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Grisel Gonzalez
Assistant Editor As Bonneville High School (BHS) continues to strive for excellence, Principal Jolley has unveiled his enthusiastic visions for the future of BHS. Jolley plans on renovating the exterior and interior of BHS. Next year all the red brick tile floor will be replaced with another “nice looking flooring.” Additionally, upper A wing and all the classrooms within it will be getting redone, and science labs will also be added. Jolley also plans on putting up more BHS window covers like the ones on his office windows. He hopes by doing so, it will promote more school spirit within the school. New signage will also be added in the main entrances outside to indicate where the gym, fine arts, etc. are located. Regarding the teachers, Jolley mentions that they have been working extremely hard on their Professional Learning Community (PLC) work. This means that they get together on Monday and plan their focus for this year. They also work collaboratively to ensure the success of their students. He says the PLC work is to try to get vertical alignment so what teachers are teaching in 9th grade is what teachers in 10th grade need and so forth. Jolley mentions that the administrators have made it their goal to never walk by anything on the floor without picking it up. He mentions, “we always stop and pick it up and we hope that if we start doing that kids will notice and then kids will say if our principals are willing to stop, reach down, and pick up garbage and throw it in the garbage can as students were going to start doing that.” Along with that, Jolley states, “I think as kids see that we care about the school and we start to take care of it, the kids will also start to take care of it and have pride in it and if you have pride in something you want to be part of it.” The administrators have set this plan in place not only to maintain cleanliness within BHS, but also to lead by example for the students. Finally, Jolley touches on his end goal with the Social Emotional Learning by stating that he wants the teachers to realize that they are in this job as educators to do more than just teach all the subjects. He declares that it really is to help prepare students for the future, and those social-emotional skills are skills everyone can use to be successful. Therefore, his end goal is that the school truly has kids that are ready to be productive members of society. He also mentions that most of the feedback he has obtained about the Social Emotional learning has been tremendously positive. Jolley stated, "when kids come out of the classrooms…as admin we’ve walked around and [we] actually hear a lot of kids talking about whatever that lesson was.” He further talks about the duration by saying he does not think it is that long, and he does not think it takes up much time. He feels as though it is extremely beneficial to spend 18 minutes every once in a while in an effort to be better. Lastly, Jolley ends his interview by declaring his final objective is, “trying to get kids to realize I can do hard things. The biggest thing is I think kids aren’t willing to put in the work and the effort but want the reward, and you don’t get the reward without the work and the effort.” Principal Jolly along with all the teachers and administrators have put their best foot forward to help students achieve and reach their maximum strengths. Bonneville High School continues to thrive and provides a positive environment for not only students, but for everyone.
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Anna Kidd
Assistant Editor When cultures collide at Bonneville High School (BHS), the hallways echo with stories from every corner of the globe. Casey Faulkner is the mastermind of the foreign exchange program. The BHS foreign exchange program provides students with the opportunity to explore other schools and cultures. Currently, District 93 is the only district in Idaho Falls with a foreign exchange program. The requirements for any student using the program are that they must have adequate grades, good standing, and enough funds to pay for the trip. New environments can be strange, and foreign students are working towards graduation in a new country. Due to varying grade equivalency, Faulkner helps foreign students complete the requirements for their graduation. Another major factor of living in a foreign country is where students will reside. The host family is chosen by the student's foreign exchange agency, which helps arrange and procure travel essentials. Depending on the foreign exchange agency, the host family may be compensated for housing the student, providing them food, and covering any other necessary expenses. Although the students and schools choose what country and school students will learn their education from. The people who oversee the program like Faulkner, want to work with students to help with being in a new school. Faulkner’s job allows him to help foreign students make sure their academic and social needs are met.Faulkner holds BHS with high standing and wants “good kids here to add to our culture of already great kids!” The main reason for this program is to allow students to learn new and interesting cultures. As they travel throughout their school life and learn a different culture than one’s normal. Due to curiosity, they may seek to understand the working conditions in their foreign country. However: it is not highly heard of foreign students obtaining jobs. Thanks to Faulkner and administrations of BHS, the exchange program allows students to seek other opportunities in other countries. One student at a time learning a new culture through the BHS exchange program. Ashlynn Morgan
Staff Writer Are you “Ready For It?” It has been a long time coming, but Bonneville High School has a new elective. Chelsea Wolsey, also known as Mrs. A, has created an elective course revolving around the pop singer Taylor Swift. The Bonneville Buzz interviewed Mrs. A about her new Taylor Swift elective with thirteen enchanting questions. The class gets the opportunity to view live performances, music videos, and interviews of Swift's life. English can be difficult for some students, and most students struggle with literary analysis. However, with this class “writing about someone you love and adore makes those tricky tasks less tricky.” According to Mrs. A, it is easier to write about something the students enjoy. For example, if someone enjoys art, they will enjoy researching an art-related topic. “Long story short,” students really enjoy this class, and Mrs. A loves teaching this class because “it is the highlight of [her] day.” Mrs. A says when she gives a reading assignment, she does not get a single complaint because the students enjoy reading about Taylor Swift. She gets to teach students about someone she loves and looks up to; she helps students understand tricky things in English. People may think this class can only be for devoted Swifties, however it can be for anyone. Mrs. A questioned one of her students about the class, as he does not listen to Taylor Swift; nonetheless, “he is enjoying learning about her and listening to her music.” Proving that this class is not just for Swifties, and can be for anyone who is willing to learn more about music and culture. At times, Mrs. A goes over other artists who can have something related to Swift, to allow a break for non-Swifties. The class listens to Swift's songs every day, and Swifties and non-Swifties are invested in the class. Helping her students understand Taylor Swift's complicated stories in her songs is her “End Game.” Mrs. A loves that “One day we are spending time in deep analysis of her lyrical and musical choices…” She stated, “...next we are making friendship bracelets and discussing why and how we became Swifties in the first place.” The students and Mrs. A enjoy this new Taylor Swift elective because it gives them an opportunity to build genuine relationships with others of similar interests. Hopefully, Mrs. A's class opens the door for more unique elective classes in the future. Aaliyah Garcia
Staff Writer The crowd is cheering, the team is sweating, the lights are shining, and the smell of donuts is lingering through the air. On Friday, September 6, the annual Civil War game took place. The rivalry between the Hillcrest Knights and Bonneville Bees continued, and the spot for the best team between the two were in the play that night. At the game, there was food from well-known places throughout Idaho Falls, such as Garcia’s Street Tacos, Fixxology, and the famous Sugared Moose Mini Donuts. The combination of fried food, determined athletes, and a pumped up crowd set the tone for the football showdown of the year. Aden Mora, a junior at Bonneville High School, was the starting running back for Civil War. Mora explains that before the game, as well as most of the football games throughout the year, he likes to prepare by “listening to music and stretching. [He] also likes to pray before games.” During the Civil War, Mora faced many challenges such as dealing with “the large crowd, along with the trash talking with other players on the field.” Bystanders may get in the players’ heads, and Mora mentions a favorable way to overcome the comments is to “focus on [the] job and … prove them wrong.” Mora mentions that one of his favorite mood boosters during the game is the "loud music, and the crowd cheering" when he scored a touchdown. The marching band and cheer team provide encouragement via music and cheers as well. Civil War is typically the biggest game of the year, and the Bees fought valiantly. After the last second on the clock, our Bees were down, and the score was 28-46. The Bonneville boys left their hearts on the field, but they were ultimately defeated by the Knights. After the loss, Mora’s determination and passion for football did not stop. He exclaimed that after the loss, he tried to “keep the team motivated for the next game, and just always remember [they] have next week.” The Civil War was a tough game;however, the Bees kept their heads high and have the rest of the season for a comeback! Emory Anderson
Staff Writer Over the last few months, multiple new bills have passed that will affect D93. Bill 1329, more commonly known as the Band-Aid Law, explains that those under the age of 18 need parental consent before being able to access most medical care. Bill 538, also known as the name and pronoun law,requires minors who prefer to go by another name and/or pronoun to receive parent permission first. This means that if someone has a preferred nickname, they can not be called that nickname until the school receives permission from their guardian. When talking to Justin Jolley, the new head principal at Bonneville High School, he offered more insight regarding how parents, students, and teachers may be impacted by these changes. For parents, the school district sent out emails where they had to provide consent for their child to receive first aid or other essential medical care. At the school board meeting on September 11, 2024, it was reported that 90% of parents had responded. Jolley mentioned that out of the 13,000 adolescents in the district, roughly 100 parents chose to deny first-aid being administered to their child. With all of the responses, the school board is still waiting to hear back from around 3000. The only extra work that will be there is following up on the children whose parents have not responded to the consent form. As for teachers, the school board and district have stated that Band-Aids can be left out for students to use, but teachers should not give them directly to students. Unless the teacher provides the Band-Aid or any medical attention, it would not be considered first aid. Once a student has help from a teacher, it becomes first aid. With how things are going, the medical field will continue to change due to the fact that state law does not always match up with federal law. These changes will affect Woolstenhulme more than the classroom because he "[has] an ethical responsibility to inform our staff members about these law[s] and the expectation that we comply with all laws relating to [education]” Even with the new bill put in place, there is a law that gives individuals the power “to provide lifesaving measures.” This outweighs what bill 1329 says. Woolstenhulme mentioned that when Bill 538 was first heard, it was in the February House State Affairs Committee. According to Woolstenhulme, this was unusual because new bills "should be heard in the Education Committee and not the State Affairs." Not much more information is known to Woolstenhulme, however “[he] believe[s] this was a political move intended to bypass the House Education Committee.” To obtain more information, an email was sent to the superintendent, Scott Woolstenhulme. He commented on Bill 1329 and mentioned that since “[t]his law is directed to medical providers, so we schools [were] not informed about this bill until after it went into effect in July. As of now, Bill 1329 may put teachers and staff in a difficult position when it comes to whether or not they can help an injured student. Woolstenhulme has concerns, such as “being a coach and having a player injured.” Coaches may not be able to tend to that injury immediately since they may not have parent permission to administer aid. These laws, according to Woolstenhulme, may “harm positive relationships between our teachers and staff members and our kids.” It is essential that teachers and coaches obtain parental consent before providing care for non-threatening injuries and illnesses. Emory Anderson
Staff Writer There are some changes being made to the gym floor here at Bonneville High School (BHS). This kind of change happens about every 20 years, but it can vary. On April 19, 2024, BHS students and faculty had the opportunity to voice their opinions on the project's end design. Levi Owen, head principal, and Tyler Johnson, athletic director, are leading the project. This project, being their first major school-based project, is sponsored by Rockwell Homes, a local homebuilding company founded nearly 30 years ago. Rockwell Homes chose to finance this project because “[t]he school, in and of itself, does not have a funding mechanism for this type of upgrade.” The cost needed to be covered by Rockwell is somewhere between 65-75K. After the faculty pushed for upgrades throughout the school, administration chose to invest in the main gym and its overall appearance. With BHS being the oldest of the traditional high schools in the district, “[they] wanted [the] students to feel more school spirit and pride in being a Bonneville Bee.” The design options presented in the April survey were designed by the boys basketball coach two years ago. He came up with these ideas that students got to pick from because “he had worked with a flooring company that does floors for the NCAA and NBA on the initial design.” All designs, which consisted of four primary options with minute differences, scored favorably with good feedback on potential changes. When gathering feedback on the floor designs, Johnson and Owen worked with Rockwell on the floor designs. The decision to update the main gym floor is not something new; it has been in the works for the last two years. The floor's estimated finish date is July 2024. After reviewing the survey data, it was decided that all four designs would be incorporated into the final project. Even though this project is going to be done well into the summer, it may impact some summer activities such as practices or camps. With these changes being made to the gym floor and not many things being affected by it, it will be something that will be an improvement seen by everyone. A big thanks goes out to Rockwell Homes for funding the project. Having pride in school culture and appearance can lead to an increase in school spirit. Go Bees! Elliot Kidd
Social Media Manager Bonneville High School has different aspects of science that students can learn about. Bradley Coombs, a science teacher, is responsible for many of these classes. His classes include two outdoorsman classes, Vertebrate Zoology, Anatomy and Physiology. Coombs was fresh out of Kansas Wesleyan University when he got an offer to be a substitute at BHS. Due to a teacher leaving during the school year, Coombs took over his classes for the remainder of the year as a full-time substitute. The following year, he was hired as a full-time teacher. At the end of 2024, Coombs will complete his fifth year teaching. Having started college with the hope of becoming a physical therapist, during his sophomore year Coombs decided to take a scientific path. One of the biggest reasons he chose to change career paths was the physical therapy world is often “cut throat.” When looking at other career options, his love of math and science was kept in mind. Coombs had a love of both; however, he chose science because he enjoys teaching ecology. Coombs enjoys teaching all his classes; however, he enjoys some more than others. One of Coombs’ favorite subjects to teach is the outdoorsman class. He explained, “Ecology [is the] base of learning Idaho's ecosystem.” Pairing well with his outdoorsman class, Coombs prefers a kinesthetic approach to teaching, including projects and assignments. Coombs’ outdoorsman classes give students the opportunity to gain basic knowledge of the surrounding environment as well gain a hunting license and a boating license. Coombs prefers to live as life takes him; he lived by the motto "go where the building blocks [fall].” However, Coombs never saw his career path to be football, an extracurricular activity he did. He saw himself down the path of science or math. His interest in mathematics was partly due to its influence on science formulas. If he needed to he could teach a math class. However, Coombs prefers to stick to his habitat, science. For upcoming students some things to know before taking Coombs classes. His teaching is mostly based in sketch books, heavy lectures, and activities based teaching. In his five years of teaching at BHS. Coombs has helped the BHS science department grow in their many programs for students to learn. Ashlynn Morgan
Staff Writer Seussical, the musical, is a wild story filled with characters from the Jungle of Nool to the tiny who's on Who. Two of the lead roles were interviewed about the musical. The Cat in the Hat is played by Ainsley Smith, a senior. She was interviewed a week before the show on their thoughts about the musical and how it is going. Smith replied that she enjoys how “mischievous” Seussical is, and that the whole thing is colorful and childish. Trying out for a musical can be very stressful, but she knew she wanted to join because this is her last year at Bonneville, and she wanted to be a part of the cast one last time. She helps herself prepare for a musical by looking on the internet for a script. She uses key words to help her find a one-minute monologue. For the song part of the audition, she finds a song she already knows and tries to match the song with the character she wants to try out for. Smith’s first musical was in sixth grade, and she has done a musical every year since then, besides her freshman year. She was in “Anastasia” and “Bright Star" in high school. Seussical, involves a crazy amount of rhyming as well as plentiful supplies of color. Sometimes memorizing lines is difficult and takes a long time. However, Smith gets motivated to learn her lines because of the cast. She understands that if she does not do her part, it will slow down the process of getting the musical prepared for opening night. Smith sees that the musical is time consuming and takes plenty of practice outside of the regular hours. Smith wants the musical to be the best it can be, and she is aware it takes plenty of time and dedication to make it enjoyable for the audience. Her favorite part about being in a musical is getting to sing musical theater songs because “they are expressive.” She enjoys being a part of the cast and how the songs can portray emotion to the audience. Her favorite musical theater song: “When he sees me” from the musical waitress, it is a “silly song” and it is “fun to sing” so she used it for her audition this year. The part of JoJo is being played by Sarah Bingham, who is a senior. She loves how this musical is childlike and less on the serious side unlike past shows. She loves how “it brings out the childlike joy and fun that we all miss.” Sara has a huge part because the plot of the show is JoJo trying to save Whoville and that comes with many lines. She is motivated to learn her lines because she loves coming to a rehearsal prepared. When she shows up prepared the show can move along faster and she enjoys working on the small details. Bingham loves all the songs, but she loves “Alone in the Universe” the most because of how beautiful the song is. She prepared for her auditions by finding a monologue and song in the theme of the show and what the teachers asked for. She makes sure to find something that can fit her and the character she wants that can show her talents. She has done six musicals and two plays; she did “The Murders Announced” in the fall this year. She believes that the hardest part is the time commitment. There is so much that goes into it practicing songs, dances, lines, scenes, and then sometimes getting in tech hours. She says the best part about being in a musical is “the family.” It is frustrating to be around them sometimes, but she says that they can make up and you get really close to people. She loves that the cast is like a family and how comfortable she feels around them. Seussical the musical is a bright and colorful musical full of upbeat songs and amazing characters. Ainsley Smith and Sarah Bingham are two talented seniors starring in this musical. Eric Perez
Editor-in-Chief There is a new class in town with big potential. Military leadership is now offered throughout the D93 high schools. It is all taught by the same instructor for every school. The class combines leadership and military skills. Skills that can be used in everyday life with leadership aspects and hard working military based skills. Joshua Hawkins is teaching the class, Hawkins is a member of the U.S military. He was chosen by District 93 to teach the class, as he is a member of the military and has his teaching license. The class combines leadership skills with military tactics to help students “learn to take charge” according to Hawkins. Although taking the class “can prepare you if you are planning on joining the military,” students who are not planning on serving can gain leadership skills that will benefit them throughout life. This trimester students have started learning about land navigation and reading maps. students are given practical exercises like finding points on maps, using protractors and military coordinates. They learn about drop zones where they drop troops at and finding military bases. The ability to read and understand maps is important because if students are ever lost or are given maps in the military, they will be well prepared and know how to use them. PE class or weights, dressing down is a part of the class, in military leadership you do not dress down but dress ups. Students have to wear their Military Leadership uniforms, which is their military leadership shirt given to you at the beginning of the class. They have to show up on time and participate in all the activities. When coming into class students have to be wearing their uniforms, they have to come on time, and do their daily pushups. When students come dressed up and on time it teaches them time management. When they are doing their push-ups, it builds muscle and gets some of the needed physical activity. Even though it is in different ways, Students' minds are just as worked as most Bonneville core classes. After a Lesson then the Practical exercise students are put in stressful situations or are given problems that need to be solved and are expected to solve them. The situations require quick thinking and taking control, usually with military type situations. Military Leadership comes with a great deal of responsibility, and pushes students to go the extra mile, and teaches good work ethic. Learning leadership skills helps students be better leaders in many different situations. Learning military skills can help in many ways, if someone is going into the military or can skills people could use in everyday life. Emory Anderson
Staff Writer The Bonneville High School’s student council, also known as StuCo, has decided that there are some changes that need to be made. The students that will be most affected by this change are the kids who want to run. Ashley Yorgason is the advisor for this class, she oversees StuCo events. She also helps with elections and nominations for kids and makes sure that funds are in balance for student activities being held. Yorgason has decided that there are things that are going on in Student Council (StuCo) and how it is run. One of the biggest changes that was made was how kids are chosen to be a part of StuCo. Instead of having the student body nominate their friends for the ballot, teachers now have the ability to nominate students who are punctual, kind, and respectful. To help Yorgason identify students who would serve the school well, she sent out a nomination form to teachers where they can suggest a student and explain why they chose them. Another major change to StuCo is that nominees will not be 100% student body. With this change, the "popular kids," according to Yorgason, will not be the only students in the election or class. Another change made is two new positions, an upper class and a lower-class representative. These positions are meant to help “our subgroup of student council run events and things like that.” One of the positive aspects to this is that this is a change people will see it happen. With this change new faces will be seen either running for StuCo or become a part of it. Rylann Jones, senior and student body president, joined StuCo her freshman year after participating in Rocky Mountain Middle School's National Honor Society. Her job is to help get class started. This could mean one of three things she either helps with a question of the day, what every announcement needs to be made or she does there to do of the day. As student body president, some of Jones' responsibilities include representing Bonneville, doing the morning announcements, and talking during the assemblies. One of the changes Jones would like to see next year is that more people will want to apply themselves to more communities. Although change can be intimidating for some, Jones is eager for the new StuCo changes and believes that this change will help everyone feel more useful and included. With these changes being made to StuCo new faces will be seen and not the same kids year after year. Along with that teachers now have the opportunity to be included a little more with the decision on the nominees for StuCo. |
CampusCampus News is where stories relating directly to Bonneville reside. Most are reports on school activities and events. Archives
September 2024
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