NOCTILUCA June 2017

NEWS Appleton, Wisconsin June 2017 Volume XXII Page 3 North’s Mr. Huggins to be district assistant superintendent Issue VIII

By Salma Abdel-Azim North High School Principal Mr. James Huggins announced on Wednesday, May 17, that he accepted the position of assis- tant superintendent for school services/student services of the West Cluster Schools for the Appleton Area School District. Huggins will be assuming this position this coming July 1, in place of Dr. Judy Baseman, who is to become the new su- perintendent of the district. Mr. Huggins has been an ed- ucator for 22 years, 17 of those years at North, 9 of which as principal. It all started when he was in college working at the Bob Hope Hughen handicap school in Port Arthur, Texas. “It interested me and I fell in love with it… I got really con- nected and close with those students.” After his time there, Mr. Huggins joined the Marine Corps for 4 years, during which he enjoyed working with the young adults as a leader. Out of the Marine Corps, he served as principal of Einstein Middle School for 5 years and be- came a teacher at North, rising through the ranks to become Zajkowski , mental health, from page 1 tons. When one is pushed down, the other is pushed up. It makes it really hard to find medication for one that doesn’t set the other off.” Ashour eventually went through five different medica- tions over the following years, looking to balance anxiety and depression. Ashour explains she is in a much better place now. “I can still have bad days, but the people I surround myself with are really understanding and positive. You just need to insert yourself in a positive environ- ment.” These experiences have made Ashour passionate about raising awareness about mental health. “I see people struggle and I want to make it easier for them and have themunderstand all the stigmas around mental health. I want them to know they’re still capable people,” she said. Stigmas play a large role in the fight against mental health issues. “Since there’s a stigma, people don’t want to say they have [a mental illness]. Since no one wants to talk about it, the stigma gets stronger,” Eastman explains. This stigma led another stu- dent, Stratton, to believe what he was feeling when he was

principal with more responsi- bilities, geared toward the West Cluster schools; however, what the position actually entails is yet to be determined. “How we do this is we look to see who we hire and then we look to see how we can best use that person’s abilities.. We (assis- tant superintendents) all have unique responsibilities across the district,” Vogel said. Mr. Huggins is most excited to work with new people in a new setting, while Mr. Vogel is most excited about, “all the dif- ferent experiences he has had... he has a great work ethic.” Mr. Vogel says the biggest challenge in this position is “...to continue to attract the best possible people to educa- tion.” Having the best people as teachers and staff with a de- sire and passion to go into edu- cation ensures success at the highest level for every student. “We want to make sure that there’s a place for everyone,” Vogel said. Mr. Huggins is worried about the state and overwhelming us- age of social media. “I really have seen such an explosion in Dr. John E. Mielke, who has served as a member on the Ap- pletonArea Board of Education for the past 26 years, recently submitted his letter of resigna- tion, effective in late June. “My reason for resigning at this time is to be able to give younger people the chance to serve on this Board,” Mielke said. Mielke is an Appleton native who attended Appleton Senior High school, where he gradu- ated in 1951 as a member of the

the past 5 to 10 years in the use of social media, and how info is used and shared is not all good. I don’t think technology or so- cial media is negative, but it’s irresponsible usage that I am worried about.” Mr. Huggins will most miss his staff and students at North and “...watching the students going from freshmen to shak- ing their hands and giving them their diplomas.” Over the next month, Mr. Huggins will transition into his new position, while Appleton North obtains a new principal. According to Mr. Vogel, the district intends to find someone within the district, and they are open to the input from parents, staff, and students to find a suit- able candidate for the position. North will have a new principal for the next school year, but the district will take the necessary time and consideration to find the best person for the job. “I really do care deeply about this school. It’s been a sig- nificant part of my career...I’m still going to be vested in this school in the years to come,” Mr. Huggins said. National Honor Society. After receiving his B.S. and M.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Mr. Mielke served as a captain for the United States Army Medical Corps. In 1967, Mielke founded the Fox Valley Academy of Medicine and has been in private prac- tice of internal medicine since 1965. In the past fifty-two years, he has also been an active member of several community orga- nizations, bearing the titles of Director for the Mielke Family Foundation, Elder of the Me- morial Presbyterian Church, Director of the Fox Cities Children Museum, Director of the Appleton Medical Center Foundation and Director of the Appleton Education Founda- tion. On Mielke’s dedication to the Fox Cities community, AASD Superintendent Lee Allinger said, “He is an innovative force -- his ideas have spawned many great opportunities not only in our schools, but throughout our community. While he is step- ping away from the Board, he and Sally will continue their ef- forts in our schools and broader community.”

Current North Principal and future AASD Assistant Superinten- dent Mr. James Huggins reflects upon his 17 years as a North faculty member. Photo by Salma Abdel-Azim.

hands on principal, cares about all kids, wants to do everything he can to help all kids succeed.” Huggins says his hardest challenge he has encountered in his current position has been the loss of loved ones. “The loss of loved ones, includ- ing students, staff, and family members are the hardest chal- lenges I have faced. I won’t say I’ve overcame them, but you persevere,” Huggins said. The new role of assistant superintendent is a leadership position focused on the district level. It is broader in scope than Huggins’ current position as Davis. “It’s probably much higher than that,” Eastman said. “After a while, we don’t realize what it means to be healthy. The chaos doesn’t give us an opportunity to stop and take care of ourselves.” “[Stigmas] have created an en- vironment where people are fearful of even saying suicide.” One way North is approach- ing mental health is Sources of Strength, a suicide prevention project that uses peers to change culture to prevent things like sui- cide and bullying. With a goal to create a mindset of getting help, Sources of Strength approaches the topic with less focus on the risks and more on connections and resources. North has integrated this new program with the wheel in the commons showing where stu- dents of North find their strength from, be it family, friends, healthy living, or many others. “I think it will be incredibly beneficial. It will create a con- versation and won’t hide the is- sue,” Eastman said. While May is the official Mental Health Month, mental health is something that can af- fect people at any time, and one of the first steps to a healthy life is by telling someone. “Life is really wonderful,” Stratton said, “and once you can live it without the weight of these negative feelings, it’s the most amazing feeling.”

principal. “Being a teacher in this building since it opened in 1995 to me has been very spe- cial,” Huggins said. Mr. Huggins says the accom- plishment he’s most proud of in his time as principal has been building relationships. “Having previous students come back to be teachers and parents is really cool to see.” Mr. Ben Vogel, the assistant superintendent of the North Cluster, who has worked with Mr. Huggins as a colleague and has supported him in his role of assistant superintendent, describes Mr. Huggins as, “...a young was normal. “I’d never learned it wasn’t normal. I thought everyone else had these feelings too.” After an increase in severity, Stratton finally decided to speak up and get help, going through nine different medications and eight different therapists, and at one point needing to go to a psychi- atric hospital. “Being there isn’t like any other experience in your life. You see these people who seem fine – they are amazing people – but you know they’re struggling too... It was a revelation for me. It was the first way it really oc- curred to me that I wasn’t the only one.” After finally finding a thera- pist he clicked with and a medi- cation that worked, Stratton was able to lead a positive and healthy life. “The first step is re- ally letting someone know. The moment you share with some- one else, it’s liberating.” “I think that it’s unfortunate, but honestly not shocking,” Stratton said about the statistic that 19.4 percent of North stu- dents felt extended signs of de- pression, according to theYRBS survey.Additionally, Outagamie County YRSB results show 24 percent of surveyed students re- ported extended signs of depres- sion. “It’s always an eye opener to look at these statistics,” said North Social Worker Mrs. Sue

Longtime School Board member Dr. Mielke resigns By Maddy Schilling

Board member John Mielke resigns after serving on the Board of Education for 26 years. Photo courtesy of AASD.