Oshkosh North Newsletter

• January 19- No School
• January 19- MLK Day Community Celebration (see below under District News for more information)
• January 20- No School - Staff PD Day
• January 21- Start of 2nd semester
• February 4- Parent Advisory Committee Meeting
• February 5- Hall of Fame and Academic Awards Assembly (Revised Bell Schedule)
• February 5- 180° Awards (6:30 North Auditorium)
• February 6 -No School - Staff PD Day

Link for North Athletic Events

Link for OASD Music Events

** Reminder if your student is attending sporting events or after school activities they need to be picked up promptly following the conclusion of the events**

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our staff, coaches, and current students who helped make our 8th Grade Preview Night such a success. Your time, energy, and enthusiasm played a vital role in creating a welcoming and informative experience for our future students.

We would also like to thank the families who attended. We appreciate you taking the time to join us, ask questions, and learn more about our school community. Your involvement and interest mean a great deal to us.

Events like this are successful because of the collective effort of our school community, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed to making the evening memorable and meaningful.

O-Town Iron Gym in Oshkosh is offering a FREE Parent Semi-Private, Personalized Fitness Training Session designed specifically for parents who want to learn how to train safely and effectively.

This session is for parents only (not athletes) and focuses on safe strength training, professional coaching, and long-term health. No prior fitness experience is required, and the environment is welcoming and supportive.

Event Details:

• Parent Training Night

• Monday, February 9, 2026

• Two identical session options:

  • 6:30–7:30 AM

  • 5:30–6:30 PM

• Location: O-Town Iron Gym

• Cost: Free to attend

• RSVP Deadline: February 5, 2026

Parents can register by scanning the QR code on the attached flyer, which links directly to a quick registration form.

There is no obligation—this is simply an opportunity for parents to experience a professionally coached, small-group training session focused on strength, longevity, and overall well-being.

Students will be completing course scheduling during the upcoming week. As we plan for the next school year, we would like to make families aware of an important update related to study hall expectations.

Beginning next school year, a cell phone policy will be in place during all study hall periods. To foster a productive and distraction-free environment, students will be required to keep cell phones silenced and stored away for the duration of study hall.

This change is intended to ensure that study hall remains a dedicated time for academic focus, organization, and the completion of schoolwork. We appreciate your support as we work to create the best possible learning environment for our students.

At Oshkosh North, we are constantly evaluating how we can best serve our students. As we look toward the 2026-2027 school year, our Counseling Team is excited to announce a transition in how we manage student caseloads. To ensure every student receives timely, high-quality support, we will move from a grade-level caseload model to an alphabetical caseload.

Why are we making this change? Currently, counselors stay with one grade level for four years. While this builds strong bonds, it means a counselor’s entire caseload often reaches major milestones at the same time. By shifting to an alphabetical split, each counselor will have a more balanced mix of students from every grade level. This allows our team to:

Increase Responsiveness: Balancing our support across all grades ensures that counselors remain consistently available for daily needs and urgent student support, even during intensive planning seasons for specific grade levels.

Maintain Consistency: Students will continue to stay with their assigned counselor for all four years, just as they do now. This long-term relationship remains the cornerstone of our support.

New Counselor Assignments (Effective Fall 2026):

• Last Name A-F: Ms. Ariane Zimmerman
• Last Name G-L: Mrs. Sarah Erickson
• Last Name M-R: Mrs. Lisa Plonsky
• Last Name S-Z: Mrs. Kaitlin Stindt

Honoring Existing Relationships

We know that relationships matter. To ensure a smooth transition:

Primary Counselor: Starting in Fall 2026, the counselor assigned to your student’s alphabetical group will become their primary point of contact for all academic and administrative needs, including scheduling, credit checks, and graduation planning.

Continued Support: We recognize that trust takes time to build. While the new alpha-assigned counselor will handle all official and academic matters, students may still check in with their previous counselor for social-emotional support as they transition to their new primary counselor.

Next Steps & Communication

No action is needed from students or families at this time. Please continue to work with your current counselor for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year. We will provide reminders and more information as we transition into the fall.

We believe this move will make our team more accessible and responsive, and better equipped to support every Spartan’s journey. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.

Please note that the Academic Awards and Hall of Fame Assembly, which are typically held in April, will take place this year on February 5 due to the Frank Schade Fieldhouse floor project. The assembly will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the fieldhouse.

End-of-first-semester grades must be finalized by January 23. Due to the date being pushed-up there will be a quick turn-around for notification of the awards earned. Parents and students will be notified by January 30 if a student will be receiving an academic award.

Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend the assembly to celebrate and watch their student receive their award.

Academic awards are based on semester GPA and points are awarded using the follow matrics:

SEMESTER GRADE POINT AVERAGE POINTS

3.75 – 4.00 = 3pts

3.50 – 3.74 = 2pts

3.00 – 3.49 = 1pt

LEVEL AWARD POINTS

1 - Certificate 9pts

2 - Chenille Letter 12pts

3 - Gold Medal 18pts

4 - Plaque 21pts

At Oshkosh North, we have begun a new awards ceremony to recognize our students who accomplish significant academic growth. The purpose is to recognize those students who have made a “180° turn” by showing at least 0.75 growth on their GPA since last Spring. We want these students to realize that their growth is worth celebrating and encourage them to continue down a positive path.

This year’s 180° Awards will be held on February 5, 2026 at 6:30pm in the Auditorium. During this event, we will celebrate these students’ progress by presenting awards, offering words of encouragement, and featuring a keynote speech from Trina Woldt, Director of Leadership Oshkosh, to inspire both students and families. Our goal is to reinforce their positive momentum and to emphasize that their hard work is recognized and valued

Event Details

• What: 180° Awards

• When: February 5, 2026

• Ceremony: 6:30 PM

• Where: Jesse Hooper Auditorium at Oshkosh North High School

During the week of January 19th, students will receive important scheduling information for the 2026-2027 school year. Students will have Homeroom from Wednesday, January 21st, to Friday, January 23rd, to watch an important scheduling video and complete their course request form.

During this scheduling video, counselors will provide an overview of the graduation requirements, course sequencing, as well as general admission requirements for four-year colleges/universities and technical colleges. Students will also learn how to utilize the updated course guide for the 2026-27 school year. All students will receive a paper copy of a course request sheet for their respective grade levels. If your child has a Special Education or ESOL case manager, they may have already begun or completed the scheduling process.

Please review and complete this course request sheet with your student and discuss the course options that you think will be the best fit for them for next year. We encourage you to discuss the potential workload of the courses, the time your student is willing to spend on school work outside of the school day, and other obligations your student has outside of school. Please do NOT enter course requests into Infinite Campus.

Students will input their course requests into Infinite Campus the week of January 26th during their English course on the following days:

• Communities: Monday, January 26, 2026

• Juniors: Tuesday, January 27, 2026

• Sophomores: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

• Freshmen: Thursday, January 29, 2026

For your convenience, there is a scheduling website, which explains the scheduling specifics for each grade level. Here is the link to the 2026-2027 North Scheduling website.

Scheduling Quick Links:

• Scheduling Presentation (reviewed with students during scheduling)

• Course Guide

• Sophomore course request form

• Junior course request form

• Senior course request form

Thank you for your partnership in this important process!

- Oshkosh North Counseling & Administration Teams

We want every student to be able to participate in our field trips. If your family needs financial assistance to help cover the cost, please complete the Field Trip Scholarship Form.

All requests will be handled confidentially. Our goal is to ensure that every student can join in on these valuable learning experiences, regardless of financial circumstances (overnight night trips are excluded from this program).

Thank you for your continued support in making these opportunities available for all of our students!

The Parent Advisory Committee is a group of engaged Spartan guardians who meet quarterly to discuss upcoming events at North, address questions or concerns, and acknowledge celebrations within the building. We are working to increase the growth, engagement, and sustainability of the Parent Advisory Committee by expanding membership and strengthening communication to ensure diverse family representation. If you are interested in becoming a part of this group, please complete this PAC Interest Form. All parents and guardians are welcome to attend any future meetings. For more information, view this flyer.

The Oshkosh Area School District's 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration is just around the corner (ONE WEEK AWAY)! We hope you'll join us on Monday, January 19 to honor Dr. King's legacy and participate in a morning of community connection. More details about the event are available below.

Event Details

• Date: Monday, January 19 (There is no school in the OASD on this day.)

• Time: 8 - 10:45 a.m.

• Location: Vel Phillips Middle School - Atrium (1401 Kentucky St)

• Open to: All ages are welcome. Students and children must be accompanied by a guardian.

• Cost: Free

The event will feature a variety of activities designed to honor Dr. King's legacy and bring our community together, including:

• Community Connection & Breakfast - Enjoy a continental breakfast while connecting with attendees and listening to the Oshkosh North Jazz Band.

• Oshkosh Civility Project: Torchbearer Honorees - Commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Oshkosh Civility Project by honoring local leaders who promote a healthy, connected community.

• MLK Jr. Essay Contest Winners - Celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students as we recognize the finalists and winners of the district's MLK Jr. essay contest.

• Showcase of Student Talent - Experience powerful musical performances from the Perry Tipler and Vel Phillips middle school choirs.

• Student Keynote Address - Hear from Mooka Subulwa - a student leader at Oshkosh North High School - as he reflects on the legacy of Dr. King.

Again, this event is free and open to all. Pre-registration is appreciated through this online form: RSVP for the MLK Day Celebration. We encourage everyone to attend and celebrate this meaningful day together as a community.

We look forward to seeing you there!

• Students may NOT wear blankets or other coverings during the school day. This includes during passing time, lunch, and study hall. Blankets are not permitted and must be left at home.
• Students may NOT wear bandanas to school, or have bandanas tied around their wrists, ankles, or otherwise displayed in any way.

📣 Attention Spartans! Important Yearbook Updates

1️⃣ Yearbook Sales
You can purchase your yearbook at:
👉 www.yearbookforever.com

2️⃣ Get Involved!
Watch your email throughout the year for surveys and other yearbook-related requests. Help make YOUR yearbook truly represent the Spartan community!

📢 Senior & Business Ads

• Senior ads and business ad space are available for purchase at:
  👉 www.yearbookforever.com

• Full details available on the One-Stop Shop (linked below).

🏆 Senior Superlatives & Signatures

• Stay tuned! More info coming soon.

🔗 For all the latest info, visit our One-Stop Shop: LINK

📌 REMINDER: the last time to get the yearbook order price of $65 is the last day of first semester. After that, it goes up to $70

Let’s make this yearbook one to remember!