Art Club

Art Club here at Bellevue High School is making exciting changes this year for the 27 members by allowing new creative ways to have fun and relax. Some of the changes involve interesting activities such as making slime to firework art!

Along with the fun activities art club creates for its members each meeting, the club decided to host a new fundraiser this year in the form of a raffle. The raffle was this past November and helped raise funds for the club. The funds raised help pay for the activities. The student body can get involved by buying tickets for future raffles. Art Club president, Lilly Williams, helped organize the new fundraiser and also helps by leading meetings and brainstorming fun activities.

Any student thinking of joining Art Club should remember the club is all about having fun and relaxing by participating in the club’s simple activities that are exciting for anybody who has an interest in art!

By: Amber Hawkins

New Courses Spotlight #3

Our final post in the new courses spotlight focuses on Freshmen Focus, Career and Workforce Development, and Media Literacy.

Freshmen Focus:

In order to make the transition from middle school into high school easier, Freshmen now participate in a class called Freshmen Focus. Freshmen Focus is a hands-on driven class to teach freshmen important life skills. Mrs. Gallagher, who teaches the class, agreed to talk with me about it. The first thing I wanted to dive into was why the class was required and not an elective like most of the courses that were added. She told me that the class was trying to improve life skills such as; communication, time management, and organization. As freshmen, these skills are extremely important for success in high school, and even for the rest of their lives. Mrs. Gallagher was extremely impressed that the freshmen in the class work so hard to improve their skills and work together. She continuously surveys and talks with the freshmen to make sure they understand the concepts, and to see if she can make any improvements or explain something more in-depth than she did in the class. Although she has never taught this before, Mrs. Gallagher feels as though she was meant to be teaching the class. She tries to keep the class interesting and moving so that the students are continuously interested in what they are doing, and have new challenges presented to them. Although this class is in its infancy, it is headed toward helping many people.

By: Alex Frazier

Career and Workforce Development:

I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Yates, who teaches Career and Workforce Development, which is a senior elective. Career Workforce Development teaches about professional skills and how they are used in real life situations and skills that will make students ready for the real world including how to stand out to an employee, how to be responsible with money, and how to handle issues with an employer. The main idea of this class is built around soft skills, or professional skills, that students need to be successful at any point in your life. Some of these professional skills include reliability, work ethic, punctuality, and discipline.

Students are encouraged to take this class because of the relevance to everyone’s lives and it gives students the opportunity to apply these concepts in the real world. Students who decide to take this course next year are able to earn the Ohio Readiness Seal on their diploma. The Ohio Readiness Seal is proof that you understand the 15 professional skills, which helps you stand out when you go to interviews and is an award or an accomplishment you can put on an application. Mrs. Yates spent twenty years in the banking industry and her passion is helping young people master these skills before entering the workforce. Mrs. Yates is here today to prepare us for life after High School.

By: Kaylin Erdmann

Media Literacy:

One of the new classes being offered to students is media literacy, which is taught by Mr. Kyle Marett. Mr. Marett wanted to teach this class because there was an opportunity to bring new material to Bellevue High School and to possibly get kids to think differently about the messages they are influenced by. The purpose of this class is finding purpose in the media we receive every day. While preparing for this class, Mr. Marett came up with everything for the class. He makes his own lessons, worksheets, and tests. Mr. Marett has a lot of experience so he brings a different perspective to his classes discussion. This class is structured differently than your regular class as it is mostly daily discussions about interpretations of media instead of cut and dry material with right and wrong answers. Mr. Marett always keeps his students interested in what they are doing every day. He tries to make each day’s topic relevant to daily correspondence they have with media messages. What Mr. Marett likes most about this class is his class is not bound to state standards like other classes. They have the freedom to discuss matters he doesn’t have the luxury to talk about in other classes. Mr. Marett is looking forward to teaching this class again next year.

By: Joe Commarato

 

New Courses Spotlight #2

Today’s post focuses on the Officiating Class elective, Computer Coding and Game Design elective, and the two STEAM classes.

 

Officiating:

Do you know the meaning behind three strikes and you’re out? The BHS Officiating class does, which is co-taught by Mr. Dennings and Mr. Mark King. This class can help students earn extra money by officiating junior high league sports all the way down to youth leagues. According to Mr. King, in the state of Ohio, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has lost nearly forty percent of the total body of officials over the last 5-7 years. This course’s goal is to enable students to become licensed referees or umpires at the completion of the class. During the first semester, these students learn the fundamentals and rules for softball and baseball; students taking it in the second semester the students will learn about the fundamentals and rules for basketball. The students learn the entire rule book plus the characteristics and traits of a good official. Students pay thirty-five dollars to participate in this class to get their officiating license, which is only half of what the cost actually is for a license.

Mr. Dennings says that he most enjoys this class because he gets to interact with students in a smaller setting and it is laid back and comfortable. The biggest challenges these teachers have been facing is the normal officiating course is designed as a 4-to-6-week course. At the high school level, this becomes a semester-long course. There are times this class goes out to the field or court to practice, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate which can be challenging. As this class is new even for the state of Ohio, Mr. Dennings has received many phone calls and emails from different schools within the state, and even some from out of state asking about the success of this program and how to get this class started in their school. If you love sports, you will love this class!

By: Hayden Loparo

 

Computer Coding and Game Design:

If you are someone who is looking at a career path in Game Coding, then this class is the one for you. This new elective, Computer Coding and Game Design, is taught by Mr. Hoover, who teaches technology courses was given the responsibility of creating this class. Mr. Hoover said that so far it has been a huge success and highly recommends students to take this course. This class is very independent and hands-on, so it is definitely not your typical classroom setting. For students who already have experience with Photoshop and Illustration, they can even able to draw out their characters and input them into the game. This class and the experience is beneficial for students since the field of technology will continue to grow and change. Another reason is the area of STEAM keeps expanding and the knowledge of basic coding and programming can help with this, too. If you are someone who wants to better your technical knowledge or someone who sees this as a career path, this class is highly recommended for you. Go get your game face on!

By: Madeleine Corrado

STEAM:

Are you looking for a new class to join? One of those courses could include a science class called STEAM, taught by Ms. Kozak and Mrs. Good. This course will teach students how to problem solve as well as content from science, math, and art. Currently, this course is only for juniors and seniors. STEAM is a year-long class. It is a different type of course than the traditional science class that the high school offers because it is more hands-on and project based.

In this class, they take engineering concepts and apply them to everyday situations. The class also uses 3-D printers for special projects or to help the teachers with special requests. Some of what the students have made with the 3-D printers includes key chains, name tags, and dice.

Each student is normally working on their own so, not every person is working on the same project. Ms. Kozak and Mrs. Good both think that the 3-D printers are a good experience for the students. Students are learning that is okay to make mistakes because working with the 3-D printers has trial and error in it. The students have learned how to run the machines themselves so they do not need as much help from the teachers. Because of the structure of the class and the type of projects completed, both teachers feel as if this class needed to be added to the school. Consider signing up for this science class today.

By: Kayla Bowers

 

New Courses Spotlight #1

Over the next three school days, we will be spotlighting several of the new courses that were added to BHS this school year. Today’s post will showcase three Social Studies electives: American Pivotal Decades, Laws, and Cultures; and the English elective Real World Communications.

 

American Pivotal Decades:

Have you ever wanted to take an even closer into history? Do you like culture more than history? Then this new semester course is for you! Mr. Mercer decided to take on the new history course, American Pivotal Decades. While talking with Mr. Mercer, he informed me that this course covers topics, such as important people and events from each decade, starting with the 1950s through the 2000s, that helped shaped some things that currently go on today. He also shares that they cover topics that may have been looked at in other history classes, but maybe did not have enough time to completely cover, to give a little more insight.

Because this was a new course, Mr. Mercer shares that he interacted with the students and got their feedback on how they exactly wanted to take on this class. Since this was an elective, he wanted to cater to the students; meaning he not only wanted to run it based on his ideas but ideas from the students as well. According to Mr. Mercer, the students shared that they wanted to look more in-depth on topics that may have been brushed over in previous history classes, and discuss how they relate to each decade such as major events like Watergate, the fall of Communism and the rise of terrorism in the 1970s. One standout project was analyzing protest-related music. Because of the students’ teamwork and collaboration with Mr. Mercer, the new course, American Pivotal Decades, students begin to see the connections of some of these past major events and how important they are to what is going on today.

By: Maddie Curtis

 

Law and Cultures:

Are you interested in the justice system or one’s individual rights? What about the different cultures around the world? Two of those 19 classes added at BHS were Law and Cultures. Both classes are taught in the social studies department. Mr. Booze will be teaching the Law class while Mrs. Keller will be teaching the Cultures class; both of these are being taught in the second semester.
If you’re considering a career in law or just have an interest in our justice system then Law is for you. Mr. Booze explained that the class is an introduction to law meaning you will get a deeper understanding of the justice system and one’s individual rights and how they are applied in our daily lives. Although they may seem similar, government and law are beneficial in different ways. In government, you may barely cover some of these topics but with the law, you will get much more insight than ever before in a government, economics, politics, etc. class.
Living in a small town, one does not receive much exposure to the different cultures around the world or even here in the United States. Taking Cultures with Mrs. Keller will change that. Mrs. Keller explained that this class is to gain some insight about the different cultures and how each is unique in their own way. Whether you are going to college soon or going into the workforce, you will at some point come across someone who has different beliefs and practices than you do. When you take this class you will walk away with a deeper understanding of the world and different people around you.
After interviewing both teachers about the new courses, it can be concluded that both are very discussion based and engaged classes. The classes are open to juniors and seniors and are semester-long courses.

By: Mackenzie Miller

Real World Communications:

Mrs. Mercer teaches Real World Communications, a class that focuses on public speaking with social media writing. Most have probably heard about the class due to the resurrection of the school blog and the individuals who are taking it. Even though the class runs the blog, there are still many other projects the class has completed. For example, the class has had several presentations/ speeches. For the second semester, Mrs. Mercer plans to work with Adobe Flash and debates, projects I am looking forward to. Though the class focuses on 21st-century writing styles, it was initially public speaking and technical writing. Eventually, the course turned into what it is today, and the flexibility for each student makes it possible to run the blog and eventually a podcast! Students thinking about taking this course should as the skills developed will further their knowledge of modern writing and learn innovative ways to give presentations and speeches. Real World Communications is really fun and educational class that helps strengthen important skills that will help prepare anybody for their future.

By: Amber Hawkins

Choraliers

DO RE MI FA SO… This blog’s spotlight is the Choraliers! This extra-curricular consists of choir students who have auditioned and been selected to this group. They rehearse outside of the school day for their performances. This group has existed since the 1980s and has been directed by Mrs. Hoover for the last 7 years; this year’s members include Alicia Hamons, Alexa Hammer, Gracyn Hay, Josh Higgins, Jennifer Miller, Julia Ochenduski, Grace Ocreto, Grace Oddo, Katie Porter, Malaina Rickel, and Kirsten Talley. The Choraliers performed all over the area in the month of December. They recently went on a performance tour, performing at five different places in one day! Talk about a busy group.

Mrs. Hoover states they try to keep most of their performances similar; for example, they have attended a few community lunch-ins this year. Also, within the recent performance tour, the Choraliers performed at all of the local care facilities, and the St. Paul’s Daycare where they performed for the little kids.

To become a member of the Choraliers group, students must audition in the spring the year prior to the next school year. This audition will also be part of the student’s audition for a regular choir class, but it would just be more selective. Students who are wanting to get more experience singing and performing and are willing to devote some extra time beyond class time, or during the school day, are encouraged to join. Mrs. Hoover states that this activity looks great on resumes and gives students more experience and performance opportunities.

We want to wish the Choraliers the best of luck with all of their performances!

By: Maddie Curtis