Blog Archives

What’s the Deal with Bonneville’s Doors?

1/19/2023

Lukas Hellberg
Staff Writer
  Bonneville’s doors have a controversial past with the school. With all of the added rules for the doors designed to protect the people at this school from various threats, some students have spoken out about the inconvenience that this protection brings.
  At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, all of the doors were locked except for the front door at the start of the day. Although few other restrictions were placed on the doors, many students still complained about the inconvenience of the doors. People have shown a preference to the old door policy, where they only locked the doors in the morning, compared to the new one. “I definitely think it was necessary for safety, but even then, it was easier to get [to] classes,” stated Jazmin Torres, about the new door policy compared to the old one. However, Torres still believes it has improved the safety of the school. “Overall, it was good for [the] safety of everyone.”
  According to a form sent out recently, many people believe that the door policy has become much more cumbersome under these new conditions. Some people have complained about how difficult it is for certain students to reach their next class on time. Erin Carter, a paraprofessional (a trained aide) at Bonneville, discussed this difficulty at length: “It seems that those going to the seminary building are late there and late to their next class… and only [have] four minute long passing periods. That definitely doesn’t leave time for using the restroom and getting a drink.” Yet, Carter still agrees that the new policy is much more safe than the old one. “... I understand why doors being locked is a safety issue, with students not ditching and strangers not randomly coming [into] the building.” Many people agree that the door policy tends to be inconvenient; however, they can still admit that it is much safer.
  The administration, on the other hand, finds the protection provided by the doors to be incredibly important for the sake of keeping the students of this school safe. Principal Levi Owen noted the planning that went on to implement this policy. According to Owen, “The new policy is a necessary step for us to ensure the safety and security of the school building. It was made after careful consideration and much collaboration with different staff members--including seminary teachers.” Other members of administration, including attendance secretary Amanda Van Orden, discussed the careful planning that was needed for this plan to be upheld. Van Orden expressed,“I don't think students and parents really know how much effort, time and thought goes into these decisions made by our administration. I wish they could see things from that different perspective.” This shows how the administration feels about their efforts being seen as a burden rather than a help.
  While the students have shown disdain for the inconvenience that the new policy brings, the policy has kept the school much safer than the school was before. Not only is the school safer, the policy helps prevent students from leaving the school grounds by locking the doors.

0 Comments

The First Year: An Interview with Mrs. Isabelle Minton

1/19/2023

0 Comments

Grace Wiklund
Staff Writer
  Bonneville High School is a school that prioritizes working together in a community, similar to how a bee colony does. That community would not be what it is today without the amazing roster of teachers and staff. New educators join the faculty all the time, and the 2022-2023 school year is no exception. Shining a spotlight on one of these individuals, is Ms. Sebra, a geometry teacher who will now be known as Mrs. Minton after getting married over Christmas break. A journalism staff member conducted an interview about her new job.
  The first few questions were regarding her schooling and how she ended up working at BHS. Minton attended Brigham Young University Idaho located in Rexburg, where she earned a degree in mathematics education. As for how she found a job at Bonneville, she said the following: “I saw job postings at Bonneville High School. I reached out to the email that was listed. I got a response asking to set up an interview and to fill out an application.” When asked about how the interview went, she said it had gone well and she was hired shortly after.
  The second half of the interview was about the actual teaching part of her job. Minton was asked how her first few weeks of teaching had been, if she had any practice or help prior. She replied, “I was so excited to start teaching and to get to know all of my students. I had to adjust many of the strategies that I was using since they were not effective. I had a great mentor who gave me advice and helped me with my questions.” It’s very understandable that the methods of teaching have to be accommodated to fill an individual's needs, which brought the interview to the next topic about the struggles of being a teacher in her first school year after getting the job. Minton states that the main problem is finding a strategy that can best help her students. “It can be hard when students don’t want help when I know they have so much potential.”
  Some extra questions were asked towards the end of the interview. Minton was asked about how she would describe her students. “My students have been amazing to get to know. I love hearing about their life and what they like outside of school. It has been special to see students who lack self confidence in math start to come out of their shell.” The interview concluded with the final question of what she sees in the future of her career as well as her goals. Minton said that she has not thought much of the future, though she would enjoy continuing to teach at Bonneville.
  Special thanks to Mrs. Minton for letting the journalism staff do an interview with her. It is amazing that BHS has such a fantastic teacher and many other aspiring new educators within the staff and faculty this year. The future is unknown, but Bonneville will still be here and hopefully teaching the generations to come. It’s going to be a great year for both those who have been here for years and those who have just been acquainted.

0 Comments

My Story - English and Italian

1/19/2023

0 Comments

Gianmarco Quinzi
Staff Writer
  Hello, everyone! My name is Gianmarco Quinzi, and I am a seventeen-year-old exchange student from Italy with a great desire to explore other cultures, flavors, and traditions. I am ready to open the doors to everything that comes back in front of me. It all began one afternoon in February, I was spending the afternoon helping my father at work, until all of a sudden my father proposed to me to undertake an unforgettable experience, a year of study in America, without thinking about it for a second I accepted this offer without knowing what I would find in front of me. From that day, I embarked on a completely impetuous path that required many studies, and determination, and offered its fair share of challenges. Having to endure a whole year in which I communicated in English, and in order to survive, I had to have a minimum knowledge of the English language, not having this ability to express myself in English I had to take a three-month course in which I learned this language.
  In late June, I discovered that I was going to live in Idaho Falls and attend Bonneville High School. I would become the guest of a large host family who chose me out of thousands of applicants. My new family consisted of my host parents (Julie and Tony), three sisters (Hali, Niky, and Remi), a brother (Ed), and a crazy cat. I was on cloud nine and realized my new adventure was real and finally beginning. A new chapter of my life was opening and another was just closing. It was almost the end of August, a week before my departure, in that week there were many farewell dinners, I had to say goodbye to my best friend Alessio, I shared most of my life and a lot of afternoons playing video games, with whom I shared the same passion for volleyball, I had the to say goodbye to the two people I met four years ago at school, and who began to be part of my adventure called: Vita, Eleonora, and Letizia, afternoons that began studying and ended wading through a movie on Netflix, but the people with whom I had the hardest time saying goodbye was my family.
  The day of Farewell had come, and my uncle, my mother, and my sister had accompanied me to the airport in Rome. It was time to say goodbye to everyone, give my little sister a last hug and then leave, leaving behind all those people I cared about, going to a country that I knew very little about, but having the knowledge that I had my parents who would support me even miles away, I knew that it going to be difficult because it is the first time that I leave my parents for this long time and far away from home, and know that makes me feel really sad and worried about. After so many hours of travel, I got off the last plane very stressed and anxious about what could happen, especially exhausted. At the airport, I found all my host family who were waiting to meet me. We hugged and headed straight home. They showed me the whole house, my wonderful little room in which I will spend nights of crying and joy.
The first week went by very quickly, I still could not understand much of what they were telling me; however, I was not demoralized. It was only the first week and I was there to learn. The day had arrived when I had to choose the subjects I was going to study for my first term. I took a tour of the school with Ed and Tony. It was gigantic! There were four tennis courts, two football fields, two gyms, a whole weight room, and a lunch room, not to mention how many classes there are. The first-day school arrived, I did not know anyone; however, I had Ed who was by my side, we had the first and last hour together, the classes had been great, the teachers were friendly, I was very shy and anxious about my English I couldn't make friends with anyone yet, the lunch break had arrived, the first of the year, I had never seen so many people all crowded together, I don't know why, but at that moment I was having a panic attack. I was struggling to breathe; I was scared. I don't know how but the presence of my host brother made me calm down somehow. The following weeks were going well, I was starting to understand English a little more, and I was getting top grades in school, but I couldn't understand why I couldn't feel satisfied. I felt lonely at that time. I missed my family, and friends, so instead of asking for help or talking about it with someone I would lock myself in my bedroom, look at the window and cry. After this dark period, I was able to find the right motivation to move forward, I was able to make new friends, I was organizing afternoons with my friends, and I felt I belonged to the group.
  After a period of light always comes back the dark, the Christmas period I always loved, at that time it was one of the saddest periods I had ever gone through, used to start this period with a smile, this time I was going through it with anguish that was ruining even my sunny days. At that time the calls with my parents and friends had increased dramatically, until after one call, Julie came to talk to me, telling me "it's normal to miss the people you love, you're going through a different Christmas season to what you're used to going through, but that doesn't stop you from being happy, you can have fun and be happy with us and at the same time feel the lack of those you love," after which I was able to frame the situation, no one was stopping me from being sad, it's normal, it was me only looking at the negative side of my experience, when in fact there are people who love me even here and make me laugh, after which I had the most original, most bizarre Christmas I have ever experienced.
  This experience, this adventure, this journey is about learning to grow, learning to stand on your own two feet, learning to be independent, to open up more to people, and to understand who you really are, no one ever said it's easy, it's actually very hard, but this chapter of my life is not over yet, the challenges are not over, people to meet and get to know are out there waiting to get to know me, my curiosity will never end.

Gianmarco Quinzi
Staff Writer
Ciao a tutti , mi chiamo Gianmarco Quinzi, sono un ragazzo di diciasette anni, uno studente di scambio di studio dall’Italia con tanta voglia di esplorare altre culture, sapori e tradizioni, pronto ad aprire le porte a tutto ciò che si mi ritrova davanti e questa è la mia storia. Tutto iniziò un pomeriggio di Febbraio, stavo passando il pomeriggio ad aiutare mio padre a lavoro, finchè ad un tratto mio padre mi propone di intraprendere un esperienza indimenticabile , un anno di studio in America, senza rifletterci un secondo accettai questa proposta senza sapere cosa mi sarei ritrovato davanti. Da quel giorno ho intrapreso un percorso completamente impetuoso, con tanto studio, e tante sfide da superare , in cui in ognuna di essere dovevo avere tanta pazienza e determinazione. Dovendo sostenere un intero anno in cui comunicavo in inglese, e per poter sopravvivere, dovevo sapere un minimo la conoscenza della lingua inglese , non avendo questa capacità di esprimermi in inglese ho dovuto sostenere un corso di tre mesi in cui imparavo questa lingua. Era fine Giugno scopro che andrò a vivere in Idaho Falls , e che frequenterò la scuola Bonneville High School , e che sarò ospite, per questo intero anno, di una larga famiglia, sembravano molto calorosi,una mamma e un papà (Julie e Tony),tre sorelle e un fratello (Halie,Niky,Remi e Ed)e un gatto pazzo, sembrava fantastico,tra mille persone hanno scelto proprio me, mi sentivo entusiasto al settimo cielo, da quel momento avevo realizzato che stava succedendo per davvero era tutto reale, stava incominciando la mia avventura. Un nuovo capitolo della mia vita si stava aprendo e un altro si stava appena chiudendo. Era quasi la fine di Agosto, una settimana prima della mia partenza, in quella settimana ci sono state tante cene di addii, ho dovuto salutare il miglior amico Alessio , con cui ho condiviso la maggior parte della mia vita, pomeriggi passati a giocare ai videogiochi, con cui condivido la stessa passione per la pallavolo, ho dovuto la salutare le due persone che ho incontrato quattro anni fa a scuola, e che hanno incominciato a far parte della mia avventura chiamata:Vita, Eleonora e Letizia, pomeriggi iniziati a studiare e finiti a guadare un film su Netflix, ma le persone con cui ho avuto più difficoltà a dire addio è stata la mia famiglia, ogni sera era una sera speciale, un sera in meno alla mia partenza per poi rivedersi a Giugno dell’anno prossimo.Era giunto il giorno dell’Addio, mi avevano accompagnato all’areoporto di Roma mio zio,mia madre e mia sorella. Era giunto il momento di salutare tutti , dare l’ultimo abbraccio alla mia sorellina per poi partire, lasciare alle spalle tutte quelle persone a cui tengo, andando in un paese di cui sapevo poco o niente, ma avendo la consapevolezza di avere i miei genitori che mi avrebbero sostenuto anche a distanza di migliaia di kilometri. Dopo tante ore di viaggio, scendo dall’ultimo aereo molto stressato e ansioso per quello che poteva succedere, sopratutto molto stanco, all’areoporto trovo(trovai) tutta la mia famiglia ospitante che stava aspettando di conoscermi, ci siamo abbracciati e ci siamo diretti subito a casa mi hanno fatto vedere tutta la casa, la mia stupenda cameretta in cui trascorrerò notti di pianto e di gioia. La prima settimana è passata molto velocemente , non riuscivo ancora a capire molto di quello che mi dicevano, però non mi demoralizzo era solo la prima settimana ed io ero lì per imparare. Era arrivato il giorno in cui dovevo scegliere le materie che avrei studiato per il mio primo trimestre, ho fatto un tour della scuola con Ed e Tony ,era gigantesca c’erano quattro campi da tennis , due di football, due palestre, e un intera sala pesi,un sala pranzo, per non parlare di quante classe ci sono. Il primo giorno scuola era arrivato, non conoscevo nessuno , però avervo Ed che era al mio fianco, avevamo la prima e l’ultima ora insieme, le lezioni erano state fantastiche , i professori erano amichevoli, ero molto timido e ansioso per il mio inglese non riuscivo ancora a fare amicizia con qualcuno, era arrivata la pausa pranzo, la prima dell’anno , non avevo mai visto così tanta gente tutta ammassata, non so il perchè ma in quel momento mi era preso un attacco di panico, facevo fatica a respirare, ero impaurito, non so come ma la presenza del mio fratello ospitante mi faceva tranquillizzare in qualche modo. Le settimane seguenti stavano andando bene, stavo iniziando a capire un pò più l’inglese, a scuola avevo il massimo dei voti, ma non riuscivo a capire il motivo per cui non riuscivo a sentirmi soddisfatto, mi sentivo solo in quel periodo mi mancava la mia famiglia e i mie amici, quindi invece di chiedere aiuto o di parlarne con qualcuno mi chiudevo in cameretta, guardavo la finestra e piangevo. Dopo questo periodo di buio sono riuscito a trovare la giusta motivazione per andare avanti, sono riuscito a fare nuove amicizie, organizzavo pomeriggi con i miei amici, mi sentivo appartenente del gruppo. Dopo un periodo di luce torna sempre il buio, il periodo natalizio che ho sempre amato, in quel momento era un dei periodi più tristi che avevo mai passato, abituato ad iniziare questo periodo con il sorriso, questa volta lo stavo attraversando con un angoscia che mi stava rovinando anche le giornate di sole. In quel periodo le chiamate con i miei genitori e i miei amici erano aumentate drasticamente, fino a che dopo una chiamata , Julie mi è venuta a parlare, dicendomi “è normale sentire la mancanza delle persone che ami, stai passando un periodo natalizio diverso a quello che sei abituato a passare, ma questo non ti impedisce di essere felice, puoi divertirti e essere felice con noi e nello stesso tempo sentire la mancanza di chi ami”, dopo di che sono riuscito a inquadrare la situazione, nessuno mi impediva di essere triste, è normale, ero io che guardavo solo il lato negativo delle mia esperienza, quando invece ci sono persone che mi vogliono bene anche qui e che mi fanno ridere, dopodichè ho passato un Natale più originale, più bizzarro che abbia mia vissuto. Questa esperienza, questa avventura, questo viaggio è fatto per imparare a crescere, imparare a camminare con le proprie gambe, imparare a essere indipendente, ad aprirsi di più con le persone, e a capire chi sei veramente, nessuno ha mai detto che sia facile, in realtà è molta dura, ma questo capitolo della mia vita non è ancora finito, le sfide non sono finite, persone da incontrare e conoscere sono là fuori ad aspettare di conoscermi, la mia curiosità non finirà mai .

0 Comments

Campus

What’s the Deal with Bonneville’s Doors?

The First Year: An Interview with Mrs. Isabelle Minton

My Story - English and Italian

Campus

Archives