Maroons Read 3.45 Million Pages

CONGRATULATIONS to the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes!  As the 2012-2013 school year draws to a close, each class has read MORE THAN ONE MILLION PAGES OF PLEASURE READING!  Together, the three classes have read a grand total of 3,459,007 PAGES OF PLEASURE READING! 

What does that mean? 

If all those pages were laid end-to-end, they would stretch 464 MILES—that’s all the way from Belleville West to Detroit, Michigan.  Or all the way from Belleville West to Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Or all the way from Belleville West to Charleston, West Virginia.

If one person wanted to read that many pages, he or she would need to read one page every minute for SIX-AND-A-HALF YEARS!  Without ever stopping to eat or sleep!

If you had a penny for every page read by the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors this year, you would have $34,590.

The CLASS OF 2016 (the freshman class) read 235,804 pages of pleasure reading during the sixth triad, bringing their grand total to 1,340,087 pages for the year.  (That’s an average of 2,084 pages per freshman.)

The freshman classes with the highest reading totals (based on average number of pages per student) for the year are:

            Mrs. Thurnau–fifth hour class:           4,821 pages per student

            Mrs. Thurnau–third hour class:          3,960 pages per student

            Ms. Ursani–second hour class:           3,705 pages per student

            Mrs. Spriggs–first hour class:             3,672 pages per student

            Ms. Ursani–first hour class:                3,583 pages per student

            Mrs. Thurnau–sixth hour class:          2,945 pages per student

            Mr. Garland–seventh hour class:       2,877 pages per student

            Ms. Bielong–first hour class:              2,850 pages per student

            Mr. Garland–fourth hour class:          2,835 pages per student

            Ms. Day–second hour class:              2,766 pages per student           

The CLASS OF 2015 (the sophomore class) read 165,698 pages of pleasure reading during the sixth triad, bringing their grand total to 1,085,851 pages for the year.  (That’s an average of 1,960 pages per sophomore.)

The sophomore classes with the highest reading totals (based on average number of pages per student) for the second semester are: 

            Ms. Bielong–sixth hour class:            2,252 pages per student

            Mrs. Spriggs–sixth hour class:          1,953 pages per student

            Ms. Bielong–fifth hour class:             1,900 pages per student

            Mrs. Hunter–fourth hour class:         1,741 pages per student

            Mr. Reidelberger–third hour class:    1,486 pages per student

            Ms. Rakers–seventh hour class:        1,456 pages per student

            Mrs. Hunter–sixth hour class:            1,367 pages per student

            Mrs. Lewis–sixth hour class:              1,352 pages per student

            Ms. Rakers–first hour class:               1,289 pages per student

The CLASS OF 2014 (the junior class) read 139,056 pages of pleasure reading during the sixth triad, bringing their grand total to 1,033,069 pages for the year.  (That’s an average of 1,994 pages per junior.)

The junior classes with the highest reading totals (based on average number of pages per student) for the year are: 

            Ms. Chalmers–sixth hour:                  3,336 pages per student

            Ms. Chalmers–fourth hour:                3,226 pages per student

            Dr. Roberts–sixth hour:                     2,958 pages per student

            Ms. Sage–third hour:                         2,800 pages per student

            Ms. Hoelscher–second hour:              2,519 pages per student

            Dr. Roberts–fourth hour:                    2,466 pages per student

            Mr. Brunner–second hour:                 2,310 pages per student

            Dr. Roberts–third hour:                      2,302 pages per student

            Ms. Sage–seventh hour:                    2,104 pages per student

In the end, the freshmen get bragging rights for both the highest total number of pages and the highest number of pages per student.

Members of the Belleville West ENGLISH DEPARTMENT read 105,658 pages of pleasure reading this year—more than 5,031 pages per English teacher!

Congratulations, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors!  How much will you be able to read next year?

Belleville West Hosts Author Skype Visit

As part of the third annual Belleville West Reading Celebration, the English Department and the Belleville West Library will host a Skype visit with author Alexander Gordon Smith.  Smith is the creator of the popular Escape from Furnace series for young adults.  He will Skype (from his home in England) with Belleville West students next Friday, May 10.

English Department and Library Plan Book Swap

If students have books that they’ve read, enjoyed, and would like to pass along to other readers, they can donate them to the Belleville West Book Swap.  Students can then browse for some new titles to take home for their own summer reading.

From April 29 through May 9, students can donate gently used books that appeal to readers their age.  (The book swap is not accepting encyclopedias, children’s books, cook books, out-of-date books, textbooks, adult titles, magazines, etc.)  Students can drop their gently used books at the circulation desk in the Belleville West Library.

From May 10 through May 17, students can stop in the Edit Room of the BW Library to browse the used books.  The book swap will be open before school, during lunch hours, and after school.  Any Belleville West student is welcome to take one book per day from the book swap.  (On May 17, the final day of the book swap, students may take multiple books.)

All students donating books will be entered in a drawing to be held on Friday, May 10.