Start the New Year with a Reading Challenge

At the start of 2019, resolve to make time to read every day.  Try the BW English Department reading challenge, or try one of the other 2019 reading challenges below!

BW ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 2018-2019 READING CHALLENGE

2019 BOOK RIOT READ HARDER CHALLENGE

2019 POP SUGAR READING CHALLENGE

English Teachers Share their Favorite Books of 2018

The members of the Belleville West English Department recently compiled a list of their favorite books from 2018.  These are books that teachers read during the past year, but they were not all published in 2018.

Mr. Brunner:
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Mrs. Byrne:
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan.

Ms. Chalmers:
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

Ms. Comley:
Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

Mrs. Droege:
The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis

Mr. Garland:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Ms. Guebert:
White Tears by Hari Kunzru

Mrs. Hunter:
Circe by Madeline Miller

Mr. Jenkins:
The Takedown by Corrie Wang

Mr. Johnson:
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Mrs. Lewis:
The Passage by Justin Cronin

Mr. Lodle:
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Ms. Mims:
Circe by Madeline Miller

Mrs. Pettus:
Rump by Liesl Shurtliff

Mr. Reidelberger:
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Mr. Schobert:
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Mrs. Schloesser:
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

Mrs. Short:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Mr. Spriggs:
Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem

Mrs. Story:
Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry

Ms. Thurnau:
Grenade by Alan Gratz

Ms. Ursani:
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

BW Students Read More than 2.35 Million Pages in First Semester

Once again this year, the BW English Department challenged the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes to each read ONE MILLION PAGES of pleasure reading during the school year.  With the first half of the year wrapped, how are our four classes doing?

At the end of the first semester, the FRESHMAN CLASS continues to hold a commanding lead, with 785,844 pages of pleasure reading—over 75% of the way to their goal!  The freshmen read 286,186 pages in the third triad, an average of 514 pages per freshman.  These freshman classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:

Ms. Thurnau—first hour:  1464 pages per student

Mr. Garland—second hour:  918 pages per student

Ms. Thurnau—second hour:  871 pages per student

Ms. Ursani—seventh hour:  742 pages per student

Ms. Thurnau—sixth hour:  682 pages per student

Mrs. Hunter—seventh hour:  675 pages per student

Ms. Ursani—sixth hour:  592 pages per student

Mrs. Pettus—sixth hour:  565 pages per student

Mrs. Hunter—second hour:  533 pages per student

Mrs. Pettus—seventh hour:  524 pages per student

At the end of the first semester, the SENIOR CLASS maintains its standing in second place, with 622,071 pages of pleasure reading—more than 60% of the way to the goal!  The seniors read 246,876 pages of pleasure reading in the third triad, an average of 526 pages per senior.  This is the best triad for the seniors this year—and, for the first time, they beat the freshmen in average pages per student!  These senior classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:

Ms. Thurnau—seventh hour:  5097 pages per student*

Mr. Lodle—sixth hour:  965 pages per student

Mr. Brunner—fifth hour:  877 pages per student

Ms. Mims—sixth hour:  681 pages per student

Ms. Guebert—sixth hour:  534 pages per student

Mr. Schobert—second hour:  499 pages per student

Mrs. Short—first hour:  490 pages per student

Mr. Schobert—first hour:  470 pages per student

*That’s not a mistake.  Students in this class read a lot of pages!

The JUNIOR CLASS remains in third place, with 505,154 pages of pleasure reading—which means that they’re now just on pace to reach the goal this year.  The juniors read 173,891 pages of pleasure reading in the third triad, an average of 349 pages per junior.  These junior classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:

Mr. Brunner—sixth hour:  969 pages per student

Ms. Guebert—first hour:  625 pages per student

Mr. Schobert—sixth hour:  607 pages per student

Mr. Garland—fifth hour:  451 pages per student

The SOPHOMORE CLASS is still trailing the other classes, with 444,936 pages of pleasure reading—still under pace to reach one million pages this year.  The sophomores read 143,584 pages in the third triad, an average of 308 pages per sophomore.  These sophomore classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:

Ms. Schloesser—second hour:  1134 pages per student

Mr. Johnson—second hour:  583 pages per student

Ms. Schloesser—first hour:  545 pages per student

Mr. Johnson—fourth hour:  471 pages per student

Mrs. Lewis—second hour:  467 pages per student

Ms. Ursani—second hour:  451 pages per student

The teachers in the ENGLISH DEPARTMENT read 16,462 pages in the second triad, an average of 823 pages per English teacher.

Can the freshmen reach one million pages by the end of the fourth triad?  Can the seniors catch them?  Can the juniors and sophomores increase their reading pace?  Visit the library, find some good books, and keep reading!