Current happenings
Career Based Learning at West
West had its first Business Advisory Board meeting on October 16 th . Several business leaders are serving on the board, including three alumni in Dennis Lamers (McMahon Group), Rollie Stephenson (Faith Technologies), and Curt Kubiak (OSI and NOVO Health). The purpose of the Business Advisory Board is to help teachers and students engage students in creating a robust Academic and Career Plan for each graduate.   

The Business Advisory Board is guided by AASD's Classroom to Career initiative and board of education goal. Learn more .

The Appleton Education Foundation has committed $30,000 to support AASD's Classroom to Career efforts with $10,000 allocated to each high school.

Kudos to current West student: Madeline VanTassel
Madeline VanTassel, a senior, has qualified for the WIAA State Cross Country Meet to be held this weekend in Wisconsin Rapids. This is the third time Madeline has qualified for the state meet.   

Best of luck, Madeline!
 
Facilities upgrades
This past summer, work began on replacing the windows at West, starting with the front of the building. These energy efficient windows will not only pay for themselves over time, but they give a nice face lift to our beloved building.
Alumni Spotlight:
John Gillespie ,
class of 1954
Brief bio: West, class of 1954; was a starter on the football team all three years of high school. One highlight of this time was attending Badger Boys State and being elected Lt. Governor. Earned landscape architecture and land planning bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin. Married to Jan Krull (West, class of 1953) for 60 years.

Favorite teacher/coach: I never had a teacher I didn't like. Both football coach Ade Dillon and physical education teacher and coach Witzke left a great impact on me.

Life highlights: After coming across a beautiful lodge with 11 bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, and over a dozen other rooms on 500 acres near New London, Jan and I reached out to Green Bay Packer MVP Bart Starr and his wife Cherry to partner with us.

It became the Rawhide Boys Ranch, and Jan and I personally had 351 teenage court-referred foster sons live with us and our two boys over a span of 35 years. We had eight to 10 at a time f or one to two years each. The program was very successful with 85% of the boys never getting into legal t r ouble aga i n.

Recent accomplishments: Earlier in 2018, Jan and my book, "Our 351 Sons" was published. This book recounts our journey of starting Rawhide Boys Ranch. We hope to encourage parents and youth workers. In it, we and our "sons" share amazing success stories and numerous challenges that we faced along the way.

Learn more about "Our 351 Sons."

Learn more about Rawhide.

Track Meet for the Ages: huge success
This past summer, participants enjoyed tours of the schools, friendly competition, and fond memories.

Children who attended the event also participated in an impromptu children's lap, and everyone had fun watching future Terrors run the track.

Visit Facebook for some event photos!

The committee would like to thank the participants and the volunteers who made the event a success. They are already working on a 2019 event which will be open to the community, but highlight our alumni.

Please look for a date in an upcoming issue.
West High School Tours
Interested to see how West has (or hasn't) changed since you graduated? Schedule a tour with West principal Mark McQuade.

This is a perfect opportunity for classes celebrating reunions.

Phone: (920) 832-6219
Upcoming Events
Thursday, November 1 | 7:30 p.m.
Fall Choir Concert

November 15-17 | 7:33 p.m.
Fall Play: 1984
Purchase tickets at the West box office
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Appleton West High School
Alumni Association
in partnership with the
Appleton Education Foundation

920.832.1517

122 E. College Avenue, Suite 1-B
Appleton, WI 54911