WINTER 2010

Board of Directors

Jan GibsonPresident

RUHS Faculty - Retired

Mara Duckens ‘93,Vice President-Development

Jim GibsonSecretary/Treasurer

Mary Ann ZapalaRUHS Principal-Retired

Dr. Dan DonderPrincipal RUHS

Larry MillerMPS School Board Member

District 5

Gerry BroderickMilwaukee CountyBoard of Supervisors

Kory Koneazny ‘91,MPS Teacher

Stephanie Maney ‘91,MPS Teacher

Demond Means ‘90,Superintendent,

Thiensville-Mequon Schools

Isaac Vernon-Brey ‘94,RUHS Teacher

Mike DrewJournalist

Nick Quiles ‘92,CEO, Wisconsin Loss Mitigation

Jennifer KringelRUHS Guidance Counselor

Honorary Board Members

Ashanti Hamilton ‘91,City of Milwaukee Alderman

The Riverside UniversityHighSchoolFoundationServing alumni, friends, and families of Riverside University High School

The Foundation is funded almost entirely by annual memberships and additional donations fromRiverside alumni and friends. The annual dues are $40 and are being solicited through thisnewsletter. It is our hope that all Riverside Foundation donors will continue to renew their annualmemberships and donate generously so that the Foundation can continue to support Riverside inits mission to provide a high quality, college preparatory education to its diverse student body.The “December 2010 Donation Form” on the reverse side as well as the enclosed return envelopecan be used to make your donations. Thank-you in advance for your support.

2010 Membership Dues Drive

PAGE 1

Whether it’s “East Division HighSchool”, “Riverside High School”or “Riverside University HighSchool”, it has graduated twogenerations of the Lueck familyand a 3rd generation is on the way.

Don and Jane Lueck’s children(Doug, John, Erica {Lueck} Wieseand Curtis) graduated in the early1960s. The 1980s and 90s broughtthe 2nd generation (Heather, Heidi,Neil and Tim). Neil Jr. will be the3rd generation. Exemplifying theclose Riverside University HighSchool and University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee relationship, Doug,John, Erica, Curt and Heidi allhold UWM degrees.

Doug (’61; Janesville) is aVietnam Era USAF veteran. Heworked as a university academicadvisor/counselor for 16 years and18 more as a Wisconsin EducationAssociation Council fieldrepresentative before retiring in2004. Daughter Heidi LueckMiller (’87; Milwaukee), is a MPSspecial education teacher.Heather (’88; Seattle), is a U ofWashington graduate who worksin the hospitality/food serviceindustry for the Hyatt HotelsCorporation. Neil (’95;Milwaukee) is self-employed andfather of future 3rd generationalumnus Neil Jr.

Family RecognizesValue of Riverside

Education

Family Recognizes cont. on page 4

First Annual Foundation GolfFundraiser a “Swinging” SuccessSixty-four (64) golfers braved the unusually chilly andwindy conditions on August 29, 2009 at the New BerlinHills Golf Course to kick off the first annual RiversideUniversity High School Golf Fundraiser. The event wasorganized by Riverside alumnus, Rosemary Maniscalco(Class of 1965), the owner ofHalliday’s Lounge, 1729 N.Farwell Ave. in Milwaukee.

Rosemary is pictured here(on the right) with Foundation

President Jan Gibson.

Following completion of thegolf outing, a wonderful lunchwas provided at Hallidays and everyone in attendancereceived a prize. Among the prizes awarded wereseveral rounds of golf for four at New Berlin Hills, abrand new putter, several sets of Brewer’s game tickets,sweatshirts, tote bags, and numerous gift certificatesfor meals and merchandise. A special thanks goes toRobbie Kelepouris, Rosemary’s nephew, who securedall of these wonderful prizes. A special thanks also toShorewood Printing for serving as a major hole sponsorat this fundraiser. This inaugural event raised over$1,500 for the Foundation’s activities in support ofRiverside and its students.

Pictured right participatingin the event are, left to right,

Jane Browne, FoundationBoard member Mike Drew,

Bill Werner and Mike’s wifeAlice Hanson-Drew.

Also pictured left moving tothe first tee are, left to right,Foundation Board membersStephanie Maney (’91),Kory Koneazny (’91), andtheir playing partnersRobin Grindrod andMary Antkowski.

PAGE 2

The methods used to encourage students to consider enrollingin a college or university to earn a degree have changed withthe times, as have the faces of the students who now attendRiverside University High School in Milwaukee, WI. Most oftoday’s students will be first-generation college students. Intimes past, students may have had candid discussions in thehome about what was necessary to prepare for the rigors ofcollege or perhaps they graduated at a time when they couldopt out of college but still get a good job. Such is no longer thecase for most of today’s students. To earn a family supportiveincome most must earn a post-secondary degree or beyond.To help students decide where to attend college, Riversidenow takes interested students on an annual tour across thenation to visit colleges and universities of interest to them.

Many of Riverside’s current students are interested in attendinga historically Black college or university (HBCU). Most of theseinstitutions are located in the South, Southeast, or on the Eastcoast. Historically Black institutions sprang up after 1865 onceslavery was abolished in the U.S. to allow former slaves andtheir offspring to gain a quality college education. The value ofthese institutions and their cultural history are often discussedin the homes of our students, from the pulpit in many of thechurches they attend, and they are also at the crux of the plot ofmany of today’s movies, television shows, and novels of interestto many of Riverside’s students. There are more than fiftyHBCU institutions still in existence today. One of the best ways

to help our students make informed choices about which one toattend based on their intendedmajor and other interests is toput them on a bus and take them to tour the campuses. Towardthat end, Riverside offers a weeklong annual tour that takesstudents to visit at least eight different campuses. The touraccommodates as many as forty-five students per year. Overthe past five years since the inception of the tour we haverealized a significant increase in the number of students whoelect to attend college, with a direct correlation to those who areelecting to attend an HBCU institution because of the tour.

““SSttuuddeennttss mmuusstt ttaakkee nnootteess aatteeaacchh ooff tthhee iinnssttiittuuttiioonnss””

The Riverside school community has also realized otherbenefits of the annual HBCU tour. Because students mustmeet stringent eligibility requirements to participate, we haveseen an improvement in academic performance. We have alsonoted behavioral improvement in students who once had ahistory of egregious behavior. We have also seen studentswho may have had attendance issues work to ensure that they

attend school regularly as our eligibility rules state that alltour participants must attend all classes at least 90% of thetime to participate on the tour.

Once on tour, students must take notes at each of theinstitutions using a notebook we provide to them. Aschaperones, we check nightly to ensure that our tourparticipants have taken adequate notes. Once the student isready to make a decision about which schools to apply to latein the junior year or early in the senior year, they havecopious notes they took during the tour, along with their owncandid reflections about how they felt about each of theschools we toured, to help them make an educateddetermination.

While our students are out of school for a full week due to thetour’s schedule, they do not fall behind in their school work.Each participant must sign a contract agreeing to gather all oftheir homework for the week from teachers, agree to get it donewhile we are on tour, and turn it in on time upon our return fromthe tour. Furthermore, we build daily homework and study timeinto the tour schedule. It is exciting to see our students workingtogether each night of the journey to learn from each other. Thetour allows students to realize that learning, doing homework,and seeking help is a cool thing to do!

Over the past four years our tour has been funded in large partby two Milwaukee area foundations, one of which is closing in2010, and the other of which is a small foundation that did notgenerate enough funds to help our effort again this year. Thetotal cost of a typical week-long tour is approximately $1K perstudent, but via the grant funds we assessed each student just$375.00 to participate. In the wake of the loss of grant fundsthe future of our annual HBCU tour is in grave jeopardy.However, the tour effort is far too important for us to give up,so we are battling on in true tiger tradition to generate thenecessary funds for the 2010 tour and beyond. No child shouldbe left behind due to financial hardships. Our students needthe support of the Riverside community at large to ensure thecontinuation of this important student activity.

The Riverside University High School Foundation has donated$1,000 to support this activity. In addition, the Foundation hasoffered to match up to another $1,000 in donations fromRiverside alumni and friends. This is where you come in. Weare asking for special additional donations this year to be usedsolely for the purpose of supporting Riverside’s annualHistorically Black College and University tour. You can use theattached donation form to designate part of your totalcontribution for this purpose.

Riverside tigers reached for higher heights while pausingfor a moment of reflection during a recent tour.

We require that our students take notes during eachcollege's admissions session.

Route to Post-Secondary Studies Differs for Today’s Studentsby Billi Jo Saffold, RUHS English Teacher

PAGE 3

$100Joan Aker (D/W)Joe BaerPhyllis BanzhafRoger BeaumontRoger BeaumontLois Blinkhorn (D/W)Mark BrickmanBradley Brin (D/W)Phyllis and

Allen Brostoff (D/W)Susan Bullock (D/W)Anthony DiTrapaniRay DzelzkalnsDonald FandryMary FowlkesMillard FrohockJudith and

Arnold Gertsma (D/W)Jim and Jan GibsonJimmie GibsonFr. Guy Gurath (D/W)William Hable (D/W)Robert Henzl

Robert HenzlElizabeth HoggBernard and

Kathleen James (D/W)Robert Kaleta (D/W)L.R. KetchumBill and Nancy KnightKarl Kopp (D/W)Curtis LueckHeather LueckNeil LueckTim LueckHeidi (Lueck) MillerDennis MahoneySanford MallinChris McAuliffe (D/W)John and

Lucia Murtaugh (D/W)Julia NowickiCatharine Smith (D/W)Beverly TeterFrederick VossMary Ann ZapalaTrudy Zinecker

$101-$150David Behrendt (D/W)Diane and Donald BezellaShirvalen CrowleyWalter and

Gracia Drew (D/W)Shirley FitzpatrickNatalie Heineman (D/W)Jan JohnsonJohn LueckDoug LueckE. Robert MillerEd MorganGeorge and Patricia MuellerJulia NowickiWilliam OrensteinWard PerketLewis SapiroCatherine SchambergerTimothy and

Victoria Strattner (D/W)GamberTegtmeyerBenjamin WeissSteve Wolf

$151-$200Elizabeth Drew (D/W)Paul DrummerJulia IhlenfeldtCarol Justin (D/W)Kimberly ManeyRick RiemenschneiderMike SchulteStowell and Associates (D/W)

$200-$300Alice and Mike Drew (D/W)Jane PodemskiMildred Setright

$300-$400Class of 1959

$1,000+MichaelHolmesLee and Donna Whitcomb

D/W = Drew/WashabaughNewspaper Scholarship Fund

Principal's $100(+) Black and Orange AwardsPrincipal's $100(+) Black and Orange Awards

Riverside continues to offer one of the most comprehensivemusic programs among high schools in the Milwaukeemetropolitan area. The Music Department offers vocal musiccourses and activities including Treble Choir, Gospel Choir,Madrigal Choir, Swing Choir, as well as instrumental musicopportunities such as Beginning Band, Concert Band,Symphonic Band, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Piano /Electric Keyboard and Guitar Performance. Some classesrequire an audition for entrance. Lessons on most musicinstruments and voice are available.

Riverside also has one of the few remaining active high schooldrama departments in the city, producing a play as well as afull-scale musical each year. Riverside also offers the onlycourse in Stagecraft (sound, lights, rigging, and construction)offered in MPS and takes great pride in the school’s student-run Stage, Costume, and Set Design Crews.

Two dynamic and dedicated teachers provide the inspirationand leadership for all of these musical activities.

Ms. Milena Walker, the Music DepartmentChairperson, has been teaching at RUHSsince 1994. She directs all the choirs andteaches piano. Ms. Walker also directs andchoreographs the annual school play andmusical. Her specialty is voice and she hassung with the Florentine Opera Chorus for 12years.

Mr. Michael Van Pelt has been teaching atRUHS since 2002 and has been teaching forMPS since 1990. Mr. Van Pelt directs all of theschool bands, the orchestra, the JazzEnsemble and also serves as the guitarteacher. He also runs all technical aspects ofthe stage: lighting, sound, set construction, etc.

Mr. Van Pelt's specialty is low brass. He is also the conductorfor the Milwaukee American Legion Band and performs withseveral area big bands, jazz combos, and rock groups.

SWING CHOIR NEEDS YOUR HELPThe Swing Choir has been a part of Riverside for many yearsand has been under the very capable direction of Ms. Walkerfor the past fifteen (15) years and the late Ms. Kate Windorskifor ten (10) years prior to that. The Swing Choir has providedmany exciting performances for school and communitygroups throughout the area. Students who have had anopportunity to perform in this group have developed manyfond memories. Year after year the Swing Choir has wonlocal, regional and state competitions, gone on trips together,performed for the biennial city-wide music festival anddelighted audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. TheRiverside University High School Swing Choir has representedthe school proudly and with great distinction. These talentedstudents are a wonderful testament to everything that is goodabout the school.

The school has never been able to afford to provideappropriate costumes for the Swing Choir members. TheChoir has always had to do fundraising for this purpose. Thecurrent purple sequined dresses and vests are ten years oldand in desperate need of replacement. The RiversideUniversity High School Foundation Board of Directors feels sostrongly that these great ambassadors for the school should beproperly costumed that it agreed to donate $1,000 toward theapproximately $5,200 cost of new costumes. In addition, theFoundation has offered to match up to another $1,000 indonations from alumni and friends of Riverside.

This is where you come in. We are asking for specialadditional donations this year to be used solely for thepurpose of purchasing new costumes for the Riverside SwingChoir. You can use the attached donation form to designate apart of your total contribution to the Foundation for thispurpose. We are calling on all Swing Choir alumni and allother Riverside alumni who have enjoyed the performances ofthis group in the past to please give generously.

The Riverside Music Program Continues to Shine

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S.Postage

PAIDMilwaukee,WIPermitNo3240

MILWAUKEEPUBLICSCHOOLS

RiversideUniversityHighSchoolTheRiversideUniversityHighSchoolFoundation1615EastLocustStreetMilwaukee,WI53211-3298

RETURNSERVICEREQUESTED

We’reontheWebwww.riversidefoundation.com

The Riverside University High School Foundation(PLEASE PRINT)

Name_________________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip_______________________________________________________

Home Phone________________________________________________________

Email_________________________________________________________________

Winter2

010DonationForm

Relationship to Riverside (Please check one)� Alumnus–Year Graduated___________� Staff � Retired Staff � Friend of Riverside

2009 Membership $_______________Additional Donation For Black College Tour $_______________

Additional Donation For Swing Choir Costumes $_______________Additional Donation For General Fund $_______________

Total Donation $_______________

$40.00

Make check payable to The Riverside University High School Foundationand mail it in the enclosed envelope.

Remember, all contributions are tax-deductible as provided by state law.

Thank You! Your Continued Support of Riverside Is Greatly Appreciated.

John (’64; Brookfield) was a MPSspecial education teacher for 30 yearsbefore retiring in 2002. His wife, Linda,is also a UWM graduate. Tim (’91; OakCreek) is an engineering graduate ofRose-Hulman Institute of Technologyand employed at UnderwritersLaboratories. He and MaryAnn areexpecting their first child in January.

Erica LueckWiese (’65; Oconomowoc)was a nurse for 30 years, working thelast 19 for the Waukesha County Health

and Human Services Departmentbefore retiring in 1999. She and Art,UWM graduate and retired schoolpsychologist, are gearing up for theirson Matthew’s graduation this springwith a UWM engineering degree.

Curtis (’65; Tucson) relocated toArizona after completing both hisengineering bachelor’s and master’s atUWM. He earned his PhD in civilengineering at the U of Arizona andsubsequently started his own consultingfirm which has offices in Tucson and

Phoenix. His wife, Maureen, is a UWMgraduate and retired public schooleducator. Daughter, Gretchen, is a U ofArizona graduate.

Don and Jane instilled a love and valueof education in their children that waspassed on to their grandchildren. TheRiverside years nurtured subsequenthigher education and career choices.The eight Luecks have not forgottentheir RUHS connection and we wish tothank them for their recent generouscontribution to the Foundation.

Family Recognizes cont. from page 1