An addition to Red Bud High School is in the works and will include three state-of-the-art science labs and a large gymnasium, according to district administrators. Members of the Red Bud school board unanimously approved taking the initial steps toward constructing the $7 million addition during its meeting last week.

The board approved hiring an architect and a construction manager for the project. Ittner Architects will be the architect on the project, and Holland Construction Services in Swansea will serve as the construction manager.

Red Bud School District 132 Superintendent Jonathan Tallman said the $7 million will be entirely funded out of the district's reserves. "The school board over the years has been very good stewards of taxpayer funds," he said.

The exact time frame for the addition is still being determined. However, Tallman said the goal is to have the addition completed by the middle of the 2014-15 school year. Red Bud High School, located at 815 Locust St., was built in 1951.

St. Joseph Catholic School in Freeburg has moved onto the next round in the Buffalo Wild Wings "Spirit Challenge V." St. Joseph will face-off against McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo., on Wednesday. Supporters of St. Joseph are encouraged to visit the Belleville Buffalo Wild Wings, located at 5600 Belleville Crossing, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Metro-East Lutheran High School also advanced to the next round of the competition. Supporters of the school should dine or carry out between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday at Buffalo Wild Wings, 249 Harvard Drive in Edwardsville.

The schools are competing for a grand prize of $2,500 along with a percentage of the revenue generated at the restaurant. In order to advance in the competition, a school must generate more revenue on their designated day than the other school against whom they paired. The competition, similarly structured to March Madness, started with 16 schools and continues until two schools remain. The final two schools will face-off in the final round of competition.

Edwardsville High School student Emily Swanson is one of 16 students competing in the Illinois' 2012-2013 Poetry Out Loud State Final. The event will take place at 1 p.m. Friday at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. Attendance is free, and the event is open to the public. The Illinois Poetry Out Loud State Champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., in April to compete for the national championship. The state champion's school will also receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books, and a runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

Three Mascoutah High School alumni will be honored Friday with an achievement award during a ceremony at 7 p.m. at the high school, located at 1313 W. Main St. John Harris, chairman of the five-member selection committee, said Patricia Schulze Hills, John Jessup and Paul Waeltz were chosen based on their professional achievements.

Hills, who attended Mascoutah schools from 1950 to 1953, is a professor of art history at Boston University in Boston, Mass. Jessup, who attended Mascoutah schools from 1984 to 1996, is a Congressional correspondent with Christian Broadcasting Network in Washington, D.C. Waeltz, who attended Holy Childhood Elementary in Mascoutah and graduated from Mascoutah High School, is a senior research scientist for Incyte Corp., which is based in Delaware. All three alumni will receive their achievement award plaques Friday during the ceremony, which is free and open to the public.

High Mount School's Visionary Club and Westside Optimist Club are hosting a pancake breakfast fundraiser from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday at the school, located at 1721 Boul Ave. in Swansea. The cost is $8 for all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, milk, orange juice and coffee. The cost for children under 12 years old is $4. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 233-1054, ext. 113.

Lebanon Community Unit School District 9 is hosting a kindergarten registration event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the multi-purpose room of the grade school. To be eligible for kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old before Sept. 1. Parents are encouraged to bring a certified birth certification from St. Clair County and three proofs of residency. To register for the event, call the grade school office at 537-4553.

The next session of Southwestern Illinois College's Adult Basic Education Office Technology Program gets under way March 18. Participants will learn the basics of working in an office, including key computer applications and working with customers. Classes will be held Monday, March 18 to Wednesday, May 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Preregistration and an orientation are required to participate in the free program.

The classes will meet at the following locations: SWIC Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave.; SWIC Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road; and East St. Louis Community College Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. For more information, call Ann Clayton at 618-235-2700, ext. 5521, for the Belleville Campus classes; Valorie Toberman at 618-931-0600, ext. 7396, for the Sam Wolf Granite City Campus classes; or Mary Kaye Graves-Tonnies at 618-874-6526 for East St. Louis Community College classes.

The newspaper staffs at both Belleville West and Belleville East competed at the Southern Illinois School Press Association's Winter Conference Feb. 27 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Belleville West's Hy News received the Blue Banner Award for overall excellence. In the mail-in best story contest, Hy News received 11 honorable mentions; six third places; nine second places; and six first places, and the following Maroons won awards in the on-site contest: Vimal Patel, Rosa Millsap, Cole Henke, Joey Hasenstab, Keaton Cheffer, Sydney Jones, Tyler Fedak, Sam Geiger, Johnathan Marchbanks and Alex Mitchell.

The Lancer newspaper staff of Belleville East was recognized with three first place, two second place, and three third place awards as well as nine honorable mentions for their work in both the on-site competitions and the mail-in competitions. In the mail-in contests, the following students were recognized: De Robinson, Laura Kern, Jeremy Bruno, Ari Brown, Katie Cooper, Chandriss McAllister-Lang, Timyrica Sherrod and Madison Bradshaw. In the on-site contest, the following students were honored: Brianna Batson, Chandriss McAllister-Lang, De Robinson, Arklaya Tenney-Howard, Logan Bray and Jeremy Bruno.

Band and chorus students from Our Lady Queen of Peace School in Belleville competed in the Catholic Grade School Solo and Ensemble Contest Feb. 26 at St. Clare School in O'Fallon. Music students from seven Catholic grade schools participated in the all-day event. Principal Sharon Needham said Queen of Peace music students competed in a total of 37 different events and received 21 First Superior ratings, 13 First ratings and three Second Ratings.

Four members of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville University Housing staff were named winners of the 2012 American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Winter Case Study Competition. The national case study competition was co-sponsored by the ACPA Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professionals, and the Standing Committee on Men and Masculinities. Evergreen Hall Community Director Nate Pauley, Bluff Hall Community Director Ben Schwarz, Cougar Village Assistant Community Director Dan Rosner and Woodland Hall Assistant Community Director Jamartae Jackson submitted the winning case study. The topic was "College Men and Masculinities."

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