Santa Bus

 It must be that time of year!

You occasionally see some odd sights when on crossing-guard duty in Belleville. This includes "Drive Your Tractor to School" Day and a fox running full speed across the playground.

However, when I looked up today at the Black Bear bus, I saw Santa in the driver's seat! We have to check if his license for his flying sleigh counts as a CDL for buses, but he handled himself well behind the wheel this morning.

Happy Holidays!

Veterans Day Program

On Wednesday night, the Belleville community recognized veterans in advance of Veterans Day on Thursday. For the last eight years, it has been my pleasure to emcee this event. I truly appreciate Connie Urfer's leadership and organization of the program. It is also a great source of pride to watch Belleville High School's Band and Choir perform for our veterans. I especially want to thank Gulf War veteran Jeff Ditzenberger for taking his experiences in the service and continuing to serve by addressing mental health needs in Green County and surrounding areas!

School Board Classroom Visits

Last April, school board members visited classrooms throughout the district to view in-person learning, balanced with virtual learning with students at home. Out of that experience, board members expressed an interest in visiting classrooms in a less "staged" environment and with greater flexibility to interact with students and staff.

On Wednesday, November 10th, school board members Trevor Johann, Bill Monroe, Mike Treder, and Marian Viney were able to visit classrooms at the elementary, middle, and high schools. They were able to:

1. Tour the buildings.
2. Sit in on Math classes with new Bridges and Illustrative curricula.
3. Visit Music classes with the transition and addition of staff.
4. Experience departmentalization of content areas in the upper elementary grades.
5. Tour the S.T.E.A.M. Lab and see Mr. Neumann's most recent Technology Education and Project Lead the Way activities.

School board members were able to experience what a typical day looks like in the School District of Belleville. I want to thank them for their enthusiasm and dedication to our schools!

One (of the many) things that I love about Belleville...

One (of the many) things that I love about Belleville is the sense of community within our schools! The Wildcat football coaches encouraged their players to greet elementary school students at both entrances this morning. This was student-athlete-driven, with no adults directing them or telling them what to do. They were positive, smiling, and encouraging the younger Wildcats to "have a good day." This is all on the morning of their much anticipated home playoff opener against Poynette tonight. What a great way to start a Friday! #WildcatWay

Partnership with JonnyO's

On the first Wednesday of the month, JonnyO's sponsors Wildcat pizzas. Any purchase of a Wildcat (pepperoni and sausage) pizza from JonnyO's on that day results in a $4 donation back to the School District of Belleville. Order Wildcat pizzas anytime for the rest of the month, and two more dollars come back to the school district.

From July to September, JonnyO's donated $550 to the school district. This most recent donation will go to pay overdue lunch balances for our families in need.

Buy local at JonnyO's, and support your local school district!

Key Communicators Group

One of the school board's goals from last May was to "develop and sustain family relationships and community as active partners and key collaborators in achieving success for all students." To that end, the administrative team has launched a Key Communicators group of volunteer parents from all three levels (elementary, middle, and high school) that will meet once per term (four times during the school year) to gather feedback, guide decision-making, and share information for early input.

A survey sent to parents in August collected 61 parents interested in participating in this group. On the evening of Wednesday, September 29th, the Key Communicators met for the first time. Over 30 parents were in attendance, representing students from Pre-K to 12th grade. Our goal for the 2021-22 school year is to set 4-5 priorities for the next 3 years and then begin a larger process over again in 2024.

You can view last night's presentation, complete with notes from parent input, at this link. The Key Communicators will meet again on Wednesday, December 8th at 5pm to further define priorities and write specific 3-year objectives in those areas. We hope to see you back in December to participate!

Wisconsin School District Rankings

A recent news story spotlighted Niche's rankings of Wisconsin school districts. The School District of Belleville placed in the top 10% in Wisconsin (ranked 30th out of 371 public school districts in the state that it reviewed). Belleville placed fourth out of the sixteen public school districts in the competitive Dane County market. It also topped the Capitol Conference, with its ten member public school districts!

Niche released its ratings on Monday. This was the eighth time that Niche has completed this process. You can view Niche's calculations and grading process at this link. Unfortunately, the district's lowest grade came in Diversity with its only "C."

Belleville's overall grade of "A" is a composite score of:

• Academics
• Administration
• Clubs & Activities
• College Prep
• Diversity
• Food
• Health & Safety
• Resources & Facilities
• Sports
• Teachers

That is the Wildcat Way!

Football Alumni Game

Last week, Bart Morrick organized the fourth Belleville High School football alumni reunion in recent years. It coincided with the August 27th Belleville-New Glarus football game. I was honored to be part of the halftime celebration that, in part, paid tribute to the four consecutive conference championship teams between 1962 and 1965. The halftime ceremony included special recognition of Jan Bartelt (Ken & Polly) and Rick Stadelman for their contributions to those teams.

It was a great night for Belleville, as the Wildcats defeated the Glarner Knights for the second consecutive year- this time by a score of 35-6!

Look for Wildcat Wall of Fame nominations later this year (December)!

New Teacher Orientation

On Tuesday, August 17th, the School District of Belleville welcomed 18 new staff members for New Teacher Orientation. Add in long-term substitute teachers to start the 2021-22 school year, and we had 20 new Wildcats join our staff today. The administrative team is excited about the energy and new perspectives that they will bring to the district and to their schools.

New staff took a bus tour of the district (including a visit to the Ligonberry Llama), learned about their benefits, met their veteran mentors, and spent time with their principals to learn more about their buildings' systems.

Welcome to our new staff! It was a great day to be a Wildcat! It was a culmination of hiring processes that began all the way back in February.

Family Night at the Pool

A BIG “thank you” to our Student Services team (Mrs. Norton, Mrs. Makovec, and Ms. Levenhagen) for organizing last night’s Family Night at the pool! Stephanie Levenhagen is our new 5th-8th grade counselor. Mrs. Tretow counted over 115 participants in the pool from 6-8pm, with plenty of trips to the Vesperman ice cream truck to trade in free tokens for an ice cream. It was great to see the community come out in support of the event that also included drawings for passes to the pool, state trail, and sporting events! Look for more events like this in the future from the district's Student Services Team in an effort to bring the community back together. #WildcatWay

The Return of Jazz in the Park

It has been a frustrating year for the Music Department in the School District of Belleville. For most of the school year, recommendations from Public Health Madison & Dane County and state music associations did not permit playing instruments or singing indoors as normal. Accomodations were made to perform virtually, to spread out in the auditorium, and then to practice outdoors when the weather permitted.

So, that made last night, May 26th, an exceptionally special night for Mrs. Krueger, Mrs. Meir, and their Belleville High School Band and Choir students. It was the first public performance since early 2020 Pep Band sessions at home basketball games. The beautiful night in Library Park included opportunities for the seniors to showcase their talents one last time. The concert included duets and personal tributes to grandparents, along with solos to feature our soon-to-be graduates.

Thank you to the parents, staff, and community who came out to support our Wildcats!

National School Nurse Day

Today, Wednesday, May 12, is National School Nurse Day.

All educators have experienced a more difficult year than we are accustomed. Nurse Becky's role in particular has placed her in stressful, difficult situations. In all of her decisions and actions, she has truly looked out for the best interests of our students, families, and staff.

I want to thank Becky for the job that she has done this year! She has shown compassion and consistency through some very tough times.

Link to the Governor's Proclamation

Belleville High School Earns Fab Lab Grant

Wednesday, May 5, 2021, was deemed Fab Lab Day by the state of Wisconsin. The school district is pleased to announce that it has received a Fab Lab grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The WEDC will grant $13,000 to Belleville High School, which will invest $6,500 of its own funds as part of this matching grant. This will allow the STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Math) Lab to add four Glowforge Laser cutters/engravers to add precise subtractive manufacturing equipment to create unique custom projects.

The School District would like to thank Sam Rikkers, the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer for WEDC, for visiting Belleville to announce the statewide grant release. Congratulations to Mr. Neumann and Mrs. Schmitz for their hard work and tenacity in pursuing these grant funds that will quickly impact student learning.

Channel 3000 news story

Annual A.L.I.C.E. Drill

Belleville Middle and High Schools practiced their annual A.L.I.C.E. drill this morning at the start of the school day. A.L.I.C.E. is a safety protocol that stands for Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate. Two "intruders" (police officers) entered the building before 8:15am.

Given the last year and any built up anxiety with students and staff, the focus of the drill was to:

1. Give the Administrative, Student Services, and Technology teams an opportunity to practice tracking the "intruders" on the camera and public address systems.
2. Evacuate to the First United Church of Christ for classrooms that did not barricade.
3. Transport students back from First UCC (as the district would in a real event to an offsite, secure location).
4. De-brief afterward with students and staff on lessons learned to improve the process for the future.

The "intruders" today were instructed not to bang on doors, force entry, shout, or startle classrooms.

Thank you to Pastor Laura and the Belleville Police Department for their roles in this drill.

Paraprofessionals' Appreciation Day

Over Spring Break, Paraprofessionals' Appreciation Day was celebrated nationwide. It fell on April Fool's Day, and the district did not want anyone thinking there was a joke when it recognizes these educators so critical to students' success.

So, the district took some time on Wednesday, April 14, to recognize its paraprofessionals with a small gift to thank them for their support in the classrooms with all of our students, but particularly the care, compassion, and dedication that they show our English Learners and students with special needs.

Thank you for all you do!

Not pictured: Liliana Castillo and Jade Jorgensen

Not pictured: Lisa Bell

2021 Wildcat Wall of Fame Class

At Monday night's meeting of the Belleville Board of Education, board members approved the induction of three new members to the Wildcat Wall of Fame. Sharon Maas, John "JP" Pamperin, and Steve Vogler will enter as the Class of 2021!

Since its inception in 2017, the Wildcat Wall of Fame Committee has received 82 total nominations- 20 in this latest nomination period.

The 12-person Wildcat Wall of Fame committee, comprised of school staff, students, community members, and board members, would like to congratulate Sharon, JP, and Steve and thank Mr. Hodgson and the high school's Young Samaritans' Club for their research efforts on the finalists. The committee would also like to thank BHS alumnus Paul Nemec for his creative talents on the new promotional banners.

Now Mr. Benash and his student artists and Mr. Neumann and his Trades students will create the portraits and the commemorative plaques that each inductee receives.

Please plan on joining us to celebrate these three Wildcats on Saturday, June 5, at 10am (tentative) in the stadium for the ceremony.

All three inductees have retired from the School District of Belleville within the last seven years. Sharon is still working part-time for the district as a technology assistant. She was the president of the Belleville Educational Support Team and a long-time support staff employee of the district. She was also instrumental in putting together the community calendar each year. Both JP and Steve Vogler were long-time teachers, coaches, and community residents. Both continue to sub for the district. JP still volunteers as a volleyball coach, and Steve still works on the grounds crew.

It's a great day to be a Wildcat!

Bus Driver Appreciation Week

Wisconsin School Bus Driver Appreciation Week is celebrated during the week of February 8th. In Wisconsin, over 15,000 school buses safely transport more than 600,000 students to and from school each school day and travel nearly 70 million miles per year. Belleville is fortunate to own its buses and employ its own drivers. These 12 bus and van drivers are integral, valued members of our Wildcat school community. They know and look after our students, and our families know and rely on them. That is what being part of a small town is all about!

I cannot thank the bus drivers enough for their extra efforts this year! They have driven additional elementary school routes, had to drive to all away sporting events, and delivered materials and food to homes- all with increased safety and cleaning precautions. When I told them a had a little something from the district (Culvers' gift cards), they asked if I had vaccination shots! THANK YOU BUS DRIVERS!

Anonymous Donation to Recognize Staff

On Friday, January 29, a School District of Belleville family made an anonymous donation to provide lunch for staff in the entire district. They only wanted to say, "A family in the district wants to let the administration, teachers, and staff know that they are very much appreciated!"

Staff was extremely thankful for this gesture. It came at the end of a week when all of our in-person students returned in hybrid models. In my seven years as a Belleville Wildcat, the support of the community to its schools continues to amaze me!

Adult Crossing Guard Week

The Department of Public Instruction has designated the week of January 11-15 as Adult Crossing Guard Week. From morning to afternoon (and this year at lunchtime!), our staff serving as cross guards assist Wildcat students traveling from home to school and back again. Thank you to (from left to right) Tammy Horn, Diane Borenstein, Sherry, O'Connor, and Jade Jorgensen for keeping our students safe each day!