By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief
Two former West Bend students have partnered in a run for office. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Lauren Sorensen
Tooting Our Own Horn: NEWSPA Awards 2016
WBHS journalists score 12 awards in statewide contest
For the second year in a row, The West Bend Current received top recognition from the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association.
Judges for the 2016 NEWSPA contest again gave blue ribbon honors to The Current for a website not published as part of a journalism class, saying that many of the stories “reflect an original, enterprising approach to news gathering.”
The website’s student reporters also took home eleven individual awards. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Bensen Selected
Hannah Bensen, East junior, will serve as The Current‘s Editor in Chief for the 2016-17 school year. She replaces graduating senior Lauren Sorensen. Congrats, Hannah!
Filed under School News and Features
Flitter Named Teacher of the Year
Prizes pile up for East social studies teacher
By Jessica Steger, Current Staff
It’s been a good year for Jessica Flitter, East social studies teacher. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Kick Back with Pizza, Popcorn and NCAA Basketball
The class with the lowest tardy rate in March will be rewarded
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
With the March Madness basketball tournament about to begin, the WBHS Compass program hopes to ignite excitement for its own March Madness. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
State Law Should Guarantee Freedoms for Student Journalists
VIEWPOINT
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
During first period on Jan. 29, a school aide came to the door of my humanities class and told me that I was needed in the office.
At first I did not think anything of it as I was waiting for a letter of recommendation to be dropped off for a scholarship application. Much to my surprise, though, I found myself in the principal’s office. I was told that I was not allowed to write about a particular topic for the school newspaper. Sadly, this was not the first time I was censored this year.
That is why I feel compelled to endorse new legislation proposed by a group called New Voices. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features, Viewpoint
Remembering Saint Mary’s School
Current WBHS students who attended Saint Mary’s School are saddened by its planned closure
By Kaitlyn Von Behren, Current Staff
Tears, texts, and turning stomachs. Friends messaging each other frantically. Parents reading and re-reading emails at work. The decision had been made: Saint Mary’s, their grade school, was shutting down for good.
“I never saw it coming,” said Becca Stucke, an East senior who recalled her nine years at Saint Mary’s parish and school. Continue reading
Filed under Community
Paix for Paris
West Bend students try to process the Paris attacks
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
The global community stopped and watched in horror as the events unfolded last Friday in Paris. The world joined together to show support, and the West Bend High Schools both felt the shock waves of terror and the desire to gain understanding.
Conversations to digest Friday’s events fit into the curriculums of French teacher Christie Fischer and social studies teacher Tony Zappia. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
My Dad Was There
For one East sophomore, the Paris attacks hit close to home
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
When East sophomore Erica Bhatti came home from school last Friday, her mother told her to call her dad right away.
At first Bhatti was nervous because she didn’t know if her dad was sick or what was going on. But when she learned that Paris, her father’s home, had become a war zone, she felt the same pang of fear experienced by the world in the wake of the Nov. 13 attacks. Continue reading
Filed under Community
What’s In Your Backpack: Marlo Kastner
What is your favorite thing in your backpack?
“My favorite item in my backpack is my jump drive that is Wonder Woman, my favorite superhero ever, since kindergarten, ask Tyler Bodart or Mrs. Kleibel.” Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Music Gives Wings to the Mind
Kettle Moraine Symphony Orchestra provides lesson plans for area teachers
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
It is natural for English teacher Pat McIntyre to teach about Orwell and Salinger, but she also has a natural impulse to highlight composer Antonin Dvorak. Continue reading
Filed under Community, School News and Features
It’s All Coming Together
What’s the origin and meaning of the new sculpture?
By Hannah Bensen, Current Staff
When a new 20-foot tall sculpture appeared outside of the West Bend High Schools auditorium last spring, students were left wondering how the creation got there and what it meant. Continue reading
Filed under Community, Entertainment, School News and Features
The Current View: Bullying Presentation
What are your thoughts about Monday’s assembly, which mixed bullying statistics with stunts performed by BMX professionals?
“The presentation was really good, but I thought that it should have been a little more personalized. There should have been someone who has been bullied to speak about their experiences.”
Lizzy Bensen, East senior
Filed under School News and Features, Viewpoint
Photos: Stunts in the Fieldhouse
Students enjoyed the stunts of professional BMX riders while learning about the dangers of bullying at a school-wide assembly on Monday.
Filed under School News and Features
District Adopts New Testing System
Galileo replaces Gains and EOCA assessments
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
This year students found themselves on a computer as they began the process of assessing their skills at the beginning of a new school year.
The new testing format is called Galileo, and it is done on a computer. At the high schools, Galileo replaced last year’s Gains and End-of-Course Assessment (EOCA) tests to measure pre, mid, and post skill level. Galileo is also being used at the elementary and middle schools. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Let the Facts Do the Talking
Sorensen explains the mission of The Current
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Reader,
At its core, the staff of The West Bend Current is a group of student writers aiming to bring information to both the students and residents of West Bend, while practicing and improving our journalism skills.
As a staff we have developed a sense of identity and a clear mission. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features, Viewpoint
The Current View: Summer Highlights
What’s the most interesting thing you did over summer?
“This past summer we took a two-week road trip out to the East Coast. So we went to Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., and Boston, and New York City. And we went to see a play on Broadway, and we took a tour of the White House and got to pet the president’s dog, which was awesome. And then one of my children ate too much really expensive frozen yogurt and vomited in the intersection of Central Park, so it was a good time.”
Kristen Becker, English teacher
Filed under School News and Features, Viewpoint
We Promised Them We Would Remember
(Video: Paul DeLain, West science teacher, shares his thoughts about why it’s important for high schoolers to remember 9/11. Interview by Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief.)
The Children of 9/11 Are Not Children Anymore
VIEWPOINT
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
Every generation endures one. A moment in history that the mere mention of prompts a flow of what one was doing when they found out that the world stopped turning. A moment that prompts this response, and resounds as a day we as Americans were reminded of the fragility of life, is Sept. 11, 2001.
The nation watched in shock and terror as symbols of American prosperity crumbled and 2,977 Americans lost their lives.
Moving forward from 9/11, Americans came together to remind both the world and ourselves what it means to come together as a nation. A patriotic spirit swept through every main street of every city in every state. Flags flew and trumpets played as patriotism soothed wounds and American heroes were laid to rest.
Fourteen years later, the effects of this American catastrophe are still felt. Continue reading
Filed under Viewpoint
First Day of School: Orientation Program Replaces Mini Day
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
For the first time in decades, WBHS students attended a full day on the first day of school.
This broke the tradition of “Mini Day” in which everyone attended a shortened schedule on the first day at East and West High. In the past, sophomores, juniors, and seniors attended only in the morning and freshmen only in the afternoon on the first day of school. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Welcome to the 2015-16 School Year
By Lauren Sorensen, Editor in Chief
Calling all current event enthusiasts! Would you like a hand in keeping both the students of the West Bend High Schools and community members informed about what is going on? The Current invites you to join our staff of reporters, ranging from movie reviewers to photographers to investigative journalists. There is always a story to write at The Current. If this draws you in, please see adviser Mr. Beltmann in room S95.
Filed under School News and Features
Tooting Our Own Horn: NEWSPA Awards 2015
Kopish leads with three prizes in statewide journalism contest
Students at West Bend East and West High took home seven individual awards in the 2015 NEWSPA contest for student journalism. The West Bend Current also earned blue ribbon honors for online publication. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Sorensen Selected
Lauren Sorensen, East junior, will serve as The Current‘s Editor in Chief for the 2015-16 school year. She replaces graduating senior Alex Kopish. Congrats, Lauren!
Filed under School News and Features
Families Exercise Right to Opt Out
Local parents explain their decision to pull their children from testing
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
Reflecting a national trend of parents opting students out of standardized testing, some West Bend parents followed suit during the recent Badger and Aspire tests given in the West Bend School District. Continue reading
Filed under Community, School News and Features
Testing Culture Discussed at Local Forum
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
The national conversation about standardized testing came to West Bend earlier this month. Continue reading
Filed under Community
Teenagers Are Not Invincible
VIEWPOINT
Wednesday’s school-wide assembly was an important step in battling against drug abuse in West Bend
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
Nobody wants to talk about addiction. Nobody wants to talk about the horrible reality of a life that revolves around finding your next fix. Nobody wants to raise their hand and own up to being a user. Nobody plans on dying of an overdose. Continue reading
Filed under Community, School News and Features, Viewpoint
Gay-Straight Alliance Criticizes District
District has not responded to letter sent in November
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
Two WBHS students have accused the West Bend School District of not acting lawfully.
Bonnie Briggs, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, and Erica Gilhuber, the club’s vice-president, both signed a formal document voicing concerns regarding an advisory committee for the district’s human growth and development curriculum. Continue reading
Filed under Community, School News and Features
It Wasn’t About Hall Passes
VIEWPOINT
Thursday’s protest march was an embarrassment, but perhaps now the school can have the right conversations
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
What happened at school on Thursday morning was simply wrong. A step towards a positive environment with the ability to have dialogue about student issues was twisted into a public spectacle of immaturity, and that’s too bad.
The actions taken by a percentage of the student body on Thursday were disgusting. Watching the news and seeing one’s school being disparaged as “the students who rioted over lavatory passes” should make any student cringe. Savagely running through the halls and displaying such a blatant disregard for the privilege of public education is simply sad. Students calling for mature treatment yet spiraling into rage only proved the district’s logic in restricting freedoms. Immaturity will never be met with mature privileges. Continue reading
Filed under Community, School News and Features, Viewpoint
New Principal Knows His Mission
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
Rooms filled with bunks, artillery, and high security information normally aren’t found in the same building filled with whiteboards, desks, and books. The atmospheres of a military base and a high school may not be synonymous, but they have more similarities below the surface than meets the eye.
The 2014-2015 school year brought many changes to the West Bend High Schools, one of which was the hiring of new head principal Bill Greymont. Greymont brings many experiences with him to his new position as principal, including 20 years of military service. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Blue and Gigantic
Former student donates art piece to English teacher
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
Sitting in Eric Beltmann’s stifling hot English class in May could prompt a student to set their gaze upon the artwork on the room walls, rather than the grammar being taught at the front.
If students look to their left, their eyes may be drawn to a print of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg from The Great Gatsby, which students read fourth quarter in Beltmann’s 10th grade honors English class. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
Teachers of the Year
Two high school teachers given Rolfs award
By Lauren Sorensen, Current Staff
As her family pushed aside the curtain, Cindy Mennig’s eyes began to well up. Continue reading
Filed under School News and Features
The West Bend Current 