Asher Montaño
Staff Writer The Homecoming parade of Bonneville High School has been celebrating school pride for many years. All the clubs and sports teams around the school have the option to participate in the parade by decorating a float, gathering the group members, and spreading bee spirit throughout the D93 community. Days of careful consideration went into the planning of the parade. This year Ethan Smith, a junior in Student Council, was in charge of the Homecoming parade. Mrs. Yorgason, the student council advisor, shared some valuable information regarding planning steps for the parade. She declared, “Planning entails working with the community to set up the route, organizing all clubs that would like to participate, setting a day and time, contacting elementary schools and letting them know when the parade will be, and working with admin to moderate the route and what the flow to traffic will look like.” All of these aspects that may seem truly miniscule are all exceedingly important when it comes to planning this event, although there are also rules and regulations that must be followed. There are also many rules and guidelines that the students and staff are required to follow when the event comes around. Yorgason listed the following: “No water balloons, drivers must be 21+ with a valid driver's license if they are to be driving a float, no profane music, candy must be tossed from the sidelines, and floats must be decorated appropriately.” The rules and regulations are put in place to ensure the safety of the students, school, and community. Although water balloons may seem safe, they can cause bruising when thrown, and they create litter if not properly disposed of. A licensed and competent driver is undeniably important to ensure that no one gets hurt and prevents any damage. If anything goes wrong, whether it is the fault of students or a simple mistake, it could mean the end of the Homecoming parade all together. Luckily, decorating and throwing together a float brings more fun to the parade. Putting together the floats brings anticipation for the parade. School clubs have the option to decorate and bring food and candy to participate in the event. Students who are involved in a variety of groups, such as Walker Steffen, a junior at BHS, are forced to choose which float they will be on for the parade. Steffen explains that choosing a float, “was actually significantly hard because both floats were full of people … I ended up choosing the Performing Arts float over Hope Squad because I've been in choir for longer and I am ultimately more passionate.” These floats provide the opportunity for the students to throw the school pride out to the community around them, furthermore it allows elementary, and middle schools to see how entertaining high school can be. Bonneville High School has numerous exciting activities throughout the year and it is an amazing opportunity to be a part of Bonnevilles Homecoming parade. GO BEES!
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Lucy Ker
Staff Writer Homecoming is a tradition in the United States in which parades, assemblies, games, and a dance welcome staff and students returning from summer break. Bonneville High School’s Homecoming dance took place on September 23 from eight o'clock to eleven o'clock in the evening. Students who attended Homecoming were able to go by themselves, in a group, or on a date. This year's theme was Ancient Greece, and Bonneville’s very own Student Council was responsible for the planning and execution. Although other groups, such as Hope Squad or the cheer team, may organize some dances, Student Council (StuCo) typically charges the Homecoming planning. The first step: choosing a theme. Student Council brainstormed and workshopped the potential themes; nevertheless, the student body activity leaders had the final say. Once the theme was chosen, the StuCo staff joined together and started to plan the decorations, music, and more. Jaicee Clinger, a senior and the student body activity leader, shared her response to the matter. Clinger claimed, “At first we thought about doing “There's No Place Like Homecoming”; however, we decided to keep looking. [W]e found the theme on Pinterest and said we will keep it!” Students at BHS could have matched the theme, or they could have worn something more traditional. Although the theme was quite historic, no togas were permitted at the event. In terms of photography, Bell Photography, Bonneville’s go-to for sports and portrait photos, was hired to work the dance. Having set up a photo booth, Bell Photography allowed students to pose for a free single, duo, or group photo. From the photography to the decorations, planning and executing Homecoming was not a small feat! Every time there is a school event, it takes plenty of planning and prepping to make every detail absolutely perfect. This year, StuCo worked fervently to ensure the dance was a hit for all students. Heather Byrne
Staff Writer On a Tuesday in the dusty main gym of Bonneville High School, gold was uncovered. May 23rd was a memorable night for seniors and their families; it was a chance for many soon-to-be-graduates to show off their accomplishments and gain a memoir to cherish the night. Senior awards were given on this night, tokens of a high school senior’s accomplishments. In their respective department, sport, or activity, a multitude of awards were given to seniors who rose above the norm and shined amongst the masses. Of the core classes, math was split into two areas: Statistics and Calculus. Madeline Clifton earned the Statistics award, while Solomon Hancock won that of Calculus. Marshall West achieved the social studies award with dignity. As for the subject with the most hypotheses and gooey objects, Anthony Williams earned the science award. Olivia Hong received the English student of the year award. Besides core classes, the fine arts department also nominated a few high-performing students for the evening. One of these artistic awards went to Kayelynn Thornock for a spectacular art project. Another form of art, ceramics, was acknowledged and the award was given to Sophia Andrus. Similar to art, there are many different forms of music. The choir, band, and orchestra awards were earned by Ella Braithwaite, Charles Voda, and Emma Maughn respectively. An award for the most amazing drama student was given to Demeree Allen, and the last two Theatrical awards consisted of Musical Theater: Lilian McCall and Technical Theater: Megan Ayers. The Family and Consumer Sciences award went to Nicholas Garcia, and he gracefully accepted. Albert Segura-Diaz won the foreign language award for his exceptional performance. The journalism award was given to Kimberly Barnes, the Editor in Chief of the The Bonneville Buzz newspaper. The female athlete of the year award went to Ali Ellsworth for her amazing performance in the sport of basketball, while the male athlete award went to Anthony Williams for his great wrestling skills. A student celebrated for his terrific physical education skills was Bryce Beck. Lastly but not least, Madilyn Blakley was student council’s award winner after being the Senior Class President and invested a lot of time to make life at the school better for seniors. Awards were also given to students who earned an associate degree alongside their high school diploma. Students who obtained degrees from Idaho State University include Carter Cheney, Craeton Cheney, Rebekah Grover, Aubrey Huber, Elisabeth Nelson, Kenadee Roberts, Jaron Vanle, Vivian Baird, Madilyn Blakley, Brigham Hansen, Warren Hewlett, Teilani Kidman, Emma Maughan, Aidan Petty, Spencer Sewell, Kayelynn Thornock, Quincy Westover, Raegan Williams, Ashton Murdock, and Nathanh Bird. Sophie Andrus earned her degree from the College of Southern Idaho, while Jacob Briggs earned his from Brigham Young University Idaho. Hallie South earned her Gem certificate proudly. These students all will be missed and were appreciated during the time they roamed BHS’ halls. Awards were not the only thing received in BHS at this time; in fact, $3,264,024 dollars in scholarships were given to students with more scholarships still coming in and being prepared for college. That wraps up the awards banquet of the 2022-2023 school year; well done Bonneville and good luck to upcoming seniors attending BHS! Savana Carter
Staff Writer Students are sitting at the edge of their seats waiting for the school year to end. Summer is quickly approaching, and the season ushers in eagerness and excitement; the long, stressful work of the school year is almost over. Summer enjoyment begins with the year ending, so students and staff can jump right in. This school year has been tough on students with the sudden change with the entry and exit ways, the erratic weather, emergency procedures, and more. Of course, there is still much to do in the remainder of the school year. Finals are typically the last assignments of the year. However, some classes do not have finals, giving students a little relief. Some teachers provide their students with a small party or do easy tasks such as coloring, word searches, and even painting as an end of the year award. In contrast, other classes are still in the final's week rush. After the school year has ended, students and staff are ready for things such as going on vacation with family and friends. Outdoor activities are always a popular option: camping, hiking, sleeping under the stars, and going to water parks are just to name some. Some visit relatives and old, childhood friends. Some people simply stay at home. There will be those who participate in online classes to graduate earlier or work to save for college during the summer. These exciting summer activities will help give students a break where they do not have to think about school and extracurricular activities. The end of the school year can be one of the most stressful parts of school for students and teachers. Even though the year was long, everyone survived. After a long, nerve-racking year and months of working at their fullest, students will get the relaxing time they need for themselves. Elliot Kidd
Staff Writer The yearbooks—the long-awaited prize for the end of the year—have finally arrived! Yearbooks are wonderful keepsakes filled with all the memories of this past school year. The yearbook committee has worked long and hard all year. Dedicated to the yearbook, the staff is excited to share their hard work. The plan is to hand out yearbooks from May 23rd to 26th in the Hive concession stand during lunch. The yearbook members work on stringent deadlines; to get a headstart on the heavy workload, the editors design the yearbook during the summer months. The editors started in early July, getting everything ready for the following school year such as picking the theme and prepping the cameras for the yearbook. The staff is already getting ready for the next year of hard work. In an effort to streamline the book-building process, next year will also include a few key updates. For the upcoming school year, the yearbook staff will be stricter when allowing students to join the class. Generally, students enter the yearbook in the first trimester hoping for a laid-back class. Mrs. Wagner, the yearbook advisor, is enacting a new rule to remove rambunctious students. [“People realize I'm evil, and they run in terror”] Every student must be willing to take photos; lessons are provided. Deadline means deadline, and the whole yearbook is at risk when there is failure to meet them. Yearbook is not an easy A class. The yearbook staff is hoping stricter ground rules will assure that there are reliable workers on the committee throughout the school year. The staff of the yearbook wants members who are dedicated to their goals, both personally and within the yearbook staff. As one of the most important records of school memories, the yearbook reflects on the past school year. Yearbooks are annual publications sold at the end of the academic year. The book contains pictures of staff, graduating seniors, awards students won over the school year, sports events, and club activities. The yearbook staff tries to ensure all extracurricular activities have a place; however, a few spring activities will be missing from the yearbook. Most sports or school events after March and April were unable to make the deadline for the yearbook, this includes the drama department’s end-of-the-year musical. Such as every assembly, the most important and eventful ones have a page in the yearbook. In the middle of the school year, the yearbook staff has to make tough choices about what stays and goes. As that is when the school year is filled with activities and memorable times. With anticipation and excitement for the end of the year, students and staff of the school can finally get their hands on their very own yearbook, which will serve as a reminder of the pleasure, hard work, and memories made this 2022-2023 school year. The yearbook committee put large amounts of time and effort into the yearbook; with the new changes next year, the yearbook can only improve. Grace Wiklund
Staff Writer Teacher Appreciation Week has been celebrated the first full week of May since 1984, and this year was no different. The celebration took place from May 8th to May 12th. Teacher Appreciation Week is recognized every year in District 93 to acknowledge educators who do so much for the school and the student body. While the celebrations do operate on a budget, it is always nice to give teachers a chance to be rewarded for their hard work. Student council, also known as STUCO, is usually on the scene whenever an important event occurs. There was no doubt that they would do something for Teacher Appreciation Week. As usual, they made their signature teacher posters with witty catch phrases and puns typically posted around teacher’s doors. Ashley Yorgason, the STUCO Advisor, expressed how the group wanted to do more for Teacher Appreciation Week, but the budget didn’t allow it. “We had wanted to do really elaborate things like ‘Oh let’s get sandwiches catered’ and Drink Factory cards and things like that but we didn’t have quite that much money.” Mrs. Yorgason says in response to the topic of some of the scrapped plans. STUCO had eventually settled for serving ice cream to the teachers as well as giving them candy and soda, which was quite the nice gesture. The Bonneville Buzz reached out to D93’s superintendent, Dr. Scott Woolstenhulme, about Teacher Appreciation Week and what the district does to celebrate the occasion. “At the school level, our principals and PTOs work together to recognize and celebrate our teachers and the rest of the incredible people who support our students,” replies Dr. Woolstenhulme. He comments that it is difficult to provide meaningful gifts for over two thousand employees and still be within their given budget. For example, he described a story of when the district wanted to gift some chips and salsa to the employees. Easier said than done because the endeavor resulted in a pallet of chips eight feet high in the back of a pickup truck trying to cater to the many schools within D93. Even though it might be hard to provide meaningful gifts without going over the budget, the work is still worth it to try and give the teachers in the district some token of appreciation. While another Teacher Appreciation Week has come and gone, showing gratitude for teachers should not be limited to only one school week. The teachers in D93, as well as educators outside of the district, all deserve thanks for how much support they give to students and can yet expect so little in return. With the end of the school year fast approaching, remember that even a little whisper of a “thank you” can mean that much more to a teacher. Elliot Kidd
Staff Writer The end of the school year is nearing, which means it is time for prom! Prom is a longstanding tradition among Bonneville and many other schools nationwide. This year’s prom theme is Enchanted Forest, promising a magical time for the attending Bonneville students. The location and time of the dance are Idaho Falls’ The Waterfront, 1220 Event Center Dr from 8:30 pm until 11:00 pm. The Juniors of Student Council (StuCo) is in charge of prom this year, and Rylann Jones, Juniors' class president, is the mastermind putting everything together. While planning for the dance, StuCo had to choose between a few ideas for the prom motif. The top two ideas were Masked Ball and Enchanted Forest, but Jones and StuCo decided on Enchanted Forest. Jones explains the reasoning for choosing the Enchanted Forest theme, saying, “We ended up going with Enchanted Forest because we felt like it gave more of the magical elements into it.” The theme seems that StuCo is trying to give everyone their happily ever after. With the magical design of prom, there are some rules. As with every other school in the Bonneville School District 93, prom requires attending students to show their student ID when they arrive at the dance. Students from other schools attending Bonneville’s prom are required to fill out a guest form before attending the dance. Although there are a few procedures to keep in mind, StuCo has planned and fundraised extensively to ensure the evening is nothing less than pure magic. Typically, the juniors in StuCo run prom as a fundraiser for senior year. Jones shares the reasoning for this: “Prom is given to the junior class because the revenue we get from it helps provide a cushion for all of the big expenses that the seniors have to pay for and start planning at the start of the year (like graduation, all-nighter, lagoon trip, senior gear, etc.).” The juniors are required to earn all the money for prom. Some ways of raising money are running the concessions during sports games, the stinger sodas, and local sponsorships. Funds raised by a specific class will be deposited into that class's bank account; for example, funds raised by the junior class would be deposited into the class of 2024's account. This method of raising money is “to [not] spend the entire school's money on only that one class” as Jones notes. While the juniors plan prom and handle the budget; the seniors elect the king and queen. Prom royalty is the crowning of the king and queens of the prom. For the Bonneville seniors, it is a tradition to run the elections for prom royalty. As well as run the senior toast and dance. There are some years when anyone can run for prom royalty, this year only seniors are in the running. While the rest of Bonneville will vote for the nominees and pick from the selective group. A magical evening is expected at this year's prom, so remember on May 6th from 8:30 pm until 11:00 pm at The Waterfront, downtown. Do not forget any student IDs at the prom doors and good luck to the seniors running for prom royalty! Eric Perez
Assistant Editor Standardized testing is right around the corner. This year the third trimester brings testing to the junior class, one of those tests is the ISAT. The ISAT is the Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The Scholastic Aptitude Test or the SAT is another test, it is an extremely important test that could just get somebody a scholarship. A high score on the test looks tremendous for college or university and could give someone opportunities that someone with a bad score would never have recieved. Standardized testing has always been a pain for high school students, however the SAT is one of the most important tests if someone is wanting a college education. All high school students must take tests whether it is the ISAT, the SAT, or any test. The ISAT is more of a check up test which is a Comprehensive Assessment Test. There are three subjects tested in the ISAT’s: English, Science, and Math. Along with ISAT testing, juniors in addition to the ISAT need to take the SAT. The SAT is an extremely important test for all juniors, and students are advised to take the test. One school day each year is set aside to give the students a chance to take the test. An excellent score on the SAT could just get someone into a college. The test is made to help college admissions, help a student look professional, and show potential. A scholarship or a superb college admission could mean the world to students, and the SAT can do that for any juniors who are shooting for a high score. The tests will be split throughout the whole month of April. The first week of ISATS is always the hardest for most students. Getting into the groove of testing is difficult at the beginning, however during the second week there will be a break because the SAT is that week. Wednesday the 12th is SAT’s which means the juniors will not need to take the ISAT that week. High School testing can be an amazing opportunity. Students should pace themselves and study for third trimester testing. Having an exceptional test score has too many benefits to throw away. ISAT’s, SAT’s, with any other tests can be difficult for any student; however, once the student has started testing it should not be taken lightly. Roman Davis
Staff Writer A whisper or story of sorts has been spread throughout Bonneville High School, favored toward those with preferred names and anyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. The story entailed a list of students' preferred names and pronouns, and circulated many of these individuals that have had their preferred names listed on some counseling notes and addressed by their preferred pronouns. With countless students left wondering, an interview was conducted with Bonneville's very own Mr. Jared Smith, one of the school's three counselors. After an interview with Smith, the tale was neither confirmed nor denied, leaving much to speculation. Is there a list or not? After being asked about the story circulating, he did say, "There might or might not be a list. [W]hat matters is that you learn to accept yourself.” His answers mostly talked about self acceptance, as many students are trying to discover themselves while attending high school. In addition, Smith also mentioned that being a counselor involves assisting others with figuring out who they are and who they want to be. One sagacious question became the theme of the interview: “At the end of the day, is it the list or the self-acceptance?” After all, does the school district agree with the use of students' preferred names and pronouns? Along with the talk about the supposed list, a few questions about the district’s policy on preferred names and pronouns were asked. Smith explained, “because most students are still minors, we have to respect the parent’s decision. I do try to make them feel welcome and accepted. Our job as counselors is to help students find their own path to make.” While the district does not allow students to put their preferred names in PowerSchool, most teachers make an effort to try to use them. While District policies are not subject to change, the acceptance both the teachers and counselors give is something like no other. Speaking on the district policy and PowerSchool, a statement was given by BHS' principal Levi Owen. He said, "I don’t know that I have a lot [to] add on the pronoun story, honestly. We work with kiddos everyday to try and make our school welcoming and inclusive. I have outlined my expectations of office staff and shared the attached document with each counselor, secretary, and [administrator]. As for any 'lists' or what is in PowerSchool, we simply follow board policy. If individuals choose to utilize different names, that is their prerogative. We have several students who go by 'nicknames'" Most schools in the past would not have been as accepting as BHS to the current students under their school, showing just how much today's society has changed. While the whisper will still make the rounds, think back to what Smith said: “At the end of the day, is it the list or the self-acceptance?” After all, does anyone need a list to show who they are? Grisel Gonzalez
Staff Writer There is an important group of students within Bonneville High School that is in charge of various events. The Student Council (STUCO) at BHS is responsible for organizing occasions such as assemblies, dances, after-school events, spirit week events, fundraisers, and student council meetings. This group allows students to develop leadership skills and gives them an opportunity to discover more about themselves and their peers. Getting involved in school activities can also help students perform better academically and excel in several areas. Being a part of Student Council requires students to be well-spoken and responsible individuals. Mrs. Yorgason, the staff advisor for STUCO, arranged a meeting in her office a few weeks ago for anyone interested in running for the 2023-2024 school year. At the meeting, Yorgason provided everyone with an application form that they were required to fill out. The application allowed the students to indicate what position they were running for and answer other additional questions. After students turned in their filled out applications, they were allowed to bring small treats and to “begin campaigning or making posters to encourage other students to vote for them,” as stated by Yorgason. The elections were held for an entire week; voting opened on Thursday, and closed on Friday. Anyone at BHS could easily vote for their preferred candidate via an email-based survey sent on Thursday. This survey tallies up the votes and reveals the candidate with the most ballots. Anyone who was not voted in who ran for a position still had another chance to be a part of the student council. “Petitioning onto the council” means that students are allowed to be interviewed a week after elections are over. These interviews took place in Yorgason’s room after the elections were over. The two highest interviewees from each grade level were chosen to be “STUCO representatives'' for their class. So, the Student Council gives students multiple chances to take part in their association and contribute to the school. Being involved in STUCO provides plenty of opportunities and gives students a better high school experience. |
CampusCampus News is where stories relating directly to Bonneville reside. Most are reports on school activities and events. Archives
March 2024
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