Capitol Conference South All-Conference Team

On Tuesday, February 27, the Capitol Conference named its girls' basketball all-conference team. The Belleville Wildcats placed three student-athletes on the team. Congratulations to:

1st Team
Rachael Heittola

2nd Team
Kalin O'Rourke

Honorable Mention
Jade Halvensleben

Way to go Wildcats!

Math 24 Winners

The Greater Dane County Advanced Learner Network put on a Math 24 Regional Tournament today at Union South on the UW-Madison campus. Belleville competed in the South Region against Albany, Argyle, Beloit, Evansville, Lake Mills, McFarland, Monona Grove, Montello, New Glarus, Oregon, Parkview, St. Ann, Stoughton, and Waunakee.

Zach Thole took 5th in his grade level (8th grade), and Brady Mousseau took 6th in his grade level (6th grade). Matthew Loshaw WON his grade level (8th grade).

As their good-looking t-shirts indicate, "That's the Wildcat Way!"

Think Spring!

With the weather warming up outside, Mrs. Knudson's Plant & Soil Science class enjoyed its first round of transplanting plugs. They worked together to transplant four varieties of plants which began the process of preparing for the class plant sale in May! Stay tuned...

Solo & Ensemble Festival Results

Belleville High School Band and Choir students, under the direction of Mrs. Kruger, Mrs. Meir, and Ms. Penniston received 18 starred first scores at Wisconsin Heights High School on Saturday, February 24, moving 12 group, duet, and solo performers on to the state festival at UW-Platteville on Saturday, April 28.

Congratulations to:
Female Triple Trio
Male Triple Trio
Mixed Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Miles Fahey: Music Theater - Tenor/Bass Solo
Noah Fahey: Tenor Solo
                      Music Theater - Tenor/Bass Solo
Mili Julian: Musical Theater - Soprano/Alto Solo
                     Soprano Solo
Eve Palmer: Piano Solo
Erin Przybyl: Musical Theater - Soprano/Alto Solo
                        Soprano Solo
Mikaela Steckelis: Musical Theater - Soprano/Alto Solo
                                Piano Solo
                                Soprano Solo
Trevor Thole: French Horn Solo
Heidi Wegehaupt: Flute Solo
Noah Fahey and Mikaela Steckelis duet
Mili Julian and Mikaela Steckelis duet

Preparation for Upcoming Musical

In preparation for this year's musical Into the Woods, Mr. Neumann's Advanced Trades class has been assisting by creating props for the production.

TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE TO THE PUBLIC APRIL 3RD. There will 7pm shows on Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, and a matinee on Sunday, April 15.

It should be a wildly entertaining show!

Wonders of Physics

Mrs. Smith and Mr. Bussey took 14 Science Olympiad students to the Wonders of Physics show on the UW-Madison campus on Saturday, February 17. They combined this with a visit to the Ingersoll Physics Museum in Chamberlin Hall. Our Science Department staff members are always looking for ways to spark students' interest and passion in the subject area!

https://wonders.physics.wisc.edu/annual-shows/

Basketball Game Recognition

The Belleville boys' basketball team played New Glarus on Senior Night on Friday night.

At halftime, girls' varsity soccer coach for the Sugar River Raiders, John Ziperski, was recognized with a watch for being named the 2016 Wisconsin Soccer Coaches' Association state and sectional Coach-of-the-Year (for small, public schools).

Eric O'Connor's parents, Steve and Sherry, were presented with a plaque for Eric after the game, along with the recognition of the other seven seniors. That plaque will be on display at BHS. Korey Trainor created tonight's plaque, while his son Jackson designed and created one for the boys' locker room.

THANK YOU, SENIORS!

Middle School Winter Week Activities

Winter Week ended at Belleville Middle School with a field trip to Sky Zone in Madison on Friday. This field trip was an incentive trip for students who met our PBIS expectations with no more than one office disciplinary referral from January 24 through February 14. The students had an hour and a half to jump on Friday afternoon.

From 5-7pm on Friday night, the Middle School Student Council held a dance for Valentine's Day. Students could then buy a reduced-priced ticket to the home boys' basketball game against New Glarus for Senior Night. Middle school students also played in the pep band for the game!

The Outsiders Literature Discussion Groups

Mrs. Schultz's 8th grade English Language Arts classes are engaged in literature discussion groups. The students are comparing the main characters of two books with the same theme. They all read The Outsiders and then could select an independent novel of their choice to compare and contrast. Their work is now displayed in the Middle School hallways.

Wildcat Pride Day

Belleville High School celebrated Wildcat Pride Day on Friday to end Winter Week. Starting at 2:15pm, students had a choice to participate in the following activities:

• Karaoke
• Chess, cribbage, and board games
• Cribbage
• Video gaming
• Salsa dancing
• Fitness training, yoga, and time in the gym
• 3-D printing
• A movie
• Minute-to-Win-It

Students qualified for this afternoon incentive by avoiding multiple office disciplinary referrals in the first three weeks of the new semester. Students who did not meet this PBIS expectation worked in a quiet study hall with a review of the behavior expectations matrix.

We hope this event allows students who routinely show respect, responsibility, and safety a chance to enjoy an afternoon to bond with their peers and teachers!

NHS Carnation Sale

Belleville High School's National Honor Society Carnation Sale accomplished two goals this Wednesday on Valentine's Day:

1. Offering a service to the students and staff of BHS who wanted to buy the flowers as gifts.
2. Raising $400 that was donated to the new Belleville Village Library and Community Center.

That's the Wildcat Way!

Capitol Conference Forensics Meet

Congratulations to our Belleville High School Forensics Team! They competed in the Capitol Conference meet last night (2-12) in Cambridge.

Our top scorers of the night included:

Eliza Woods - Poetry

Gianna Diaz - Poetry

Alexis Walker - Poetry

Mya Enerson - Poetry

Emily Flick - Prose

Rylee Hubbard, Anna Nolden, and Abby Winterburn - Group Interpretation

Gary Salmela - Public Address

Eddy Fraire - Prose

Noah Fahey - Solo Acting

Gary Salmela placed 3rd overall in Public Address! Nice job, Wildcats!

Winter Week

To break the doldrums of winter, we are celebrating Winter Week! Both the Middle and High Schools have dress-up days and special activities planned throughout the next six days.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Day           Dress Theme                 
Feb. 12      PJs
Feb. 13      Twin Day
Feb. 14      Red/White/Pink/Hearts
Feb. 15      "Throwback" Thursday
Feb. 16      "Flannel" Friday   

Mr. Swenson will show a movie in the auditorium during lunch all week. Students who meet behavior requirements will take a trip to Sky Zone on Friday afternoon. There will also be a dance from 5-7pm on Friday, February 16, with students encouraged to attend the home boys' basketball game against New Glarus afterward.

HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Day           Dress Theme                         Lunch Game
Feb. 12      PJs and Sweats                      Co-ed Tug-of-War
Feb. 13      "Formal" Tuesday                 Co-ed Dodgeball
Feb. 14      Dress for Valentine's Day     Co-ed Steal-the-Sticks
Feb. 15      "Throwback" Thursday         Co-ed No-peek Volleyball
Feb. 16      "Flannel" Friday                    WILDCAT PRIDE DAY

Saturday, February 17, will be Game Night for high school students in the gym from 8pm until midnight.

It's the great time to show your school spirit and Wildcat pride!

High School Students of-the-Month

On Monday, February 12, Belleville High School Students-of-the-Month for January were recognized with a pizza lunch. Students received a personalized certificate from the nominating teacher, along with movie passes donated by Marcus Theaters. Teachers noted that these students produced excellent work for the first semester and were role models for other students.

Congratulations to these wonderful Wildcats!

From Left to Right: Noah Niesen, Isabella Miller, Gianna Diaz, Lauren Theis, Jacob Kean, Roxana Grunenwald, and Hailey Butenhoff

Not Pictured: Nathan Mabis

Regional Mock Trial Tournament

The Belleville High School Mock Trial Team completed against six other teams on Saturday, February 10, at the Rock County Courthouse. This event has been put on by the State Bar of Wisconsin since 1983. Coach Kallien and Attorney Michael Steckelis led 11 team members who played alternating roles of prosecution and defense against teams in three different rounds. Other students served as witnesses in the trial. Three real lawyers in each court room took on the positions of judge and jury.

The 2018 Case Summary revolves around the following scenario:

A big company called Dig Deep comes to town to create jobs by mining for iron. Local activists protest Dig Deep and the damage they are causing the environment. When mining equipment is sabotaged. Dig Deep calls foul on the protestors. Who is to blame for the damages: the protestors, or Dig Deep itself?

Literacy Initiative in Band

As part of our district literacy initiative, students in Mrs. Meir's high school band read Chapter 7 ("The White Seal") from the The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Mrs. Meir transitioned this to a musical piece entitled "The Seal Lullaby" by Eric Whitacre, in which he sets a short poem in this chapter to music.  

Mrs. Meir had the students follow-up by tracking the story plot and using evidence to determine the moral of the story.  She then compiled their final responses and set them to music in this Google Presentation.  She certainly accomplished her goal to use the students' words and the author's story to create an emotional response to the piece.

National Merit Scholarship Finalists!

On February 8, Otto Anson and Riley Medenwald were presented with Certificates of Merit as Finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program.  This program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships based students' preliminary SAT scores. The process begins with approximately 1.6 million entrants nationwide each year.

In September, Otto and Riley were named as Semifinalists- in the top 1% of the initial entrants. They represent some of the highest scoring entrants in the state of Wisconsin. Semifinalists were required to take the SAT again. This is the first time in Belleville High School history that two students were named Finalists in the same year!

Congratulations to these two Wildcats! And good luck to them as they move forward in the process. In March, just 7,500 Merit Scholarship winners will begin to be announced.

Regional Spelling Bee Results

Mrs. Killerlain reported exciting news out the regional spelling bee last night! Madeleine Saeger placed in the top 5 students at this competition in Stoughton, making her a state spelling bee alternate. If one of the three finalists is unable to compete, Maddie will be asked to fill in on Saturday, March 24th at Madison College. March 24th just happens to be her birthday. Congratulations, Maddie!

Science Olympiad at Madison Edgewood

On Saturday, February 3, the Belleville High School Science Olympiad team took 2nd place overall out of 22 teams at Edgewood High School. Madison West was the only team to beat Belleville.

Medalists on Saturday included:
1st Place: Mission Possible - Logan Niesen and Noah Niesen
1st Place: Picture This - Gianna Diaz, Julia McNamar, and Noah Niesen
1st Place: Write It Do It - Roxana Grunenwald and Emma Veeneman

2nd Place: Chemistry Lab - Otto Anson and Riley Medenwald
2nd Place: Dynamic Planet - Emma Anson and Emma Veeneman
2nd Place: Electric Wright Stuff - Julia McNamar and Logan Niesen
2nd Place: Forensics - Katie Bowers and Skylar Butenhoff
2nd Place: Rocks and Minerals - Gianna Diaz and Gary Salmela

3rd Place: Electric Wright Stuff - Cody Koeppel and William Meyers
3rd Place: Mousetrap Vehicle - Logan Niesen and Noah Niesen
3rd Place: Picture This - Tyler Beyer, Josh Bowers, and Ryan Posthuma
3rd Place: Protein Modeling - Roxana Grunenwald and Gary Salmela
3rd Place: WiFi Lab - Tyler Beyer and Jacob Kean

4th Place: Mousetrap Vehicle - Bryson Jelle
4th Place: Optics - Jack Nolden and Connor Theis
4th Place: Sustainable Energy - Emma Anson and Otto Anson
4th Place: Thermodynamics - Otto Anson and Jack Nolden

5th Place: Electric Wright Stuff - Josh Bowers
5th Place: Towers - Hansi Bartle and Julia McNamar
5th Place: WiFi Lab - Hansi Bartle and Gianna Diaz

It was a great day to be a Wildcat!

Principles of Engineering Arcade Game

Mrs. Smith's Principles of Engineering class designed an arcade game using robotics. Isaac Brummel and Matteo LaTorre successfully created this model, similar to the larger versions you might see at Dave & Busters. It is able to count each made basket.

Middle School Students-of-the-Month for January

With the start of a new month and a new term, Belleville Middle School staff recognized Students-of-the-Month for January on Friday morning (2-2). Middle school core and music teachers read their reasons for their nominations to the assembled crowd of 7th and 8th graders. Students received a certificate, Catty Shack buck, and 3-D printed Wildcat, along with the opportunity to put their handprints up in the Middle School Commons.

Congratulations to this great group of Wildcats!

From left to right: Mason Folkers, Isamara Gomez, Mackenzie Stampfl, Claire Patrow, Ryan Hagen, Raegan Harnish, Brayden Hollis,  Ephraim Hotchkin, Catherine Booth, Kendel Bourquin, Taylor Morgan, Averi Boyum, Andrew Ace, and Rachel Carl
Not pictured: Justin Caputo