Tag Archives: Samantha Dietel

Award-Winning Reporters Say Goodbye

Three seniors reflect on their time writing for the West Bend Current

Samantha Dietel

For how long have you been a member of the Current and what prompted you to join?
I joined the Current about halfway through my sophomore year. I was looking to get more involved at school, so it seemed fitting to step outside of my comfort zone while also utilizing my love for writing! It certainly helped that Mr. Beltmann, the Current’s adviser, was my teacher that year for Honors English II. Joining the Current was easily the best decision that I have ever made. By now, it feels like it has become a part of my identity. Continue reading

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Welcome, Editor!

Elise Marlett, East junior, will serve as the West Bend Current’s Editor in Chief for the 2020-21 school year. She replaces graduating senior Samantha Dietel. Congrats, Elise!

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Tooting Our Own Horn: NEWSPA Awards 2020

Local student journalists earn 24 awards

Ten West Bend students have been recognized in a statewide contest for high school journalists. Continue reading

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New York’s Coronavirus Outbreak ‘Feels Like a Nightmare’

West Bend graduate is a public health scientist in New York City

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

The City That Never Sleeps now resembles a ghost town.

That’s what Kacie Seil, a former West Bender now living in New York City, says about how the COVID-19 outbreak has affected her current home.

Seil, an epidemiologist who attended Yale University after graduating from West Bend East High School in 2006, serves as a research scientist for data integrity at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As a resident and analyst, Seil has seen the impact of the coronavirus pandemic up close. Continue reading

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Former Exchange Student Reports from Italy

Andrea Sargentoni says he “underestimated” the virus at first

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Italian student Andrea Sargentoni, like many people around the world, underestimated the severity and swift spread of the coronavirus.

Sargentoni was working through his fifth and final year of high school in Ancona, Italy, when his country’s first cases of COVID-19 were reported in late January and early February. The number of coronavirus cases and deaths rapidly escalated to the point that Sargentoni, who spent last year studying at West Bend West High School, now lives under a national lockdown. Continue reading

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‘Everyone Was Freaking Out’: Sisters with Local Ties Return from Europe

Twins were in Spain when President Trump announced new travel restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Last week, two West Bend graduates were uncertain that they would be able to return home to the United States. Continue reading

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Meet West Point Cadet James Miller

West senior heads to U.S. military academy in June

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

James Miller’s childhood dream of attending West Point is at long last becoming a reality. Continue reading

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‘I Felt Very Scared’: Exchange Students Bewildered by School Violence

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

For local foreign exchange students, this month’s school shooter threats were a culture shock. Continue reading

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WBHS Implements New Safety Measures

Plans include a new district safety coordinator position

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Improving campus security has now become a top priority at the West Bend High Schools. Continue reading

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Fear Grips Local Students After School Threats in Wisconsin

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Before last week, Kayla Lemens had never been afraid to come to school. Continue reading

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‘It Felt Like I Wasn’t Doing Enough’: Interview with Climate Activist Ally Bubb

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Ally Bubb had her children in mind when she began volunteering with the Climate Reality Project. Continue reading

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East Grad Worked Behind the Scenes at the Milwaukee Film Festival

Twenty short film collections are included in this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Moviegoers may have a West Bend graduate to thank for the forthcoming Milwaukee Film Festival’s setlist of short films. Continue reading

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Local Students Demand Government Action on Climate Change

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

With cars racing past them on Main Street, a group of local students raised homemade signs to call for change. Continue reading

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Welcome to the 2019-20 School Year

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Perhaps you have a passion for storytelling. You crave the written word. You take photographs to share your interests and ideas. Maybe you are curious about how our lives are affected by the events unfolding within and beyond the walls of the West Bend High Schools.

If this sounds like you, then the Current extends an invitation to join our award-winning staff of student journalists. Consider serving as an investigative reporter, columnist, photographer, cartoonist or entertainment reviewer. We uphold a mission to consistently provide accurate and balanced news for the local community as we engage the principles of authentic journalism.

For more information, please see Mr. Beltmann in room S95.

(Photo of Samantha Dietel courtesy of Hannah Kane.)

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The Current Staff Recognized by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Eight total awards is a new school record

Four members of the West Bend Current earned six first place prizes in a statewide contest. Continue reading

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Student Club Takes Over Patty’s Closet

Service loans out formal clothing to students

By Caitlin Marsch, Current Staff

Thanks to the work of volunteers, students in need will be able to look sharp while attending Saturday’s prom and other school functions. Continue reading

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Tooting Our Own Horn: NEWSPA Awards 2019

Dietel leads with 11 awards

Members of the West Bend Current set a school record with 28 individual awards in a statewide contest for high school journalists. Continue reading

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Schools Must Encourage the Youth Vote

VIEWPOINT

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

I will likely be one of the few local teens participating in our American democracy on Tuesday. Continue reading

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That’s the Ticket

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Two former West Bend students have partnered in a run for office. Continue reading

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Black History Month Celebration 2019

PHOTO ESSAY

The West Bend High Schools multicultural club presented the second annual Black History Month Celebration Thursday in the Silver Lining Arts Center. Highlights included speakers, food, prizes and a performance by Teju the Storyteller.

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Sisters Study for High-Stakes Exam in France

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

While many West Bend students are preparing for the ACT, Pauline and Julianne Buisard are studying for their “bac” exam in France.

Pauline and Julianne, twin sisters who spent their ninth and tenth grade years at West Bend West High School, returned to their hometown of Nantes, France last August. Now juniors, they have been preparing for their upcoming baccalauréat exam, which they must pass in order to graduate from high school. Continue reading

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Leftover Paint Sparks Cross-Hall Rivalry

By Lily Mottet, Current Staff

Painting a hallway wasn’t supposed to renew the rivalry between West Bend East and West High Schools. Continue reading

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Breaking the News: Why the Shakeup at the Local Paper Matters

VIEWPOINT

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

After what happened at the Daily News, I am concerned for the future of local journalism in West Bend. Continue reading

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WBHS Athletic Directors are Pioneers

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

The West Bend High Schools are home to two of Wisconsin’s few female athletic directors.

Erin Felber and Molly Hengst have both recently joined WBHS to head the athletic programs. Felber took on the role of West athletic director at the start of the school year, while Hengst began serving as East High’s interim athletic director in December. The two women have entered positions that are typically held by men in Wisconsin. Continue reading

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‘Did You Hear Anything?’: Shutdown Keeps Area Family in Limbo

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has led a woman with local ties to worry about her husband’s travel visa application. Continue reading

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Music Department Surprised by Budget Changes

Officials say teachers should continue their programs as planned

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

By the time orchestra director Seth Matuszak learned what his budget was for the year, it was nearly spent. Continue reading

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Incentive Program Has a Bumpy Start

By Chloe Kreis, Current Staff

For a program called 5-Star, students at the West Bend High Schools would rate it much lower. Continue reading

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Student Club Wants Martin Luther King Jr. Day Recognized

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

For Jhalia Evans, acknowledging Martin Luther King Jr. Day would mean that she matters. Continue reading

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‘They Took My Plane Ticket’: French Exchange Students Surprised by Security Checks

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Entering the United States was quite stressful for French student Noémie Bontron. Continue reading

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Welcome to the Dollhouse

WBHS graduate designed the artwork for this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

For Melissa Johnson, working with the Milwaukee Film Festival meant designing a dollhouse. Continue reading

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Hallway Abuses Have Really Gotta Go

How often do students use bathroom passes to skip class?

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Fewer students have been vanishing from Seth Matuszak’s classroom.

Both students and staff at the West Bend High Schools believe that the abuse of bathroom privileges during class time has been an issue in recent years, but some claim to have seen improvement so far this year. In the past, students have misused bathroom passes to skip large portions of class. Continue reading

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Why Wasn’t 9/11 Memorialized This Year?

By Elise Marlett and Lauren Oppermann, Current Staff

September 11, 2018 seemed just like any other day for students at West Bend High Schools.

Many students and teachers were surprised when 9/11 was not given a schoolwide memorial last Tuesday. In previous years, an announcement was read over the PA system or articles retelling the devastating story were handed out to students. Continue reading

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Professor Plum with the Candlestick

PHOTO ESSAY

Last week students in Principles of Biomedical Science investigated a mock crime scene erected in the gallery of the Silver Lining Arts Center. To uncover the cause and manner of the death of the fictitious Anna Garcia, students documented clues from her apartment and enlisted the help of West Bend Police Department officers. “I like it a lot because it’s very hands-on,” West sophomore Quynh Dang said. “You basically get a taste of what a crime scene investigator might do, so it’s very interesting and I definitely enjoy it.”

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Museum Brings Artifacts to World History Students

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

A visit from the Milwaukee Public Museum allowed some students at the West Bend High Schools to temporarily become archaeologists. Continue reading

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West Bend Welcomes Don Kirkegaard

WBSD has new superintendent after seven months without a top administrator

By Samantha Dietel, Editor in Chief

Don Kirkegaard now fills a position that has been vacant in the West Bend School District since December.

Kirkegaard officially became the district superintendent July 9. His assumption of the role thus concluded the search initiated by the school board after Erik Olson, Kirkegaard’s predecessor, resigned. Continue reading

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