Belleville school district is first in Illinois to earn this award

Belleville District 118 is the first school district in the state to be recognized for its excellence in character development.

District 118 will be designated a state district of character for the next three years, according to a news release from the St. Francis College of Education. The award recognizes districts that demonstrate use of character development to drive a positive impact on academics, student behavior and the district’s climate.

Madonna Murphy, coordinator of the Illinois Schools of Character program, said the evaluation committee was especially impressed by the Belleville Achieves Strength in Character initiative.

Just six school districts in the nation received a district of character award this year. Belleville District 118 has applied for the national schools of character competition in Washington, D.C. Those award winners will be announced in May.

A metro-east school also recently earned recognition for its character development; Freeburg Primary Center was named a 2017 school of character.

District has information for parents of incoming kindergarteners

Edwardsville School District 7 will have six informational meetings for parents and guardians of incoming kindergarten students.

Attendees will learn about the kindergarten experience, policies regarding half-day enrollment, general information about District 7 schools and information about kindergarten orientation. Parents only need to attend one meeting, and students don’t need to be there, according to District 7.

All of the meetings are scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the following locations:

▪  Feb. 2 at Leclaire Elementary

▪  Feb. 21 at Nelson Elementary

▪  March 15 at Goshen Elementary

▪  March 16 at Glen Carbon Elementary

▪  March 23 at Midway Elementary

▪  March 30 at Hamel Elementary

Pre-registration for students entering kindergarten in the 2017-18 school year will take place from noon to 6:30 p.m. March 2 at the schools where the children will attend kindergarten.

Join student board of directors at Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is accepting applications for its student board of directors until Feb. 17.

Through the board, high school seniors can learn about the nation’s central bank. Current board member Ben Carlson, of Collinsville High School, said the position also taught him about professionalism through mock interviews and help with his resume.

Those interested in becoming student board members can fill out the application online. They will also need to submit a 500-600 word essay and two letters of recommendation. For more information, visit stlouisfed.org/student-board-of-directors.

Pair of Girl Scouts help their communities through service projects

Cecelia Cowell, of Red Bud, wanted to teach community members what to do in emergency situations, and she received the Girl Scouts’ highest honor in the process.

Cecelia earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for helping to implement information on the Yellow Dot Program in Red Bud. The program aims to give first responders vital information following a serious car crash when an individual might not be able to communicate.

Participants put important medical information in their glove compartments and place yellow dot decals on their cars, so first responders know they are involved in the program.

Cecelia is a 2016 graduate of Red Bud High School and has been a Girl Scout for 13 years.

In Highland, Johannah Comish also earned a Girl Scout Gold Award for her project repairing the waterfall area of Silver Lake Park.

She stabilized a small footbridge, added a safety railing to a larger bridge, sanded and stained a picnic table, fixed the hand rail for the rock stair case and added a trash can.

Through her project, Johannah hoped to promote spending more time outdoors. Johanna is a senior Highland High School and has been a Girl Scout for 13 years.

Local high school musicians earn highest honor in Illinois

Six metro-east band students were among those selected to participate in the 2017 Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Band Festival on Jan. 28.

Wyatt Roberds, director of bands at Granite City High School, said it’s the highest honor the high school musicians can receive.

“One of the real joys of being a music teacher is having the opportunity to work with such talented students. ... We are extremely proud of them,” Roberds said.

Those Granite City High School students include:

▪  Jocelyn Cipponeri: bass clarinet – IMEA Honors All-State Band

▪  Scott DeLozier: trumpet – IMEA All-State Jazz Band

▪  Asael Gomez: clarinet – IMEA All-State Band

▪  Nick Haddock: alto saxophone – IMEA All-State Band

▪  Stephanie Mullen: flute – IMEA Honors All-State Band

▪  Skyler Sutphin: piccolo – IMEA All-State Orchestra

Another Granite City High School student, Dominik Topal, won first place for his composition, “Oblivion,” in the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Composition Contest. More than 150 original compositions were submitted by students across Illinois and were judged by a panel of active composers and professional musicians.

Metro-east students honored for doing the right thing

Six metro-east students were honored at the Jan. 24 Do the Right Thing ceremony, including: Caroline Geib from Central Junior High in Belleville District 118; Matthew Shelton from Westhaven Elementary in District 118; Brock Bowen and Lexi Owen from Smithton School in Smithton District 130; Xavier Cole from Signal Hill Elementary in Signal Hill District 181; and Matthew Evans from Mascoutah Elementary School in Mascoutah District 19.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Belleville school district is first in Illinois to earn this award."