a total of 16,000 semifinalists named nationwide, representing less than one percent of high school seniors. The two Neenah students are each vying for one of 7,140 National Merit Scholarships, which total about $28 million. Final scholarship awards will be announced next spring. In addition, Finn Severstad was named a commended student by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who participated in the 2024 competition.
Bradshaw participates in tennis, DECA, visual arts and Key Club. Yun has participated in tennis, science olympiad, Key Club, LAUNCH, National Honor Society, math team and soccer. Severstad has participated in debate.
Girls Tennis Heading Back to State Team Tournament
Neenah High School's girls tennis team is headed back to the WIAA state team tournament for the 20th time after claiming the sectional championship last week. Neenah is seeded sixth in the eight-team field and will take on third-seeded Whitefish Bay in the quarterfinals on Friday, October 20 at 4 p.m. in Madison. The Rockets did not make it to state last year after qualifying for the 10 previous tournaments.
The Rockets also had qualifiers in the state individual tournament as Izzy Murray qualified in singles and the team of Annalise Zenzick and Paige Stielow qualified in doubles.
Earlier this season, the Rockets won their 11th consecutive Fox Valley Association championship. Neenah edged Kimberly by two points for the tournament title. The two teams shared the title after Kimberly snapped Neenah's 94-match conference winning streak with a 4-3 win during the dual meet season.
Helping Hands Art and Craft Fair Set for November 4
The 2023 Helping Hands Art and Craft Fair will be held on Saturday, November 4 in its traditional location at the Ron Einerson Fieldhouse at Neenah Middle School (former Neenah High School at 1275 Tullar Road) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
The event features over 100 vendors of handmade items as well as food, a raffle and a used book sale. Music will be provided by the high school Touch of Class orchestra. Admission is $2 per person. All funds go directly to NJSD families in need as well as a yearly scholarship.
Special Olympics Event Marks 10th Anniversary on Nov. 9
The public is invited to one of Neenah High School's most inspirational annual events when Special Olympics athletes will compete alongside school peers in a unified basketball game on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the competition gym in the school’s annual “Phase 1” event.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the event and the fifth year that it will be a “unified” game where students with and without intellectual disabilities combine on the same team. The program was inspired by the simple principle that training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
Special Olympics athletes will take on a faculty all-star team at 7 p.m. The event typically brings out a loud student cheering section and is free admission, however, donations toward Special Olympics will be accepted.
In 2020, Neenah High School was recognized as the only Wisconsin school on the ESPN Special Olympics Honor Roll of 36 schools nationwide for its inclusion of students with and without disabilities and whole school engagement. Neenah was one of 22 high schools in the country on the list that included schools from elementary through four-year colleges.
Upcoming Events at NJSD
Oct. 17 - WIAA Boys Soccer Regional, Home vs. Sheboygan South 7 p.m. (Kelderman Field)
Oct. 18-21 - Fall Musical, Mamma Mia!, 7 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)
Oct. 19 - WIAA Girls Volleyball Regional, Home vs. Germantown, 7 p.m. (NHS Gym)
Oct. 20 - WIAA State Girls Tennis Tournament, 4 p.m. (vs. Whitefish Bay at Madison)
Oct. 20 - WIAA Football Playoffs opening round, 7 p.m. (site and opponent announced Oct. 14)
Oct. 22 - Fall Musical, Mamma Mia!, 2 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)
Oct. 28 - WIAA State Cross Country Meet, Noon (at Wisconsin Rapids)
Oct. 31 - NHS Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)
Nov. 4 - Helping Hands Craft Fair, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Ron Einerson Fieldhouse, Middle School)
Nov. 7 - NHS Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)
Nov. 9 - Phase 1 Special Olympics Basketball Game, 7 p.m. (NHS Gym)
Click here for a calendar of NJSD fine arts events