The Appleton North school store is featuring new and improved items for the 2015-2016 school year.

The school store was arranged for registration in August by the two school store managers, Melanie Paulie and Matt Agius. Over the summer, they came in to help create a friendly environment for students for who visit the store.

“We completely changed the layout and gave it a new vibe,” Agius said. “Every school year, we like to change it up.”

The refrigerator was moved behind the counters to prevent students from stealing from the store, and the counters were moved as well. “Personally, I really like the new layout because I like the big counter spaces. It’s really open for the workers,” Agius said. The layout also helps to simulate a real workplace for the employees, Paulie said. “We also added lanyards with name tags on them, which helps people who come in to know who can help them, which was a bit confusing last year,” Paulie said.

Changing the appearance of the school store was no simple task. “We changed it 50,000 times trying to decide what we wanted to do,” Paulie said. Besides moving the refrigerator and the counters, the register had to be moved next to one of two outlets in the store. Once the technicalities of the layout were solved, the managers had to create a space that would provide a welcoming atmosphere for both the workers and the customers.

The items sold at the store changed as well. Due to health code requirements, some of the food products had to be removed or replaced. Agius and Paulie met with Badger Wholesale over the summer to choose products that met the school district’s health code, which can be quite an exhausting task for the managers. According to Matt, each product has to meet about 8 different requirements before it can be approved and sold at the school store. Some of the newer items include cereal bars, Chex Mix, animal crackers, Pop Tarts, and Fruit by the Foot; many of which are made with whole grain. The food items are mainly products that wouldn’t be sold in the cafeteria, giving students another reason to stop in.

Many students have been wondering about the status of the cookies that were once sold in the school store. According to Matt, the school store had to stop selling cookies because they didn’t meet the health code. As of recent weeks, a rumor has been floating around stating that cookies will once again be sold at the school store. “The nutritionist has to look at ingredients and a few other things before that decision can be made,” said Mrs. Cynthia Dechant, marketing teacher at Appleton North. “There hasn’t been any final approval, so I don’t want to release any incorrect information. So far, it’s all just rumors.”

The school store’s main focus has somewhat shifted from the food products to the clothing sold there. Items like spirit jerseys have been introduced, as well as a multitude of shirts and sweatshirts. “I think the apparel makes it [the school store] look very North-oriented and it has a lot of school spirit,” Melanie said.

One of the ways to show school spirit is by becoming a part of the school store. According to Matt, joining a marketing class will increase student involvement with the store. All of the workers in the school store earn points through their marketing class by working during their lunch hour. The employment aspect of the store has been altered to have a more career-based learning. Students in Mrs. Dechant’s marketing class even have an opportunity to create a resume where they can include their involvement with the school store. “I think the biggest thing that I would like the school to know is that the reason why we have a school store is that it’s a laboratory for learning. It’s cool that we have a school that gives students an opportunity to learn like that,” Dechant said.

For more information about the school store or about becoming a manager for the 2016-2017 school year, students should contact Mrs. Dechant, Matt Agius, or Melanie Paulie.