Eden McIsaac
Staff Writer When most people hear the phrase “local heroes,” they think of firefighters and policemen; however, there are many other heroes that are rarely noticed. For example, the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter (IFAS). Not only are they local heroes for animals, they are heroes for people as well. I adopted my dog Teddy from the Animal Shelter last August. Since picking Teddy up, he has brought immense joy to my life. Without IFAS’s efforts to help me find him, I would not be able to give Teddy the life he deserves. Like Teddy, there are many other animals waiting at the shelter to find their furever family. There are fourteen staff members at the shelter, including ten full-time and four part-time. Since there are minimal staff members, there are several volunteer opportunities. For example, individuals 18+ can interact with animals one-on-one, such as doggy day dates in the mountains. Adults can help with chores around the shelter, such as cleaning kennels. Due to safety and liability reasons, minors can not handle animals without a guardian present. One of the main reasons why people surrender their animals is because they “can not have them where they are moving,” according to Carissa, who has worked at the IFAS as the special programs coordinator for six years. Shelters intake animals after they get loose, cause damage, or become aggressive. Last year the shelter received approximately 2,000 dogs and 2,000 cats. Between dogs and cats, dogs are picked up way more often than cats. The shelter responds to dog calls more often than cats because cats are more likely to survive on their own. There is about a 90% adoption rate at the IFAS. In years past, the shelter had drop boxes for surrendered animals; however, those boxes are now available for law enforcement only. When the drop-boxes were in effect, once the shelter reached capacity, animals would be euthanized. Since the boxes have been gone, the shelter does not put an animal down unless suggested by a veterinarian. To help keep their veterinarian rates low, the shelter partners with all local vets. This helps the shelter keep adoption rates low enough that people can afford to adopt. The shelter is funded by tax dollars and public donations; the shelter accepts food and toy donations as well. With the help of the IFAS, many people have found the perfect pet for them and in return the animal receives constant love and affection, making it a win for everyone!
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Eric, Ed, Chimi Perez
Editor-in-Chief I have been writing articles, doing homework, and procrastinating all my responsibilities for the past 12 years. I want to start by thanking Bonneville High School’s students and staff. You guys have made my high school experience some of the best four years I have ever had. I have taken awesome classes with some of the greatest students and the best teachers. It is difficult to sum up my entire high school experience in just a small article. My day always started the same: waking up way later than I should to rush to school. Even though I never wanted to go each morning, as soon as I arrived, I had an incredible time. If I was in economics with Mr. Bone or basketball skills with Coach Tucker, I enjoyed every day that I attended school. Even though each Bee made an impact, I have to give the biggest thank you to everyone involved with The Bonneville Buzz newspaper. Being part of The Buzz has been an incredible experience because we are all a big family. Everyone has supported me through ups and downs and have worked incredibly hard to create an outstanding newspaper. Thank you to each of you; you have offered me kindness over the last four years. I also have to give a big hand to Bonneville’s tennis team. Thank you to the coaches who have helped me get better every year and push myself. I would have never thought of touching a tennis racket if it were not for Bonneville’s tennis program. One of my favorite tennis memories was during my second year of tennis when I hit my doubles partner square in the back during my serve. Tennis would not have been as enjoyable if it was not for my doubles partner Gael Narcizo. Thank you, Gael, for always having my back and being an excellent partner. I enjoyed every single experience, even the bad ones. The hardest part about writing this is knowing I will never get to experience being a high school student again. Graduates always say “high school goes by fast;” you never realize it until it is almost over. Bonneville is an incredible school that made sure I had everything I needed to succeed. This has been an experience I will never forget. To all the staff, the teachers, and the students, thank you! Baylie Kress
Staff Writer Hello, my name is Baylie Kress and for the last two years I have been a staff writer for The Bonneville Buzz. This is my senior year, so this is my final, farewell article. My first year in journalism I was not the best writer, but I have improved greatly since then. I joined this class to improve my writing skills, and I am thankful I did. The first article I ever wrote was about winter illnesses, and COVID-19 was still at a high. My draft was decent for starting out as a new staff writer, and I received so much feedback on it. Comments from the staff helped me learn how I could make my next article amazing. My goal after graduation is to become an elementary school teacher. I want to know I was good at writing, and I was already prepared to go into teaching. As I continued to practice and attain more knowledge, I felt more confident in the class and in myself. I am eager to teach others and spark their desire to learn. Outside of journalism, I have had many favorite memories from my time at BHS. Throughout all my four years of high school, one of my favorite memories is the school-wide barbeque during Homecoming Week of my freshman year. StuCo planned fun dress-up days throughout the week, and the week ended with a barbeque. Music blasted in the commons, and everyone jumped around and let loose. It was a blast and a memory I will never forget! The biggest thing I am going to miss about Bonneville is all the memorable dress-up days and seeing my peers participate in the school spirit activities. I am disappointed I will be gone for future games and assemblies, but I know future Bees will love it just as much as me. I want to say goodbye to the upperclassmen and underclassmen, especially my little freshmen friends I hang out with every day. It is going to be very difficult to leave my home of the last four years to go off to college to do grown-up things. I look forward to working and college, but I am savoring the last few weeks of my senior year. I am going to miss all my classes and teachers. This year was the best year that I have had in the last four years. I am going to remember all the fun amazing memories I had here, and I am going to miss you all. Allyson Wilson
Staff Writer Bonneville Joint School District #93 promises to design success for every student. This promise requires structured collaboration between teacher teams across the district. While there is not a district-wide guaranteed and viable curriculum yet, teacher teams are hard at work within their PLCs. A PLC, also known as professional learning community, consists of a group of educators that regularly meet to work collaboratively to improve teaching skills, discuss student performance, etc. Each Monday throughout the year, teachers from similar grade levels and content areas meet to discuss essential standards, learning targets, interventions and extensions, and more. Roughly halfway through the year, superintendent Dr. Scott Woolstenhulme and the district office host the annual district-wide PLC meeting. This meeting took place on April 29, 2024 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m at Thunder Ridge High School. During the meeting, teachers from BHS, HHS, TRHS, LHS, TCHS, and BOHS gathered to determine what is essential for students across D93. The Bonneville Buzz interviewed a few teachers regarding their experiences and interactions within the meeting. Catherine Joyner, a BHS math teacher, was in the Algebra II group with teachers from each D93 high school. During the meeting, they reviewed “what [they] deemed was essential to make sure all the schools were on the same page.” Additionally, Joyner’s team covered what can lead all students to success and prepare them to leave high school with what they need to know. When Joyner was asked how effective the meeting was, she answered, “In the time we had, it was good.” Joyner further explained that if there was more time to discuss essential standards, the district meetings would be more effective. To ensure a student is ready to move on to the next course, Joyner’s team identified 30 essential standards for the students to master by the end of the year. Even though PLC meetings are usually productive, Joyner mentioned they may contain conflict, such as teachers disagreeing on the “right” way to teach a standard. Joyner believes when trying to determine what is essential many teachers need to remember “it's not personal” when choosing what is best for students. Although many departments at BHS are still “PLC-lite,” dedicated teachers can still make minor to major improvements for the students. Michelle Johnson, a SPED and practical English teacher, when talking about how the schools all got on the same page, Johnson reports, “I think we got there by the end of the meeting, I don't think we started there.” While some teachers showed up prepared for the meeting, some seemed underprepared or unsure how to proceed. All schools teach differently, but all material is taught. Students across the district have the right to an education that best prepares them for life after high school. Although each school has plenty of room to grow, there are pushes for considerable change within the district office, schools, and classrooms across D93. Devoted teachers are making a difference one student at a time, and changes are being made one step at a time. Years to come hope to bring about a more collaborative district devoted to student success. Staff Writer
Asher Montaño In an effort to keep students engaged and successful in their education, the Bonneville Joint School District #93 attendance policy has been a topic of discussion for the last 20 years. An LCA, or loss of credit, acts as a consequence for students who have six or more absences. LCAs were implemented back into the district policy this year; however, they were removed before the start of the third trimester. Throughout the district, speculations about whether or not LCAs contradicted state laws were thrown around. In reality, LCAs fell into more of a gray area when it came to district versus state policy. According to D93's Executive Director of Learning and Instruction, Jason Lords, LCAs were included in district policy until COVID-19 in 2020. While revisiting the attendance policies after COVID, the district office noticed some complications between LCAs and another district attendance policy. There is a mastery-based policy in which students who do not meet the attendance requirement can still earn credit if they have shown proficiency on that particular standard. If a student exceeds six absences while maintaining at least a 92% in the class, according to Lords, a parent "could go to the mastery-based learning and say I want my child to receive credit.” Although some students may remain successful while out of the classroom, others may find themselves struggling to maintain motivation and connection. With the mastery-based policy in place, administrators may find it difficult to determine whether or not the student receives credit for the class. LCAs were implemented at the beginning of this school year, and the repercussions are still affecting the school. Della Pilgrim, a current math teacher at BHS, shared her opinions on the matter. Although LCAs are still under debate regarding whether or not they were effective, Pilgrim believes they helped hold students accountable and "we all need to learn that there are consequences for choices." While, LCAs were implemented “students [were] more likely to be held accountable for bad decisions” regarding attendance. According to Pilgrim, some students saw immediate effects like learning enough to get better grades, while others needed to make up time after school with Mr. Sperry to understand consequences. With the conflicting state and district laws, many teachers, like Pilgrim, are torn between wanting to hold students accountable and needing to follow district policy. Ultimately, teachers must align their practices to the district policy while the school board reviews and discusses other options. Aaliyah Garcia
Staff Writer The 2023-2024 school year is coming to an end, and the school’s yearbook was wrapped up on the 29th of March. The yearbooks are coming to show everything that has happened, and are made by the yearbook staff. Yearbook is an elective class where students express some personal creativity while making a themed book of memories. When people move on from high school, it is important to be able to have something to capture those memories. Haelie Snover, freshman, is one of the social media managers of Bonneville High School (BHS) yearbook. Although Snover primarily takes pictures, writes captions,and creates pages, she is also one of the staff members tasked with running the yearbook’s instagram @bhsofficialyearbook. Snover mentioned that she joined the yearbook staff because “so many people talk about it in middle school, and [she] just really wanted to make something that [she] would always remember.” With the help of social media, Snover and the rest of the staff work diligently to include and identify as many students in the book as possible. However, with the high number of students at Bonneville High School, it can be challenging to identify every student. When trying to find the name of an unknown student, the staff will consult one another. If that fails, the staff will face a match, which includes utilizing "the roster for whatever activity they are in" and pulling up portraits to compare eyes, lips, hairline, etc. The yearbook staff tries to include a variety of students, and with the help of face matches they are allowed to include anyone they want. The yearbook staff needs to find out student’s names for the pictures in the yearbook though, Snover explains, “Personally I do not choose the pictures, I choose the pictures I want on my spread, but other people choose the pictures they want.” The spread is pages in the yearbook, and Snover carefully decides what pictures to put on the spreads that she is assigned to. Each student has the chance to provide their own input on the page. This includes any and all photos as well as incorporation of the yearbook theme. Abigayle Shelley, junior, is one of the social media managers for the BHS yearbook. The themes incorporate creativity, and add cute designs to the yearbook. After finishing the book, Shelley explains that the yearbook staff “gets into groups and come up with different themes” for the next year, then they choose a theme. A yearbook theme is a common visual that reflects the student body, faculty, and community. The yearbook staff tries to choose themes that will connect with the majority of the school while still allowing the staff members to show their own creativity and uniqueness. The pictures are also something that express uniqueness from our school. The pictures capture memories throughout the school year and are made to last forever which is why they are carefully chosen. Shelley revealed that “After we do photoshoots the editors sift through all the photos we take and download the best ones.” In the yearbook it is about what looks good and what doesn’t and by selecting the photos that look the most pleasing, the yearbook has photos of fun activities BHS does throughout the school year. The yearbook staff focuses on pictures that are clean, have action, and have different students. With all of these incorporated into the yearbook it is filled with lively, and energy fulfilled pictures. With that, the yearbook staff have worked hard to make this yearbook epic. To appreciate their hard work, go and get a yearbook! Yearbooks can be purchased through May 12 2024. Buy online at yearbookforever.com. Ash Merritt
Assistant Editor Taking care of babies can be a difficult experience as well as a look into the delightful parts of having a baby. Bonneville High School provides students with a Child Development class to learn about becoming a parent. Taught by Mrs. Child, the class teaches students about all aspects of childbirth and parenting like anatomy, conception, development, and cost. One of the main projects called the “Baby Think it Over.” This project consists of taking a robotic baby for a three to four day period and taking care of the baby as if it was real. Many individuals choose the weekend to take a baby because they would prefer to care for the baby outside of school hours. Aspen Gooding, a freshman, explains she did not want the baby during school as she “didn't want to be embarrassed at school” because of the baby crying in the middle of class or carrying a baby around the halls. Additionally, she could spend more time with the baby if she took it for the weekend. Other students choose to take the baby from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning instead of over the weekend. Ashley Delehanty, a freshman, explains that she took the baby for the weekdays because she “didn't want to have [her] weekend dedicated to a baby doll.” Similarly to having a real child, caring for the robotic baby comes with a few challenges. One of the many dilemmas parents face is not having the tools to take care of the child. Unlike reality, this class gives students some tools: a bottle, two diapers, and a carrier. Since parents are not given all necessities in real life, students must bring one outfit and a blanket for the baby because parents are not given everything it would need in real life. Other challenges are night time; the robotic babies do not care what time it is, and it will cry in the middle of the night. Delehanty discloses that “Some challenges I face[d] while with the baby [were] definitely when I was woken up at night by [the baby]. It helped me realize how hard it must be to be a parent of a real baby.” The babies have four goals the student has to achieve: burping, feeding, rocking, and changing the diaper. Full of sensors, the baby releases different cries based on its needs. The diapers have two different coloured sensors to show the student has changed the diaper; furthermore, the baby coos once the sensors on the baby and diaper connect. As for feeding the baby, there is a magnet on the bottle tip that connects to a sensor in the baby's mouth. Once the bottle is inserted, the baby will begin "eating" and finish with a drinking sound to indicate its done. After eating, the baby must be burped for a maximum of twenty minutes or until a burping sound is made. Just as real life babies these robo babies need to be rocked, and this action is difficult to achieve. Students may accidently rock the baby too harshly or too softly. Once the baby coos, the students can stop rocking the baby. The students are graded based on achieving the needs of the baby and head support. The babies are set up as newborns to teach students to support the head of a baby. If head support is not being done the baby will scream and wail for three minutes; furthermore, the student will be docked ten points for each head support mishap and unmet needs. The project adds up to 200 points. Child Development's baby project shows how difficult child care can be. Furthermore, the students gain a new experience. These sensitive babies may not be real: however, it may leave a deep bond between the student and child. Baylie Kress
Staff Writer Valentine's day we spend with our loved ones. There is a moral story for Valentine’s Day; however, it was chosen because it spoke to the essay, the mouth is of romantics, and saint Valentine's Day. Valentines is celebrated in the middle of February. It is the anniversary of the death and burial of Valentines, a person who was in jail. It was around the 270 A.D. and other people in the world such as the Christian church want to have a little St. Valentine's Day parties therefore they can build an effort for their Christianity. They had other big stories about the Christians who killed Valentines because people would help them escape the prison in Rome and beat them up. Valentines, one of the prisoners, mentioned being in love with a girl while imprisoned. He would ask for paper to send love to his girlfriend. He did not want anyone to know they were dating so whenever she would visit they would say she was the jailer's daughter not his girlfriend while Valentine was in jail he was growing more ill. He wanted to see his girlfriend before he died and say everything he ever wanted to tell before he died. Knowing that he was struggling he wrote her a letter. When she read it, she was overcome with grief and cried to the point an officer had to escort her out. The man, Valentines, was Christian; it is one of the reasons he was in jail. He wanted to fight, as such he was caught when he did. He did not tell his girlfriend, Valentines, that he was in jail. When she finally found out, she was distressed that she could not spend her Valentine's Day with him. This couple’s Valentines Day was not at all special because they could not have a happy ending. “May your day be filled with love, laughter and unforgettable memories with your beloved ones.” Grisel Gonzalez
Editor The Culture and Dance club started around April of 2021 when a group of Latin students asked Mrs. Bair if they could dance in her classroom at lunch. Bair expressed that she loved how enjoyable the dances were and how well it represented their culture, so she asked them if they wanted to turn it into a club. The purpose of the club was to allow more cultures to be represented at Bonneville High School and to bring people together. To join the Culture and Dance club all students have to do is talk to Bair in room 110 to receive a form and pay a small club fee. Meetings usually take place a couple times a month during lunch time. Currently there are eleven committed members, along with a few other students who pitch in occasionally. Isabel Trujillo, a senior, serves as the club president. Bair speaks of the activities the club partakes in. “Currently we have been doing fundraising, practicing a dance for Hope Week, and float for homecoming, selling Mexican candy, and last year we were able to throw a multicultural dance at the highschool with music representing more than one culture.” A great amount of effort is put into all the events the Culture and Dance prepare and set up. Bair also shares her favorite memory saying, “the multicultural Jairpeo themed dance was amazing and so fun!” Apart from all their achievements so far, Bair mentions how she wants to continue expanding the club. “We are still growing and fundraising, but someday I hope we will be able to do way more in the community. I love that anyone can join without any grade point average, [and] that anyone can belong somewhere.” The Culture and Dance club provides various opportunities for not only the hispanic community, but for every other community of students here at BHS. It allows students to venture out and explore different cultures. No matter who they are, any student is welcome to join Culture and Dance. Mrs. Bair is located in room 110, so stop by with any questions. Students should continue to support the Culture and Dance club as it promotes diversity, enhances their ability to work outside of their comfort zone, and creates new memories and friendships. Allyson Wilson
Staff Writer For this month's foreign exchange highlight, Panni Lida Balogh was chosen to be interviewed. Originally from Hungary, Balogh prefers to be called her middle name, Lida (Lee-duh). Since Balogh has made such a life shift, she was asked about how the academic system at Bonneville High School (BHS) compares to the one in Hungary. Balogh replied: “You have a schedule, but you don't choose it… here you can choose so many classes it was shocking to me.” The students in Hungary receive their schedule with no chance to alter it. The class sizes are significantly smaller; typical classes usually range in the teens. Balogh mentioned that while in Hungary, “[she] had one [classroom]. Students either stay in one class for the whole day or follow the assigned schedule. Balogh emphasized that schooling here is more well rounded and flexible because the students can choose what they want on their schedule. Not only do the academics differ in her home country, but sports do as well. When Balogh was asked about her athletic history, she stated “In Hungary [she] did track and field for five or six years… [she] was very serious about it. [She] wanted to grow up and go elite.” Early in life, Balogh found her love for track and field, and she wanted to continue her running career in Hungary. Even though Balogh felt she had to be perfect to become elite, she continued the sport because “[she] never really felt enjoyment” anywhere else. However, her time on the track did not last forever. In the end, she needed to quit because “[the environment] was toxic.” Her love for track never faded, and she is planning on joining the Bonneville track team. Outside of academics and sports, Balogh discussed a few differences between Hungary and her current home. When the end of December rolls around in Hungary, the students enjoy Christmas break for two weeks. For participating families in the United States, Christmas is usually celebrated on the 25th; however, Hungary honors the holiday a bit differently. Balogh announced that her family celebrates on “the 24th in the night [to] have dinner then open gifts.” The 25th is reserved for visiting relatives. In Eastern Idaho, the winter is characterized by heavy snowfall, while Balogh stated that “the weather in Hungary is very mild, so [she] never [saw] snow. Bologh was completely shocked when she first saw snow because it is rarely seen in Hungary. Life as a foreign exchange student requires flexibility, open mindness, and curiosity. Living in Idaho so far, Balogh has been able to experience frigid weather and typical American school days. Wish her luck for the upcoming track season and remainder of the school year! |
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