6th Grade Students Meet Bloomington Police Dogs

Mrs. Twardowski and Miss Dick's sixth grade students enjoyed a visit Tuesday afternoon by three Bloomington Police Department officers and their dogs. The officers demonstrated the skills the dogs have learned in tracking humans and drugs, and they explained how the dogs are trained and used in everyday police work.

District 87 EXCEL Newsletter is Now Online

Learn more about District 87 though our 8-page district newsletter, EXCEL. Click here to download the document in pdf format.

BJHS 7th Grade Student Wins McLean County Spelling Bee

Congratulations to Max Nelson, our 7th grade student who is the winner of the McLean County Spelling Bee. Max won the final round by correctly spelling "psyche".
Max will now advance to Regional competition on March 11th. Good luck, Max!

Max poses with the travelling trophy.

BJHS Band Students Receive Top Ratings at IGSMA Contest

Solo and Ensemble Results for Bloomington Jr. High Band at IGSMA Solo and Ensemble Contest on Saturday, February 18, 2006 held at Bloomington Jr. High School.
The following band students received an Excellent Rating:
SOLOS:
Patrick Deighan, clarinet solo; Megan Hosack, snare drum solo; Emily Schultz, alto sax solo.
ENSEMBLES:
Joe Lazaro, Jon Mueller, Nick Cochran, and Ariel Frantz, saxophone quartet.
The following band students received a Superior Rating: (top rating)
SOLOS:
Cati Comella, clarinet solo; Brenna Martin, flute solo; Carol Gu, piano solo; Hillary Heinz, Fr. Horn solo; Rich Bennett, trumpet solo; Clayton Mester, snare drum solo.
ENSEMBLES:
Caresa Evans, Alicia Gonzales, Kayla Pheonix, flute trio; Phillip Scheets, Brian Parker, brass duet; Prathyusha Chengi, Brenna Martin, James Turley, Sarah Youngs, flute quartet; Ben Dungan, Seth Callahan, Gabriel Judd, trombone trio; Taihla Eddins, Kelsey Henderson, Rene Lehr, clarinet trio; Dustin Dehart, Megan Hosack, Clayton Mester, Max Nelson, percussion quartet; Marissa Allen, Jacob Rodgers, Nicole Asetre, percussion trio; Ashley Koch, Kelly Pyne clarinet duet; James Clay, Nicholas Hebert trumpet duet.

BJHS Chorus Members Earn Excellent and Superior Ratings

The following choral students earned Excellent or Superior ratings in the Solo and Ensemble contest held at BJHS on Saturday, February 18th. Fifteen schools were represented. Congratulations to these students:
Division II (Excellent)
Ensembles
Female Vocal Duet #1: Jennifer Amburgey, Soprano, Jeremiah Brittin, Tenor
Solos
Morgan Cockrell, Brittany Falsetti, Michael Nelson, Taylor Reynolds, Burgandi Shutt, Joshua Sykes, and Alexandra Rolfs (piano).
Division I (Superior)
Ensembles
Female Vocal Duet #1: Merideth Hagerty, Soprano, Adrienne Duncan, Alto
Female Vocal Duet #2: Abbigail Harraden, Soprano, Alexandra Rolfs, Alto
Mixed Vocal Ensemble: Elizabeth Hartzler,Kelsey Reynolds, Taylor Reynolds, Soprano I, Jessica Gillenwater, Abbigail Harraden, Reyhana Pippins, Alto, Jeremiah Brittin, Luke Sorensen, Tenor
Female Triple Trio: Jennifer Amburgey, Brittany Falsetti, Jessica Gillenwater,Soprano I, Morgan Cockrell, Alexandra Rolfs, Maggie Watkins, Soprano II, Adrienne Duncan, Kaity Headle, Lucille McCaffrey, Alto
Solos
Jeremiah Brittin, Tiffany Douglas, Adrienne Duncan, Jessica Gillenwater, Taylor Haeffele, Merideth Hagerty, Abbigail Harreden, Kaity Headle, Mallory Hudson, Tegan Larke, James Love, Abby Moore, Reyhana Pippins, Kelsey Reynolds, Joshua Rittenhouse, Alexandra Rolfs, Jasmine Tate, and Maggie Watson.

BJHS Strings Solos and Ensembles Earn High Ratings in Contest

The following strings students earned Excellent or Superior ratings in the Solo and Ensemble contest held at BJHS on Saturday, February 18th. Fifteen schools were represented. Congratulations to these musicians:
Division II (Excellent)
Solos
Katie Brockman and Melissa Stover, Violin Solo
Duet
Mathew Varney, Cello and Joseph Bain, Bass
Division I (Superior)
Solos
Elizabeth Lindenmeier, Rachael Dauenbaugh, Kelsey Whitcomb, Christine Stroink-Pickering, Andrew Boden, and Emily Leifheit - Violin Solo
Mathew Varney, Katherine Warren, and Megan DeLong - Cello Solo
Joseph Bain - Bass Solo
Rachael Dauenbaugh - Piano Solo
Ensembles
String Quartet
Christine Stroink-Pickering and Arnada Adams, Violin
Bethany Johnson, Viola and Natalie Jones, Cello
Ensembles
Rachael Dauenbaugh and Kelsey Whitcomb, Violin
Kaleigh Rich, Viola and Katherine Warren, Cello
Duet
Claire Maurer and Katherine Warren, Cello

Dance Team is First in UDA State Competition

Congratulations to Mrs. Pelusi and her dance team. Their hard work and team spirit has paid off - they were the only Bloomington/Normal area team to receive First Place in Saturday's UDA State Competition! The dance team members are: Brittany Ambler, Francesca Pelusi, Jaclyn Secord, Jackie Morris, Rashonda Pitts, Sydney Rubenaker, Catie Comella and Stephanie Wallace.

BJHS Strings Teacher Mrs. Monhardt Receives Top Honor

Junior Strings Club director Mrs. Karen Monhardt has been named the 2005 Outstanding School Teacher for the American String Teachers Association Illinois chapter.
Mrs. Monhardt is one of two District 87 orchestra directors, travelling from 3 to 5 schools per day in addition to directing our Junior Strings group. She was honored for her "quality teaching, which has produced many talented musicians." She also offers private lessons.
Congratulations, Mrs. Monhardt!

7th Grade Volleyball Team Wins Intercity Tournament

On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11th and 12th, our 7th grade volleyball team won the Intercity tournament at Parkside Jr. High in Normal. The team had wins over Parkside, Chiddix, Kingsley, and Metcalf schools. Lauren Winkeler served the final two points in the deciding game against Kingsley. Jayme Johnson led the team in service points with 31, and Alina Agamy led the team in kills with 15. The last home match is this Thursday, Feb. 15th at 4:30.

BJHS Mathounts Team Places 3rd in Competition

Congratulations to the BJHS Mathcounts team. BJHS sent a team and four individuals to compete at the February 11 Mathcounts Chapter Competition at Chiddix Jr. High School. Over 60 mathletes from the area competed, with 9 teams represented. Team members were Sonny Lee, Jace Mortimer, Aaron Schneider and Simran Sundhu. Individual competitiors were Abhi Bhyravajjula, Paridhee Daryapurker, Apurva Paranjepe and Vaidehe Sishtla. Aaron placed 6th and Sonny placed 9th in individual competition. The BJHS Mathcounts Team is coached by 8th grade math teacher Mrs. Sandra Graham.

MATHCOUNTS® is a national math enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. With over 22 years experience, MATHCOUNTS is one of the most successful education partnerships involving volunteers, educators, industry sponsors, and students. To learn more about this exemplary program, visit the Mathcounts website at http://www.mathcounts.org/.

The 2006-2007 District Calendar is Now Available

The District 87 school board approved the 2006-2007 school calendar at their January 25th meeting. Visit this page to view next year's calendar.

Jazz Band Students Receive Awards

The BJHS Jazz Band performed at the Illinois Wesleyan Jazz Festival on Saturday, January 21st. Three of our students were awarded the “All-Star Jazz Award” for musical excellence. Those students are: Dustin Dehart playing drum set, Nick Hebert playing trumpet, and Emily Schultz playing alto saxophone. Congratulations Dustin, Nick, and Emily!