BW Book Club Chooses for January

The BW Book Club has picked The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan as its next selection.  The group will meet on Wednesday, January 9, to discuss the book.

THE LOVER’S DICTIONARY by David Levithan
How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithan’s The Lover’s Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

Keep Calm and Read On

Students who write three book reviews in Destiny (on any titles in this year’s Abraham Lincoln or Read for a Lifetime reading programs) will receive a KEEP CALM AND READ ON pin.

To participate, students should visit the BW Library website.  Go to the READING or BOOK CLUB link.  Click on BOOK REVIEWS IN DESTINY.

The librarian will evaluate all book reviews.  If the review does not meet the requirements below, it will not be posted in Destiny.

The Basics  Spelling, punctuation, and grammar must be correct.  No texting abbreviations will be accepted! 

Spoiler Alert  If the review “spoils” the ending, it will not be posted.

Length  The review must be at least three complete sentences.

Content  The review must be school appropriate.

Only books in the BW Library catalog can be reviewed.  If the book is not listed in Destiny, students will not be able to enter a review for it.

All posted book reviews remain anonymous.

Another Impressive Triad of Reading

The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have all picked up the pace!  This year, the BW English Department challenged the class of 2014, the class of 2015, and the class of 2016 to each read one million pages of pleasure reading.  In the second triad, each class read more pages than during the first triad.

At the end of the second triad, the freshman class has read the most total pages, with 409,818 pages of pleasure reading.  (The freshmen read 238,090 pages in just the second triad.)  That’s an average of 370 pages per freshman during the second triad.  Overall, the freshmen increased their pleasure reading by 39% during the second triad.  These freshmen classes showed the greatest increases in pleasure reading from the first triad to the second triad:

Mrs. Dachsteiner—1^st hour:  Read 228% more pages* 
Mrs. Hunter—1^st hour:  Read 175% more pages** 
Dr. Etter—5^th and 6^th hour:  Read 134% more pages**
Mrs. Thurnau—5^th hour:  Read 71% more pages
Ms. Bielong—1^st hour:  Read 70% more pages

* These students more than tripled what they read from the first triad to the second triad!  This was the greatest gain of any class in the school!

** These students more than doubled what they read from the first triad to the second triad!

The junior class trails right behind the freshmen, with 402,764 pages of pleasure reading.  (The juniors read 220,706 pages in just the second triad.)  That’s an average of 427 pages per junior during the second triad.  In case you’re keeping track, that’s 57 more pages per person than the freshman class.  Overall, the juniors increased their pleasure reading by 21% during the second triad.  These junior classes showed the greatest increases in pleasure reading from the first triad to the second triad:

Mr. Spriggs—2^nd hour:  Read 132% more pages**
Mr. Brunner—1^st hour:  Read 118% more pages**
Dr. Roberts—6^th hour:  Read 90% more pages
Mr. Garland—2^nd hour:  Read 88% more pages
Ms. Hoelscher—2^nd hour:  Read 80% more pages

** These students more than doubled what they read from the first triad to the second triad!

The sophomore class still stands in third place, with 294,920 pages of pleasure reading.  (The sophomores read 156,345 pages in the second triad.)  That’s an average of 282 pages per sophomore during the second triad.  Overall, the sophomores increased their pleasure reading by 13% during the second triad.  These sophomore classes showed the greatest increases in pleasure reading from the first triad to the second triad:

Mrs. Hunter—7^th hour:  Read 183% more pages**
Mrs. Hunter—4^th hour:  Read 115% more pages**
Mrs. Hunter—6^th hour:  Read 91% more pages
Mrs. Lewis—5^th hour:  Read 41% more pages

** These students more than doubled what they read from the first triad to the second triad!

The Belleville West faculty and staff read 30,449 pages during the first triad.  That’s an average of 226 pages per teacher.

Can the freshmen maintain their narrow lead in total pages during the third triad?  Can the juniors continue to set the pace for average number of pages per student?  Can the sophomores top 500,000 pages by the end of the semester so that they’re on track to reach their goal?  Teachers, can you find a little more time for a good book?

Keep reading, Belleville West!