Collinsville High School celebrates academics with signing day

More than 90 graduating students at Collinsville High School signed commitment letters during the school’s third annual Academic Signing Day.

Much like with athletic signing days, the students were joined by family, high school faculty and college representatives in the school’s library/media center for the signing.

“Athletes work hard to earn their college scholarships, but so do academically-focused students. We wanted to find a way to honor their achievements in an equally celebratory manner,” said Karen Olsen, a guidance counselor at Collinsville High School.

Among the schools the students will attend are: Vanderbilt University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, Butler University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Western Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, University of Missouri, Truman State University, Southwestern Illinois College, Maryville University, Washington University at St. Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Central Missouri, Missouri Science & Technology, Columbia College at Chicago, University of Indianapolis, Missouri State University, Western Kentucky University, Purdue University, Bradley University, University of Illinois at Chicago and others.

Diversity night

Wolf Branch Middle School has an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 4 to celebrate cultural diversity. It is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served.

The event is presented by the school’s Cultural Diversity Committee and Racial Harmony. There will be presentations on 31 countries, African dancers, and Belleville East’s Youth-to-Youth.

World Branch Middle School is at 410 Huntwood Road in Swansea.

Scholarship winners

The YWCA of Alton has awarded two scholarships, including one to a Granite City High School student.

Bailee Warsing, of Granite City High School, plans to major in biochemistry and biotechnology. She won the 2016 Josephine Marley Beck with Future Leader Scholarship and will be recognized at the Women of Distinction Honorees banquet. Scholarship winners are selected for leadership, volunteer and community service, and academic achievements. Emphasis is given to activities that support the mission of the YWCA.

The awards are at 6 p.m. May 5 at the Lewis and Clark Community College Commons. For more information, call 618-465-7774 or email info@altonywca.com.

Art show winners

Three Belleville high school students won awards at the Southwestern Illinois College 2016 High School Art Show. They were:

▪  Kayla Bray, of Belleville West, won for colored pencil work. Her “Wilder Mind - Fairmount” received second place in the 12th Congressional District High School Art Competition sponsored by U.S. Congressman Mike Bost. Thomas’ work will be on display in the Congressman’s Belleville office for the next year.

▪  Victoria Toenjes-Brown, Belleville West High School, was awarded a Congressional Honorable Mention for her graphite drawing called “Artist in the Studio.” The honor is for the 12th annual Congressional District High School Art Competition sponsored by Bost. The entries for the contest were displayed at the art show.

▪  McKayla Brooks, of Belleville East, was recognized by the Artisan Guild of Southern Illinois with an award for her altered books work, “River of Knowledge.”

Playground contest

TerraCycle has again partnered with Colgate and Meijer for the Recycled Playground Challenge, which it says encourages healthy habits and rewards a school with a recycled playground. Schools in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin are eligible for the program, and can sign up at www.terracycle.com/colgate. To win the new playground, students can send in oral care waste such as empty toothpaste tubes and floss containers to TerraCycle by June 18. Schools earn a “playground credit” for each item sent in; schools can also earn credits by voting at www.meijer.com/colgate.

Spring carnival

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, in Waterloo, celebrated its students with a day of fun on Friday with a spring school carnival. The school offered a cake walk, bounce house, an inflatable slide, nail painting and hair coloring, dance revolution and more.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Collinsville High School celebrates academics with signing day."