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BW Magazine Earns National Distinction
Page One, the Belleville West literary and art magazine, recently received national recognition. The American Scholastic Press Association named the 2015-2016 edition of Page One to the rank of first place with special merit, the top award presented by the organization.
The Page One staff is currently seeking student submissions of short stories, poetry, essays, photography, and art for the 2016-2017 edition. The magazine is advised by Ms. Amber Thurnau.
Belleville West Readers Share Their Favorite Books
Throughout this year, Belleville West students are sharing their favorite books with the school. This week, students from Ms. Thurnau’s classes recommend their favorite books.
BW Speech Competitors Earn More Awards
On January 7, the Belleville West Speech and Acting Team traveled to the Huntley Winter Classic Tournament. Competing against teams from throughout the state, the Belleville West team took third place overall.
The following students won individual awards in the finals:
Avery Reed – first place in Original Oratory
Alayna Wells – second place in Original Oratory
McKenzie Slack – third place in Prose Reading
Tiffani Volkman – third place in Radio Speaking
Kaylon Brown – fourth place in Oratorical Declamation
Wade Cook – fifth place in Dramatic Interpretation
Cassidy Farrar – fifth place in Radio Speaking
Amber Curtis – sixth place in Humorous Interpretation
Avery Reed – sixth place in Informative Speaking
Jernesha Walls – sixth place in Prose Reading
Alayna Wells – sixth place in Oratorical Declamation
Jamie Owens – seventh place in Dramatic Interpretation
Georgi Warren – seventh place in Extemporaneous Speaking
The following students won individual awards in the next-in finals:
Kaylon Brown – first place in Original Oratory
Wade Cook and McKenzie Slack – first place in Humorous Duet Acting
Georgi Warren – first place in Special Occasion Speaking
Audrey Young – second place in Radio Speaking
Mara Reed – third placed in Original Oratory
Tyi-Air Eason and Jaylon Muchison – sixth place in Dramatic Duet Acting
Mara Reed – sixth place in Impromptu Speaking
Savanah Tiemann – sixth place in Informative Speaking
Jernesha Walls – seventh place in Poetry Reading
Team coaches are Mr. Adam Jenkins, Mr. Russ Reidelberger, Ms. Julie Schloesser, and Mrs. Leigh Reidelberger.
BW Book Club Makes Spring Selection
For its final selection of the year, the BW Book Club has chosen Vampires in the Lemon Grove, a collection of short stories by Karen Russell. Copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk in the BW Library next week. The group will meet to discuss the book on Wednesday, April 5.
VAMPIRES IN THE LEMON GROVE by Karen Russell
A dejected teenager discovers that the universe is communicating with him through talismanic objects left behind in a seagull’s nest. A community of girls held captive in a silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms, spinning delicate threads from their own bellies, and escape by seizing the means of production for their own revolutionary ends. A massage therapist discovers she has the power to heal by manipulating the tattoos on a war veteran’s lower torso. When a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow bearing an uncanny resemblance to the missing classmate they used to torment, an ordinary tale of high school bullying becomes a sinister fantasy of guilt and atonement. In a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West, the monster is the human hunger for acquisition, and the victim is all we hold dear. And in the collection’s marvelous title story—an unforgettable parable of addiction and appetite, mortal terror and mortal love—two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try helplessly to slake their thirst for blood.
English Classes Prepare Students for College and Careers
This week, Belleville West juniors will begin the process of selecting English electives for next year. The BW English department offers a wide array of electives in literature, writing, speaking, media literacy, and theatre. Students are required to complete two English electives as seniors, but students often choose additional English courses to pursue personal interests during the senior year. English courses provide students with strong preparation for both college and careers.
Click through the slides below to learn more about senior English electives at Belleville West.
Start the Year with a Reading Challenge
At the start of 2017, resolve to make time to read every day. Try the BW English Department reading challenge, or try one of the other 2017 reading challenges below!
BW Book Club Meets Next Week
The Belleville West Book Club meets next Wednesday, January 4, to discuss the Jessie Burton novel The Miniaturist. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at The Abbey on West Main Street. Any Belleville West student who has read the book is welcome to join the discussion.
THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton
On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office—leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.
But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist—an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways.
Johannes’ gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand—and fear—the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?
BW Readers Post Strong Numbers for First Semester
Once again this year, Belleville West students are reading! The BW English Department challenged the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes to each read ONE MILLION PAGES of pleasure reading during this school year.
At the end of the first semester, the FRESHMAN CLASS has widened its lead, with 710,807 pages of pleasure reading. The freshmen read 270,163 pages in the third triad (their best triad so far this year), a total of 483 pages per freshman. These freshman classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:
Ms. Loesche—fourth hour: 1281 pages per student
Mrs. Hunter—sixth hour: 1095 pages per student
Ms. Thurnau—third hour: 1026 pages per student
Ms. Loesche—third hour: 998 pages per student
Ms. Thurnau—sixth hour: 862 pages per student
Mrs. Story—seventh hour: 665 pages per student
Ms. Thurnau—fifth hour: 619 pages per student
Mrs. Hunter—first hour: 614 pages per student
At the end of the first semester, the SOPHOMORE CLASS maintains the second spot, with 639,303 pages of pleasure reading. The sophomores read 211,456 pages in the third triad, a total of 404 pages per sophomore. These sophomore classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:
Ms. Schloesser—third hour: 1150 pages per student
Mr. Johnson—second hour: 1004 pages per student
Mr. Reidelberger—third hour: 993 pages per student
Ms. Schloesser—seventh hour: 955 pages per student
Ms. Schloesser—sixth hour: 811 pages per student
Ms. Ursani—seventh hour: 763 pages per student
Ms. Ursani—sixth hour: 487 pages per student
Ms. Chalmers—sixth hour: 456 pages per student
The JUNIOR CLASS has returned to third place to finish the semester, with 598,621 pages of pleasure reading. The juniors read 205,927 pages in the third triad, a total of 420 pages per junior. These junior classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:
Mr. Garland—sixth hour: 1258 pages per student
Mr. Spriggs—sixth hour: 1084 pages per student
Mr. Schobert—sixth hour: 906 pages per student
Mr. Garland—second hour: 690 pages per student
Mr. Spriggs—fifth hour: 641 pages per student
Mr. Brunner—second hour: 474 pages per student
Mr. Spriggs—first hour: 459 pages per student
Mr. Schobert—third hour: 418 pages per student
The SENIOR CLASS has slipped back into fourth place to finish the semester, with 588,757 pages of pleasure reading. The seniors read 206,856 pages in the third triad (their best triad so far this year), a total of 412 pages per senior. These senior classes read the most pages per student in the third triad:
Mr. Lodle—fifth hour: 2131 pages per student
Mr. Lodle—sixth hour: 1342 pages per student
Mr. Schobert—second hour: 675 pages per student
Mrs. Short—first hour: 618 pages per student
Mr. Garland—third hour: 513 pages per student
Ms. Thurnau—seventh hour: 484 pages per student
Ms. Guebert—sixth hour: 392 pages per student
Mrs. Story—sixth hour: 355 pages per student
The teachers in the ENGLISH DEPARTMENT read 19,980 pages of pleasure reading in the third triad. That’s their best triad of the year so far, an average of 999 pages per English teacher.
At this rate, each class should be able to reach one million pages by the end of the fifth triad. And it’s possible that Belleville West students could finish the 2016-2017 school year with more pages of pleasure reading than ever before.
Keep reading, Belleville West!
Belleville West Readers Share Their Favorite Books
Throughout this year, Belleville West students are sharing their favorite books with the school. This week, students from Mrs. Story’s classes recommend their favorite books.
BW Speech Students Score Honors at Two Tournaments
On Saturday, December 10, the Belleville West Speech and Acting Team split to compete in two tournaments. The varsity team traveled north to the Naperville Central Tournament of Roses, where Belleville West students competed against some of the top teams in the state of Illinois and claimed sixth place overall.
The following students won individual awards:
Janae Robinson – first place in Original Comedy
Tiffani Volkman – first place in Radio Speaking
Avery Reed – second place in Original Oratory
Wade Cook and McKenzie Slack – third place in Humorous Duet Acting
McKenzie Slack – third place in Prose Reading
Kaylon Brown and Janae Robinson – fourth place in Humorous Duet Acting
Alayna Wells – fifth place in Poetry Reading
Emily Feazel and Emilie Smyth – sixth place in Dramatic Duet Acting
Cassidy Farrar and Jordan Thompson – seventh place in Dramatic Duet Acting
The junior varsity team traveled south to the Southern Illinois University SISAL Tournament. With just a dozen members competing at Carbondale, the team still took fifth place in the tournament.
The following students won individual awards in the varsity division:
Max Juhas – second place in Extemporaneous Speaking
Jernesha Walls –second place in Poetry Reading
Isa Karathanos – third place in Informative Speaking
Emma Koontz and Reily Wills – third place in Dramatic Duet Acting
Jernesha Walls – fifth place in Prose Reading
Reily Wills – sixth place in Original Comedy
Madison Mesiti – seventh place in Original Oratory
The following students won individual awards in the junior varsity division:
Annabelle Brown and Owen Buescher – first place in Humorous Duet Acting
Annabelle Brown – first place in Prose Reading
Alex Bowman – third place in Original Comedy
Asha Brame – third place in Informative Speaking
Emma Koontz – fourth place in Dramatic Interpretation
Alissa Thelemann – fifth place in Special Occasion Speaking
Team coaches are Mr. Adam Jenkins, Mr. Russ Reidelberger, Ms. Julie Schloesser, and Mrs. Leigh Reidelberger.