During the span of my 37 years in education, I have felt that every school year goes by too quickly…this year more than any other. During the past 5 years it has been my privilege to be the Principal of North High School. I am grateful to have been part of a school with such an outstanding, dedicated, and caring group of educators; and students who reflect and demonstrate all the positive qualities who all hope to see in our young people. The students at North have always been kind, considerate, empathetic, friendly, hard-working, and a pleasure to be around. They have kept me feeling younger than my gray hair would indicate…and I will miss them all.
North has also greatly benefited from an extremely supportive parent community, and it is this partnership between parents and the school that helps ensure we all our working together for the benefit of our students/children. I want to express my gratitude and thanks for all the contributions made by Parents Club, the Trojan Boosters, Fine Arts Boosters, and District 99 Education Foundation. Their support of North has enabled us to enhance the opportunities we are able to provide our students. I also want to thank all the individual parents for their involvement in their children’s education, and the many ways we work together for our common goal of providing students with the best possible education.
Again this school year, we have seen North’s students perform at a very high level academically, and our test scores and other indicators of academic success reflect our students’ achievements. Our Advanced Placement (AP) course enrollment continues to grow. This year, 556 North students took 1,180 AP exams. While we want to make sure all students keep a healthy balance in their lives and do not overload themselves with Honors and/or AP courses, we do encourage students to stretch themselves by taking an appropriately rigorous course of studies.
On June 3, we will have 474 members of the Class of 2016 graduating from North High School. Over 94% of these students will be continuing their education, attending 118 different colleges/universities in 28 different states and 1 foreign country. I am confident that our seniors will leave their mark on the world in many different ways in many different places.
We say thank you to the following staff members who are retiring from North after many years of dedicated service: Cheryl Merkel, Bookkeeper – 25 years; Jan Sieck, Counselor – 16 years; Liane Roche, Secretary – 9 years; Lynn Achtien, Secretary – 21 years; Mary Mitas, Secretary – 14 years; Nancy Camaquin, Secretary – 16 years; Nancy Turner, World Languages Teacher – 27 years; Pattie Barnes, Accompanist – 17 years; Pattie DePeder, Secretary – 9 years; Robin Vesely, Special Services Teacher – 14 years; Sherri Linsner, Secretary – 27 years; and Wendy Cihlar, Student Supervisor – 16 years. I am grateful for their many years of dedication to our school and our students.
My final day in District 99 will be June 30. I feel blessed by the opportunities I have had in education, and particularly grateful to have been able to conclude my career as Principal of North High School. This school will always be a part of me. Once a Trojan…always a Trojan.
Sincerely,
Scott Kasik
Principal