2015 Fall Advantage

WLHS

ADVANTAGE FALL 2015

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Meet Mark Ricke

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Seniors Face the World

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Families Choose WLHS

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Business & Finance Mentorships

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International Program

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WLHS Expansion Complete

Meet Mark Ricke, Director of Enrollment

Mr. Ricke, as grade school students call him, is someone who’s hard to miss. He’s 6’ 4”, likes to smile and appears at almost every grade school event at WLHS. Even though God was guiding him all along, Mr. Ricke’s path to WLHS wasn’t a direct one.

He grew up in Milwaukee but later moved and attended Waterford Union High School. He wasn’t WELS and didn’t know Mr. Mark Ricke about Martin Luther College in Minnesota until a cousin enrolled and told him he could start on the football team.

Even then, his path veered. He received a scholarship to the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee and decided to transfer there for his sophomore year.

“On registration day, I realized I was making a huge mistake and took a bus back to Minnesota.

I had made a lot of friends and also knew I would

be missing daily chapel, which was something I had really grown to appreciate,” says Ricke.

After graduating, he spent two years at Grace Lutheran Grade School in Glendale, Ariz. He moved back to Wisconsin to teach industrial arts and history at Lakeside Lutheran High School in Lake Mills.

In 1998, he was called to WLHS to teach history and coach various sports. Since then, three of his children have graduated from Wisco and his youngest is a freshman.

In addition to fishing and woodworking, Ricke appreciates a good joke. So, the next time you see him, please introduce yourself and feel free to share a joke or two.

To contact Mark Ricke for more information on WLHS, call 414-453-4567 ext. 2024 or email mark.ricke@wlhs.org.

With a WLHS Passport, 4th-8th graders can come to any WLHS event for free.

Plus, students can enter to win an iPad or $1,000 WLHS scholarship—just by using their Passport 10 times.

For a complete list of upcoming WLHS events, visit www.wlhs.org.

Hayden Faulkner from Waukesha received last year’s $1,000 scholarship.

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WISCONSIN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL || Fall 2015

During their final year, WLHS students take Religion classes that prepare them to face the secular world with a solid Christian perspective.

Bill Plamann, a science teacher who is passionate about the subject, leads the popular Religion & Science class. Each school year, approximately 100 students take his course since it addresses current topics that range from evolution to bioethics to abortion.

“My goal is to equip them with Biblical information and scientific facts so they can defend their views and faith,” says Plamann. “Many times, I’ve heard of students who have been demeaned by college professors for their belief in creation. In my class, we identify the historical elements that support creation.”

For Plamann, it’s important to instill confidence, respect and the ability to ask penetrating questions.

“A scientific discussion should never be approached in an argumentative way. Instead, I give students the skills to be definitive and persuasive by presenting academically sound facts and exploring empirical science,” he adds.

As a testament to his expertise, over the years, a number of students have returned to Plamann for guidance with college papers, presentations and debates that address scientific and religious issues.

Seniors Face the World Seniors choose four, quarter-long Religion classes that help inform and guide their Christian lives outside of high school and beyond.

4 Bible Archaeology 4 Christian Life Planning 4 Church Art & Architecture 4 Church Music 4 Comparison of Christian Churches 4 Evangelism 4 From Friendship to Marriage 4 Gospel Outreach in Spanish 4 Life Issues & Corinthians 4 Luther 4 Non-Christian Religions 4 Religion & Science 4 Revelation 4 Sunday School Teachers Mr. Plamann with his class

Each year, the Science Department awards a $1,000 WLHS scholarship to a junior or senior who plans to pursue a career in science, math, engineering or medicine.

GUIDED BY FAITH. DRIVEN BY EXCELLENCE.

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Families Choose WLHS

While many families decide early on that WLHS is the right choice for them, others use the transition from grade school to evaluate their high school options.

Beth and Michael Van Grinsven are one family who considered a number of schools before making their decision.

For Laura and Matt Reinke of Waukesha, the quality of local high schools, the cost of WLHS and the daily drive influenced their original decision to enroll their daughter Samantha at Waukesha West.

“Although our three children attended St. Jacobi, we were originally members of a Norwegian Lutheran Church in North Dakota so we didn’t have a connection to a specific high school,” says Beth.

As their oldest son, Jansen, was about to graduate, they began to investigate public and private high schools.

“We were specifically looking for a college-prep school that delivered the utmost quality,” Beth explains. “Access to technology, high ACT scores and strong athletics were also part of our criteria. But, the critical piece was the FILTER that academics and extra-curricular activities would be sifted through.”

In the end, after careful consideration, the Van Grinsvens selected WLHS for their three children, Jansen, Leif and Elle.

That all changed in mid-July when Samantha attended the International Youth Rally.

On the drive home, she told her mom how nice it was to attend chapel every day.

Samantha Reinke

“When I heard that, my heart turned on a dime.

I felt the Lord was stepping in to change our high school decision,” says Laura. “I e-mailed WLHS on a Sunday night and got a response in 20 minutes.

From that point on, God put things into place for us. We were able to line up a car pool and, a few months later, I received an unexpected job offer.”

“We embraced Wisconsin Lutheran because the teachers and coaches pour the Gospel of Jesus Christ over young people and that’s the good news we wanted our children immersed in,” says Beth.

WLHS prepared each of the Van Grinsven children for college opportunities. Jansen and Leif (pictured bottom right) both earned scholarships to Wheaton College, Ill., and Elle, a WLHS junior, (pictured top right) has accepted a volleyball scholarship to Loyola-Chicago.

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WLHS seniors secured more than $1.6 million in college scholarships.

Everyone was so happy to welcome Samantha to Wisco. She wasn’t just

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another student at some high school.

She became part of the Wisco family.

—Laura Reinke of Waukesha

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WISCONSIN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL || Fall 2015

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Ongoing Academic Support To meet the academic needs of all students, WLHS offers a broad spectrum of programs.

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Summer Academy – Prepares incoming freshmen academically and socially for WLHS. The high-energy, activity-based one-month program covers Language Arts, Mathematics and Science in order to meet the freshman requirements.

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Extended Learning Center – Designed for freshmen to improve their study skills and receive one-on-one tutoring and homework assistance.

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Center for English Language Learning – Addresses reading, writing and vocabulary skills for students who want to improve their English proficiency.

4 Resource Center – Available to sophomores, juniors and seniors for ongoing academic support.

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Individual Tutoring – For those who need additional assistance in specific subjects, the WLHS Guidance Department arranges student tutors.

WLHS students taking AP exams excelled in comparison to Wisconsin students. 88% of

WLHS students scored 3+

while 69% of Wisconsin students hit that mark.

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College Readiness Continuum (CRC) – Monitors and supports sophomores, juniors and seniors to ensure they get the support they need to be successful in grade-level courses.

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Advanced Placement Classes – Eight College Board Advanced Placement (AP) classes are available— Biology, Chemistry, Calculus AB & BC, English Literature and Composition, U.S. History and Psychology.

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Young Scholars Program – For those who have completed the AP courses, additional classes can be taken at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

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ACT & SAT Prep – Through the WLHS Guidance Department, free prep sessions are available to help students prepare for the standardized tests.

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of seniors in the CRC program were accepted to a four- or two-year college or decided to join the military.

GUIDED BY FAITH. DRIVEN BY EXCELLENCE.

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Students Explore Business & Finance Careers This spring, approximately two dozen WLHS sophomores and juniors were introduced to careers in business and finance during a two-month mentorship program.

“It’s a unique opportunity for high school students to investigate a career path,” says Jason Goede, a WLHS business instructor who helped organize the program.

Based on their areas of interest, students were matched with local professionals. After an initial “get acquainted” meeting at WLHS, the students visited their mentor’s workplace.

Landon Lehr, now a senior, wanted to explore accounting so he was paired with Erica Gottschalk, an audit senior manager with Deloitte & Touche.

“It really opened my eyes to all the different types of accounting there are,” says Lehr. “I was able to ask questions and also learned about internship opportunities that could help me in the future.”

Mary Jo Trotter, operations risk manager at Robert W. Baird, has continued her mentor-mentee relationship through the summer.

“Carrington, the student I was matched with, is coming back for another visit so he can meet with a few more of my colleagues and learn about their careers,” says Trotter. “The program is a great way to see real life people practicing a profession and understand how high school classes tie into future careers.”

Plans are already in the works to host a Healthcare Mentorship Program this spring.

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year, the business department hosts application-based events to put learning into practice.

4 The Reality Store teaches financial literacy and Tax Day pairs advanced accounting students with those who need help completing their Federal and State income taxes.

WLHS students meet with their business & finance mentors 6

WISCONSIN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL || Fall 2015

WLHS – An International School

Although many may not know it, WLHS has a vibrant and growing international student program.

WLHS has hosted an international program since 2007 but it really began to flourish when April Goldschmidt was brought on two years ago as director. As a result, international enrollment has increased and the students now live in supervised, on-campus housing along Honey Creek Parkway.

“The international students help bring little bits of the world into the halls of WLHS,” says Goldschmidt.

“They act as stepping stones to connect Wisco kids to different cultures, new ideas and other ways of doing things.”

For WLHS, it’s an opportunity to share God’s Word with young souls. All students take religion classes and, over the years, more than a dozen international teens have been baptized.

This fall, 39 students from China, South Korea, Thailand, Germany and Canada will be part of the Wisco student body.

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April Goldschmidt works with international student, John Lin, in one of the on-campus houses

To meet Forest Wu and Elizabeth Ng from China, visit www.wlhs.org./ resources/videos Stay connected with WLHS! GUIDED BY FAITH. DRIVEN BY EXCELLENCE.

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330 North Glenview Avenue Milwaukee WI 53213-3379

Gifted for Praise Expansion Complete!

The recently completed expansion added

9 new classrooms and extra space for Project Lead the Way速 engineering, Family and Consumer Education, Music, Choir, and a new Student Atrium.