Thursday, December 22, 2016

Holiday Jazz Tour

Mrs. Krueger's and Mrs. Meir's Holiday Jazz Tour on Wednesday (12-21) took them to the Intermediate School, Dane County Regional Airport, Sauk Gardens, and Sugar River Senior Center. They performed at each location, spreading holiday cheer and garnering goodwill for Belleville Schools from their audiences! Mrs. Meir noted that the retired folks really enjoyed the big band standard, "In the Mood."

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Winter Band Concert

Mrs. Stephanie Meir led both the Middle and High Schools Bands, along with the Jazz Band, at tonight's (12-20) Winter Band Concert. Over 50 middle and 50 high school students performed in the auditorium. That represents about a quarter of our student population. The Middle School concert featured songs such as "All I want for Christmas Is You" and included soloists:

  1. Tyler Beyer
  2. Emma Erickson
  3. Jacob Kean
  4. Alexis Lamboley
The Jazz Band played favorites like "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch." Soloists for their four pieces included:

  1. Otto Anson
  2. Maddie Bartels
  3. Skylar Grulke
  4. Brock Kelly
  5. Patrick Schwoegler
Thirteen seniors played in their final Winter Concert. Mrs. Meir involved five different readers to interpret their three pieces. Maddie Bartels, Cole Myers, and Maya Severson all had solos in "Symphonie Fantastique." As usual, the Belleville Bands were stellar!

More Sports' Marketing

Belleville High School's Sports Marketing Class was back in action on Monday, December 19, for the Girls' Varsity Basketball game vs. New Glarus.  Students Dalton Fahey, Justin Knoebl, and Michael Bracken brought out the Wildcat to pump up the crowd and help cheer on their team.  They were also able to secure sponsors (BE Adventurous, Subway, Prairieland Dairy, and Patches & Petals) to offer fans interactive ways to win prizes.  The night kicked off with cookie decorating that got fans into the holiday spirit. The halftime show included two students competing against each other in a head-to-head free throw contest.  The fans witnessed a great battle where the Lady Wildcats came out victorious. [Submitted by Mr. Farrar]

December's Middle School Students-of-the-Month

The Belleville Middle School staff acknowledged its Students-of-the-Month for December in an assembly in the commons on December 20th. Their nominating teachers recognized them with a certificate. The students also received a Catty Shack buck to use at the school store and had the opportunity to add their hand prints to the wall in the Middle School Commons. Congratulations to this great group of Wildcats!

From left to right: Ava Foley, Hailey Butenhoff, Jacob Kean, Trent Baumgartner, Madeleine Saeger, Abigail Kuntzelman, Tyler Beyer, Tayler Yapp, James Arndt, Gavin Boyum, and Jordyn Thomas

Monday, December 19, 2016

WIAA Sportsmanship Award

Before the start of tonight's (12-19) Belleville vs. New Glarus Varsity Girls' Basketball game, the Sugar River Raiders' state runner-up girls' soccer team was recognized with the WIAA Sportsmanship Award. They were one of only five teams across the entire state in any sport to win this award. In addition, Coach John Ziperski was recognized at the same time as the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association (WSCA) Coach of the Year for public, small division schools. It was a great night to celebrate the fond memories that this team brought us on their incredible run last year!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Wildcat News #3

Check out the latest Wildcat News!

Findorff Site Visit

Mr. Neumann's Engineering and Trades classes toured a Findorff construction site today in Verona. Students were able to see how some of the same software that they use in class (Inventor) is applied to a real-world applications. Students were able to hear about and ask questions of Findorff employees from a variety of different aspects of the trades- those in finance and communications, as well as architects, engineers, and project managers. Students learned about numerous ways to enter the trades that do not require a 4-year degree. Thank you to Tim Stadelman for being a part of this experience for our students. We look forward to the Findorff school construction beginning in Belleville!
Tony O'Connor holds a $30,000 drone that helps survey the property.

Mr. Bussey's Rocket Launching in Physical Science

Check out this rocket launch from Mr. Bussey's Physical Science class! Denise Rankin found a way to extract the video from a keychain camera. The class tried to make a giant letter "B" for Belleville on the ground. It does provide some unique views of the surrounding area!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

7th Grade Social Studies Debates

Ms. Andrew's classes engaged in debates this week, taking a "pro" or "con" position and researching controversial topics such as the death penalty, dog euthanasia, and steroids in sports. Students presented an opening statement, responded with a rebuttal, and answered a series of questions from their counterpart before their closing statements. The students dressed for their part, answered questions from the audience, and then voted on a winner (based on the debate- not their personal opinion). Ms. Andrew and her students can be very proud of their effort and performance.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Geography Bee

Twenty Belleville Middle School students competed on Tuesday (12-13) for this year's Geography Bee, having passed an earlier, preliminary round. The winner was Madeleine Saeger and the runner-up was Zach Thole- both 7th graders. Maddie advances to the next round in January with an online test to qualify for the state competition. Congratulations to Maddie and Zach!

Holiday Wreaths in Ag Classes

This week the Landscape Design, Plant & Soil Science, and 8th grade Agriculture classes made holiday wreaths.  The students experienced an area of floral design, as they turned a coat hanger and frasier fir trees into holiday decorations.  The students enjoyed this hands-on opportunity and were excited to take them home! [Submitted by Mrs. Knudson]

Sports Marketing Project

On December 13, 2016, the Belleville Varsity Boys' Basketball Team took to the court against Poynette, and the Belleville Sports Marketing class was there.  Students Hayden Askey, Bryan Pauli, and Will Smith were in charge of the game operation and making the fan experience a positive one.  They were able to secure sponsors, such as Mike O'Connor State Farm, Schulting Construction, Cate Machine and Welding, and Burreson's, to offer fans interactive ways to win prizes.  The night kicked off with Bryan Pauli thanking the sponsors and inviting the crowd to cheer their team on in respectful manner to stay within the guidelines of good sportsmanship.  At halftime, Will Smith ran a contest that had 2 students compete against each other for an official basketball signed by the Belleville varsity boys' team. The final prize was awarded and announced by Hayden Askey after he randomly chose the winning ticket from a bucket.  The sponsors and crowd were both thanked at the end of the night and asked to drive home safe.  With the Belleville victory and the students plan for the game, the night was a complete success. [Submitted by Mr. Farrar]

Monday, December 12, 2016

Author Visit for 8th Grade

Eighth grade students in Mrs. Schultz's English-Language Arts classes are writing poems, short stories, personal narratives, editorials, and editorial cartoons this term. Many will enter their pieces into the Yahara River Writers' contest.

Christine Keleny is the young adult author of Intrigue in Istanbul, which just won a Moonbean Children's Book Award. Students in 8th grade had the opportunity to learn plot structure from Christine.

Friday, December 9, 2016

November High School Students-of-the-Month

Belleville High School recognized its November Students-of-the-Month with at lunch on Friday (12-9). Students were treated to Godfather's pizza and received a certificate from their nominating teacher, along with movie passes donated by Marcus Theaters. The number of upperclassmen nominated shows their strong leadership within the building this year. Congratulations to these exemplary Wildcats!
Front Row: Rachel Uebelacker, Cassidy Heller, Amber Kolste, and Cody McMillan
Back Row: Emilee Solberg,  Denise Rankin, Trevor Thole, Kori Rogers,  and Kristen Lowery

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Winter Choir Concert

Mrs. Krueger, accompanied by Ms. Garrow, led 150 middle and high school students in tonight's (12-8) Winter Choir Concert. Four choirs (the Middle School Choir, Treble Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and High School Choir) performed a dozen pieces. The number of students involved represents more than a third of our student population. As usual, they performed to a packed house. The music certainly got the audience in the holiday spirit!



Hour of Code

All 7th grade students at Belleville Middle School are participating in the Hour of Code today, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week, during their English-Language Arts block with Mrs. Miller. On Thursday (12-8), they were learning about computer science/computer programming while writing/designing a postcard using HTLM and CSS from the website:

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

WIAA Sportsmanship Conference

Mrs. Tretow took five students to the WIAA Sportsmanship Summit in Stevens Point today. The purpose of the summit was to assist schools in developing citizenship and sportsmanship with their students, student-athletes, adult fans, and parents. Belleville High School's Spirit Club, led by Mrs. Tretow, works on promoting good sportsmanship with our fans throughout the year. We hope that these sophomores and juniors provide leadership with their peers in the future with their experiences today.
From left to right: Rylee Hubbard, Anna Nolden, Brock Kelly, Skylar Butenhoff, Otto Anson, and Mrs. Tretow

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Science Olympiad Success!

The Belleville High School Science Olympiad team placed second out of 29 teams today (12-3) at the 10th Annual Boyceville Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament. Congratulations to Coach Smith and her team!

Their 5 gold medals included:
Otto Anson and Joey Sokol - Ecology
Britney Markhardt and Trevor Thole - Hydrogeology
Grace Przybyl and Jaden Kieler - Mystery Design
Otto Anson and Mikayla Cann - Invasive Species
Joey Sokol and Trevor Thole - Remote Sensing

Their 2 silver medals included:
Jaden Kieler, Grace Przybyl, and Emma Veeneman - Experimental Design
Hansi Bartle and Connor Theis - Materials Science

Their 5 Bronze medals included:
Otto Anson and Grace Przybyl - Chemistry Lab
Hansi Bartle and Mikayla Cann - Food Science
Isaac Brummel and Noah Niesen - Fly
Bryson Jelle and Michael Viney - Ecology
Gianna Diaz and Michael Viney - Rocks and Minerals

Their 2 4th place medals included:
Jaden Kieler and Gary Salmela - Astronomy
Drayton Kieler and Chase Messner - Fly

Friday, December 2, 2016

Agricultural College Preview Day

Today (12-2), 15 high school students attended the Agricultural College Preview Day hosted by Blackhawk Technical College in Monroe.  There were representatives from 7 different agricultural colleges from across the state there for students to talk to and discuss future college opportunities with.  The event also held workshops for students relating to topics such as career goals and admission processes.  After lunch, the group toured the local Roth Kase cheese factory and witnessed the cheese-making process.  The students enjoyed the day and thinking about the future! [Submitted by Mrs. Knudson]

Career Exploration at the Kalahri Resort

Today (12-2) students in our Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts course visited the Kalahri Resort & Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells. The Director of Recruitment/Education and Manager of Food/Beverage took time to share the history of the resort, their diverse career backgrounds, and what job responsibilities fill their day. Students then went on a behind-the-scenes resort tour. Students were quick to note that hospitality careers offer far more opportunities than they realized, and it is one career pathway you can work your way up to good paying jobs by having passion for the work and solid employment skills.

In the Fall of 2017, our current Hospitality course will be offered as a  dual-college credit course through Madison College. This course will be open to Freshman through Seniors.​ [Submitted by Mrs. Gartley]