Jan Marnocha
Humanities Teacher
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Mrs. Marnocha (mar-knock-a) teaches 6th grade Humanities at Kaleidoscope Academy. After working as a graphic design for 25+ years she decided to pursue a career in teaching and is so grateful she did! She earned her Masters Degree (plus teaching certification) at Marian University and has been teaching in the Appleton Area School District since 2012.
Mrs. Marnocha and her husband Jay have a daughter, Stephanie, who is a social worker in Denver. Their son Ryan is married and works as a PE teacher at the Wisconsin River Academy. His wife, Erin, is a second grade teacher, both in Stevens Point Area School District. Mrs. Marnocha loves being "Nana" to their two year old daughter.
In her spare time Mrs. Marnocha loves to read, teach and practice yoga/mindfulness, create things (art and landscaping), travel and spend time outside with her family and chocolate lab, Bailey.
Coming from a project based career, Mrs. Marnocha loves to find ways to link learning to real life situations and problem solving. Her students never fail to amaze her with their innovative thinking and creative solutions.
Lisa Sackman
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Ms. Sackman is a 6th grade math and science teacher at Kaleidoscope Academy. She has worked at KA since it opened in 2007. Ms. Sackman earned a Bachelor of Social Work, Professional Educator Licensure, and her Masters in Quality Education in 2019.
Ms. Sackman lives in Appleton with her husband, Jerry and the most-loved Cockapoo, Ruby. She has two adult daughters: Jessie who lives in Colorado with her husband Nate, and Kathryn who lives in St. Louis and performs with the Midwest Regional Air Force band as a percussionist.
Some of Ms. Sackman’s passions are traveling, gardening, walking, reading and teaching. Middle school is Ms. Sackman’s favorite place to teach. She identifies with her students (even though there is a 40 year age difference), and loves to learn, laugh and have fun with them.
Doug Sunke
Math and Science
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Mr. Sunke is a 6th grade teacher at Kaleidoscope Academy. He teaches Math and Science. He has been teaching at the middle school and upper elementary levels since 1997 and has been with the Appleton Area School District since 2001.
While in Appleton, Mr. Sunke taught for 10 years at Lincoln Elementary, and 4 years at Franklin Elementary before joining the staff at Kaleidoscope in 2015. Mr. Sunke is originally from the Chicago area and moved to Wisconsin to receive his teaching degree from Lakeland College. He then went on to complete his Master’s in Education from Viterbo University. He currently resides in Appleton and coaches football at Appleton West.
Mr. Sunke has twin sons and a daughter that all attended Kaleidoscope. He really enjoys working with students that are excited about project based learning and providing a safe, fun, and challenging environment for all his students.
Julia Theiss
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Ms. Theiss teaches 6th grade humanities. Ms. Theiss grew up in Appleton and graduated from East High School in 2003. After attending UW-Stevens Point, she moved back to the area to be close to family.
She enjoys kayaking and swimming in the summer and downhill skiing in the winter. Whatever the season though, she especially loves reading and traveling!
She started teaching in 2008 at Freedom Middle School. As a former student of the Appleton Area School District, she is excited to be teaching at Kaleidoscope Academy. She is passionate about enriching students’ lives with good books, creative learning opportunities, and positive learning experiences.