As I have seen a number of

times of late, and would sur-

mise that many of you may

have as well, the start of the

New Year is like the start of a

book with 365 pages and it is

up to us to determine how our

own individual story will be

written.

This same opportunity exists

for our children in their school

setting. The new semester pro-

vides a fresh start. There is

nothing cliché about the adage

that with a new semester,

“Everyone has an A.” Every

student truly does and it is their

responsibility to do all they can

to maintain that grade through-

out the course of the semester.

We must encourage our chil-

dren to develop, or continue to

utilize, good study habits, to

work hard and to give their best

effort on a consistent basis.

You must remind them, and we

must remind them, for if our

students are to be successful,

this truly must be a collabora-

tive effort.

With all of that said, the first

semester of the 2014-2015

school year concluded on De-

cember 19th. As a result, you

will either find your child’s

report card enclosed with this

mailing, or delivered to you

electronically. Please review

this information carefully and

contact our guidance office

with any questions or concerns

you may have.

On a separate note, just prior to

and during our Winter Break, I

took the opportunity to take in a

number of extra-curricular en-

deavors. Once again our stu-

dents, your children, continue

to amaze me with their talents

and abilities. Our school’s

Choirs, Orchestra, Jazz Band

and Symphonic Band each put

on concerts that packed our

auditorium and could be best

characterized in a word as

“breathtaking.” One could not

have left our packed auditorium

after any one of these perfor-

mances and not felt uplifted

and full of the “Holiday Spirit.”

While some may question my

“ear for music,” my previously

cited accolades were validated

by experts, as this past week

the Missouri All-State Honors

Ensembles were revealed.

Congratulations go out to Pan-

ther Senior Nathan Manno who

was named 2nd Chair Clarinet

in the Missouri All State Or-

chestra. (This means he was

one of top two or three clarinet

players to audition in the

state.) Additionally, kudos to

Junior Quentin Lee who was

named as 3rd Trombone for the

All State Jazz Band.

Moreover, a number of other

Panthers received accolades as

a result of their efforts during

the fall athletic season. And we

congratulate football players

Dacey Brister, Marcus Lowery

and Deon Lewis, who all re-

ceived 2nd team All-State

recognition. Just as impres-

sively, their coach, Mr. Joe

Bacon, was nominated as the

Missouri State High School

Football Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Dacey was select-

ed as the IAFO Defensive Play-

er of the Year, while Coach

Bacon was selected as the

IAFO Coach of the Year.

Our winter sports are also in

full swing and both of our bas-

ketball teams, as well as our

wrestling team are all compet-

ing with great heart and deter-

mination.

Our girls swim team is also off

to a solid start and already have

a state qualifier in Junior T.J.

Duckett, who qualified for the

state meet in diving for the 3rd

year in a row. In the process,

T.J. also broke our school rec-

ord in diving; a record that has

stood since 1999!

Off the playing fields, we

learned over Winter Break that

Senior Allyson Miller had won

the American Legion District

Oratorical Speech competition

and would be advancing to the

next round of this prestigious

contest; The Zone Contest in

Hannibal, MO on Jan. 25. We

certainly wish Allyson the best

of luck in this endeavor.

In closing, on behalf of the

North High Staff, we look for-

ward to a successful second

semester and promise to make

every effort to create a positive

learning environment for all

students at North High School!

Sincerely,

Joe Sutton

Principal

The Second Semester of the School Year is Now Underway!

Panther Newsletter F O R T Z U M W A L T N O R T H H I G H S C H O O L

January 9, 2015

Volume 9, Issue 5

Curriculum Night (Incoming Fresh-men Only)

January 13

Dr. Martin Luther King Day (No School)

January 19

FAFSA Workshop February 4

Coronation Games February 6

ACT Test Adminis-tered (January 9 is registration dead-line; January 16 is the deadline with late fee)

February 7

Winter Play “The Learned Ladies”

February 12-

14

Presidents’ Day (No School)

February 16

Activity Free Night February 23

Spring Athletic Practices Begin

March 2

Band Concert March 3

End of 3rd Quarter March 6

Spring Break March 9-13

Sports Conflict Res-olution Meeting

March 17

College Planning Workshop

March 18

Meet the Coaches/Sponsors Night

March 19

Talent Show March 20

National Honor Society Inductions

March 24

Important Upcoming Dates

Our 2nd ACT Prep Course of the year is set to kickoff on February 4th. Please see the

informational flyer that is attached for more information. Registration closes on January

30th and we are limited to the first 50 students. You can contact Mr. Pohlman at gpohl-

man@fz.k12.mo.us or (636) 272-4447 with any questions you may have.

Mark your calendars now for the FAFSA Workshop that is being held on Wednesday,

February 4 at 6:30 pm in the North High library. Additionally, parents of juniors will not

want to miss our Class of 2016 College Planning Workshop on Wednesday, March 18 at

6:30 pm in the Auditorium. Separately, please be on the lookout for the Senior Infor-

mation Sheet/Final Transcript Request that we will be sending out electronically to all of

our senior parents. The deadline to return this to be included in the Senior Awards Night

program is April 7th. Please contact our Financial Aid secretary, Julee Loesche, for more

information.

School Board Recognition Week will be held the week of January 20th. North High

would like to thank the Fort Zumwalt Board of Education for all of their support through-

out the year, making decisions that affect all of our children. Their personal dedication,

selflessness and commitment is to be commended.

January 16 is the last day to buy a yearbook. The 2015 book is already earning national

recognition, so you'll want a copy of this one. The price is $60, and personalization is

available for $6 more. Yearbooks can be ordered online at balfour.com or by sending a

check to Mrs. Bubenik's attention at FZN. Finally, if (and that's a big IF) any extra books

are available after distribution in May, the price will be $65.

The Fort Zumwalt School District participates in the National School Lunch Program and

the School Breakfast Program. Children from families whose cur rent income has

either temporarily or permanently fallen below certain Federal guidelines can qualify for

free or reduced priced meals. Please contact me for more information, or you may call

Student Nutrition Services at (636) 272-0016.

Prom Payment Plan: In an effort to ease the burden of paying for prom tickets all at one

time, a prom payment plan will be offered to those juniors and seniors who would like to

take advantage. If interested in paying for your ticket throughout the year, or if you

would like more information regarding this option, please see Mrs. Janes in Room 205A.

1230 Tom Ginnever

O’Fallon, MO 63366

(636) 272-4447

fz.k12.mo.us

Building Principal:

Joe Sutton

Assistant Principals:

Buddy Entwistle A - Fi

Jeri LaBrot Fl- La

Karen Parker Le- Ri

Gary Pohlman Ro - Z

Activities Coordinator:

Ted Hickey

Guidance Counselors:

Laurnita McGill A - Fi

Karen Wilson Fl - La

Amanda Peters Le - Ri

Nicole Buesse Ro-Z

Crisis Counselor:

Rebecca Taylor

Resource Officer:

Officer Kevin DeHart

help from the parents of our en-

tire student body. Plans include

games, music, food, entertain-

ment, door prizes and much

more. A party of this magnitude

requires the help of everyone and

the outpouring of support we

have received at this juncture of

the school year is greatly appreci-

Grad Night 2015: As we now

enter the new year, we need to

become focused on our 2015

Grad Night. By now I am confi-

dent that you are aware that Grad

Night is an all night chemical-

free party for our graduating

Seniors. It is important to note

that we are still actively seeking

ated. In addition, mark your

calendars for our Grad Night

Trivia Night to be held on Friday,

February 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the

O’Fallon Elks Lodge, located

across the street from North High

School. A flyer promoting the

event is attached to this newslet-

ter.

Grad Night 2015

F O R T Z U M W A L T N O R T H H I G H S C H O O L

6 More Important Pieces of Information

PARENTS DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that a high school

diploma is a legal document? This

is why we must have a

student’s legal name on

their diploma. Please

check the name listed on

the report card you re-

ceived for accuracy because that is

the name that will appear on the

diploma and final transcript. If your

student’s name is not accurate,

please call the guidance office so

we can make the necessary chang-

es. Also, for your information, the

school district keeps the final tran-

script on file, but we do not keep

copies of the diploma.

Panther Senior Seth Bennett

wins Achievement Award

On December 18th, Seth Bennett (12) was

presented with Club Z Tutoring’s Annual

Achievement Award. Seth was selected

from hundreds of candidates nationwide

on the basis of his independent spirit and

his dedication to volunteerism and extra-

curricular involvement. This merit-based

award came with a certificate of achieve-

ment and a $100 scholarship prize. Con-

gratulations Seth! Pictured right (from left

to right: Principal Joe Sutton, Seth Bennett

and Julie Sauvage from Club Z Tutoring.

PAINT IT PINK

Fort Zumwalt North will be hosting its 2nd Annual “Paint It Pink” Night in conjunction with our coronation basketball

games on Friday, February 10th. On this night, both our boys and girls basketball teams will be taking on the Blue Jays

of Washington High School, with the first game set to tip off at 6:00 p.m. Students and parents will be encouraged to

wear pink that night, as we “Fight Like A Panther” to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Students will be

able to purchase commemorative t-shirts during the week of February 6-10, but we would like to offer parents the oppor-

tunity to pre-order these customized “Fight Like A Panther” shirts as well. The cost of the items will be $10, with all

proceeds going to the American Cancer Society . If you would like to purchase one of these shirts, please e-mail Stacie

Wulfert at swulfert@fz.k12.mo.us with your size any time between now through January 11th. You will then be able to

pick up your shirt at the event or they can be sent home with your child prior to the game on February 10th. Please sup-

port our basketball teams, as well as the American Cancer Society, as we Paint North High Pink on February 10th!

Panther Wrestlers Ranked in Missouri

A January 3rd review of MissouriWrestling.com

finds Panther Senior Ryan Thomas (pictured be-

low) ranked 3rd in the state in class 3 at 170

pounds

Also ranked statewide were:

Shaun Beeman (Fr.) ranked 4th at 106 pounds.

Justin Manzella (Sr.) ranked 7th at 152 pounds

Prom Payment Plan

V.J. Fitzpatrick Named All-State in Football In an effort to ease the burden of

paying for prom tickets all at one

time, a prom payment plan will be

offered to those juniors and seniors

who would like to take advantage.

If interested in paying for your

ticket throughout the year, or if

you would like more information

regarding this option, please see

Mrs. Janes in Room 205A.

Congratulations go out to Panther junior, Megan Klees,

who was named as a winner of the KMOX/Southeast Mis-

souri State University Student of Achievement Award

This award recognizes thirty elite Junior-level high school

students throughout the greater metropolitan area who

have demonstrated outstanding achievements in academ-

ics, athletics, community service and leadership.

Megan Klees wins Student of

Achievement Award