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Features
September 9, 2011
Italy trip successful for student artists by Sarah Dixon Staff Reporter
Italy is a place for vacation, history, and beautiful art. On June 14, I had the privilege along with 14 other students from Bettendorf, PV, and Assumption, and four adults to travel to Italy to study art. Pat Bereskin, who teaches private art classes after school, takes high school students to Italy over the summer every other year to study watercolor and fresco painting, and to sketch sites in the cities visited. The students from Bettendorf were freshman Lauren Young, sophomores Max McInnis, Rachel Kettelkamp, and me, juniors Cassidy Glynn, Amy Whiteman, and Jessica Blindt, senior Madison Schmid, and graduate Katie Whiteman.
Students walk around the beautiful city of Cortona. (Photo by Sarah Dixon)
“I just love sharing art and the experience with you guys for the first time,” Bereskin said. “I love my students; I want them to grow as adults and individuals.” The trip really did help us find our own way and be independent while in Italy. We were in Italy for 10 days, visiting the wonders of Rome, Cortona, Florence, and Venice. Along with painting and drawing, we looked at some of the most famous monuments and museums in the world. “We experienced the history and culture, the Italian lifestyle, and the food!” Bereskin said.
We saw the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum in the busy lifestyle of Rome, and then painted and relaxed in the small city of Cortona. In Florence, we saw breath-taking art by Michelangelo, including the famous sculpture of David. At our last city, Venice, we experienced
Cassidy Glynn, Max McInnis, Sierra Conway (PV), Madison Schmid, Sarah Dixon, and Rachel Kettelkamp sit at a gelateria in Florence. (Photo by Lisa Glynn)
Kerry Glynn (PV), Rachel Kettelkamp, Sarah Dixon, and Lauren Young make a wish and toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome. (Photo by Cassidy Glynn)
many glass museums and the practice of glass blowing. Even though the trip was for studying art, we did some interesting things that weren’t art related while were there. Half of the nights we had dinner on our own in each city, and we had time to go shopping at the street markets. We also went to a pizzeria in Florence where the cast of “Jersey Shore” worked during the summer. Most importantly to me, we had gelato, which is the Italian version of ice cream, at least once a day.
Lauren Young said it wasn’t hard to adjust to the Italian lifestyle because almost everyone spoke English, and they were all very friendly. “It was so much fun to do the trip with friends and without parents there,” Young said. Young also said she absolutely loved the food. The pasta and pizza are much more fresh than it is here. Instead of having pizza with greasy cheese covering the top, Italian pizza is served with barely any crust, delicious tomato sauce, and fresh cheese sprinkled on top. They don’t cut the pizzas for for patrons either, because they are meant to be eaten by one person. Just like pizza, the pasta is tastier also. The tomato sauce is so fresh and usually has some kind of topping like meat or pepper. The food I had in Italy is some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life. “By finding your own way, it prepares you for life, and makes college seem easier,” Bereskin said. The trip really opened my mind to new experiences, learning how to be independent in a whole new way, and living the way the Italians do. They live every moment to the fullest, and are so kind and loving to everyone they meet. “The Italians do everything passionately,” Bereskin said. “Just being in Italy was so nice,” Amy Whiteman said. “If anyone gets the opportunity to go, it’s the chance of a lifetime.” Because of breath-taking art, the beauty of the cities, and the wonderful people we met, the trip changed my life.
Trophy lost, but hope for return is strong by Jillian Keck Editor For the first time in nearly 20 years, Bettendorf boys lost the MAC All Sports trophy. All Sports trophy is based upon the number of points accumulated through MAC placement. When a sport finishes first in the MAC, it gets 10 points and last place gets 1. Once points are tallied the school with the most points wins the trophy. During the 2010-11 school year, Pleasant Valley beat Bettendorf by 12 points. “We need to improve focus on all sports,” said Mark Brooks, activity director. “ W e had a number of sports that we had uncharacteristically poor showings in the conference.” Brooks said that in some sports BHS finished tenth which is
unusual for Bettendorf. Kevin Skillet, boys basketball coach, said that it was a combination of things. PV had a strong group of senior athletes. “It wasn’t because we lacked effort, PV was just better,” Skillet said. Skillet plans to rev up motivation this year and communicate with each athlete that just because the team has “Bettendorf” on its jerseys does not mean the team always gets its way. Junior Mitch Parker attributes PV’s win to their excelling in smaller sports like c r o s s - c o u n t r y, swimming, and soccer. Brooks said that each coach meets separately to discuss ways to improve standings.
If you have not yet received your yearbook, stop in the Journalism Lab, D100, to pick it up.