Friday, December 22, 2017

Rube Goldberg Machines

Both Mr. Bussey's and Mrs. Smith's Science classes have been working on Rube Goldberg Machines this week. This short video is a compilation of several successful flag-raising or balloon-popping runs. It was a great activity to end the week going into a break!

7th Grade Political Convention

Mr. Gentilli and Mr. Swenson hosted their annual political convention with their 7th grade Social Studies students beginning on Thursday, December 21. Students debated the pros and cons of many controversial student topics including school uniforms, the death penalty, tablets vs. textbooks, animal testing, and free speech.

Students were divided into state teams. States voted on each topic after seeing a video and hearing a speech from both sides.

Alison Zimmerman served as chairperson of the convention. Skyler Beyer, Ella Blask, Joe Mueller Graves, Alexa Lindstrom, Madeline Miller, and Davis Richer ran for the office of president.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Winter Band Concert

The Belleville Middle and High School Bands, under the direction of Mrs. Meir, hosted their Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 19. Over fifty 7th and 8th grade students performed four songs to begin the concert. The Jazz Band followed up with another three songs. Jazz Band soloists included Ruben Avina, Josh Bowers, John Dohm, Lukas Freidig, Eve Palmer, Kori Rogers, Gary Salmela, and Alan Woller. The night concluded with four songs from the 60-member Symphonic Band, as well as a final holiday encore with the choir (and Izzy Pier).

Mrs. Meir and the Band really got the crowd in the holiday spirit!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

On Saturday, December 16, fifteen Belleville DECA students attended a Sports & Entertainment Marketing conference in Green Bay. While at the conference, the students were able to tour both Lambeau Field and the neighboring Resch Center on the UW-Green Bay campus. Both tours offered insights into what it takes to work in the sports and entertainment marketing field. The conference ended with the students attending a UW Green Bay Phoenix basketball game. The students learned a lot and made a ton of memories. [Submitted by Mr. Farrar]

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Winter Concert Choir

The Middle School Choir performed four songs to begin tonight's winter concert. "How Far I'll Go" involved four 7th grade soloists, while "Stronger with Time" involved two 8th grade soloists. Over 70 middle school students take part in Choir, including 44 7th graders performing in a large concert like this for the first time.

Three different Belleville High School choirs followed this up. The Vocal Jazz Ensemble sang three pieces, including "Hallelujah" featuring Alex Grignano and Caitlin Johnson. The Women's Choir sang four more pieces, including "Fly" featuring Rachel Markhardt and Hannah Matteson as well as "Oh, Happy Day" with soloists Cierra Hayes and Anna Nolden. The night concluded with the 90+ member Concert Choir singing the final four songs. "That's Christmas to Me" featured soloists Mili Julian, Evan Reifert, and Mikaela Steckelis.

Tonight's performances would put anyone in the holiday spirit! Thanks to Mrs. Krueger for all of her hard work and to Kris Penniston, our accompanist, who was sensational as always.




"Into the Woods" Musical

Belleville High School will present "Into the Woods" as its Spring musical for the 2017-18 school year. Try-outs are scheduled for Wednesday, December 20, after school (with call-backs the next day). The performances will take place over the weekend of April 13-15. Mrs. Vogel and Mrs. Krueger are excited about this year's production!

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Lifechanger-of-the-Year

Over the summer, Social Studies teacher Chad Hodgson was nominated as a LifeChanger-of-the-Year. The opportunity to comment on his nomination page will run out at the end of the year. Chad is one of only 12 Wisconsin teachers currently nominated for the award.

The grand prize for LifeChanger-of-the-Year is $10,000- split between a $5,000 individual cash award and a $5,000 donation to the winner’s school.

Please help us in the effort to recognize the positive impact that Mr. Hodgson has made in his decade in Belleville.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

High School Students-of-the-Month for November

On Thursday, December 7, Belleville High School teachers recognized Students-of-the-Month for November with a pizza lunch. They all had the chance to try the new Tano's Pizza. Along with a certificate with a personal note from the nominating teacher, the students received movie passes donated by Marcus Theaters. Almost all the teachers noted this group's positive attitude!
Front Row (L-R): Maddy Weber, Izzy Pier, and Amber Kolste
Middle Row (L-R): Regyn Jelle, Michelle Ayala, and Sydney Gentilli
Back Row: (L-R) Caden O'Rourke, Roz Thays, and Haley Boeck

FutureQuest

On Wednesday, December 6, Belleville 8th grade students participated in a “FutureQuest” field trip to the Alliant Energy Center. BMS students joined 5,300 other Dane County middle school students. They had access to employers in 16 different career cluster pathways in 4 zones for 20 minutes apiece. In preparation for this event, 8th graders found interest areas as part of the Academic and Career Planning (ACP) process in Career Cruising with the assistance of Mr. Gentilli, Mrs. Norton, and Mrs. Schmitz. 

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Middle School Geography Bee

On Wednesday, December 6, Belleville Middle School students participated in the annual Geography Bee. Thirty-one students began on stage at the start of the competition. After that number was reduced to 11, the rules switched over to double-elimination rounds. After 8 rounds, Zachary Thole (8th grade) and Anthony Diaz (7th grade) emerged as the finalists. Zach won the competition and will move on as the school’s representative with a follow-up online test! Congratulations to Tony too for his strong finish!

Thank you to Mrs. Killerlain for running her first middle school bee as the Advanced Learner Coordinator. Thanks as well to Mr. Gentilli and Mr. Swenson for serving as readers.

Monday, December 4, 2017

Santa's Shop Helpers

On Saturday, December 2nd, Belleville Middle and High School students assisted the PTO with its Holiday Shop at the Intermediate School. The older students helped younger students purchase presents for their parents and siblings by guiding them through the "store" and helping wrap the presents that they selected. It is an event that gets all involved in the holiday spirit!

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Science Olympiad Results from Boyceville Invitational

Three Belleville Science Olympiad teams participated in the 11th annual Boyceville Invitational Tournament on Saturday, December 2nd. The Belleville "White" Team took 2nd place out of 27 total teams in Division 2.

The combined Belleville teams earned 25 top-6 medals. Individual medalists included:
1st Place in Chemistry Lab - Otto Anson and Riley Medenwald (Belleville White)
1st Place in Rocks and Minerals - Gianna Diaz and Gary Salmela (Belleville White)
1st Place in Thermodynamics - Otto Anson and Jack Nolden (Belleville White)

2nd Place in Astronomy - Riley Medenwald and Gary Salmela (Belleville White)
2nd Place in Code Analysis - Noah Niesen and Jack Nolden (Belleville White)
2nd Place in Fermi Questions - Elise Medenwald and Zach Thole (Belleville Gold)
2nd Place in Remote Sensing - Sydney Gentilli and Ella Michel (Belleville Blue)
2nd Place in Sustainable Energy - Emma and Otto Anson (Belleville White)

3rd Place in Microbe Mission - Roxana Grunenwald  and Trevor Thole (Belleville White)
3rd Place in Mission Possible - Logan and Noah Niesen (Belleville White)
3rd Place in Mousetrap Vehicle - Logan and Noah Niesen (Belleville White)
3rd Place in Protein Modeling - Roxana Grunenwald and Gary Salmela (Belleville White)

4th Place in Electric Wright Stuff - Cody Koeppel and William Meyers (Belleville Blue)
4th Place in Materials Science - Jacob Kean and Connor Theis (Belleville White)
4th Place in Remote Sensing - Erin Przybyl and Zach Thole (Belleville Gold)
4th Place in WiFi Lab - Hansi Bartle and Gianna Diaz (Belleville White)

5th Place in Helicopters - Cade Miller and Erin Przybyl (Belleville Gold)
5th Place in Hovercraft - Noah Niesen and Connor Theis (Belleville White)
5th Place in Optics - Jack Nolden and Connor Theis (Belleville White)
5th Place in WiFi Lab - Tyler Beyer and Christian Hakala (Belleville Blue)

6th Place in Dynamic Planet - Emma Anson and Emma Veeneman (Belleville White)
6th Place in Experimental Design - Emma Anson, Hansi Bartle, and Emma Veeneman (Belleville White)
6th Place in Game On - Gianna Diaz and Jacob Kean (Belleville White)
6th Place in Herpetology - Gianna Diaz and Trevor Thole (Belleville White)
6th Place in Microbe Mission - Skylar Butenhoff and Cheyenne Koeppel (Belleville Gold)

The Wildcats continue to impress!
 

Friday, December 1, 2017

Seeking Wildcat Wall of Fame Nomiations

The Wildcat Wall of Fame Committee is now accepting nominations for its inaugural class for induction in a spring ceremony. Anyone can make nominations by accessing this link or by completing the shared nomination form and turning it into the high school office. Both the online form and the nomination application include a description of the prerequisites for nominees.

You can make up to 5 nominations per year. Nominations are due by January 15.

Similar information is posted on the Facebook pages and the district website. Copies of the nomination forms are available at all Belleville schools, the public library, and the Village Hall. 

The Post Messenger Recorder will run a story this week, and the next full market paper will also include an application.

We are hoping for a tremendous response!

Middle School Students-of-the-Month for November

Congratulations to the Middle School Students-of-the-Month for November. In a recognition ceremony on Friday, December 1 in the Commons, each middle school core teacher (and Specials teachers on a rotation) recognized students for their growth and accomplishments over the last month. Students received a Catty Shack buck and the opportunity to put their handprint up on the middle school walls. It's a great day to be a Wildcat!
Bottom Row (Left to Right): Skyler Beyer, Anthony Diaz, Devin Gratz
Middle Row (Left to Right): Ryan Downing, Morgan Messner, James Arndt, Kenna Edge, Alex Shrader, Jacob Jenkins
Back Row (Left to Right): Dylan Posthuma, Matthew Loshaw, Callie Smith, Jenna Duerst, Davis Richter