Another Successful Belleville Grad

This article from the latest Post Messenger Recorder documents Matthew Viney's experience abroad through a German Academic Exchange Service scholarship. Viney, a 2013 Belleville High School graduate and current UW-Whitewater junior, relates how his experiences in Belleville helped prepare him for this opportunity.

Digital Citizenship

Today (11-24), teachers in both the middle and high school presented lessons on Digital Citizenship. Topics included cyberbullying, online profiles, and copyright laws. Students did a fantastic job discussing and sharing their opinions on these and other topics. With one-quarter of the school year spent with Chromebooks, we wanted to remind students of appropriate use at school to be as academically productive as possible.

Mrs. Tretow's class prepares for a Kahoot on  teen posting habits.

Top 10 Academic Plaque

This morning (11-24), we hung an updated Top 10 plaque. It recognizes the top ten students academically in each graduating class. This had not been updated since 2006. So, if you know of alumni or families that might be interested, direct them to this new plaque located just outside of the high school main office.

Physical Science Rocket Launches

Mr. Bussey's Physical Science classes launched rockets today in his two sections. He used the STEM rocket curriculum to introduce the Three Laws of Newton. Mr. Bussey attached a camera to the rockets to give the students a perspective of what they look like on the ground, as well as the sound accompanying each launch. NASA here we come!

High School Honors Choir

Mrs. Krueger brought 12 students to Cambridge yesterday (11-16) to participate in the Capitol Conference's Honors Choir. Students practiced from 10am on with students from other conference schools. They then put on a large concert last night. You can see them in action on Thursday, 12-10, for the Middle and High School Winter Choir Concert. The Middle and High School Bands will then perform on Tuesday, 12-15.

FBLA Mall of America Trip

Students from Belleville High School's Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Chapter had a very successful trip to the Mall of America, located in Bloomington, MN. Forty-five students were able to witness stores preparing for the holiday season on Saturday, November 14, as well as take part in the many sales that are leading up to "Black Friday." [Submitted by Mr. Farrar]

FFA State Leadership Conference

On Friday (11-13) and Saturday (11-14), Belleville FFA members Clarice, Denise, Melissa, and Nikayla traveled with New Glarus and Oregon to the 212/360 State FFA Leadership Conference in Stevens Point. On the way to the event, they stopped at UW-Stevens Point for a tour and panel discussion with current college students.  While at the conference, FFA members attended various workshops led by the State FFA Officers with students from around the state and learned about leadership topics such as collaboration, growth, problem-solving, and being agents of change. [Submitted by Mrs. Knudson]

Turkey Drop!

Belleville Middle School staff and students once again assisted with the Turkey Drop on Friday night (11-13) to collect Thanksgiving food items for the Belleville Food Pantry. A huge thank you to Mr. Gentilli and Mrs. Schultz for organizing this event! They would like to thank Jenny Delorme, Doris Diaz, Jo Diaz, Angie Markhardt. Betty Wolff, Dale Yurs, Julie Sutter-Blair, Doug Brown, Heide Hackman, Julie Uebelacker, and the Flanagans at Belleville Food Pantry.

Belleville's 8th Grade Student Participants

Belleville's 7th Grade Student Participants

October Students-of-the-Month

On Friday (11-13), nine students were recognized as students-of-the-month for October. Students were treated to a pizza lunch and received movie passes donated by Marcus Theaters and the nomination summary from their teachers. The students provided the two principals with great feedback on what is going well and what needs to be improved at the high school. Congratulations to these tremendous students!

From left to right: Kalin O'Rourke, Drew Shrader, Jacob Bowers, Lauren Severson, Andrew DeLorme (from September), Isaac Brummel, Kaylee Yelk, and Alexis McCluskey. Not picture: Lukas Diaz and Jacey Kroeplin

AP Science Students Visit Pop's Cave

Students from all three of Belleville High School's AP Science classes visited Pop's Cave near Richland Center on Thursday (11-12). Students signed into the log book for this cave on private land. They rappelled down to the entrance and then explored its structure and inhabitants (including bats) with head lamps and flashlights. Visit Mrs. Smith's "Science is Fun!" page (http://smithersscience.weebly.com/science-is-fun.html) for more photos.

Wounded Warrior Donation

Belleville Middle School FBLA students donated $236.25 today (11-12) to the Wounded Warrior Project. The group held a bake sale before school, after school, and before the Veteran’s Day Program in the high school gymnasium to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this cause!

"I AM" Wall

Mrs. Schultz's 8th grade students constructed a "I am" wall in the Middle School this morning.  The students chose a descriptive adjective or phrase about themselves; most were positive. The activity emphasizes acceptance of our individual differences.

Project Lead the Way Parent Forum

Seventeen parents were in attendance on Wednesday night for our first parent forum. Ed Neumann presented on the direction the district is taking with Project Lead the Way courses. If you were unable to attend the presentation, the link below will take you to his slideshow. We will host another parent forum in January on the topic of school safety.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZH6Fm-k_enV1B_L7Cq5EThbowLssJxPfKsE3URihM1g

Veteran's Day Program

The Belleville High School Band and Choir, along with individual students, helped to honor our veterans tonight in the gymnasium. We recognized dozens of veterans from all four branches of the service, including a few from World War II. Thank you to Connie Urfer for once again organizing this event!

Brian Weasner reads "Veterans' Day"

Middle School Students-of-the-Month

The Middle School honored their first round of Students-of-the-Month today. Congratulations to Emma Veeneman, Jasmyne Roberts, Ellie Gentilli, Jaxson Pier, Michael Walker, and Gunnar Kilen. Students (even those now in high school) like to see their handprints on the wall!

College Reading & Writing

Jennifer Grandone, an adjunct professor from Madison College in Reading, visited Mrs. Alsteens's dual-credit course today as part of the accreditation process. Students were working on finding patterns in text. As Grandone informed that class, many college courses have 50 pages of independent reading between classes (for each course), and students need to find a way to efficiently read the material. Students who receive a grade of "C" or better in the course earn 2 high school credits and 6 credits at MATC.

Visit by UW's John Dettmann

UW-Madison's former Director of Strength and Conditioning and current Director of Performance, John Dettmann, spoke to a full auditorium today (11-6). His message centered on healthy eating and sleeping habits. He suggested making a few "1 degree shifts" that accumulate over time and lead to a healthy lifestyle.

UPDATE!!! Belleville Graduates Excelling!

Today (11-5), 2011 Belleville graduate Donovan Woods was named an Academic All-District performer (see the link below). According to his dad, "This is proof, again, that the district creates very good students."

http://smsumustangs.com/news/2015/11/5/FB_1105151656.aspx

DONOVAN HAS NOW BEEN NAMED AN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN!

http://smsumustangs.com/news/2015/12/2/FB_1202154321.aspx

ELA Notetaking

One of our goals this year is to improve critical writing skills. This can be accomplished through comparing/contrasting, summarizing, and note-taking. Students in Mrs. Schultz's English Language Arts classes have learned seven different forms of notetaking, finding a method that works best for them. The student below is taking Cornell notes as she reads and listens.

Geometry Rocket Launching

Mrs. Spellman's Geometry classes took advantage of the beautiful November weather to launch their rockets that they designed and tested. Thank you to "Awesome" Mike Treder for his donation to pay for the compressor for this project!

PLANNING

COUNTDOWN

LAUNCH!

8th Grade Field Trip

Belleville 8th grade students visited Treinen's Corn Maze in Lodi today (11-3), developing team-building, communication, and map skills. The trip was postponed from last Thursday, and the weather could not have been better. The middle school has an incentive-based rollerskating field trip to Monroe set for January.

Human Organs on Display

Mr. Bussey's Anatomy & Physiology class had a chance to work with human organs today (11-2). Two residents from UW Health brought in brains, lungs, intestines, spleens, and calf muscles. They allowed the students to examine and handle these and to ask questions. The residents then spoke to the students about potential careers in the medical field.