Helping Hands Craft Fair Cancelled

The 2020 Helping Hands Art and Craft Fair has been cancelled. The 12th annual event was scheduled for Nov. 7 at Neenah High School.

 

The event is scheduled to resume on Nov. 6, 2021. All vendors from the 2020 show that was already at capacity will be invited to return to the 2021 event. No new vendors will be accepted for next year.

 

The event provides significant financial relief for Neenah families during the holiday season, as well as a scholarship for a graduating senior. Last year's event drew 2,868 people and raised $19,756 that was distributed in the community.

 

Individuals wishing to make a donation to the Helping Hands Fund may still do so. Monetary donations may be sent to Shelley Aaholm at Neenah High School, 1275 Tullar Road, Neenah, WI 54956.

 

Hall of Fame Banquet Cancelled

The 2020 Neenah Joint School District Hall of Fame banquet has been cancelled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The five inductees will be inducted during Homecoming in 2021. The event was scheduled for Sept. 19.

 

Prominent alumni Dr. Gary Losse, Todd Patterson, Vern Wollerman, Marti Wronski and Robert Yablon comprised this year’s class. Their inductions will take place at next year’s banquet on Oct. 9, 2021 at Bridgewood Best Western Premier Conference Center.

 

Nominations for future Hall of Fame classes may be made on the Hall of Fame page of the District website.

 

Fox Crossing Annexes New High School Site

The new Neenah High School will be officially located in the Village of Fox Crossing. The Village Board annexed the 222-acre site from the Town of Neenah by unanimous vote at its June 22 meeting. The move was expected following the successful passage of a $114.9 million referendum in April.

 

The high school will be built along Winchester Road (County II) just west of Interstate 41 across from Kimberly-Clark. Fox Crossing will provide sewer and water services, as well as police, fire and rescue services for the new school.

 

The District will close on the purchase on June 29 at a price of $3,340,920. The District will be selling its property at Irish Road and West American Drive in Fox Crossing.

 

“We are very excited to begin this partnership with the Village of Fox Crossing and look forward to our journey together,” said School District Superintendent Dr. Mary Pfeiffer.  “This will be the beginning of a very special year for our entire community now and for decades to come.”

 

“It was pretty obvious after a lot of lengthy discussions that we as a community and municipality were in the best position to support the Neenah School District as far as building a high school on this site,” Village Trustee Mark Englebert said prior to the vote. “No other municipality can provide services better than we can. We are proud to be good community partners and support the entire region.”

 

Planning and design for the new high school is already underway. Construction will begin in the summer of 2021 with the school set to open in the fall of 2023. The new school is centrally located in the District boundaries and will retain the Neenah High School name. The current high school will be converted into an intermediate school for grades 5 and 6 and a middle school for grades 7 and 8.

Kiplin Selected as Clayton Principal

Bringing nearly a decade of experience at the elementary school level, Nicole Kiplin has been selected as the new principal at Clayton Elementary School in Neenah.

 

Kiplin served as Dean of Students at Houdini Elementary School in Appleton the past two years. She implemented numerous mental health, behavioral and attendance initiatives in her short time and saw discipline referrals drop 47 percent in her first year. Houdini is one of the largest elementary schools in the Fox Valley with over 600 students.

 

Prior to her role at Houdini, Kiplin spent six years as a classroom teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in Appleton. She also coordinated summer school programs at Richmond Elementary in Appleton the past five summers.

 

“Nicole brings an enthusiasm for connecting with people, creating a positive culture and bringing out the best in people,” said superintendent Dr. Mary Pfeiffer. “She is a great fit for our District.”

 

Kiplin is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and earned her Master’s Degree in Administration from National Louis University. She holds licenses in elementary education, administration and supervision and curriculum development.

 

Kiplin replaces Amy Schumacher, who resigned in May.

Roosevelt and Wilson Earn School Recognition Awards

Roosevelt and Wilson Elementary Schools have been honored as 2019-20 Wisconsin Title I School of Recognition Award recipients by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

 

Roosevelt was chosen in the “High-Progress School” category and Wilson was selected as a “Beating-the-Odds School.” It is the third time in four years Roosevelt has earned an award, collecting the High-Progress honor in 2017 and 2018. Wilson was selected for an award for the first time in the program’s 18-year history.

 

Roosevelt was one of 23 schools statewide in the High-Progress category. The award honors schools that fall within the top 10 percent of schools experiencing student growth in reading and mathematics and have achievement gaps that are less than three percentage points between student groups.

 

Wilson’s award as a “Beating-the-Odds School” honors schools that are in the top 25 percent of high-poverty schools in the state and have above-average student achievement in reading and mathematics when compared to schools from similarly sized districts, schools, grade configurations and poverty levels. Wilson was one of 77 schools statewide in the Beating-the-Odds category.

 

Both schools achieved “Significantly Exceeds Expectations” ratings on the Wisconsin School Report Cards for 2018-19. Wilson scored a 90.5 and Roosevelt scored at 89.2 to land the highest-possible rating on the report card.

 

All Wisconsin Title I Schools of Recognition receive federal Title I aid to provide services to high numbers or high percentages of economically disadvantaged children. All Schools of Recognition also meet the state’s test participation, attendance and dropout goals. Data to determine the awards is from the 2018-19 school year. Each school will receive a commemorative plaque.

Five Selected to NJSD Hall of Fame

Five prominent alumni comprise the Neenah Joint School District’s sixth annual Hall of Fame class in 2020. Those inducted, pending Board of Education approval, are Dr. Gary Losse, Todd Patterson, Vern Wollerman, Marti (Schreier) Wronski and Robert Yablon. The group brings the total members of the Hall of Fame to 39.

 

The inductees were selected by a committee of 15 individuals that included former and current employees and alumni. The Board of Education will vote to formally approve the class at its March 3 meeting. The group will be honored at a banquet on Sat., Sept. 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Best Western Premier Bridgewood Resort Hotel and Conference Center in Neenah as part of the District’s homecoming festivities. Tickets will go on sale in early August.

 

Update: The 2020 Hall of Fame banquet has been cancelled. The inductees will be inducted during the 2021 event on October 9, 2021.

 

Losse, a 1967 graduate, was an accomplished three-sport athlete and went on to a prestigious medical career as an orthopedic surgeon. Losse was an all-state quarterback on Neenah’s undefeated team in 1966 and an all-state guard in basketball. His junior year, he led the Rockets to a conference football championship, a state tournament appearance in basketball and a state title game in baseball as a shortstop and pitcher. Losse played two seasons of football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before knee injuries ended his career. He earned his medical doctorate from UW-Madison and later spent 17 years as the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers. Losse performed one of the first outpatient anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries in California and also developed several innovative knee braces and surgical techniques. He died in 2018.

 

Patterson, a 1974 graduate, has a unique combination of success in athletics and fine arts. He captained the football and wrestling teams and was also active in choir and swing choir. Patterson was a four-year starter in football at Carthage College and earned his degree in biological science. He taught science at Wooster (Ohio) High School from 1978-2013 and coached football, wrestling, soccer and softball. Patterson produced and directed 34 productions of musical theatre and plays and was active in Wooster community performing arts productions. In 1998, he was one of five teachers selected from the U.S., Mexico, England and Bermuda to participate in the JASON Project Expedition IX in Monterey, Calif. Patterson resides in Wooster, Ohio.

 

Wollerman, a 1942 graduate, was a World War II veteran and returned to his hometown to serve as a longtime police officer and active community member. Wollerman joined the Neenah police force in 1946, serving as chief from 1973-86. He also started the city’s little league baseball program. Wollerman coached all levels of sports in the community and was a WIAA official for 37 years. He served on the Neenah Parks and Rec commission and was a member of Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, Neenah Club and Twin Cities VFW, while serving on the Board of Directors for the Appleton Foxes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Neenah/Menasha YMCA. Wollerman helped Neenah to the semifinals of the 1942 state basketball tournament and led the Rockets in scoring at the tournament. He died in 1992.

 

Wronski, a 1990 graduate, serves as General Counsel and Senior Vice President-Administration for the Milwaukee Brewers. She graduated from St. Norbert College in 1994 and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in 1997. Wronski worked five years at a Milwaukee law firm and became an assistant professor at Marquette University Law School in 2002. In 2003, she joined the Brewers and still serves as an adjunct professor at Marquette. She gave the commencement address at St. Norbert in 2015 and was a member of the St. Norbert Board of Trustees. Wronski has been a board member for the Milwaukee Children’s Museum, Miracle League Milwaukee and Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. She and her family are known for adopting the Brewers’ newest mascot, Hank the Dog, which has expanded her charitable outreach. In high school, she participated in cheerleading, French Club and yearbook. Wronski resides in Bayside, Wis.

 

Yablon, a 1995 graduate, was a champion debate student and Rhodes Scholar. He graduated with high honors in 1999 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in political science and economics as one of the top four students in the College of Letters and Science. Yablon graduated from Yale Law School in 2006 and served as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. He worked at a law firm in San Francisco from 2010-14 and has served as a law professor at UW-Madison since 2015. He is active in the Madison community with several service organizations. As a senior, Yablon was valedictorian and helped Neenah become the first school in Wisconsin history to win all three state varsity debate titles in the same year. He resides in Madison.

 

Nominations for future Hall of Fame classes are accepted through the Neenah Joint School District website. Forms are also available at the District Office. Individuals need to be nominated by November 30 to be considered for the upcoming year. Once an individual is nominated, he or she will be considered every year.