GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 1

From the Principal’s Desk I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Student Services

DEPARTMENTS

Art

Business Ed

English

FACE

Math

Music

Physical Education

Science

Social Studies

World Languages

ACTIVITIES/CLUBS

National Honor Society

Key Club

Environmental Club

SPORTS

Greetings and welcome to all guardians/parents, students, staff and other supporters with-in the Germantown High School community. Welcome to the semester two edition of the semi-annual Germantown High School Newsletter. The continued goal of the semi-annual newsletter is to recognize accomplishments of our students and staff for academic, co-curricular, and/or professional achievements and to do so throughout the year in utiliz-ing various venues. These include: a weekly internal “Bulletin” for GHS staff, semi-annual GHS newsletters, semi-annual Germantown School District newsletters, “School Board Happenings,” the Germantown School District Facebook page, Germantown High School Facebook page, Germantown High School Instagram page, Skyward Family Ac-cess, press releases, web-site articles, the new marquee board outside the front entrance, and local media sources.

Academic Programming Updates

As noted in previous versions of these newsletters, we have added quite a few courses

over the past eight years and re-vamped several others. Here are some updates regarding

programming from semesters 1 and 2 of the 2019-20 school year.

PE 9 Summer school [for credit] (Being offered again in the summer of 2020)

New or re-vamped PE Course offerings for 2019-20

Lifeguard training (ran three sections)

Team Games 2

Non-traditional activities 2

At the Club 3

Art

Ceramics

Sculpture

Advanced Ceramics

Advanced Sculpture

Special Education Co-teaching-29 sections for 2019-20

Math: 1 section of Algebra, 2 sections of Algebra A, , 1 section of Algebra B,

3 sections of Geometry, 1 section of Transitional Math, 1 section of Ad-

vanced Algebra

English: 3 sections of English 9, 1 section of American Literature A, 1 sec-

tion of English 10A, 1 section of Content Reading, and 3 sections of Eng-

lish 10

Social Studies: 2 sections of American History

Science: 3 sections of Physical Science, 2 sections of Biology, 1 section of

Biology Patterns and Principles, 2 sections of Environmental Science

Business Education: 1 section (each semester) of Personal Financial Literacy

Addition of a Resource Period

In 2019-20, GHS offered eighteen Advanced Placement courses. To give you some per-spective, in 2012, we offered eight Advanced Placement courses, tested 292 students, and proctored 522 exams. This past May, 379 GHS students took 842 Advanced Placement (AP) exams. In an effort to preserve Advanced Placement testing despite school closures, the College Board made sweeping changes to both the length and format of AP exams in

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 2

Letter From the Principal (Continued) 2020. For the first time ever, GHS students took 45-minute exams online instead of sitting for the tradition-al paper and pencil exams that often lasted more than three hours. Beyond Advanced Placement, GHS offers a wide range of academic and interest based programming, in-cluding, but not limited to: Project Lead the Way, Building and Construction, Manufacturing, Autos, Woods, multiple Fine Arts, Family and Consumer Science, and many others. Many members of the Class of 2020 will join members of the Classes of 2013-2019 on the Academic Hall of Fame, installed in December of 2013 to commemorate students who scored 30 and above on the ACT and/or 3 or better on Advanced Placement Exams. Also, we can celebrate adding four National Merit Scholar finalists to the recently installed National Merit Scholar Wall, which is located outside of the School Counseling Office and dates back to recipients from 1977 and on. Congratulations to David Lujan and Drew Staniak, who join elite company, after being named “Finalists” in the 2020 National Merit Schol-arship Program.

U.S. News and World Report High School Rankings

I submitted a press release regarding this, which is posted on the Germantown School District website and will include that document here:

U.S. News and World Report Announces Top High Schools for 2020 Germantown, WI- U.S. News and World Report high school rankings for 2020 were released at midnight on April 22. This analysis is just one of many measures to consider, but improvement is always the goal. Congratulations to our students and parents for the improvements seen within this report and to all of our staff who have worked diligently with their students and in their own Professional Growth Plans. They began this study with 24,000 high schools and ended up ranking 17,792 nationally and 457 in the State of Wisconsin. Here is some general information from looking at comparative data. I believe the last rankings were done in 2018.

In 2018, Germantown High School was ranked #27 in the State of Wisconsin In 2020, Germantown High School was ranked #20 in the State of Wisconsin The 2020 ranking puts us in the top 4.4% in the State of Wisconsin In 2018, Germantown High School was ranked #971 in the United States In 2020, Germantown High School was ranked #816 in the United States The 2020 ranking puts us in the top 4.6% in the United States

Here is the direct link to all of the ranking and criteria information for Germantown High School: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/wisconsin/districts/germantown-school-district/germantown-high-21592 Here is the link to the main page of the U.S. News and World Report: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools

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Graduation for the Class of 2020 With this unique school year and the cancellation of school beginning on March 13, 2020, many academic and co-curricular activities were significantly impacted. Correspondence regarding the Graduation Ceremo-ny for the Class of 2020 has been sent out several times from the Board of Education prior to this newslet-ter. Rather that put the history of this process within this section, I will share the most recent letter, which was sent to students and parents from the Class of 2020 on June 12, 2020: Good morning Students and Parents from the Class of 2020, At the June 1, 2020 Board of Education meeting, the Board took formal action regarding the Class of 2020 Graduation Ceremony; a change from the action taken at the May 18, 2020 meeting. This email serves as a follow-up to that action, which was as follows:

Plan A-Datka Stadium, Plan B-Field House, Plan C-Hybrid Virtual/Parade. Date: Friday, July 10, 2020 at 7:00 pm (Rain Date Saturday, July 11, 2020) Additional Contingency Plans: Rain Date, Friday, July 24th - Rain Date Saturday, July 25, 2020

Based upon this action and directive from the Board, GHS Administration, the School Counselors and Sup-port Staff are in the process of working on a July 10, 2020 ceremony at Datka Stadium at 7:00 PM. I un-derstand that there was some confusion about the preference in order of dates, but we will begin with the July 10, 2020 option. At this time, current guidelines allow us up to 25% capacity for Datka stadium. We will wait to mail the Graduation tickets, in the event that our capacity allowance is increased and we can subsequently increase the ticket amount. If this were to happen soon, there may be more direction on capacity discussions for the Board of Education Meeting on Monday, June 22nd. Therefore, at this time, each senior student will be issued 2 tickets for family/friends to attend the ceremony. Tickets will be mailed home directly to the student at the Family 1 address within our Student Information System (SIS), which is Skyward.. The Graduate does NOT need a ticket and no extra tickets or ticket re-quests will be accepted or granted. You will not be admitted to the Graduation Ceremony without a ticket. Also, please note that we will live stream the event and will send the link to that option, once it is estab-lished by our vendor, EPIC. Please know that additional information will be sent since we are unable to hold a Graduation practice like we would normally do and want to stay with the tradition of a well-organized and dignified ceremony. In the short term, here are some details:

The Graduation Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, July 10, 2020 at 7:00 PM at Germantown High School, Datka Stadium, W180 N11501 River Lane, Germantown.

The Graduation Ceremony will last approximately 1.5 hours. The Datka Stadium gates will open for parents/guests who have a ticket at 5:45. Graduates, please report to the Main Gym A-L and Field House M-Z between 5:45 and 6:15 to check in

and line up. Details will follow as we approach the date regarding parking and where to enter.

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 4

While I personally detest having to remind students and parents of this component, those who have not sat-isfied all graduation requirements, will not be permitted to participate in the Graduation Ceremony. This includes the return of items, such as Chromebooks and/or payment of all fees/fines. Mr. Holmes, Superintendent, Germantown School District

School Calendar Information: The 2019-20 school year began late for GHS only, due to the wrapping up of construction projects; most notably, the completion of the Commons/Cafeteria. We avoided inclement weather days for the first time in quite a while, but were instead welcomed with the COVID-19 issue that closed all schools in the State of Wisconsin. Unlike some school districts, the Germantown School District continued instruction through June 5, 2020. June 5 would have been the last day for Seniors, leading to a Graduation Practice on the af-ternoon of June 5 and the Graduation Ceremony on June 7. Underclassmen would have returned the follow-ing week for a day of instruction on June 8, followed by final exams on June 9 and 10 and then completed exams on the half-day scheduled for June 11. Obviously, all of that changed. Prior to the COVID-19 issue, the Germantown School District Calendar Committee met several times to balance hours/minutes, student, parent, community and construction needs. Please carefully review the 2020-21 calendar, as approved by the Board of Education. At this time, no decisions have been made re-garding any changes to this calendar or programming for the fall of 2020. There is to be additional guid-ance from the Department of Public Instruction that will be posted on June 22, 2020. Like all other school district in the State and nationally, we are waiting for guidance on this and will send information out in a timely manner once decisions have been made. Germantown School District 2020-21 calendar: https://www.gsdwi.org/Calendars/2020-2021%20-%20Student%20Calendar%202%20pg.pdf

GHS Daily Schedule Information For the first time in a number of years, GHS had a change in the daily schedule, with the incorporation of a “Resource Period.” After the referendum passed, we were able to make changes related to facilities and space. Just about every high school has either a “Resource” or an “Advisory” period within their school day and we have not been able to for several reasons, including busing schedules and space. We began slowly with this initiative, which began with students being assigned to a Resource Class and will keep that teacher for their time at GHS. Mondays were organizational days to map out the week, have teachers connect and check in with the students about grades or to field questions, etc. Tuesdays and Thurs-days were “travel days,” where students could sign up to go see other teachers or to attend additional ses-sions, instruction, enrichment or get additional help. We did add in Wednesday as a travel day just prior to school closing. Prior to that, Wednesdays and Fridays were study hall days. Here is a reminder regarding the intent of this program and rationale: The implementation of a Resource Period will allow flexibility, give teachers greater access to their stu-

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 5

dents, and student’s greater access to their teachers during the school/work day. This will offer opportuni-ties that did not exist within the 7 period day, 25 buses and 80% of students involved in at least one co-curricular activity…not to mention those students that work. Time will be built in for many events that took away instructional time in the past and time will be allocated for students to work on homework and assess-ments as well. The Building Leadership Team met multiple times to monitor the progress of this, which led to a teacher leader (Mrs. Ely) taking on the role of collaborating with others to coordinate Resource period content in the future. This was our first run at it and I was very pleased with the progress. There are so many more possibilities with how to use this time and we hope to implement those in the fall of 2020. These ideas have come from students, teachers and administrators and we are excited to take the next steps in this process. Here are some links to where you can find information about the GSD and GHS: Germantown School District Main Page: https://www.germantownschools.org/

Germantown School District Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GtownSDWI/ Germantown High School Main Page: https://www.germantownschools.org/schools/high/ Germantown High School Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Germantown-High-School-WI-105306091118147/ Germantown High School Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/germantownhighschoolwi/ Germantown Performing Arts Center: https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/performing-arts-center.cfm

Germantown High School Pool: https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/pool.cfm

Germantown High School Fieldhouse: https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/field-house.cfm

Germantown High School Fitness Center: https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/fitness-center.cfm

Germantown School District 2020-21 school calendar: https://www.gsdwi.org/Calendars/2020-2021%20-%20Student%20Calendar%202%20pg.pdf

Final Thoughts It goes without saying that this certainly was a unique school year. For this part, I would like to share some of what I sent to the GHS Staff in my final weekly newsletter (6/12/20), entitled the Bulletin: Good morning GHS Staff…well, here we are! Today is the last contracted day for teaching staff and would have been an “Inservice Day” with the Staff Recognition/Distinguished Service Awards and a final faculty meeting. As with so many things that have led to this being a unique last three months, one of the casualties is not being able to recognize deserving staff and those leaving us. I will do that through this venue on be-half of GHS. First, I would like to thank two district-level employees for their time, dedication and service to the Ger-mantown School District. Jeff Holmes’ last day will be on June 30 and Ric Ericksen retired on May 20.

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 6

Jeff completes his seventh year in the district with a wide array of changes during this time, including the work from an $84,000,000 referendum and changes to academic programming, stemming from the direc-tion the Board of Education moved us to in 2013. Jeff was my fourth Superintendent in my 16.5 years here and the longest tenured one I have worked with as well. I was hopeful we could thank him in the venue of the PAC, but that is not possible this year. As with any position of leadership, there are those that love and hate, but one thing that I believe cannot be questioned was his work and desire to improve things across the board for our students. I will miss Jeff, but wish him well in his retirement, though he appears to crazily want to work some more. I tried to talk him out of that and told him to go fishing. Ric Ericksen completed his thirteenth year as the Director of Business and Auxiliary Services and prior to that, served on the Germantown Board of Education. Ric has lived in Germantown for many years and was an integral facet of managing the referendum project. His job is a challenging one, with uncertainly in aid year to hear and in balancing the budget in a responsible manner. It was a pleasure working with Ric, as he always tried hard to meet the requests and needs of staff for resources, supplies and on initiatives. I wish him the best in retirement as well and thank him for the service to the community as well in both the Director role and Board of Education member role. For GHS staff, we have two retirees: Don Monnot and one announced just a short time ago with Kathy Tar-antino. Don came to us as a second career and dedicated his time here for 19 years as a math teacher. Kathy has been a Special Education Program Aide for 24 years, having served in different capacities under the old model of: CD, LD, EBD, etc. and then the more inclusive model of cross-categorical grade level teams. We thank both of them for the dedication to serving our students and parents, along with that work impacting the good of the community. I wish them the best as they move on to the next stages of their lives and thank them for all they did at GHS! I have written about the challenges for all of us over the past three months in updates to the Board of Edu-cation and in Bulletins. I do not want to be redundant here within this last Bulletin, but wanted to reflect briefly. From my perspective, this situation has presented numerous challenges and was very difficult. No educator can claim they signed up for what we were faced with on the afternoon of Friday, March 13, 2020 and after. Flexibility, adaptability, assimilation and being taken out of the comfort zone are just a few words or phrases that may describe how that felt. We are tied to calendars from either July 1 to June 30 or late August to early/mid-June. We live each day at work by a bell or tone that moves us along. This all changed abruptly. In reflection upon all that went into this, including, but not limited to: distance learning, Schoology, Sky-ward, Zoom, Google meet, virtual meetings, attendance adaptations, grading changes and adaptations, task versus time orientation, etc. etc. Through this all, I am very proud of the work that our staff has done with this: teachers, support staff, administrators, technology support and within that, the work our district has done as a whole. It was not perfect, but it was not going to be. Think of how many days of training we had when we went to Skyward, years ago. There was no ability to train that way for this. Imagine if this hap-pened in September or before the holidays in December even!

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 7

A lot was learned in this process. One thing that came to the forefront was our staff’s ability to build such positive relationships with students and parents. That helped with this process and was a large factor in the high level of participation and engagement. In conversation with other districts and other information that some districts shut down weeks or months ago, this was not the case. Remember that when there is a com-plaint, that we have about 1,350 students and based on the family 1 and 2 information in Skyward, 2.5 par-ents. That leads to 3,375 parent/guardians, plus the 1,350 students who you could receive feedback from…positive or negative. As we know we usually hear from the very happy or the very unhappy. I believe our staff did a great job during this time and under these circumstances. We close the year in a very different way than we ever have. Uncertainly lies ahead with the 2020-21 school year, so it becomes important to not only take time for you and your families, but also to stay in touch a bit with communica-tions from the district regarding next year. As things come, we will communicate them and undoubtedly will need feedback and expertise from our staff in planning for whatever format or situation we are in come late August. But for now…take solace that you made it through and not only made it through, but did a wonderful job for your students and grew professionally in a way you did not anticipate last September or January or ear-ly March. Thank you for all you do in a normal year, but even more so in an unprecedented one. Have a great summer, stay safe, take some time to smell the roses and participate in some things you may not have had time to in the past. If you have needs during these few months, you know where to find us! In a similar manner, I would like to thank our students and parents for their efforts and support during this time. This was extremely difficult for you as well, as students are used to the structure and social aspect and many parents had to work from home and help their students through this. As noted in a separate section in this newsletter, some districts shut down academic delivery as early as March. When I attended the Board of Education meeting on April 27, 2020, to discuss grading, my take was that our students were engaged and that our students, parents and community would expect that the learning continue. It did and thank you for that as I have had conversations with other districts where that did not occur and those underclassmen will be significantly more behind when they return in the fall. Thank you again to all who receive this for fighting through the challenges, showing grit and adapting to what became a new and challenging norm. Feedback from surveys, correspondence, anecdotal conversa-tions from all parties will be considered in the event we find ourselves having to do something similar again. This edition of the semi-annual newsletter is a bit different in that we had one quarter of the semester under

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 8

“normal school circumstances” and then moved to the “distance learning format. Departments, clubs, or-ganizations, and individuals have submitted various articles and news that I believe you will enjoy and these appear on the following pages. As always, if any of us can be of assistance to you in any way, do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support during the extremely challenging 2019-20 school-year and we look forward to con-tinuing on the strong traditions established in Germantown as we continually strive to become the premier school district in the State of Wisconsin! Go Warhawks! Sincerely, Mr. Joel R. Farren Principal Germantown High School

GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Letter From the Principal (Continued)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 9

Student Services News

Looking for Resources to Address Mental Health needs?

Visit the Germantown School District School Social Work website for updated resource infor-mation.

https://www.gsdwi.org/district/SchoolSocialWorkServices.cfm

Self-care for families is very important, especially during stressful times and situations. The following are great tips from the Wisconsin RtI Center (information is teacher centered so please be general when reading these tips).

Mental wellness begins with me

Each day, well beyond the impacts of our current situation, you must remember to prioritize yourself first. This allows you to be your best self. Here are seven ways to start (or continue) to take care of irreplaceable—YOU!

Prioritizing yourself

Taking care of yourself

Strategies for finding your calm

Mindfulness and meditation from the Mayo Clinic

Stay grounded

Check in with your mental health

Crisis text line

Ways to support teens during COVID from Mental Health First Aid website:

https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2020/04/tips-to-help-teens-cope-during-covid-19/ In a crisis?

Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor

Free 24/7 support at your fingertips

Student Services Website

Have you missed a counselor parent presentation? Are you wondering when the next ACT/PSAT/AP test will be? Feeling panicky about all of the Financial Aid and Scholarship information? Want to access the latest version of the Career Planning and Course Selection Guide? The Student Ser-vices tab of the Germantown High School website (www.germantownschools.org) can help with these and many additional questions. The counselors always want to speak with parents and stu-dents when questions arise, but the website is also available to give you 24/7 access to all of the things we do for families.

We invite you to visit the Student Services Tab on the Germantown website. Some features include an “Academic and Career Planning” tab which provides links to the freshman and sophomore ACP lessons and a link to our appointment scheduler called “Appointy.” You can also access “Career Exploration, College Search, Financial Aid and Scholarship” tabs. Lots of helpful infor-mation and resources can be accessed from the website. http://www.germantownschools.org/schools/high/guidance_home.cfm

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 10

Student Services News (cont.)

G-Talk Conferences

The months of February and March were very busy in the Student Services Department. As part of the Wisconsin Comprehensive School Counseling Model, counselors had the opportunity to meet with 10

th grade students and their

parent(s)/guardian(s). For the past decade, the Germantown High School Counseling team conducted meetings with 10

th grade students and their families known as “G-Talks.” Starting last year, we moved away from individual meet-

ings and instead offered group sessions of roughly 12-15 families instead. During these small group sessions we delivered the information that needs to be covered with 10

th grade families as it pertains to their student’s future aca-

demic and career planning (transcript reviews, graduation requirements, schedule reviews, student strengths and goals, importance of a 4-year high school plan, post-secondary options, scholarship and financial aid information, career exploration, Academic and Career Plans, volunteer opportunities, and involvement in extracurricular activi-ties). Students also had an opportunity to share their ACP with their parent/guardian.

Academic and Career Plans

GHS school counselors delivered a series of lessons to freshman and sophomore students in order to help them develop individualized Academic and Career Plans. An ACP is a document that allows students to ac-quire self-knowledge and engage in career decision-making, educational planning, and career planning. Throughout lessons freshman year and during sophomore year, students will complete their ACP with infor-mation such as their progress towards graduation (e.g., credits, GPA, class rank, etc.), 21

st century work skills,

functional resume, financial planning and budgeting, career assessment data, program of study, and potential obstacles to success. At the end of the process, we hope that students will be able to better answer questions such as:

Who am I?

Where am I going?

How am I going to get there? Each student will share his/her Academic and Career Plan (ACP) with parents/guardians during the sophomore year G-Talk presentation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your son/daughter’s school counselor.

Transcript Information Final transcripts for the Class of 2020 will have been mailed out by the end of June. They will be sent to the school/program indicated on the senior survey sent out last month. Graduated seniors only need to request final transcripts if plans have changed since then. Transcripts will be emailed to all juniors this year to be used to check credits and evaluate the appro-priateness of post-secondary plans. Many colleges are opening the application window this year at the beginning of August. There may be a few instances where applying early may have a monetary advantage, but in most cases students may benefit from first attending our senior meetings to be sure they are completing applications thoroughly and making appropriate choices. The Student Services department has very limited hours in the summer and official transcripts may not be available until the weeks leading up to the start of school.

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Student Services News (cont.)

Attention Juniors-Summer Planning Tips Before Senior Year

We have included a link to a Powerpoint presentation https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_T3wmYTf31bWB6Lu4noUt5lNpEqABK2F/view?usp=sharing that may answer questions you have about post-high school planning and allow you to get organized for the start of 12th grade. We will meet with all seniors during the first few weeks of school to walk you step by step through how to navigate the next stage in your career planning process. As always, we encourage and support each student’s unique post high school goals, whether it be an apprenticeship, the military, technical college, four year college or direct employment and all combinations of the aforementioned. Please review the information in the Powerpoint and utilize the embedded links for more information as they pertain to your needs.

Some good ways to spend time this summer preparing for senior year:

Utilize your Xello Account to explore careers, learn about the training and education needed for each career, determine your strengths and interests and continue to build your “resume”

Return to school in September with a focused list of colleges, apprenticeships, and/or military op-tions for your career path.

Speak to parents/guardians about the financial realities of your plan. Sunny California is nice, but is it worth paying 2.5 times more in tuition and living costs? If you took Personal Financial Literacy al-ready, apply some of the lessons you learned from that class as you work through how to finance a plan for college. For those looking at an apprenticeship or similar program, your costs are taken care of for you and you actually get paid to learn! Also, look to see if a two year option or a 2 +2 pathway exists for the career path you wish to pursue. These are great ways to save time and money for those that need to pursue a college degree while getting into the workforce quicker.

If possible, ask family, friends and neighbors if you can job shadow or simply meet with them to dis-cuss their line of work. The first hand knowledge needed to make a good post-high school decision is often right in front of us in the people you acquaint with on a regular basis. Just ask. Adults are more than happy to share their knowledge and experience with those that may be looking to join their ranks. Summer is a great time to explore the workforce without the need to miss school.

Visit colleges over the summer (if they are not offering on campus visits they are likely offering virtual visits). Contact the admissions office of the campuses you are interested in attending for more infor-mation.

Determine if you need to retake the ACT. If so, please visit actstudent.org to register. See dates in ACT section.

Mentally, begin to break away from what everyone else is doing or at least are saying they are going to do after high school. Pursue what is best for you. Ten years from now no one will care what path you took or what college you may or may not have attended. All that matters is that you are pleased with your decisions and that they led to success as defined by you!

Here is the link to our home page http://www.germantownschools.org/schools/high/guidance_home.cfm and the Power Point is listed on the right side under Resources. We have also posted a list of Fre-quently Asked Questions on our website pertaining to the college admissions/application process. Jun-iors please do not request that transcripts be sent during the summer months. Unless there is a very unique circumstance it is preferred that you have the counseling department send your transcripts once you return to school in fall.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 12

Student Services News (cont.)

ACT Test Dates 2020-2021

Go to www.act.org for more information or to register.

Test Dates Registration Dates

July 17, 2020(Not offered at GHS) June 18, 2020

September 12, 2020 August 14, 2020

October 24, 2020 September 18, 2020

December 12, 2020 November 6, 2020

February 6, 2021 January 8, 2021

April 17, 2021 February 12, 2021

June 12, 2021 May 7, 2021

July 17, 2021 June 18, 2021

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 13

Advanced Placement-Art & Design:

Shane Crowley, Jaycie Kuczynski, Chloe Powell and Alyssa Volkman accepted the challenge of participating in the newly designed year long AP-Art & Design course. These four students cre-ated portfolios based on a sustained investigation and a synthesis between materials, ideas and process. Follow the link to see their amazing artwork! Congratulations to these crea-tives!!! https://abauerderuiz.wixsite.com/ap-art2020

VFW-Patriotic Art Competition:

Every year the VFW holds an art competition. These works repre-sent a variety of aspects of military life. Germantown students try to visual capture this in their artwork. Lily Wagner’s piece moved onto the regional competition. Good luck Lily!

The Art Studio

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Festival of Arts-UWM-Washington County Campus:

UW Milwaukee-Washington County typically holds an annual art festival in April. Because of their commit-ment to celebrating the arts and the students that have worked hard throughout the year they decided to hold the festival virtually, instead of cancelling the event. If you would like to see the winners of all catego-ries you can view them here: FESTIVAL OF ARTS AWARD WINNERS

Here are our Germantown High School Winners:

Krithi Gopinath 1st place-painting

Melissa Tacke 3rd place-photo

Kate Krausser 4th place –photo

Sophia Wendleburg Honorable Mention-Collage

Julia Yang Honorable Mention-painting

The Art Studio (cont.)

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Distance Learning:

This has been a very challenging time for everyone! It was particularly challenging to students in a perfor-mance based class that perhaps had no materials to pursue the curriculum that was laid before them at the beginning of the semester. Our hats are off to these flexible and creative students for taking what they had and making art out of it. Here are just some examples of the variety:

Youth Art Month: Half-way through our Youth Art Month covid-19 shut everything down. Our wonderful Ger-mantown Community Library took photographs of all artwork that was on display and created a virtual show for all to see. If you haven’t had the chance yet, you can follow the link to see the many artworks created by our talented students K-12. YAM-Art show 2020

The Art Studio (cont.)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 16

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: DECA

The Germantown DECA State “Varsity Team” did an unbelievable job honoring the successful tradition created by the previous groups. All 26 team members made an appearance on stage with 19 students ad-vancing to national competition in Nashville, TN. To advance to Nashville, students must take top 7 in their event. Most events consist of 35-50 individuals or teams. Competition consists of a 100 question multiple choice test and two role plays worth 100 points each.

1st Place Finishers: Drew Staniak and Ethen Tretheway in Financial Team Decision Making

Max Cincotta and Josh Wu in Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making

Julia Yang in Principles of Hospitality Management

2nd Place Finishers: Avi Bhavsar and Zaneta Luo in Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making

Shane Crowley and Blake Martin in Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making

3rd Place Finishers: David Lujan in Human Resources Management Jacob Lunzmann in Marketing Communications

4th Place Finishers: Lauren Scarpace in Apparel and Accessories Marketing

5th Place Finishers: Veronica Brost in Accounting Applications

Jason McCullom in Restaurant and Food Service Management Anika Pawlak in Retail Merchandising Continued...

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 17

7th Place Finishers: Sydney Braun and Emma Radtke in Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making

Megan Stewart and Ana Martinez in Hospitality Services Team Decision Making

Finalists: Rhea Thapar in Principles of Hospitality

Rishika Gudise in Principles of Marketing

Nolan Olszewski in Accounting Applications

Medalists: Christy Staniak in Automotive Services

Courtney Masarik in Food Marketing

Helen Hudson in Principles of Hospitality

Emily Archambeau in Principles of Marketing

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: DECA

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 18

On Sat., Feb, 1, 79 Germantown FBLA students competed in the FBLA Regional Leadership Conference in Chilton, WI. Students competed in individual/team tests, presentations, or speaking events. The conference also featured a leadership panel with individuals from the Wisconsin Herd, Sargento Foods, Wisconsin Government, and Miller Elec-tric. Germantown FBLA won the regional title for the sixth straight year. From the 79 students, 58 qualified for State in Madison March 30-31, and 17 others placed in the top 8. Below are the state qualifiers and pictures from the trip.

Region 6 Conference – State Qualifiers

Competitor(s) Event Place

Drew Staniak Accounting II 1

Delaney Marwood, Aidan Cum-mins, Owen Meyer

Business Plan 1

Jacob Lunzmann Computer Problem Solving 1

Jamie Pagel, Ava Boulware, Sierra Bray

Digital Video Production 1

Avi Bhavsar Future Business Leader 1

Zaneta Luo, Anika Pawlak, Ni-cole Parmenter

Hospitality Management 1

Aum Rathod Intro to Information Technology 1

Jason McCullum, Maverick De-Lain, Max Cincotta

Marketing 1

Ethen Tretheway Personal Finance 1

Blake Martin Public Speaking 1

Amy Simon, Ashley Puccini Social Media Campaign 1

Reed Kunz, Max Lamb, Tito Gonzalez

Sports & Entertainment Man-agement

1

Carson Batchelor Accounting I 2

Anna Finley Business Calculations 2

Zach Heron, Ira Mody, Alyssa Volkman

E-Business 2

David Lujan Insurance & Risk Management 2

Shrey Dudhat Intro to Business 2

Hally Bowles Intro to Business Communica-tion

2

Emily Archambeau, Amber Chang, Rishika Gudise

Intro to Business Presentation 2

Rhea Thapar Intro to Business Procedures 2

Khushi Tanna

Intro to Financial Math 2

Continued….

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: FBLA

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 19

Competitor Event Place

Lyndsay Riley Journalism 2

Sydney Braun Organizational Leadership 2

Erin Lawson Political Science 2

Lauren Casetta, Ella Driebel, Kristan Sterns

Public Service Announcement 2

Michael Woloszyk Securities & Investments 2

Paige Gruener Advertising 3

Mya Fisher Business Communication 3

Noelle Corona, Nicole Wald-huetter

Business Ethics 3

Ryan Obradovich, Ben Schultz Entrepreneurship 3

Joey Bruss, Isaac Buss, Matt Fitzpatrick

Global Business 3

Jasmine Braxton, Gabrielle Ortiz

Graphic Design 3

Diya Patel Healthcare Administration 3

Andrea Wu Intro to Business Communica-tion

3

Hunter Fera, Jacyie Kuczynski Coding & Programming TBD

State Alternates: Emma Radtke, Jason Loftus, Dhir Patel, Nick Bauer, Josh Wu, Melinda Honey, Blake Cottrill, Dylan Shearer, Andrew Shaw

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: FBLA

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 20

FBLA National Leadership Experience!!

Although this year’s FBLA State Leadership Conference in Madison and National Leadership Conference in Salt Lake City were cancelled, FBLA chapters around

the country will be granted the opportunity to partake in the newly adjusted: National Leadership Experience. Students will not only compete in their originally scheduled event, but also will be giv-en the opportunity to attend virtual workshops, listen to keynote speakers, and receive awards/recognition. This year, we have 11 FBLA members that are psyched up and ready to compete against members from across the nation!

Carson Batchelor (11)

Accounting I

Drew Staniak (12)

Accounting II

Anna Finley (11)

Business Calculations

Diya Patel (11)

Health Care Administration

Anika Pawlak (12) Nicole Parmenter (12) Zaneta Luo (12)

Hospitality Management

Rhea Thapar (9)

Intro to Business Procedures

Khushi Tanna (10)

Intro to Financial Math

Lyndsay Riley (11)

Journalism

Ethen Tretheway (12)

Personal Finance

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: FBLA

This year’s competitors:

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 21

Throughout the week of April 20th, Mr. Meyer & President Avi Bhavsar conducted interviews for the 2020-21 FBLA Officer Team. We wish the best of luck to all 2019-20 FBLA Seniors in their next chapter of life. Here’s a look at our selected officers!

Lauren Casetta (12)

President

Ella Driebel (12)

Vice President

Angie Bloechl (12)

Secretary

Rishika Gudise (11)

Treasurer

Khushi Tanna (11)

Community Service Manager

Rhea Thapar (10)

Social Event Manager

Kristan Sterns (12)

Social Media Manager

Delaney Marwood (12)

Social Media Content Creator

Amber Chang (11)

Executive Board Member – Community Service

Andrea Wu (11)

Executive Board Member – Social Event

BUSINESS EDUCATION NEWS: FBLA

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 22

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Across the board, the English department was blown away by what we saw our students complete. These challenging times were hard for all of us, but our stu-dents rose to the challenge and demonstrated their ethics and character. Here are a few blurbs from teachers: Mr. Kavanaugh’s Class: Mr. Kavanaugh's Honors 10 class integrated discussion posts and replies into the Poetry unit and the To Kill A Mockingbird Unit. Students focused on utilizing quotes in their posts, while focusing on the author's technique, theme, and essential questions spurred by the texts. Thoughtful student replies to their classmates’ quotes furthered the conversations and gave a sense of class discussion. Mrs. Sroka’s Class: I have been really impressed with how well my students have done with the discussion boards. They post really intriguing questions and post thoughtful and respectful replies. It's obviously not the same as an in-class discus-sion, but the boards have been a good substitute in this unique situation. Mrs. Kitze-Ward: Every single time I created an assignment, I would worry it was too much for the kids. I was challenging them to complete and do what we would do in class, but I was not not there to instruct or help; we’d have a live class call explaining it, and they would go. These kids BLEW me out of the water. They were able to do academic research, set up an APA style research paper, propose a topic and speak eloquently about it. I was truly amazed at the quality of the work. In my novel course, the kids brought the discussion board to life with thought provoking, deep questions about the literature, the lessons and the autho-rial intent. They challenged each other, discussed and debated. It was absolutely amazing to see.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 23

Creativity 101 could be a new name for the Interior Design class during distance learning. A large component of this course is understanding and relating the Ele-ments & Principles of Design to well-designed interior spaces. Students were challenged to create a color wheel out of “found” objects. Students were very resourceful.

As a semester ending project students in Foods I were instructed to find a favorite recipe and modify or substitute three ingredients to create a healthier option. The chef pictured below is transforming Creamy Bacon Alfredo into Savory Chicken Pasta Bake.

Family and Consumer Education

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 24

GHS Math Students Visit Northwestern Mutual On Friday Feb. 7, 2020, GHS students Gabrielle Haensgen and Ryan Obradovich attended the 32

nd annual Actuary Science Semi-

nar presented by Northwestern Mutual. Nearly fifty Milwaukee area high schools participated in this year’s seminar. Throughout the day, students were engaged in small-group sessions that introduced them to a potential career in Actuarial Science. Each group learned what an actuary does, what it takes to become an actuary, and what a typical workday looks like. The seminar concluded with an address from Ms. Liz Caldwell, the Assistant Director of the Actuary Department at Northwest-ern Mutual. In addition to the thirty-two year milestone, 2020 marked just the third time Northwestern Mutual has hosted the Actuarial Science Seminar at their Milwaukee Campus, at the Northwestern Mu-tual Tower. The tower, which opened in August 2017 stands 32-stories and reaches a height of 550 ft. It is the second tallest building in downtown Milwaukee.

NEWS FROM MATH

Pictured above: Gabrielle Haensgen and Ryan Obradovich

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 25

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

It was a busy winter for all the kids in the music department. Students prepared for Solo and

Ensemble competition, and while the event was cancelled, the WSMA made it possible for our

students to participate virtually. The GHS students who chose to be involved were very success-

ful, with 19 moving on to “Virtual State”.

This Winter, several of Germantown’s finest musicians auditioned for the WSMA Honors project

that brings the best and the brightest musicians from around the state to participate in a Summer

camp, and the perform at a gala concert at the Overture Center in Madison in the Fall. This

year, Emily Molloy and David Uttenreither were accepted into the Honors Mixed Choir, Abby

Stewart was accepted into the Honors Women’s Ensemble, and Ella Mudge and Noah Durlam

were accepted into the Honors Concert Band. These 5 participants represent the most GHS to

students to ever receive this honor in one year.

Sol-Town

For the first time in GHS History German-

town, competed in the ICHSA Quarterfinals

A Cappella Competition (think Pitch Pefect)

and received high praise for their perfor-

mance, including the award for Best Solo

Performance by Abigail Stewart.

Virtual Choirs While in quarantine choir students participated in several virtual choirs, including the world premier of a work by Wisconsin com-poser, Zach Moore. “I Have Had Singing” was a collaboration between 35 different high school and collegiate choirs from across Wisconsin and Minnesota, and featured over 4000 indi-vidual singers, all edited and put together by the composer him-self. It was a very rewarding project. Please see the link below to watch the final performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ys4H7s4FRs

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 26

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Students also participated in the virtual choir presented by Eric Whiace, “Virtual Choir 6” and the Virtual choir presented by VarsityVocals.com, the organization that runs our Competitive A Cappella festival. Both of these virtual choirs have yet to be released in their final form. The hours of editing for his kind of project is unimaginable .

GHS Senior flute player Mackaelyn Wagoner partici-

pated in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Vir-

tual Play-In. The performance involved over 250 mu-

sicians from all over the world, including New Zea-

land, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Japan, China, Austral-

ia, UK, Ireland, Denmark and the USA. https://

youtu.be/7Yo9TXQzuo0

Also while in quarantine, choir students participated in two “Open Mic Nights” where GHS choir students

could meet in a virtual setting to share music that they have been working on, including original works, so-

lo and ensemble performances, duets with their siblings and spoken word. Mostly it was a chance for stu-

dents to feel the sense of “Choir Family”, even if for just a couple of hours.

United Sound kept going on Zoom during

the distance learning. Each week, the new mu-

sicians would continue to learn how to play mu-

sic and even had theme days, like hat day.

WSMA Solo and Ensemble Festival

Distance Learning and Stay At Home restrictions do not lead to many photo opportunities for our students. Our music students found a few places to create lasting memories. As we all left school on March 13, band and choir students were learning that the WSMA Solo and Ensemble Festival scheduled for March 14 was canceled. The Wisconsin State Music Association created a “virtual” festival to fill the void. The students submitted a video of themselves playing their solos. They were judged and earned a rating. 38 entries per-formed for the district festival and 19 of them earned the Virtual State Festival opportunity. Thank you to WSMA for giving the stu-

dents the opportunity. Wisconsin is one of only a few states that were able to offer a virtual festival. Congratulations to all who performed! WSMA for giving the students the opportunity. Wisconsin is one of only a few states that were able to offer a virtual festival. Congratulations to all who performed!

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 27

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

The band program also moved to the virtual world with zoom music lessons, video and audio submis-sions and even an end of the year awards ceremony. Congratulations to our senior award winners Chris Bell, Mackaelyn Wagoner, Aidan Bray, Madeline Bushman, Gretchen Gagnon and Spencer Rudie.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 28

Physical Education/Health: As a Physical Education and Health Department we used many different avenues to get our students active and informed during distance learning. Weekly goal setting tem-plates, daily fitness logs and reflections were introduced to aid in our student’s ability to stay active. As we moved to each week we introduced different ways to engage the class and one of those ways was making a message board in Schoology to show others what they were doing to stay active. This was first facilitated by our Physical Education and Health Staff to post an activity picture of what we were doing to start the dialogue. It was a fun way to see what others were doing and also give alternative ideas of activities in these times. We also used a clickable Active PDF that the student would click on and a fitness resource would then appear for another resource for them to use. These documents were links to yoga, body weight exercises, band exercises and functional movement skills. There were also many google meets to lecture and then demonstrate skill based information.

These google meets were also created when classes wanted to meet together just to meet and see how everyone was emotionally doing. We ended the semester with a ‘final’ assignment that included alternative projects instead of a formal assessment. These projects included questionnaires, self-workout plans that they created themselves targeting an aspect of fitness and fitness reflections cen-tered on their summer workout plans and goals. We will take what we have learned from this experi-ence as a Physical Education and Health Staff and utilize these items to better the experience for fu-ture Physical and Health Education students.

Physical Education

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 29

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT NEWS

Distance Learning in Science AP Chemistry students performed their last lab at home! They used markers and coffee filters to ob-

serve paper chromatography to learn the principles of intermolecular forces. Honors Chemistry did a Scavenger Hunt finding chemistry in and around their home. Environmental Science/Club had their first all virtual Rainbarrel Silent Auction. Honors Biology students had the opportunity to attend a virtual seminar on neuroscience that was

specific to high school students. Students listened to presentations from top university professions from Harvard, Yale, Fordham, UC-Irvine and Washington University. Topics covered included:

The Brain's Response to Stress - How Our Brains May Be Altered During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Impaired Decision Making in Substance Use Disorders

What Wakes you up: Networked Clocks in the Brain

Introduction to Mental Health and Strategies for its Maintenance

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 30

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES

Although many activities were canceled in the past weeks, many students still participated in various competitions. We would like to commend their efforts in these less than optimal circumstances.

Several hundred students took part in AP testing for Human Geography, European and US History, Psychology and Micro and Macro Economics. Those exams will be scored in June and students will receive their scores in July.

National History Day

The Honors American History classes participate in the National History Day contest each year as part of their course curriculum performance/project based learning. This year's theme was "Breaking Barriers." Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the barriers of quarantine and social distanc-ing posed a challenge to future contests. As a result, the decision was made to continue with "virtual" contests at the state and national levels. We sent 15 students to the state contest on April 18th, and from that distinguished group, the following students have become NATIONAL FI-NALISTS, or have been recognized as 1st or 2nd runner up in their respective categories. Con-gratulations to the following:

National Finalists:

Sophia Johnson: Individual Performance - Walt Disney: The Driving Force of Animation Innovation

Holly Croke: Individual Website - Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

Alternates:

1st alternate: Lily Wagner for Individual Exhibit - The Truth About Sojourner. **Lily also earned a special “Equality in History Award” for her efforts.

1st alternate: Sofia Hagopian and Jackson Kirsch for Group Exhibit Revolution of Empow-erment

2nd alternate: Daniella Martinez Paper: Clara Barton: The Nation ’s Prime Precedent of Calm in the Center of Battlefield

We wish Sophia and Holly the best of luck at the National Contest in June!

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 31

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES: ECON CHALLENGE

Three teams of four Germantown High School students competed this spring in the annual EconChal-lenge competition, with the top team finishing just a hair out of first place in the state. A total of twelve Germantown students participated, testing their understanding of microeconomics, macroeco-nomics, and international economics by completing a 30-question online test. The top three scores on each team were added together to determine the team score. Here are the Germantown results:

1st place: Superior Goods - 86 out of 90 correct (Zaneta Luo, Drew Staniak, Josh Wu, Gabrielle Haensgen)

2nd place: The Long-Runners and the Non-Runners - 85 out of 90 correct (Ethen Tretheway, Zach Heron, Max Cincotta, Sofia Fernandez)

3rd place: Zooming through Econ - 84 out of 90 correct (Natalie Tenge, Noah Basting, Jimmy Koel, Jonah Schmanski)

Individually, Zaneta Luo recorded a perfect score on her exam! Four more Warhawks scored 29 out of 30.

Altogether, the teams answered 93.6% of questions correctly. AP Economics teacher Mr. Aronow advised the students. A team from Germantown High School has placed first or second in the state during each of the past six years in which Germantown has competed.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 32

Spanish 5 students read “La Vida de la Marasalvatrucha” that illustrated the tough life for el Salvadoran

exiles in Los Angeles. Students learned about the el Salvadoran civil war from Sr. Harris, who is married to

an el Salvadoran refugee. Students studied current events and headline news in Latin America while read-

ing testimonial literature about growing up as an exiled person surrounded by gang violence in Rampart,

California.

Spanish 4 students studied Spanish artists such as el Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Picasso and Dalí. They

also learned important historical murals and social problems with the study of Diego Rivera and Frida

Kahlo art. In the unit students were to recreate a Spanish masterpiece in their own way.

Spanish 3 students created a tourism company in Spanish using Spanish marketing and business strate-

gies for clients traveling to Latin America and Spain.

WORLD LANGUAGES: Spanish

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 33

Congratulations to the graduating seniors in Spanish Honor Society and the two scholarship winners,Avi

Bhavsar and Hailey Ammerman who each earned $500 scholarships from Capítulo Benito Juárez! Thank

you to all the families that donated money for this scholarship during our bake sales at parent teacher con-

ferences!

Graduate Lauren Ciha stopped by in January to pick up her $1,000 Spanish Honor Society scholarship

check after she studied Spanish and earned 16 credits in UW-Madison this fall! Great job Lauren on your

Spanish placement test and semester work! Students are encouraged to take a placement test in college

to earn free credits, reflecting their fluency attained from the GHS Spanish program.

Congratulations to the following 2020 Spanish Honor Society graduates who earned an honor cord for their service work with UMOS, La Casa de Guadalupe and servicing the Latino popula-tion with Capítulo Benito Juárez! Hailey Ammerman, Avi Bhavsar, Payton Breitzmann, Veronica Brost, Madeline Bushman, Gabrielle de Gail, Miranda Dorsey, Sofia Fernandez, Megan Finell, Emily Galasqewski, Samantha Hanauer, Ally Hansen, Megan Hawley, Jacob Hefle, Daniel Humphriss, Paige Knodl, Melinda Kopischkie, Jimmy Koel, Brynn Krause, Kaylie Krueger, Lixi Lancelle, Maddie Laszewski, Erin Lawson, Aly Lepak, Zoie Leitel, Jacob Lunzmann, Zaneta Luo, Taylor Nackers, Ariana Nichols, Nana-Yaw Oduro, Ashley Pallan, Nicole Parmenter, Anika Pawlak, Molly Pederson, Madeline Ryczek, Dixon Seymour, Megan Schmitz, Caroline Sies, Melissa Tacke, Sophia Tautges, Natalie Tenge, Nolan Vincent, Alyssa Volkman and Josh Wu.

WORLD LANGUAGES: Spanish

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 34

KEY CLUB

Congratulations to our new Key Club officers and Executive Board Members for the 20-21 School Year:

President: Anna Finley

Vice President: Alisha Kulkarni

Secretary: Autumn Luedtke

Communications Director: Macie Pritchard

Executive Board Members: Diya Patel & Ella Tauges

Many thanks to our Senior Club Officers who did an outstanding job leading our club during the 19-20 School Year. President Erin Lawson, Vice President Novy O’Connell, Communications director Avi Bhavsar, and Executive Board Member Molly Pederson. We appreciate and are thankful for your dedication over the last 4 years to the Germantown Community.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 35

Yearbook

Germantown High School Named Jostens 2020 National Yearbook Program of Excellence!

-------------------------------------------------------

Germantown High School program recognized for dynamic and engaging yearbook. (Germantown) – (5/2020) – Jostens, the leading producer of yearbooks and student-created content, today announced that Germantown High School’s yearbook program has been named a Jostens 2020 National Yearbook Pro-gram of Excellence. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence recognizes engaging yearbooks that reflect a broad representation of the student body while helping students develop 21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, and information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy. The Germantown High School award winning yearbook program is led by editors Megan Hawley and Erin Lawson under the direction of Andrew Kavanaugh and Diane Seramur, Germantown High School yearbook advisers. Ms. Seramur wanted to let you know, “This is the third year in a row for our school to earn this distinc-tion. It’s difficult for us to get the high percentage of individuals from the index in the book three or more times, as the average includes the previous graduating seniors who appear in the spring section of the book and teachers! The other criteria is that we hit sales percentages AND DEADLINES!!! I am so proud of all our team members who work thankless hours after school to get this 200 page book made each year for their classmates!” Jostens’ National Yearbook Program of Excellence Awards are presented twice a year, in spring and in fall based on the yearbook’s arrival date at the school. The award was presented to the Germantown High School yearbook program for achieving the defined criteria in each of three following categories: creating an inclusive yearbook, generating school engagement, and successfully managing the yearbook creation process. “Especially this spring, Jostens is proud to recognize those individuals who have acted as wonderful stew-ards by creating an exceptional yearbook for their school and community,” said Tammy Whitaker, Jostens VP and COO Yearbook Division. “These schools did an exceptional job on multiple levels, despite the chal-lenges presented by Spring 2020. Yearbooks are a critical part of capturing and telling a school’s story, and Jostens is dedicated to supporting yearbook staff members as they do their important work.”

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 36

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER NEWS The Germantown Performing Arts Center ...where the arts take flight!

Although our doors are closed for the season, the PAC already held some of its biggest events earlier this semester. When activities resume be sure to check our website or Face-book page for all the latest information so you don’t miss out on the next big show!

On February 15th the All Star Jazz Crusaders Big Band

and Change Makers Jazz Combo came together for a

special Valentine’s weekend event called “Songs and

Sweethearts”. Directed by James Barnes, the evening

featured a variety of love songs and ballads from days

gone by. Guest singers, skilled soloists, and dazzling

lights made a romantic evening come to life for many

couples. The event brought in many community residents

whom had never been to the theater before, and helped

raise money to support future community band perfor-

mances at the PAC.

A new partnership with Chocolate Falls also began in February. This local chocolatier will have many of their products featured in our concessions stand and proceeds go to support various fine arts programs in the Germantown School District. Favorites include chocolate covered raisins, Bavarian pretzels, and chocolate covered gummy bears.

On March 6th, 7th, and 8th Germantown was introduced to the pink sensation that is “Legally Blonde The Musical”. Without a doubt the largest event of the season, Legally Blonde saw over 1,500 attendants. This doesn’t include the 26 cast members, 22 pit orchestra musicians, 30 produc-tion crew, and droves of volunteers who worked their hard-est to make every performance an outstanding success. This comedy was full to the brim of outstanding moments. Abby Stewert (Elle) brought both the sophistication and sass needed for the main role while showing incredible vo-cal talent in this musical’s rock and pop themes. Audiences loved Paige Gruener’s eccentric depiction of Paulette the hairdresser, and Logan Kannenberg’s excellent comedic timing as the sensual UPS man. Jackson Liberatore (Nikos) and Joel Nelson (Carols) also stole the stage in the classic “Gay or European” ensemble number with an outstandingly choreographed lift to end the scene. Above the stage, moving light fixtures (loaned through Skylight) and LED lighting strips brought professional quality theatrical design rarely seen in a high school drama performance. To see all the pictures from Legally Blonde, visit our photo album on our Facebook page @GtownPAC, or go to the photos tab of our website: https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/performing-arts-center.cfm

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 37

Activities/Athletic Department

WIAA Scholar Athletes Each year, member high schools of the Wis-consin Interscholastic Athletic Association are invited to nominate one boy and one girl for Scholar Athlete honors. The program, launched in 1984, was meant to highlight the positive impact of interscholastic athletic activ-ities.

To qualify for WIAA Scholar Athlete recogni-tion, a nominee must have earned at least four varsity letters through the first half of his or her senior year and must have a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

In addition to local awards, 32 of the more than 770 students nominated each year are selected for statewide recognition. Four boys and four girls in each of the WIAA divisions are honored at a ceremony each year.

This year’s 2019 WIAA Male and Female Scholar Athletes from Germantown are: Jimmy Koel and Melina Kopischkie. Congratulations!

Smart phone app available for easy access to athletic schedules:

You can now use the RSchool app on your mobile phone to keep updated on your team’s schedule—go to your app store and search “RSchool.” Then download the free Activity Scheduler by Dwebsite.

New website address! Athletics and Activities have a new online home! Please visit the following link to get latest information on GHS activities and athletic hap-penings.

https://www.gsdwi.org/schools/high/activities/

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 38

Activities/Athletic Department

WRESTLING

GMC conference tournament hosted by GHS

Greater Metro Conference Tournament

Germantown hosted the Greater Metro Conference Tournament and the Varsity Wrestling Team took First Place! They finished the regular season undefeated. Individual Conference Champions were: Riese Thornberry, Talan Schutte, Brent Miller, Tyler Schiesl, Isaac Riddle, and Hunter Warner. Awesome season!!

Joseph Inga wrestling at the GMC tournament

Coach Szohr watching senior Andrew Seramur Riese Thornberry - This fresh-

man began the season on the in-jured reserve and finished Confer-ence Tournament Champion and season tournament champion. He also earned All State Rankings with an 18-3 record.

Talan Schutte - This freshman was a Conference Tournament Champion and season tourna-ment Champion. Talan earned All State Rankings and had 37 wins this sea-son.

Tyler Schiesl - This jun-ior was a Conference Tournament Champion and season tournament champion. Tyler earned All State Rankings and had 38 wins this season.

Brent Miller - This senior was a Conference Tournament Champion, multiple season tournament champion, Regional champion, and state qualifier. Brent earned All State Rankings and had 43 wins this season.

Isaac Riddle - This senior was a 4x Conference Tourna-ment Champion. He was a multiple time tournament champion and Regional Cham-pion. Isaac earned All State Rankings and had 43 wins this season.

Hunter Warner - This senior was a Conference Tourna-ment Champion and earned All State Rankings and had 30 wins this season.

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 39

Activities/Athletic Department

Wrestlers qualifying for the state tournament were:

Joseph Inga (Jr), Brent Miller (Sr), Ethan Riddle (Fr) Girls’ Gymnastics

The Menomonee Falls/Germantown Gymnas-tics team had a phenomenal turnout at the WIAA State Tournament. On Friday, they placed 4th as a team with a score of 140.518. On Saturday, Germantown’s Miranda Knabe (Sr) placed 2nd on vault (9.433), 2nd on the uneven bars (9.6), tied for 3rd on balance beam (9.7) and captured the All Around title with a

38.15!

Miranda Knabe – All Around State Champion!

The following GHS students qualified for WIAA State competition for the 2019-20 winter season.

Gymnastics: Grace Suchocki (So) and Miranda Knabe (Sr)

Wrestling: Joseph Inga (Jr), Brent M iller (Sr), Ethan Riddle (Fr)

Boys Swim: Josh Wu (Sr) - 200 medley relay, 100 free (12th place finish), 100 breast (7th place finish), 400 free relay Ming Ong (Sr) - 200 medley relay, 200 IM, 100 fly (9th place finish), 400 free relay Jon Pella (Jr) - 200 medley relay, 500 free, 400 free relay Charlie Ragland (So) - all three relays Mason Piette (Sr) - 200 free relay

Our Varsity Bowling Team had a great season and participated in the District 1 Conference Tourna-ment. They bowled a 267 in the Championship Match to take first place in the Silver Division. Top bowlers for the day were Anna Wiza, Tyler Ville-neuve and Nick Keller. Jade Kanneberg (So) was named Honorable Mention All Conference and Anna Wiza (Sr) was selected as First Team All

Conference for her 85.3% fill rate this year and headed back to the State Competition in the Girls Singles Division for the second straight year!

Our Alpine MSG Ski Team ( a co-op with Me-nomonee Falls and Sussex Hamilton (MSG)), had a great winter season and finished strong in their final conference race of the season with Varsity Girls and Var-sity Boys taking 2nd place. As a result, both teams qualified for the State Meet in La Crosse on February 16th and 17th! Also, both JV Girls and JV Boys qualified for the JV Conference Meet on February 20th at Alpine Valley. Boys Varsity team members from Germantown: Ben Diaz (So), Nick Peterson (Fr) and Austin MacIntyre (So) Girls Varsity team members from Germantown: Ashley Puccini (Sr), Kailey Clement (Jr) and Nicole Waldhuetter (Sr)

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 40

Activities/Athletic Department

Girls Basketball Kamorea Arnold (Fr) who is the first freshman in school history to be named 1st Team All-Conference! Natalie McNeal (Sr) who became only the second player in school his-tory to be named 1st Team All-Conference three years in a row! Jaelyn Acker (Jr) earned 1st Team All-Conference honors for the second consecutive season, becoming only the 6th player in school history to do so! Kate Richmond (Sr) was named 2nd Team All-Conference, becoming only the third player in school history to receive all-conference honors all four years of high school!

GHS students receiving honors within their sport:

Boys’ Basketball

Congratulations to student-athlete Jacob Hefle (Sr). Jacob was selected as an honor-able mention basketball player this season!

Boys’ Hockey

Andrew Butler, jun-ior at Germantown High School, first team all conference.

Winter Sports

Gymnastics

Junior Miranda Knabe (below left) received 1st team All State for All Around. Sophomore Grace Suchocki (below right) received All State honor-able mention for vault.

Miranda Grace

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 41

Activities/Athletic Department

Boys’ Swim and Dive

At the Boys Swim and Dive confer-ence meet Senior Josh Wu (below left) took 3rd in the 50 free & 3rd in the 100 breast. Senior Ming Ong (below right) took 4th in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 100 fly.

Congratulations to seniors Rachael Heinz and Gia Szada who will represent German-town at the WFSCA Softball Senior All Stars games in August.

GHS students receiving honors within their sport:

Winter Sports Spring Sports

GTown Power Alisha Kulkarni, Hailey Hessler, Brooke Stroik, Abby Liker, Avery Dunlap, Bella Gelhaar, Brady Flasch, Will Hammond, Zach Gardipee, Brandon Pierce, Cole Batchelor, Carson Batchelor, Maclain Yahr & Elijah Schutz Congratulations to the GTown Powerlifting Team who competed in the WHSPA State Championship this past season.The team brought home the 3rd place Equipped Female trophy, 1st place Equipped Male Trophy, and the 1st place Combined Equipped Trophy. Special congratulations to state champion Brandon Pierce (Sr) who also won Best Male Equipped Lifter, state champion Elijah Schutz (So), Brady Flasch (Jr) who set a new state bench record at 292 pounds, and Brooke Stroik (Fr) who set a new Teen 1 American Bench record of 210 pounds. Congratulations to all the lifters on a great meet!

GHS SEMESTER 2 NEWSLETTER 2019-20 PAGE 42

Activities/Athletic Department

FALL ATHLETICS INFORMATION

GHS Athletic and Activity Online Registration Continues for Fall We are trying to go paperless and at the same time make registration more convenient for parents and students. Athletic registration is now completed online through Skyward under "online forms" and both parents/guardians and student athletes must sign in to their individual accounts to complete the process. Registration only needs to occur once per school year.

Physical forms can be uploaded to Skyward at the same time and is the preferred method, even when all you want to do is update the physical information. No need to hand the form to the ac-tivities office. The WIAA established date for valid physicals is April 1, 2019 for this school year. (Physicals prior to this date are not valid.)

Fall Sports 2020

Starting Dates for Practice/Tryouts

Sport Date Time Site

Football Monday, Aug 3 7:00AM Equipment & 1st practice Golf-Girls Monday, Aug 10 9:00AM Swing Time Swim & Dive-Girls Tuesday, Aug 11 3:00PM High School Pool Tennis-Girls Tuesday, Aug 11 JV 8-10AM / V 11-1PM High School Courts Cross Country-Girls Monday, Aug 17 8:00AM High School Track Cross Country-Boys Monday, Aug 17 9:00AM High School Track Soccer-Boys Monday, Aug 17 6:00PM GHS Practice Fields Volleyball-Girls Monday, Aug 17 8:30-11:00AM & 1-3PM High School Gym/Fieldhouse Volleyball-Boys Monday, Aug 17 V 3:00-4:30, 5:30-7:30PM High School Gym/Fieldhouse JV1 & 2, 3:00-6:00PM

All student athletes must have the following information submitted via Skyward to the athletic office PRIOR to day one of practice:

1. Physical Form: physicals after 4/1/20 – Typically 9th & 11th grade OR 2. Alternate Year Physical Card: physicals from 4/1/19 – 3/31/20 - Typically 10th & 12th grade 3. Student Activities-Registration Form 4. Concussion Form

Germantown High School

W180 N11501 River Lane

Germantown, WI 53022-3198

Phone: (262) 253-3400

The mission of Germantown High School, a learning community where all people are accepted and supported, is to guarantee that

all students are given the opportunity to become responsible, productive, life-long learners. We will provide curriculum based on

real-life applications, optimal use of technology, and instruction that accommodates varied learning styles. To accomplish this

requires a shared commitment to education from students, their families, the staff, and the community at large.