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Book Club Chooses Non-Fiction Selection
The Belleville West Book Club will meet on Wednesday, November 28, to discuss Nick Reding’s Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town. The meeting will be held from 5-6 p.m. at The Abbey (located at 6500 West Main Street).
Reding’s chronicle of a small-town crystal meth epidemic—about “the death of a way of life as much as . . . about the birth of a drug”—revolves around tiny Oelwein, Iowa, a 6000-resident farming town. Reding’s wide cast of characters includes a family doctor (the man in the best possible position from which to observe the meth phenomenon); an addict who blew up his mother’s house while cooking the stuff; and Lori Arnold (sister of actor Tom Arnold), who built an extensive and wildly profitable crank empire in Ottumwa, Iowa (not once, but twice). Reding is at his best relating the bizarre, violent, and disturbing stories from four years of research. A fascinating read, Reding’s book is an unflinching look at a drug’s rampage through the heartland.
BW Students Chat with Author
Mike Mullin, author of the novels Ashfall and Ashen Winter, visited the BW Library on Tuesday, October 9. Approximately 125 students gathered to hear Mullin talk about his books, the research he conducted while working on Ashfall, his writing process, and his advice for young writers (and for young people who want to be successful in any field). Mullin signed copies of his new book at the end of the presentation.
Special thanks to Barnes and Noble and the BW Library for making this visit possible!
Story of Radium Girls Opens BW Theatre Season
Belleville West Little Theatre opens its 2012-2013 season with These Shining Lives, a powerful new drama based on a true story. Performances will be held on October 11, 12, and 13 at 7 p.m. in the Belleville West Performing Arts Center.
BW Fall Play set for October 11, 12, 13
The Belleville West Little Theatre will present its annual fall play on Thursday-Saturday, October 11, 12, and 13. This year’s offering is These Shining Lives, a new drama by Melanie Marnich.
These Shining Lives is a powerful new play based on a true story. In 1922, Catherine Donohue (senior Lauren Jones) takes a job at the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois. She quickly becomes friends with several other young women (senior Taylor Keel, junior Julie Graham, and sophomore Allison Knapp) who work for the company. The four women talk and laugh as they apply radioactive paint to the dials of watches.
Only later do they discover the consequences of their daily radiation exposure. These Shining Lives chronicles the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day. Theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense. They refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits—or endanger the lives of those who come after them.
The production is directed by Ms. Laurie Bielong and Mr. John Lodle. The student directors is junior Kirsten Couvillion. Student technical directors are seniors Emily Adams and Rebecca Rockwell, juniors Nick Klein and Ethan Seaman, and sophomore Noah Murakami.
Performances are at 7:00 each evening in the Belleville West Performing Arts Center, located at 4063 Frank Scott Parkway West. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults.
BW Library Plans Visit with Author Mike Mullin
Mike Mullin, author of Ashfall and the upcoming Ashen Winter, will be speaking and signing copies of his new book in the Belleville West Library on Tuesday, October 9.
Any student who places an order for one of the books will have the opportunity to attend the session with Mullin. Order forms are available from the BW Library and from teachers in the English department. Orders are due by Wednesday, October 3.
Mullin wrote his first novel in elementary school and has been writing almost non-stop ever since. Ashfall is his first published novel. Its sequel, Ashen Winter, is being released the day of his visit to Belleville West. Mullin lives in Indianapolis with his wife.
BW Students Start the 2012-2013 Reading Challenge
The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are off and reading! This year, the BW English Department challenged members of the class of 2014, the class of 2015, and the class of 2016 to each read one million pages of pleasure reading.
At the end of the first triad, the junior class has read the most total pages, with 182,058 pages of pleasure reading. That’s also the most pages per student, with an average of 351 pages per junior. These junior classes read the most pages over the triad:
Ms. Sage—3rd hour: 19,444 pages
Mr. Spriggs—5th hour: 13,245 pages
Ms. Chalmers—6th hour: 12,383 pages
Mr. Brunner—5th hour: 11,666 pages
Ms. Chalmers—4th hour: 11,293 pages
The freshman class has made an impressive debut, with 171,728 pages of pleasure reading during the first triad. That’s an average of 267 pages per freshman. These freshman classes read the most pages over the triad:
Ms. Ursani—2nd hour: 13,336 pages
Mrs. Spriggs—1st hour: 12,412 pages
Mrs. Thurnau—5th hour: 12,062 pages
Ms. Ursani—1st hour: 10,988 pages
Ms. Sage—5th hour: 9,983 pages
The sophomore class currently trails the junior class and freshman class, with 138,575 pages of pleasure reading during the first triad. That’s an average of 250 pages per sophomore. (Sophomores, you read 190,086 pages in the first triad last year. We know you can read more!) These sophomore classes read the most pages over the triad:
Ms. Bielong—6th hour: 17,787 pages
Ms. Chalmers—2nd hour: 10,858 pages
Mr. Reidelberger—3rd hour: 10,600 pages
Ms. Bielong—5th hour: 10,390 pages
Mrs. Hunter—4th hour: 8,823 pages
The Belleville West faculty and staff read 26,696 pages during the first triad. That’s only 198 pages per teacher. (Staff, you read 45,843 pages during the first triad last year. Find something you like, and start reading!)
Can the juniors maintain their narrow lead in the second triad? Can the freshmen outpace the upperclassmen? Can the sophomores catch up with the other two classes? Teachers, can you find a little more time for a good book?
Keep reading, Belleville West!
Support Page One with a Peachy Treat
Enjoy a frozen treat at Peachy Yogurt Bar in downtown Belleville on Thursday, September 20. Mention Page One, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Belleville West Literary and Art Magazine!
Support Harambee by Enjoying a Frozen Treat
Are you hungry for some frozen yogurt?
If you’re out and about on September 12, take this coupon to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in O’Fallon (across from Wal-mart). $1.00 of each frozen yogurt purchase will go to support the Harambee organization.
Speech & Acting Team to Hold Auditions
Auditions for the Speech and Acting Team will be held after school in room B107 on Wednesday, September 5, and Thursday, September 6. The team is looking for students interested in acting, public speaking, radio broadcasting, or current events.
Any interested students should attend one audition date or the other (not both), but he/she will need to get an audition packet from Mr. Jenkins before the audition.