Ms. Thurnau Honored by Belleville High School Board of Education

At the January school board meeting, BW Principal Rich Mertens honored English teacher Ms. Amber Thurnau. In recognizing Ms. Thurnau, he made the following comments:

Amber Thurnau is a Bellevile West graduate, and—even though she started her teaching career in another district—we were happy when she returned to West in 2007 to join the English department.

In her years at West, Amber has taught a variety of grades and classes.  Currently, she spends most of her day teaching freshmen in both traditional and honors courses.  From the start of each school year—with a “literacy stampede” and book passes and a well-stocked classroom library—Amber works to foster a love of reading in her new students.  She doesn’t settle for teaching the same things year after year; instead, she’s always looking for new materials to teach alongside the classics.  Amber helps students to connect their reading assignments to the broader world, including articles about current events and guest speakers in her curriculum.

Amber also teaches a section of the AP English dual enrollment class.  When the department needed an additional teacher for this course a few years ago, Amber didn’t hesitate to accept the challenge of preparing for the new assignment.

Amber is the faculty adviser of Page One, the Belleville West Literary and Art Magazine.  Each year, she guides a staff of student editors as they solicit student writing, critique and select submissions, design the magazine layout, and promote sales to the student body.  Working with the library staff, Page One sponsors a poetry café each spring, with students performing their original poems.  Under Amber’s leadership, Page One has received multiple first place awards from the National Scholastic Press Association.

Amber is a regular contributor to the English department’s annual Shakespeare festival.  On the day of the fest, you’ll usually find her dressed in a Renaissance gown, and her students’ food booth is always a main attraction.

Amber served as a team leader during the district’s curriculum work for English 1-2, and she has supervised a number of student teachers in her time at West.

Amber is a teacher who constantly strives to make her class inviting, engaging, and relevant.  Thank you for everything that you do for the students at Belleville West.