Dance Team Going Back To Competition

By Student Reporter Ashley Turnquist

For the past three years the Cedar Grove Dance Team has not been to a competition. Well that is not the case this year; the dance team has been working hard to be able to compete in a competition on January 30th and February 6th. With going to competition the dance team needed to raise a lot of money. Some of the fundraisers they did were a Zumbathon, two Kiddie Clinics, bake sale, and marching in the Belgium Christmas Parade. Coach Mary Beth Desens and Assistant Coach Amanda Salazar have been devoting a lot of their time to this team. All the girls on the team very excited that we raised enough money to be able to by brand new uniforms.

The team consists of 6 members, Ashley Turnquist, CJ Leider, Alex Ford, Jaime Lewis, Emily Eick, and Ashley Tarvas. At competition they will be performing one pom routine to the song “Dollhouse” by Pricilla Reyna. The girls are hoping that they will be able to do well enough to make it to state. Some of the girls are a little nervous though.
“I’m really nervous and excited for this competition. This being my first year on the dance team I’m not sure what to expect,” says Ashley Tarvas.

Even though some of the girls may not know what to expect, they are going to go out there and give it all they got. It will be very exciting to see how the Dance team will do this year.

The Poisonwood Bible

By Student Reporter Janine Lynaugh

If you are currently a junior taking one of Ms. Cazarez’s English classes you are now reading The Poisonwood Bible. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, is being taught for the first time this year. It is a story of a Preacher’s family traveling to the Congo in hopes to ‘westernize’ the natives. The book is told through the eyes of the four girls and mother of the family. Because of this, the book displays many different tones and characters. It also brings up worldly issues many of us were unaware existed. Some of these issues include the fight for diamonds in Africa and the injustice Belgium inflicted on the Congo.
“I find the story very interesting. It was a little hard to read at first, but I really like it now,” says student Ashley Turnquist. As a whole the juniors now reading The Poisonwood Bible seem to enjoy it.

Charlotte's Web

By Student Reporter Ryan Nehmer

Charlottes Webb is a story about a pig named Wilbur who was the runt of the bunch being saved from being slaughtered by a very intelligent little girl named Fern and spider named Charlotte. Wilbur is thought to be praised when the farmer reads the message Charlotte wrote in her web to save Wilbur.

Our school is doing the play of this famous book and movie. We have many students participating in the play this year that it should make for a play to remember. Jim Burton, who plays the part of Templeton says, “The play is a lot of fun and the cast is having a lot of fun doing it.” The directors, Rose Casarez and Chris Nonhof, are doing their best to make sure that the play helps the schools imagination, but also provides entertainment for the school and community. I think everyone including myself cannot wait till the play opens on December 11 at 7pm and December 12 at 2pm.

Santa Paws

By Student Reporter Ryan Nehmer

This year through November 23rd to December 11th Santa Paws dog biscuits are being sold to raise money Best Buddies program. A donation also will be made to the Sheboygan County Humane Society. Santa paws dog biscuits are homemade dog biscuits baked by the students at Cedar Grove Belgium High School.

Please if interested, order from below and send to Bobbi Jo VanDeLoo at Cedar Grove Belgium High School. Biscuits will be sold for $2.00 a bag or 3 bags for $5.00. Orders end December 11th so act fast. Dog biscuits will be delivered the week of December 14th.

Holiday History

By Student Reporter Brenden Lopez

Mrs. Schmidt’s students performed their annual Christmas concert on December eighteenth this year in the Middle School auditorium. This year’s program was titled Holiday History because the kids performed songs that the parents have liked the most over the last twelve concerts. One of these songs is I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, which the third graders sang. The students had been practicing since November fifteenth and the dancers started practicing after Halloween. The fourth, third, second, and first graders, along with the kindergarteners all performed three songs each. Students that went to the performance said that it brought back memories from when they preformed the same songs with Mrs. Schmidt. They also said that when the third graders who sang Singing by Candle Light held candles, it made a cool affect. Another song they vividly remember is Jingle Bell Rock because all the lights were turned off and a strobe light was on, which was also sung by the third graders. Lastly, they said that all the songs had something added to them that made them livelier and exciting. Once again, Mrs. Schmidt and her students were able to put on a show that everyone enjoyed.

Christmas Band Concert

Tuesday night students from 6th grade through 12th grade performed for the public, their annual holiday band concert directed Tom Paulson and Lori MacRae. A wide variety of Christmas pieces to Classical songs were on the agenda, a total of 17. In all over 270 students performed from the three middle school bands and two high school groups. The annual holiday band Concert is a great way to get out and see for yourself the great talents of students in our school district.

Numerous members from both middle and high school levels were chosen to perform for Honors Band. Morgan Bohachek, Hannah Dirkse, Jon Meerdink and William Kotts were recognized as UWM Middle Level Honors Band Festival participants from Mrs. MacRae’s 8th grade band. From the Junior/Senior band, Kelly Del Ponte, Alex Ford, Erika Kirst, Rachel Slotman, Nate Drewry, Cole Prinsen, Nic Vrubley, Scott Dahm, Kristen Slotman, Jesse Anderson and Wayne Paulus were picked for the Central Lakeshore Honors Band.

Upcoming events include the High School Band Parents Fish Fry will be held on March 6th from 4:30pm-7:00pm and on March 13th the WSMA District Solo an Ensemble will be held at Random Lake. On May 10th the High School Spring Band Concert/Choir Concert/Art Show will take place at 7:00pm.

By: Jackson Holle

Charlotte’s Web

Last weekend the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School students held the play called Charlotte’s Web. “It was very creative and better than I expected,” says Janine Lynaugh. The play showed the students acting abilities on a whole new level. Many people said that this was one of the best plays yet. Liz Winker and Cole Prinsen also gave the audience a laugh not only in their goose and gander costumes, but also when they were in their second act costumes. Cole was dressed as a little farm girl and Liz was dressed as a middle aged man, it was definitely one of the highlights of the play. Jim Burton also gave many people a laugh when playing the rat Templeton. “Jim is one of the funniest rats I have ever seen,” says Andrea Burnett. One character that cannot be forgotten is Macy Villa playing Edith Zuckerman. Macy brought energy to the stage when playing a middle aged woman. These actors and actresses brought a lot to the stage but they were only a few of the talented students. Next year’s program we hope will be as good as this year’s so hope to see you there!

Written By: Nicole Kluck

First snow day of the year

On December 9th, the Cedar Grove-Belgium school district, along with many other surrounding schools, experienced the first snow day of this school year. A large snowstorm struck most of the state of Wisconsin, causing many closures of both schools and businesses. While the decision to close the school was made the night before, the snowstorm ended up not being as bad as predicted in our area. The roads were not the greatest throughout the day, so many were happy about the day off.
Last year, the unusually high number of snow days caused Cedar Grove-Belgium to end their school year significantly later than expected. As of right now the school is still undecided on how this day will be made up. It can be made up in two half days or at the end of the year. It all depends on how many snow days we have this year.

By: Matt Clark

Rodger Sandee Memorial Concession Stnad

By Student Reporter

Jeffrey Sandee, Joel Sandee, and Shelli Obbink, all children of Roger Sandee, wanted to build something special in memory of their dad, who was a great father and a great supporter of the football team. They decided to build the Roger Sandee Memorial Concession Stand. The children of Mr. Sandee brought it up to the board at the end of October. The concession stand is going to include concessions, tickets, apparel, storage, and both a men’s and a women’s bathroom. This memorial concession stand is going to be near the ticket booth we have now. Coach Zablocki suggested including a path with previous and upcoming football players’ names on the bricks, and when Joel and Shelli brought it up to the school board, this was approved as well. You can purchase the bricks by going to the link and filling out a sheet or you can go to the second link and pay with pay pal. Ways to help fundraise is to buy blankets; you can receive them from the high school office and basketball games whenever rocket apparel is being sold.

http://www.cedargrovebelgium.k12.wi.us/coachsandee/concession_stand_flyer.pdf

http://www.cedargrovebelgium.k12.wi.us/coachsandee/form.html

Basketball Scrimmage

There was a high school basketball scrimmage last week Tuesday. The Rocket boys played against both Port Washington’s boys team and St. Mary Spring’s boys team. Although Port Washington is a division 1 school, the Rocket boys held their own. When they played against St. Mary Springs the team did great. It was a back and forth game that was very entertaining to watch. Every player got a chance to get some minutes on the floor. The team this year is fun to watch and should have a great year. Although there was not a huge crowd, as the season progresses the number of fans should increase.
The girls team played after the boys finished. They played both the
Port Washington girls team and Kettle Moraine girls team. During their games, they did not keep score but it was apparent that the Rocket girls still did well. This is probably due to the fact that the Rockets only lost two girls from last year and acquired Hannah Kaul, who played with Ozaukee last season.
Good luck to both the Rocket girls and boys this season!

by: Matt Clark

Charlotte's Web the School Play

By Student Reporter Erika Meinen

When a little pig named Wilbur comes to live at the Arable’s farm, he quickly befriends a girl named Fern and a barn full of crazy creatures. Life is great until winter comes, along with the threat of being turned into bacon. Wilbur and his eight-legged friend Charlotte have to act fast to come up with a plan to save Wilbur’s life.

You can find out if Charlotte’s plan to save Wilbur succeeds in the Cedar Grove-Belgium production on Friday, December 11th (7:00 pm—doors open at 6:30) and Saturday, December 12th (2:00 pm—doors open at 1:30). Tickets are $5 each, and advance tickets can be purchased in the High School office, Middle School office, or the Elementary School office. Hope to see you there!

Cross Country State 2009

At the Wisconsin Rapids State Cross Country meet, both the CG-B boys and girls teams did excellent. Josh Mulloy took home his second individual State Champion medal for Division 3, and Joel Merritt was second on the team with an eighth place finish. The boys team brought home CG-B’s first ever championship trophy at a state event. They won with The Prairie School in second place. Marina Paul led the girls team with a seventh place finish, one away from the medal stand, and Kiera Depies was eleventh overall. The girls team was the Division 3 runner-up behind Edgar, only one point away from taking first. At the end of the season Mr. Wood said, “It was an unbelievable season in many ways, but with quite believable state results. Combining a load of talent with hard work will make things happens. And they did happen with CG-B’s first team State championship coming from the men, and, within a fraction of a second, the ladies matching that accomplishment.” The Rockets had a great season this year and hope for many more to come!

By: Jessica Meinen

Basketball Scrimmage

There was a high school basketball scrimmage last week Tuesday. The Rocket boys played against both Port Washington’s boys team and St. Mary Spring’s boys team. Although Port Washington is a division 1 school, the Rocket boys held their own. Against St. Mary Springs the team did great. It was a back and forth game that was very entertaining to watch. Every player got a chance to get some minutes on the floor. The team this year is fun to watch and should have a great year. Although there was not a huge crowd, as the season progresses the number of fans should increase.
The girl’s team played after the boys had finished. They played both the
Port Washington girls team and Kettle Moraine girls team. During their games they did not keep score but you could tell that the Rocket girls still did well. This is probably due to the fact that the Rockets only lost two girls from last year, and acquired Hannah Kaul who played with Ozaukee last season. The small amount of Rocket supporters was as apparent as it had been during the boys, but as with them it should increase throughout the year.
Good luck to both the Rocket girls and boys this season.

By: Matt Clark

Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School Recognized as an Admirable School

For the third year in a row, Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School has been recognized as an outstanding middle school by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. While staff and students can name a variety of reasons why the middle school should be commended, the specific areas recognized by the AWSA include rapid improvement in reading and math in the past school year; reading and math scores in the top 10% of the state; and improvement in scores in reading and/or math with special designation for rapid improvement in schools comprised of a high poverty population.
Cedar Grove-Belgium was also recognized for its reading scores in the top 10% of all middle schools in the state. Congratulations to the students and the staff for this outstanding academic achievement!

By: Taylor Ansay

Smugmug

While the students enrolled in the Publications class have always taken photos, this year they are being made accessible to people outside of class. Having recently purchased two new cameras, students have been taking photos since the beginning of the year of every sport that has gone on so far and activities such as the homecoming pep rally, spirit week, the powder puff game, and student life. The class then uploads the pictures onto Smugmug, which is a site that allows people to buy these pictures for their own use. The pictures, which will be mailed directly to the buyers’ houses, are available in a variety of sizes.
All profits made from this fundraiser helps to keep the yearbook affordable for students. New photos will keep being posted throughout the year on smugmug, so people are encouraged to look every once and a while and see if they are interested in buying any. People can get to the pictures on Smugmug by either going on the school website and clicking on Rocket Photos or following the link below.

By: Brenden Lopez

Mrs. Sandee

By Student Reporter Sasha Lane

In late October Mrs. Sandee had the honor of getting the game football that was signed by the freshman and sophomore football players. She received the game football for being supportive of the football team since 1966. The football was presented to her after the last JV home game, which the team finished 8 to 0. The football was given to her by Coach Dan Schreurs, Coach Josiah Pledl and grandson TJ Obbink. It was a huge surprise to Mrs. Sandee she had no idea that the teams were going to do this for her.

A+ Grading Scale

By Student Reporter Michael O’Donnell

The talk around the water bubbler in the Cedar Grove-Belgium school district consists of an interesting yet controversial topic. This topic is whether or not to give our A+ grading scale the boot and lower it to a mediocre A grading scale.

So what does this exactly entail? The concept is exactly as it seems. Instead of students being able to achieve a 4.34 for an A+, the highest one could get would be a 4.0 for an A. Simple enough.

Many students are not thrilled with this change. “Students want to strive for an A+ rather than a plain A because it makes report cards look better,” states senior Leyla Berlik. James O’Donnell, a junior, says, “It’s dumb. What is going to make people want to work hard for just an A?” The A+ thought process makes sense to the students of CG-B High. It seems many students feel hard work deserves a sufficient reward, and rightly so.

Several departments at CG-B High are already making efforts to create a more distinguished line between an A and A+ in an attempt to keep A+s a reality for students.

Physical Education teachers, for example, have instituted a new form of grading into gym class. This new grading system takes form in Heart Rate Monitors.

Heart rate monitors are monitoring the pulse of a touchy subject in the world of Physical Education at Cedar Grove High school. As of this year, students in gym class are required to wear a heart rate monitor to, well, monitor their hearts. These monitors consist of a strap that is positioned right in the center of the chest with a wrist watch that computes the beats of the heart.

The monitors are used by the gym teachers to keep an eye on the students, making sure they are working out hard enough during class. Although it may seem like a good idea, a lot of the student body is not fond of them. Many students say that they are more of an inconvenience then a help. “It makes no sense” says Nicole Kluck a sophomore “They’re uncomfortable and pointless.” Others, like Ashley Turnquist, indicate that wearing heart rate monitors is a small price to pay if it keeps A+s in the mix.

What is it that makes these monitors so hated? Just the fact they are uncomfortable? Or is it that students actually have to work to get that ever so elusive A+ in Physical education? All in all, what’s done is done. No student can change the new way of grading with a heart monitor.

The feeling that students have toward this whole change is outwardly visible. The new forms of grading at CG-B are not warmly welcomed. The students do not seem to have the drive to back this up. The thing is, the students have little to say in the overall decision, so it’s left to the big guys in suits and ties to decide the fate of upcoming school years.

Spanish Student of the Quarter

By Student Reporter Carina Deppiesse

The new student chosen for the Spanish student of the quarter is Cole Prinsen, he is in Spanish III, it is one of his favorite classes along with band and theater arts. Cole participates in Football in the fall. On his free time he loves to hang out with his friends and study Spanish, Cole as spends some of his free time working at Rathjen Gardens which is right outside of Oostburg. When asked how he felt about being announced as Spanish student of the month he replied, “It’s Boss”.

Sheboygan County Fair Artwork

By Student Reporter Janine Lynaugh

Cedar Grove-Belgium Schools were well represented at the Sheboygan County Fair this summer. Mrs. Linse, the middle school and elementary art teacher, sent forty three 3-D pieces and one hundred and sixty four 2-D pieces to the fair. That made a grand total of two hundred and seven entries! Out of all the entries, there were 70 first places, 61 second places, 45 third places, and 31 fourth places. A special congratulation to eighth graders Logan Peterson, Shania Long, Sarah Parker, Jacob Bednarek, Brian Muller, seventh grader Diana Mueller, sixth grader Hannah Harmon, and forth grader Jessica Rose. These students received special merits for their artwork. Keep up the good work!

Rocket Boys Basketball

By Student Reporter Matthew Clark

The boys basketball team started their season on Monday, November 16, with high hopes of making a great run like they did last year. Although some of the key players to last year’s success have graduated, they still have a great team. The first practice was mostly fundamental things to get everyone back on track with basketball, as many of the players on the team are in fall sports.

With some of the starters gone from last year, people will have to step up and assume roles that they may not be familiar with. The coach, Jim Meinen, is trying to get players to practice numerous positions so they can jump into them at any given time during a game. Although players may have some new positions, no one has complained or had any problems with the changes. With a scrimmage against St. Mary Springs and Port Washington next Tuesday, we will get a good look at what this season will bring.

Everyone is excited to see if the boys can make another playoff appearance this year. With the dedication and hard work the players put in, it is very possible to see the boys having another great season.

Rocket Girls Basketball

By Student Reporter Brittni Emperley

The 2009-2010 season of girls basketball started on Wednesday November 18th. After two successful practices all girls participating are starting to get into the routine. With a team of over thirty, the girls this year will have to work hard to earn a spot on JV, Varsity, or the new freshman team. This is the first year in a while Cedar Grove-Belgium has had enough girls to fill a freshman team’s roster. The freshman team, as of now, has 6 games on their schedule and is expecting more.

Varsity still has a full bench with ten players, nine returning from last year. The team also has a new player, Hannah Kaul, coming from Ozaukee. All ten players are returning letter winners. Varsity has started to learn plays from their new offensive coach, Mr.Coopman, and is getting ready for their upcoming scrimmage. Mr.Coopman is new to the coaching staff and will be helping Mr.Ketterhagen this year on the offensive side.

The varsity team will be hosting their first scrimmage next Tuesday in the high school gym starting at 5:30. All the players and coaches are very excited for this upcoming year and are ready to play to their full exponential. We wish luck to the girls basketball teams and hope for a winning season. Go Rockets!

Bada Bing's Student of the Month

By Student Reporter Carina Deppiesse

A new month is here and a different student has been chosen for Bada-Bing’s student of the month. Each person is nominated and chosen by the high school staff members according to their academic achievements and their involvement in school. Congratulations to Tyler Weavers, who was the chosen student for the month of November.

Tyler is a senior and is among the top of his class. He is the vice president of student council, vice president of the National Honor Society, and also participates in sports including football and golf. Most of his hobbies consist of outdoor activities such as water skiing, tubing, and ultimate Frisbee. Tyler’s two favorite classes include physics and Spanish 4. With his last year left of high school, Tyler hopes to attend UW Madison and major in civil engineering. When asked how he felt about achieving this award he replied, “It is truly a great honor to have received the award of Bada-Bing’s student of the month, thanks to all who have nominated me.”

Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School Recognized as an Admirable School

By Student Reporter Taylor Ansay

For the third year in a row, Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School has been recognized as an outstanding middle school by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. While staff and students can name a variety of reasons why the middle school should be commended, the specific areas recognized by the AWSA include rapid improvement in reading and math in the past school year; reading and math scores in the top 10% of the state; and improvement in scores in reading and/or math with special designation for rapid improvement in schools comprised of a high poverty population.

Cedar Grove-Belgium was also recognized for its reading scores in the top 10% of all middle schools in the state. Congratulations to the students and the staff for this outstanding academic achievement!

Veteran's Day Ceremony

By Student Reporter Nicole Kluck

This year, at the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School annual Veteran’s Day program, the keynote speaker was Vern Arndt. His speech, which described his personal experiences in World War II, touched many of the students such as Michael O’Donnell, who turned to a his friends and said “that guy was an incredible, decorated war hero, that had plenty to say of his military life.” A 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Mersberger and two of her students, Mariah Navis and Ben Shroeder gave an interesting speech on the Pledge of Allegiance. At this program there were veterans from the Army, Marine, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. One thing that also had a response from many people was a recording of a mother writing a letter to her son as he was being shipped out to Iraq. The letter shows that when you pray for men in the army, do not just pray for the man in the uniform, but the man also behind it. As the Veteran’s Day program was ending the men who served in the army held a rifle salute. This year’s Veteran’s Day was a true success!

Dance Fundraiser

Amanda Salazar, the new dance team coach, has brought many new ideas to the table. The dance team plans to go to competition in the upcoming months. Unfortunately dance competitions are costly. Ms. Salazar has many fundraising ideas, to make money for new uniforms and poms. One of which is a Zumba Clinic. Ms. Salazar works at the Sheboygan YMCA teaching Zumba classes to all ages. Zumba is a defined as a Latin dance inspired work-out. The steps are easy to follow and fun to do. The dance team has used Zumba in several practices as warm ups. “Zumba is a really unique and fun to do!” says one of the dancers.
The Zumba clinic is scheduled for November 21st, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. It will be held in the CGB Middle School Gym. A bake sale will immediately follow the clinic. Tickets are $10; if interested please contact any girl from the dance team, or either of the coaches.

Archeological Dig

On October 16th the sixth grade class participated in the yearly Archeological Dig. This was a great opportunity for the students to learn about Egyptians and hieroglyphics in a fun way.
The groups of students put a lot of work into this dig. They had to write stories and put it into their own hieroglyphic writing. The story was about the mummy that was going to be buried in their tomb, and then they figured out what they wanted to have in their tomb. Some of the things they put in the tombs were pots, jewelry, coins, and the mummy. These artifacts were supposed to resemble the mummy’s most sacred possessions. A Map of the tomb was made so the kids would know exactly where to place their artifacts. After all of this work was done they began to dig out there tombs and place the artifacts in it.
The most fun part of this whole experience for the kids was to dig up their friends tombs and find out what each held inside. Some of the groups found all the artifacts but some were missing some, which are still in the ground somewhere over by the baseball fields, and will most likely be dug up next year. There were messages written on cloth in hieroglyphics, the kids had a key to follow to figure out what it said. The stories were about the life of the buried mummy in the tomb.
The students this year really enjoyed this activity. A lot of them said that I it probably going to be the best thing they do all year. Tommy Lynaugh said, “I had so much fun at the dig this year, I couldn’t wait to go to English class so we could work on our tomb.” As you can see the Archeological Dig was a joy to all the students, it is definitely one of the highlights to the sixth grade.

Rockets Ongoing Victories

By: Brittni Emperley

The Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets 2009 seasons are more than outstanding. The football team ended the regular season with a 9-0 record and will playing Oostburg in their second playoff game on Saturday, October 31st at 4:00 p.m. Their first playoff game was on Tuesday against Kenosha St. Joseph. The game ended with a score of 42-7, with the Rockets once again taking another victory. According to Wayne Paulus, who plays both defensive end and offensive guard, “Our game was slow at first, but we had a great second half.” Spencer Jacque led the team in rushing yards with a total of 251 yards. Time and again, the Rockets marched onto the field ready to play any team that came their way. With a total number of 384 points this season, the Rockets allowed their competition to score only 51 points. Cedar Grove- Belgium Rockets ended up with second seed this year, and we’re all hoping for a victory against Oostburg this Saturday!

Football is not the only sport that the Rockets are currently thriving in—both the girls and boys cross country teams are going to state this Saturday. Having won sectionals, we expect the team to do extremely well at state. The meets, which take place between 11:00 (girls) and 1:00 (boys) are being held at Wisconsin Rapids.

Good luck, Rockets! We wish you the best!

Art Club 2009

By: Brenden Lopez


Art Club
The first art club meeting for this year was on September 10th where kids met with Mr. Urness after school in the art room. Usually the meetings are every Thursday after school, and they either talk about things coming up or they have work days where they can come in and work on any projects they need to finish. The Art Club does various activities during the year like ice carving or collecting trash to recycle into paper. They also sell entertainment books at the beginning of the year, which is a book full of coupons from area businesses. At the first meeting for Art Club, students elected the president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. This year’s officers are Jenny Barrette as President, Stephanie Norman as Vice President, Eva Lee as Treasurer, and Grace Nicora as Secretary. Art Club has also selected a design for this year’s t-shirts and hoodies. The design, created by Grace Nicora, consists of a sapphire background with white writing, and the hoodie will be purple with white writing. If anyone is interested in purchasing these items, the t-shirts are ten dollars, the hoodies are twenty dollars, and there is a sign up sheet available in the Art room.

Rocket’s Sweep Conference Invite

By: Jessica Meinen

At the Central Lakeshore Conference Cross Country meet on Thursday October 15th, the Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets boys and girls did extremely well. In the girls race, Marina Paul placed 1st with a time of 15:35, and Kiera Depies was close behind in 2nd with a time of 15:51. Both Marina and Kiera were All Conference, along with Erika Meinen who placed 6th. Jessica Meinen, Kelly Del Ponte, Taylor Ansay and Tammi Del Ponte finished the race soon after. All of the girls’ runners, including the JV, ran very well at the meet. Sheboygan Lutheran placed second to the Rockets and Oostburg placed third.

The boys placed first with only 19 points, setting a new CG-B school record for the Conference 1st place score. On the boys’ team, Josh Mulloy finished in first place with a time of 16:36. Joel Merrit placed 2nd with a time of 17:05 and TJ Du Mez finished in 3rd with a time of 17:10. Richard Beabout, Alex Holle, Brandon Krauska and Al Murphy all finished in the top 15 runners. Joe Schueller, who ran on the JV team, was the first boy JV runner to finish overall. The rest of the boys JV team followed with great races for each one of them. Sheboygan Lutheran followed the boys in second place and Elkhart Lake placed third. On Saturday, October 24th, the Sectional Cross Country meet will be held at the Sheboygan Lutheran High School course.

Bada Bing Student of the Month

by Erika Meinen

Each month, the high school teachers nominate a student to be the Bada Bing Student of the Month. The student that gets picked is usually someone who does very well in academics, and this year the teachers nominated sophomore Montanna Zajac, the daughter of Corinne and Dean Zajac.

Not only does Montanna succeed academically, but she also participates in student council and is involved in sports almost all year long. She plays fast pitch and softball and runs cross country. Some of her hobbies include running, drawing, and basically anything else that has to do with outdoors. Since she likes drawing, she also joined the school’s art club. The art club helps decorate the school by doing things such as painting the ceiling tiles and putting pictures on the wall.
Montanna is only a sophomore, and she already has big plans for her future. She is planning to go into the field of science or maybe go to MIT. She says, “I just want to be something big, do something important.”

Volleyball

The Rockets volleyball team was off to a fast start at the beginning of the season with winning 8 out of 10 non conference games. They also took home first place medals from the Marshal tournament. With conference games coming up, the Rockets have high hopes of winning and bettering their record.

The team this year consists of 7 returning varsity players, Kristen Slotman, Rachel Slotman, Kaslin Ebbers, Kim Hoffmann, Malorie Kappler, Erika Kirst, and Ashley Turnquist, and 7 new comers, Becca Arentsen, Jackie Bruggink, Stephanie Rupple, Cheyenne Dutter, Laura Lamers, Nikki Gottsacker, and Steph TeStroote. Mrs. Weavers is also back after taking a year off with the determination to take her team to the next level. Our captains this year are three seniors Kaslin Ebbers, Kristen Slotman, and Rachel Slotman. These three girls are working very hard on and off the court to make there team as best as possible. One of the captains, Rachel Slotman, says “All of the girls on the team this year strive to get better, because of this; our team could go far in the post season. I am really excited to go see what happens the rest of the year.”

Setting goals is important to any sports team, and that’s exactly what our volleyball team is doing. The girls all got together and thought of goals that would be good for the team to have. Some of these goals for each game are having a 90% serving average, 20 kills, 20 digs, 10 blocks, and never losing by less than ten points. These goals were set very high for the team only because they know that with a lot of practice and a whole bunch of effort there team can reach any goal. Another one of our goals was to be in the top three of our conference.

So far our conference is going very well. We have had four victories against Ozaukee, Random Lake, Christian, and Elkhart Lake. So we have only lost two games against two very good teams, Oostburg and Howards Grove. With games against Lutheran, Stockbridge, and Kohler coming up the Rockets are hoping for wins and ending the season with a great conference record and hopefully doing well in regionals.

Dance Team

The Cedar Gove Belgium dance team is off to a great start! They are shooting for high hopes and great goals. This year the team is planning on going to competition, which they have not done in four years. Also new this year is Amanda Salazar. Amanda came here from Sheboygan Falls, where she used to be on the Sheboygan South dance team. Head coach Mary-Beth Desens, with the help of Amanda, are planning on pushing these girls to the best of their abilities. The team is contributing ideas for fund raisers to make money for new uniforms and poms. Like every year, the team organized a Kiddie Clinic. This year went fantastic even though we had a downpour. If your child did not get the chance to sign up, don’t worry we have another Kiddie Clinic during basketball season. The dance team appreciates all the support they get, and we hope you are able to come see them perform sometime this season.

Welcome Mrs. Lennon

If you have been down the freshman hallway recently, you may have noticed the absence of one of our former computer teachers. The “Mr. Cronkright” name tag has been replaced with a “Mrs. Lennon” one. For anyone who is not taking a computer class, Mrs. Lennon is the newest addition to our Technology department.

Mrs. Lennon was born and raised in Missouri. She lived in Georgia, where she taught for several years, before moving to Wisconsin. She attended Missouri Western University, where she received her degree in Instructional Technology. Mrs. Lennon is currently teaching Accounting 1 and 2, Microsoft Office 1, Business Management, Introduction to Business, Marketing, and 7th and 8th grade general typing. If you are at all interested in any of these classes, Mrs. Lennon encourages all of the student body to take them. Mrs. Lennon really enjoys teaching at our school. She commented on how similar Cedar Grove is to her home town, and how our school reminds her of where she went to school. Mrs. Lennon fits in wonderfully at our school and has made a great addition to our staff.

Mid-season Soccer

There certainly were high hopes coming into the 2009 season for the players and coaches of the boy’s soccer team. The only thing on the mind of the coaches and returning players was to avenge the short lived post season from the previous year. A tough loss in the first round of the playoffs ended the last season for the Rockets. This year hopes to be anything but the same.

The season-opener showed just how competitive the year would be with a loss to Oostburg. Head coach Papi Pozo always taught to keep your heads in the game and to never give up, which is exactly what the team did, coming back mid-season to win four straight games to achieve a 5-3 record. Because of the large amount of new players joining this year, a junior varsity team was formed playing a few games this year. Only one game in, the junior varsity team is 1-0. The season is only half over and we look forward to seeing how the rest of the year turns out. With such a close and competitive conference anything can happen.

Scholarships and Awards Ceremony

Student Reporter: Jordan Dykstra


Every year when eighth graders are shown around freshmen mentors tell them to get involved in activities and try hard in high school because it will help when applying for scholarships. This past week, that was shown during the scholarships and award ceremony.


On Wednesday, May 27th, forty seniors gathered in the Middle School Auditorium to see how their hard work paid off. Students had the opportunity to apply for national, state-wide, or local scholarships. For the local scholarships, students filled out one form that was then given to the scholarship committee to select the winners. This year was a very successful year for many students and we wish all the college-bound seniors good luck in the future!



Back Row: Drew Schreurs (CGB Foundation, UW-Green Bay) Jake Tarantino (Rocket Basketball Club) Jason Croatt (Kettle Lakes Cooperative, Jimmy Lohr) Chris McCartney (Presidents Academic Achievement Award) Randy Zuelsdorf (Presidents Academic Achievement Award) Josh Peterson (Broncos Football, CGB Education Association, CGB High School Student Council People’s Choice, WIAA Scholar Athlete) Jeremy Green (CGB Foundation, Presidents Academic Achievement Award) Andrew Post (Concordia University) Tanner Peiffer (JJ Roller Memorial)


3rd Row: Skyler Ebbers (Mayline Group) Joe Bednarek (Rocket Track/Field and CC) Jesus Guevara (Lakeside Foods) Joe Dettmann (D.J. Breitzman, Eklund-Schwabenlender Education) Jarred Lucas (CGB High School Student Council, Sheboygan Blue Line Fredericks-Jorgensen Concordia University) Brandon Garcia (Wrestling Memorial, Outstanding Senior Athlete) Stephen Toeller (Eklund-Schwabenlender Education) Drew Budnik (Presidents Academic Achievement Award) Jordan Vrubley (Acuity, American Legion Post 338, Aurora Health Foundation, Best Buy, Elks National Foundation, Herb Kohl Excellence, Kohler Foundation Incentive, Sheboygan Service Club, St. Norbert College, Salutatorian Award, Presidents Academic Achievement Award) Cody May (Belgium Area Chamber of Commerce, Belgium Community Club, CGB Foundation, Cardinal Stritch)


2nd Row: Kayla Eernisse (Amsterdam Lions Club, First Reformed Church, CGB Student Council Award) Jordan Dykstra (David and Mary Claerbaut Education, Carl “Doc” DuMez Museum Memorial, Eklund-Schwabenlender Education, Kohler Credit Union, Kohler Foundation Incentive, Marian University, Salutatorian Award, Cedar Grove-Belgium Student Council Award, Presidents Academic Excellence Award, Outstanding Senior Athlete Award, WIAA Scholar Athlete Award) Ariel Beutel (Walter and June Vollrath, Cedar Grove-Belgium Student Council Award, Presidents Academic Excellence Award) Rachael Pampel (Senior Art Award) Alannah Bruggink (Port Washington State Bank, Presidents Academic Excellence Award) Lyndsey Weyker (Belgium Lions Club, CGB High School Student Council People’s Choice, Early Bird Rotary Club) Kristen Lohr (Urness Diversity Scholarship, Cardinal Stritch) Brittany Anzia (CGB High School Student Council)


Front Row: Heather Hoffmann (Harris Bank, Silver Lake College) Nikki Klahn (CGB Foundation) Jackie Sopko (Belgium Lions Club, Presidents Academic Excellence Award) Lauren Otte (CGB PTO, Cedar Grove Fire Department, Oostburg State Bank, Cardinal Stritch) Sadie Meinen (Rocket Basketball Club) Ashlee Ansay (CGB PTO, Harris Bank, Cardinal Stritch) Autumn Santarius (CGB Education Association) Amanda Isken (Academic Excellence, American Legion Post 338, DECA Harry Applegate, Valedictorian Award, CGB Student Council Award, Presidents Academic Excellence Award) Jordan Schieffer (Future Farmers of America, OZ County Realtors Association)
Not Pictured: Megan Villa (CGB High School Student Council, Dr. Daniel Witkowski, Cardinal Stritch) Jenny Schmidt (Wartburg College)

Bada Bing Student of the Month

Student Reporter: Eddie Guevara


Bada Bing student of the month is given to the student who tried very hard in school and is involved in extracurricular activities after school. They are also chosen because they stood out more than any other student and they showed a great academic achievement.


The last student to be chosen for the Bada Bing student of the month went to Randy Zuelsdorf, the son of Kolleen and Daniel Zuelsdorf. Randy is honored of being chosen as the last student. He played soccer, baseball, and football throughout his high school years. His favorite classes are Woodworking, any class with Mr. Wood, and Band. Randy is a senior who plans on attending UW Milwaukee after he graduates. He is going there to study Criminal Justice and he hopefully believes that he can become a Police Aide for the city of Milwaukee one day. When I asked him how it felt to be picked as the last Bada Bing student of the month, he stated, “It was shocking!”

Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest

Student Reporter: Nikki Klahn



A seventh grade student, Erin Bagatta, received an Honorable Mention in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest for the state of Wisconsin. This contest consisted of students drawing a duck, hoping to make their creation into a postage stamp. Bagatta is a very artistic and creative middle school student and also has a piece of artwork at the Sate Youth art show at the State Fair this summer. Congratulations Erin!

8th Annual Litter Pick-Up and Papermaking

Student Reporter: Samantha Lamers


With global warming and other environmental issues on the rise, many do not understand the danger that that occurs with these problems. Fortunately, this year was the 8th annual Litter Pick-Up and Paper Making which is held by the Art Club of Cedar Grove – Belgium HS.


Mr. Urness and many students met on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 10:00am on S. Commerce St. in Cedar Grove to begin their activities for the day. They walked along State Road 32 heading eastward towards Interstate 43 continually clearing out the area of its litter.


After the students were done with the litter-picking up portion of the day, they went back to the school for lunch followed by a group activity of paper-making. With the paper-making, they use some of the debris that they found earlier that morning and intertwine into their theme. This year, their theme for their paper-making art project is outer space.

April Bada Bing Student of the Month

Student Reporter: Lyndsey Weyker


Another month has passed, and once again it’s time to pick a new Bada Bing student of the month. Teachers vote for a student that stood out to them and has shown great academic achievement. They also look for involvement in extracurricular activities and school functions.


This month they chose Alannah Bruggink, daughter of James and Judith Bruggink. In addition to being a top-ranked student, Alannah is involved in National Honor Society, band, choir, CLC Honors, and teacher assistant. Her favorite classes are choir, Spanish IV, band, and advanced Chemistry. When asked her feelings about receiving this honor, she stated, “I’m very glad to have received this award. I’m also thankful to Mr. Epping for always voting/ for nominating me.”

Student Government Day

Student Reporter: Jarred Lucas


Student Government Day was held at the Sheboygan County courthouse in Sheboygan Wisconsin on April 15, 2009. Students from various high schools around the county were invited to participate in an advanced look into local and county wide government operations. Students were brought into the county council meeting room where they participated in a mock debate led by local 4-H leaders and a few county officials. At this debate everyone was given the opportunity to voice their opinions on the subject at hand.


After the debate was finished all the attending students were brought into the Sheboygan County Jail and shown around the facilities including holding cells, the navigation center, as well as the emergency center. While in the jail, students were given opportunities to have various questions answered by the Chief of Police in Sheboygan County. From this point the students were led into the courthouse and where allowed to again ask questions to the assistant District Attorney. Finishing up the court experience was Judge James Bolgert. He put together a mock trial and used this trial to teach the students of the trial procedure.


After the trial was over everyone in attendance was provided with a lunch, donated by the local lions clubs. The lunch was followed by a seminar about local opportunities for kids to help out in government. With lunch being over, the students where led in their two groups to the records offices and were allowed to look up local records and land ordinances. Many students seemed interested and spent a lot of time looking through land blue prints and were even allowed to take old land prints home with them. On behalf of everyone that attended Student Government Day we would like to thank the Sheboygan County 4-H club and the Lions Club of Sheboygan.

Acuity Business Challenge

Student Reporter: Kayla Zimmer


On Saturday, March 7th, 48 teams of 96 students gathered at Acuity to compete in the Acuity Business Challenge. Students from nine area high schools competed to sell an imaginary product called the “Holo- Generator”. Students needed to use their brains and a lot of creativity to sell their product in different financial situations and real life economic times like booms and recessions. Not only did they have to make economic decisions, but they also had to deal with financial issues and running a business.


Teams were made up of two students and one adult business coach who could assist the students when they needed help. The students needed to run their business wisely, work hard, and make wise on the dime decisions to try to be one of the few to make it to the top.


Among the top contestants were Jordan Vrubley and Amanda Isken, who were runners up. They each won two year scholarships to UW-Sheboygan and were automatically entered into the state business challenge on April 30th. Also among the winners were students James Gallager and Alex Isken, who were Industry C winners of the groups ranging from A to F.


All of the students who participated in the event had a good time. Andy Post said, “The Business Challenge was a fun and exciting event, and I learned a lot from it.” The Acuity Business Challenge was an opportunity to learn how businesses are really run and at the same time have fun interacting with other people in the business world.

Badger State

Student Reporter: Eddie Guevara


This summer, Wisconsin will hold its 66th annual Badger Girls State and its 68th annual Badger Boys State events. This year, the Cedar Grove-Belgium representatives are Tyler Weavers and Kelly DelPonte for Sheboygan County and Jake Shanahan and Erika Kirst for Ozaukee County. When asked about being selected, Erika Kirst replied, “I’m honored to be chosen as Badger Girl rep and I’m looking forward to attending the program in June.
Badger State is a school of government training which divides students into two political parties which are the Federalist and the Nationalists. From there students will contrive their own issues, giving them the opportunity to learn government strategies firsthand.
The girl’s event, which is sponsored by The American Legion Auxiliary and the Department of Wisconsin, will be held from June 21-26 at the University of Oshkosh. Badger Boys State, which is sponsored by local American Legion Posts, will be held the week prior from June 13-20 at Ripon College campus.
Congratulations, Kelly, Tyler, Jake, and Erika!

Jarred Lucas Receives Honor

Student Reporter: Tim Baumann


One of Cedar Grove–Belgium’s high school seniors, Jarred Lucas, has been honored with Unanimous First Team All Badger Land. This is an honor for the five best and hardest working hockey players in the Badger Land conference. Being unanimously selected means that every coach in their conference agreed he deserved first team. The conference had a lot of great players, including Matt Pappe from state ranked number one Appleton United, Casey Holmes from the number six Fon du lac Cardinals, and Max McCormick from the number 12 Notre Dame tritons.


Jarred ended the season with 4 goals and 22 assists; great numbers for a defensive player. It is not all about the amount of points they have on the year, but also has to do with the effort and how much they contributed in their team’s success. Jarred averaged forty eight minutes of the fifty one minutes possible during the games. During the games Jarred helped the goalie out protecting the net, and only let 2.9 goals a game.


“It’s an honor to receive this award and it was fairly unexpected, but I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates, I couldn’t have done it without them,” said Jarred Lucas when asked about his award.


On behalf of everyone in the Cedar Grove-Belgium community, congratulations Jarred and good luck to you in the future.

Class of 2009 Salutatorian

Student Reporter: Ariel Beutel


This year the honored salutatorian of the Class of 2009 is Jordan Elizabeth Dykstra. Jordan is the daughter of Linda and Rich Dykstra. She has been a strong student and has worked diligently throughout her four years of high school. Aside from being focused on her studies, Jordan also juggled sports, clubs, church, and work. After graduation, Jordan plans to further her education at Marian University where she will study Elementary Education. Jordan has received the AAA scholarship from Marian University. This scholarship gives Jordan $8,000 per year and was granted to her because of her class rank, ACT score, and grade point average. With this scholarship, Jordan has also been admitted into Marian University’s Honors Program and gets a free laptop.


When asked about being named Salutatorian of the Class of 2009, Jordan replied, “I worked so hard in all my classes since freshmen year, and it’s really neat to see that it paid off. It is a great honor to be salutatorian.” Jordan would like to leave some advice for the underclassman, “…get involved in lots of school activities. Sports and clubs are fun to be a part of and by being involved in them; you can develop good time management skills.”

March Bada Bing Student of the Month

Student Reporter: Lyndsey Weyker


Another month has passed, and once again it’s time to pick a new Bada Bing student of the month. Teachers vote for a student that stood out to them and has shown great academic achievement. They also look for involvement in extracurricular activities and school functions.


This month they chose Mary Asma, daughter of Shirley and Joe Asma. In addition to being a top-ranked student, Mary is involved in cross country, forensics, fast pitch, student council, and the school play. Her favorite classes are Chemistry, Band, and Algebra 2. When asked her feelings about receiving this honor, she stated, “I feel special because most sophomores aren’t picked and I guess hard work pays off.”

Music to build character

Student Reporter: Joe Dettmann



Grammy nominated children’s singer and songwriter Red Grammer has been featured on dozens of television programs including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Nickelodeon, Showtime, PBS, and The Disney Channel. With a very extensive musical career, Red has reached the hearts of kids and adults alike by speaking messages of integrity, truthfulness, responsibility, character, citizenship and much more.


On Thursday, March 5th, the Cedar Grove-Belgium Elementary and Middle School students welcomed this kind hearted singer by adorning themselves in red clothing. Throughout the day, Red performed some of his Grammy nominated songs and held a night time performance at 6:30 PM. Our school is very lucky to have had the pleasure of hearing Red perform. I’m sure our local kids had a great time and learned quite a few valuable life lessons in the process. It’s good to see such a large amount of support over an extremely positive influence.

Spanish Student of the Month

Student Reporter: Lyndsey Weyker


The Spanish student for the second quarter is freshman, Dustin Groenwald. His favorite class is Spanish and he loves the movie Shanghai Knights. Dustin likes to play videogames and read books by RA Salvatore during his free time. When he is not playing videogames and reading, he is working hard at the County Grove, where he washes dishes. When asked his feelings about being the new Spanish student of the month he said, “I was happy to find out my hard work was paying off.”

Megan’s Library of Love

Student Reporter: Mariah Keller



Megan‛s Library of Love book drive began in 2006.The task began out of the inspiration to remember all of the memories of Megan, to help our community heal, and to make a difference in the lives of others. The 5th grade class at Cedar Grove-Belgium Schools combined these goals with Megan’s passion for learning and reading to create the Library of Love. The fifth graders at CGBMS are honored to carry on this yearly tradition.


Every February, close to Megan‛s birthday, fifth graders gather donations of recently purchased books and send them to schools in need. The “Love Books” are a gift of love meant to encourage learning and reading. The fifth graders have the responsibility of making posters, contacting businesses, labeling all of the books with a Library of Love sticker, sorting the books into categories, and packing all the books for shipping.


In the three years since the Library of Love project began, students have collected over 7,400 books to send to schools in need. In 2006, 3,419 books were sent to St. Bernard‛s Parish to help rebuild their school library after Hurricane Katrina devastated the community. In 2007, 1,613 books were sent to White Mountain School in
Alaska which is a small village that lost its high school due to a fire. In 2008, 2,431 books were sent to Greensburg, Kansas after a tornado destroyed over 95% of the town.


This year, students collected books from February 4-13th and were hoping to reach a goal of 2,600 books which brings us to a grand total of 10,000 books. The “Love Books” will be sent to McDowell County, West Virginia. This community has 38% of its population living in poverty and a 90% unemployment rate. Children there have not had new books in their libraries for decades and will be thrilled to receive them from Megan’s Library of Love.


This year’s total came to 4,614 books! It was our biggest year ever, and we now have exceeded the goal of 10,000 books to a total of 12,077 books! The students reward for reaching the goal of 2,600 books this year was a school wide read-a-thon.
Thank you to everyone for making yourselves a part of Megan’s Library of Love. Your contribution not only helps those in need, but it also keeps Megan’s dreams alive.

Rockets Top Oakfield, Prepare for Cambridge

Student Reporter: Nick Bornheimer



Orange flooded the Sheboygan South High School field house on Saturday afternoon, as fans draped in orange from both Cedar Grove-Belgium and Oakfield came out to watch their teams play. A battle of the number one and number three seeded teams had all the makings to be a great game, and it lived up to expectations.


Scoring went back and forth early on; with both teams matching up fairly evenly. The Rockets began to build a lead in the late first with dominate inside play from Jesse Anderson and Josh Peterson. Cedar Grove-Belgium led 15-9 at the end of one and took the momentum going into the second quarter.


Oakfield made some apparent adjustments and came out of the break swinging, going on an 8-2 run and tying the game at 17, forcing Cedar Grove-Belgium coach Jim Meinen to take a timeout and calm down his troops. The effort to calm the team down did not translate as sloppy play carried over after the timeout.


Oakfield could not capitalize on second quarter slump of the Rockets, scoring only 10 points and going 0-4 from the free throw line late in the first half. Despite the Rockets mustering only four points in the second quarter, they went into halftime tied 19 all.


Cedar Grove-Belgium got the ball to start the second half and made good with it, scoring a quick two from a foul troubled Anderson. The Rockets then orchestrated a 9-4 run, and with the help of a monster block by sophomore Weston Meinen as time in the third quarter expired, went into the fourth with momentum on their side.


The fourth quarter began with a bang for the Rockets. Chris Peterson hit a big 3-pointer that energized the fans and gave the team their biggest lead of the game to that point. Chris was key in the second half, scoring 10 of his 13 points. The Oaks switched to a full court press partway through the fourth quarter, pestering the Rockets and allowing their offense to slowly climb back into the game.


A questionable foul by Jesse Anderson late in the quarter fouled him out of the game, stripping the Rockets of their 6’7” difference maker and putting the Oaks into the double bonus. After a colossal block and quick two by senior Tim Baumann, the Rockets fan section went into a frenzy, assuming that would be enough to wrap up the game. This was before Kyle Hungerford hit a clutch 3-pointer, making it a one possession game and giving the Oaks life.


The full court press that flustered the Rockets so badly earlier came back to bite the Oaks at a crucial moment. As Oakfield looked to foul off of the inbound pass, senior captain Jason Croatt beat the press and scored a layup with 15 seconds to play sealing a 45-40 Rockets victory.


“I just found a seam in the defense and went with it,” said Croatt when asked about the exciting play. “They just let me go, so I did.”


Jason only finished with four points but made arguably the biggest shot of the game.
The Rockets struggled from the free throw line down the stretch, going only 10-20 in the fourth quarter, but the Oaks poor 3-point shooting allowed the Rockets to grind out a close one.


Chris Peterson of the Rockets and Cody Veleke of the Oaks both had a game high 13 points. Additionally, Jesse Anderson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. For the first time in 18 years, the Rockets can hold the regional championship plaque up victoriously.


This thrilling win advances Cedar Grove-Belgium to the second week of post-season play. The Rockets will take on Cambridge Blue Jays this Thursday in West Bend, looking to take one more step towards Madison.

First Grade Snowshoeing

Student Reporter: Trevor Bublitz


On February 17th and February 26th the first grade students of Cedar Grove-Belgium elementary school were given the opportunity to go snowshoeing. Volunteers from Camp Y-Koda came to demonstrate how the snowshoes work and how to walk up and down hills. They also told the kids the parts of the snowshoe and where they originated from. The people from Camp Y-Koda also talked about winter traveling and how snowshoes have changed from the 1920’s to the current snow shoes.


Since there was a limit on how many snowshoes Camp-Y Koda had, Mrs. Sass and Mrs. Egan’s classes went on February 17th while Mrs. Loose and Mrs. Claerbaut’s classes went on February 26th. With snowshoes strapped and jackets zipped, students explored the area around the soccer field for approximately one hour. Afterwards, they all came indoors to enjoy hot chocolate and a muffin.

Sam’s Letters to Jennifer

Student Reporter: Kayla Zimmer


Looking for a good love story? Not too cheesy and not too far lost in the fantasy world? Sam’s Letters to Jennifer is for you. Jennifer is staying at her grandmother’s house in Lake Geneva after she fell into a coma. Sam and Jennifer mean everything to each other and Jennifer has already lost her husband and their little “peanut” and she can’t bear to think about losing Sam too.
She goes to Sam’s house and finds a series of letters addressed to her from Sam. Inside they tell about Sam’s lack of love in her marriage and findings of new love with someone else. Jennifer learns about the two kinds love and finding it for a second time as told by Sam’s wise words.


Also while staying on the lake Jennifer is reunited with her childhood friend, Brendan. They reminisce about the old days and soon fall in love. Brendan although is not telling Jennifer everything; he has a life threatening brain tumor that is incurable.


Jennifer now could lose the two most important people in her life again. Will Brendan live though his experimental surgery? Will Sam ever awake from her coma? Find out when you read Sam’s Letters to Jennifer, by James Patterson.

Power Speaker Makes it a Power Round

Student Reporter: Samantha Lamers



To many of us, public speaking is something we try to avoid whenever possible, but to one sophomore, Mary Asma, forensics is an exciting activity. Mary has currently been doing forensics for two years now and she is in the storytelling category. In the storytelling category, there are five different subcategories; A Story with Numbers, A Hans Christian Anderson Story, Chinese Folktale, A Story with Music, and A Story with Poverty. For each of these categories she must have a story prepared for the judges. The judges will then randomly select which subcategory she will read from.


So far this year, Mary has won a total of two awards, one at the Westosha tournament in which she received third place in the power round for the storytelling category and another at the Waterford tournament where she received first place in the power round also for storytelling. When Mary was asked about forensics she replied, “Being in forensics is an awesome experience. To most people, public speaking doesn’t sound fun, but we all have a blast at forensic meets.”

Valedictorian for the Class of 2009

Student Reporter: Jordan Dykstra



Every year people ask the question, who is this year’s valedictorian? The answer this year is Amanda Isken. Amanda is the daughter of Sherry and Michael Isken. She has been involved in many activities throughout her four years of high school and worked hard in school while participating in them. Amanda has been involved in the school drama program, student council, book club, Lakeland College math meet, and forensics. She is also a member of the track and field team and has recently joined the DECA team. She also is a junior member of the Cedar Grove Public Library Board.
Amanda does not know what college she plans to attend, but wants to major in Business Economics and might like to become an economics attorney by attending law school. Her favorite classes in high school were band, chemistry, and advanced chemistry She has learned to manage her time by getting her priorities in the right order and not to spend endless amounts of time on a homework assignment trying to get it perfect. She found out that she had more time this way and was able to participate in other activities.


Amanda’s advice to underclassmen is to try a lot of activities. She says to make sure they don’t take away from school work, but activities will make you a more rounded student, help your stress level, and help when you apply for schools and scholarships. “I am so grateful to be Valedictorian. Many people congratulate me on being so “smart”, but I’ve really just been blessed in so many ways.” Congratulations Amanda and keep up the hard work in college!

Cedar Grove-Belgium Avoids Upset, Advances to Quarter Finals

Student Reporter: Nick Bornheimer


The air was tense as the number one seeded Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets took on the eighth seeded Horicon Marshmen in the first round of post-season play on Tuesday, March 3. The Rockets exploded out of the gates, scoring the first seven points of the game, but early foul trouble for the Rocket’s big man, Jesse Anderson, helped the upset hungry Marshmen to put together an impressive surge late in the first quarter. Horicon went on an 11-3 run to close out the quarter and take their first lead of the game.



Scoring went back and forth at the beginning of the second quarter until Chris Peterson, senior forward for the Rockets, sparked a 17-3 run off the bench which accounted for 13 of his 17 points in the second quarter. Peterson hit a fade-away three pointer as time expired in the first half, giving the Rockets a 32-19 lead and full momentum going into the second half.



“I knew someone needed to step up,” said Chris Peterson in a post-game interview. “I wasn’t ready to stop the train in the first round; I still have a lot of basketball in me.”



It was smooth sailing the rest of the game for the Rockets, starting the third quarter on a 9-2 run and not looking back. Bench players contributed down the stretch, scoring 31 points in the team’s 66-43 win. The victory advances Cedar Grove-Belgium to the quarter finals and marks their fourteenth win in their last fifteen games.



Chris Peterson scored a game high 17 points, and Josh Peterson earned a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Mike Michalovitz of the Marshmen led the team in scoring with 10 points and added 4 boards. The Rocket’s next mission will be to take on the fifth seeded Dodgeland Trojans this Thursday at home, hoping to prolong an exciting season for both the players and fans alike.

Pennies for Patients

From February 23 through March 13, the Cedar Grove-Belgium elementary school will be collecting money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients. The donated money will go to support a very special cause. All your pennies, and yes, even nickels, dimes, quarters, dollar bills, and checks, help in finding the cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma.
Their goal this year is to raise $3,500. Last year $5,000 was raised, earning the school Lifesaver Club status for the 4th year in a row. They also deserve special recognition because last year they raised the most money in all elementary schools statewide!
Donations can be dropped off at the elementary school office or given directly to Mrs. Ketterhagen. You also have the option of donating online. For online donations, follow these steps:
1. Access our school’s online donation page atwww.active.com/donate/sywi
2. Leave the first name and last name fields blank and click search.
3. Select Belgium Elementary Cedar Grove from the list. Please note our
name is listed with Belgium first.
4. Then follow the simple steps listed there to complete the donation.
Be sure to enter the classroom you’d like the donation to be credited to. This can be done by entering the teacher’s name or student’s name.
Teachers, staff and students, please bring in those pennies! All your help is great appreciated and does make a difference in this process. We need a cure for these diseases; wouldn’t you like to be a part of finding that cure?
If you would like more information, feel free to contact Sally Ketterhagen at (920) 668-8518 or (262) 285-3031 x.333 or email her at sketterh@cedargrovebelgium.k12.wi.us.

Fundraising for the WFCA Shrine Bowl

Student Reporter: Mariah Keller



Josh Peterson and Brandon Garcia have recently been chosen to participate in the WFCA (Wisconsin Football Coaches Association) Shrine Bowl. The WFCA Shrine Bowl is a game suitable for senior football players who excelled in their respective final season of high school football. This event is a great way to honor the players’ success as well as fundraise for the Children’s Hospital.


Cedar Grove-Belgium has only seen one other Shrine Bowl Participant in 2004 after Kyle Voskuil led the state in touchdowns scored. Both Brandon and Josh received Honorable Mention All-State after the Rockets placed second at state.


Fundraising is required to participate in the Shrine Bowl and it not only helps the All-Stars, but it also benefits the Children’s Hospital. The WFCA Shrine Bowl is a huge contributor to the Children’s Hospital and last year raised over $150,000. It is the players’ goal and responsibility to raise more money than what has been raised in the past years. Each player is required to raise a minimum of $500; however Brandon and Josh view this as a great opportunity to give back to the community as we all have been affected by the Children’s Hospital in some way. They hope to each raise $3,000 by May, and donations are greatly appreciated!



All proceeds go to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Donations can be given at
http://www.firstgiving.com/joshuapeterson or http://www.firstgiving.com/brandongarcia
Thank you for your time and consideration.

WFCA Shrine Bowl will take place July 18, 2009 at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, WI at 2:00 p.m.

CG-B Rockets: #1 Small School for Sports after Fall Seasons

Student Reporter: Anthony Wilcox


A statewide website that covers all high school sports in the state gives out awards called the WSN Cup every year. These awards are given to the schools with the best athletics through the year. In the past, there were only two categories: small schools, which included schools with enrollments of 900 or less, and large schools, in which enrollment exceeded 900. This year, they split schools into three separate categories. Small schools include schools with enrollment under 500, middle sized schools are schools between 500-1000 in enrollment, and large schools are over 1000 in enrollment.


Sports teams for each school are ranked based off of a points scale. Teams receive points based on how they finish in the state tournament. The team that wins the tournament receives 100 points and second place receives 80 points. After the first two places, the other teams in the tourney are split into small groups depending on how they finished. Third and fourth place receive 60 points, fifth through eighth places receive 45 points, ninth through sixteenth places receive 20 points, and teams that finish between seventeenth and 32nd receive 10 points.


Cedar Grove-Belgium falls into the small schools category. After the amazing fall season of sports we had this year, we are ranked #1, which is a great way for the school and community to be recognized for our athletics. If we continue to do well in our winter and spring sports, we have a shot at winning the WSN Cup for small schools at the end of the year. Keep up the good work, athletes and coaches!

Hockey Season: Overall Outlook

Student Reporter: Jarred Lucas


With the conclusion of the high school hockey season comes the prospectus of the second coming, the playoffs. Overall it was a mildly successful season with an 8-11-1 record. Although it sounds like a bad record, there is more to it than meets the eye. The Sheboygan Red Raider combined hockey team is placed in arguably one of the toughest conferences in the state of Wisconsin, the Badgerland Conference. This conference includes state champion Fon du lac, state semi-finalist Appleton, top ten ranked Notre Dame, along with a cast of other successful programs. Collectively, the Red Raiders hold a 0-4 record against those teams putting a big damper on the win-loss columns.


There is, however, a bright side to all of this, an overall improvement from last year not only in the record but on the ice as well. After only losing three players to graduation, the future looks bright. With an opening record of 1-5-1 in their first seven games the season started slow and disappointing, but after a crucial win against conference rival Waupun at home, the Raiders took a winning attitude into the Christmas break. This momentum carried right into the holiday tournament in Minnesota where the team was able to take top twenty ranked St. Michaels/Albertville into a tight third period only to come out with a 5-2 loss. The goalie was pulled towards the end of the game to add another offensive threat on the ice, but the substitute resulted in two empty netted goals. This seemed to be a turning point for the Red Raiders who ended up with two big wins over Fairmont (Minnesota) and Somerset (Wisconsin). Now the team had a positive outlook coming back to Wisconsin with a couple big wins under their belts, only to find Fon du lac and Notre Dame in the coming week. With a tough road stretch ahead of them they boarded the bus for three straight games and came out a week 0-3.


“Up to this point it’s been an emotional season with its ups and downs. We just have to find our winning ways again.” Said Coach Keith Bartholomeus. Revamped and ready the Red Raiders took advantage of their home ice going 4-2 down the stretch. With a solid finish to a successful season, the Sheboygan Red Raiders combined hockey team was able to clinch home ice in their playoff opener and a sixth overall seed.

CLC Wrestling Tournament

Student Reporter: Ariel Beutel


This past Saturday, February 7th, 2009, the wrestling teams of Cedar Grove-Belgium, Ozaukee, Random Lake, Oostburg, Sheboygan Lutheran, and Elkhart Lake gathered at Sheboygan Lutheran High School for the CLC tournament. Each wrestler had a match against the opposing team’s wrestler at their weight class. They competed against each other for conference champ and for their team as a whole to win conference. Cedar Grove- Belgium took fourth in conference but had four conference champs and one wrestler who took second in conference. The conference champs include, senior, Brandon Garcia, juniors, Wayne Paulus and Chris Scholz, and sophomore, Tyler Garcia. Freshman, Zach Schulz took second in conference. When asked about the CLC tournament Brandon Garcia replied, “Team wise we wrestled well, but due to the lack of numbers we took 4th.” This Saturday, February 14th, 2009, Cedar Grove-Belgium’s wrestlers will be competing in the Regional Tournament in Random Lake. Good Luck wrestlers!

Honors Choir

To some, choir is the last class of the day. To a few people it is a stress reliever, and to others, it is a rare form of art and emotion. It is a smile, a tragedy, a way of life. Choir to those people is the best time of the day. They work hard and try to improve and excel in their music skills. It is because of their dedication and hard work that seven members of the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School Choir were chosen by Linda Ruona to represent our school in the CLC Honors Choir.
Alannah Bruggink, Cody May, Jordan Dykstra, Britney Lemke, Jackie Schrader, Eva Lee, and Richard Beabout were this years representatives for Cedar Grove-Belgium. There were nine schools that attended: Cedar Grove-Belgium, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Howards Grove, Kohler, Oostburg, Ozaukee, Random Lake, Sheboygan County Christian, and Sheboygan Lutheran.


On December 13th, all the participants met at UW Sheboygan to practice with the directors from the different schools. They prepared the songs and got familiar with the rhythms and notes. After Christmas break on January 8th, the students went to practice again with a clinition. This year’s clinition was Greg Carpenter, the choir director at Marquette University. All the songs were practiced for the concert and the little problems were fixed.


The concert began at 7:00 pm at UW Sheboygan. The first song was “Eliza Jane” followed by “Roses I Send To You”. “Workin’ for the Dawn of Peace”, “Homeland”, and “Esto Les Digo” were the next three songs in the concert. The last song, “Praise His Holy Name!” was an upbeat spiritual and was a favorite of the majority of the participants. The concert lasted only twenty-five minutes, but the theatre was filled with beautiful music that left goose bumps and shivers with the audience. The 67 participants worked extremely hard and performed a breathtaking concert.

DECA Competition

Student Reporter: Lyndsey Weyker
On January 9, 2009, two of our high school students participated in the Southeastern Wisconsin District DECA competition. DECA is a club where people compete in a topic of their choice that deals with business. The competition was held at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, WI and it was held from 8am to 5pm.The students were Amanda and Alex Isken. Amanda is a senior this year and her brother Alex is a sophomore. Amanda and Alex competed in the Buying and Merchandising; they got a perfect score on the role playing event. Amanda and Alex placed 2nd out of 61 teams in that event. The Buying and Merchandising event had over 600 students in the entire event that the Isken siblings participated in. They received medals and a trophy for their outstanding job at the competition. Amanda and Alex’s next challenge will be the State Competition on March 17-18th at Lake Geneva. When asked their feelings on making it this far Amanda and Alex said, “We were shocked because we were so new to DECA.”

Crunch Time

Student Reporter: Nick Bornheimer


Students feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, frantically working to finish a semester’s worth of work in a few days, it must be exam time. It happens every year, students working tirelessly, attempting to make their last minute preparations for the grueling three days of testing. “If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done,” said Jason Croatt. “I just hope my procrastination won’t come back to bite me this year.” The stakes are high, and students know they must be on their “A” game because of the impact exams have on semester grades. An exam can be worth anywhere from 10% to 20% a students semester grade, meaning it is crucial to study hard and not let your laziness get the best of you.


This year though, circumstances are a bit unusual. School was canceled on Thursday the 15th and Friday the 16th due to the frigid temperatures, which meant the students had two less days of review for their exams, and the teachers had two less days to prepare. There was a meeting called on Monday morning before school to discuss the best course of action in dealing with exams, and it was decided to keep exams on their original days. This means that teachers had to crunch to determine what was fair game for their exams, and students are required to do a lot more work outside of the classroom. Most teachers have decided to shorten their exams, and allow for more perks. Teachers allowing students to use their books for a particular amount of time would be one example. In some cases, wishful thinking can come back and complicate things significantly.


It is important not to let the stress from exams get to you, because stressing out about them will only make them worse. If you study properly and you paid attention throughout the semester, exams are basically only a review of what you know. So think positively and don’t get filled with disparity, exams aren’t terrible if you prepare yourself accordingly.

Winter Band Concert

Student Reporter: Lyndsey Weyker


On Monday, December 15th, there was the annual winter band Concert that took place in the High school gym. The 6th grade band started off the concert. They were directed by Thomas Paulson. Then the rest of the middle school bands performed, which were directed by Lori MacRae. After the middle school bands were done, it was time for the high school bands to show their skills. The freshman/sophomore band performed and was then followed by the junior/senior band. Both of these bands were also directed by Thomas Paulson. All five bands did an amazing job and got everyone at the concert in the Christmas spirit.


After the concert there was a cookie sale that was held to help fund-raise money for the next Florida trip that will be taking place in 2012. All the cookies that were being sold were made by the very own parents of the high school bands.


There was also a collection of gloves, hats, and scarves at the entrance doors of the concert. All the donations of the winter articles were going to be donated to the Ozaukee County Salvation Army and Saint Vincent to Paul. Since we have two counties in our district, we switch off on donating winter wear to Sheboygan and Ozaukee County.

Spanish Student of the Quarter

Student Reporter: Brittany Anzia


The Spanish student for the first quarter is senior Jennifer Schmidt. Daughter of Jim and Debbie Schmidt, Jennifer’s favorite classes are Spanish II and Street Law. Her favorite things about school are that she gets to see her friends and her teachers are awesome. When asked about how she felt when Sr. Flynn first told her that she was Spanish student of the quarter she said, “At first I was surprised, but then after he explained it, it made sense and I agreed that I have changed my attitude towards Spanish.” Jennifer’s future plans include going to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and majoring in social work.