BW Readers Prepare for First Book Club Discussion

The Belleville West Book Club will sponsor its first discussion of the year on Wednesday, October 7.  The group will meet at The Abbey on West Main Street from 5-6 p.m.  The group’s first selection is All the Light We Cannot See, a novel by Anthony Doerr.  Any student interested in joining the Book Club can pick up a membership card from Ms. Ursani (in room B323), from Mr. Garland (in room B325), or from Mr. Lodle (in room B331).

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr

This bestseller tells of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind.  Her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris; father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and—finally—into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

BW Book Club Holds Informational Meeting

The BW Book Club will hold a short informational meeting this Thursday, August 20, at 3:30 in room B323.

The Belleville West Book Club is open to students in all grade levels.  The group meets four times during the school year (in October, December, January, and April) to discuss books selected by the club members.  Discussion sessions are held in the evening at The Abbey on West Main Street.

All interested students are encouraged to attend this meeting to learn more about the group.

BW Basketball Team Meets Author Paul Volponi

Members of the Belleville West basketball team concluded their “One Book, One Team” summer reading event with a Skype visit with award-winning author Paul Volponi. 

During the past two months, the team members, their coaches, library staff members, and English teachers read Volponi’s book Black and White.  This novel tells the story of two high school friends and basketball players in New York City.

After breakfast on Tuesday, July 14, members of the BW basketball team had the opportunity to visit with author Paul Volponi via Skype.  Several players were able to ask the author questions about his book.

Paul Volponi is also the author of the young adult novels The Final Four, Rucker Park Setup, Rooftop, Rikers High, and Hurricane Song.

Thanks to Mrs. Mary Barteau (BW library director), Mr. Joe Muniz (head basketball coach), Mr. Lee Meyer (BW athletic director), the basketball coaching staff, the English department, and the young men of the BW basketball team for creating this unique experience!