BFHS Bluejay Beat
JUNE 2018
BONDURANT-FARRAR HIGH SCHOOL CORE VALUES
- Communicate and Collaborate Effectively
- Solve Problems
- Persevere
- Be Culturally and Socially Respectful
MESSAGE FROM MR. GARNASS
Wow! Where did this school year go??
How is it that we have already reached the end of another school year? It seems to me that each year goes by quicker than the last! Do you feel that way, too? Even with the school year going by so quickly, I’m still amazed in all that we have accomplished as a school this year.
On Thursday, May 17th, we held an all-school senior "send-off" assembly to recognize our seniors for their continued leadership over the past four years and to celebrate their many accomplishments. Click here to view a video clip of our BFHS staff saying goodbye to this outstanding group.
Construction has been wrapping up. Hiring has been in full swing and there have been some additions this spring and even though the end of the year has come to a close, we are excited for what the 2018-2019 school year has to bring. This spring saw us hiring new staff members and we are excited for them to join the BFHS team. They are as follows:
- Andrew Golightly - Art
- Allison Kerper - Spanish
- Alexis Klein - Spanish (MS/HS)
- Justin Liston - Business (MS/HS)
- Tessa Simpson - PE/Health (MS/HS)
- Caitlin Remington - AG
I also want to say a big THANK YOU to all the parents for your support and hard work put in this year to help our school and your children succeed! You help to make BFCSD a great place to be...
Have a GREAT Summer!
Respectfully,
Erik Garnass
@erikgarnass
Follow us on twitter @BFHS_News
WHAT'S HAPPENING @ BONDURANT-FARRAR HS?
CONGRATS & BEST WISHES TO THE CLASS OF 2018!
High school graduation means you passed all four years of high school. It means you got your diploma. It means you can go to college, or to the armed forces or to work. It means four years of memories starting to come to a close. It means you’re about to have the summer of your life with your best friends. And then three months later, start classes at your dream school or moving on to another phase in your life.
On Sunday, May 20th, we celebrated 121 seniors that made their walk across the stage to receive their Bondurant-Farrar HS diploma.
It’s interesting that the graduation ceremony is referred to as a COMMENCEMENT ceremony. Commencement means beginning. So graduation is NOT the end of something as much as it is the start of something…hopefully something new, exciting and fresh. It means there is an OPPORTUNITY for YOU to become something you dream about. I’ve thought about this many times as a teacher/administrator and participating in graduations yearly. Young people go through 13 years of school not necessarily to complete something as much as setting the table for themselves to accomplish something great.
You All will forever be "Bluejays!"
Congratulations to each of you and best wishes from the entire BFHS staff!
STUDENT OF THE MONTH - MAY
- Art: Madelyn Hansen (10)
- CTE: Aidan Freese (10)
- Lang Arts: Aiden Lewis (10)
- Math: Corbin Gooden (10)
- Music: Gabe O'Brien (9)
- PE/Health: Presley Dvorak (9)
- Science: Mason Thomas (11)
- Social Studies: Caden Heidebrink (9)
- World Language: Kaelan Bohn (9)
OFFICE HOURS
- Phone calls will be directed to voicemail while offices are closed.
- Voicemail will be monitored as soon as possible.
- If you plan to visit, please call before doing so to ensure someone is in the office.
2nd SEMESTER BFHS "A" HONOR ROLL - 3.5 and ABOVE
Kaylee Adkins, Madison Agans, Nathan Anderson, Rylie Anderson, Devyn Atzen, Benjamin Auxier, Erin Bailey, Wyatt Bailey, Gabriel Barkema, Caleb Barnett, Ethan Bartimus, Lacey Beck, Tanner Bedier, Hunter Bell, Julia Bell, Carson Beresford, Tysung Beresford, Taylor Berggren, Kaelan Bohn, Megan Boyd, Kristina Brown, Abigail Bruce, Cassandra Bucklin, Justin Burgett, Richard Burke III, Emily Burris, Brandon Bush, John Carlson, Sydney Carroll, Josie Carter, Kamryn Carter, Lindsey Carter, Brody Caswell, Kelsey Chalfant, Katherine Choate, Caitlyn Christle, Jordan Clark, Kayleigh Clark, Nathan Clark, Eli Clayton, Libby Clayton, Zachary Clifford, Camden Coon, Noah Coy, Alexis Crook, Hunter Cross, Brielle Culbertson, Nicholas Currant, Rachel Currant, Kirby Daniel, Trevor Davidson, Emma DeCosta, Kameron Doughman, Presley Dvorak, Ryan Eckert, Taylor Edgington, Addison Ehlers, Cade Eichmeyer, Bailey Ensminger, Isaac Ensminger, Monica Espino, Aspen Essink, Kaiman Essink, Rachael Everly, Alyssa Fick, Cara Figenshaw, Katherine Fogarty, Aidan Freese, Avery Fried, Sheridan Friedrickson, Jacob Gibney, Riley Gilroy, Dav Goel, Cody Hall, Brenna Hamborg, Thomas Hamborg, Madelyn Hansen, Isaac Hanson, Kati Haus, Jacob Havener, Jacob Hayworth, Caden Heidebrink, Kyle Henze, Jack Herman, Briley Hick, Chloe Hildreth, Sawyer Hildreth, Jackson Hill, Johnathan Hill, Sarah Hintz, Grace Hintze, Hope Holzworth, Hugh Holzworth, Madison Hoover, Molly Hormann, Mariah House, James Hoyle, Annalise Ince, Austin Ingle, Brittany Johnson, Lydia Johnson, Kylie Kelderman, Kyra Kennedy, Devon Keuning, Jack Keuning, Connor Kinley, Caitlyn Kirby, Tyler Klemme, Megan Kramer, Rachel Kramer, Kristina Kuhlmann, Isabella Laas, Samantha Landy, Neal Larsen, Kinsey Lester, Garrett Levenhagen, Aiden Lewis, Cash Lilly, Griffin Lilly, Chloe Little, Raegan Little, Simon Long, Joseph Looft, Lauren Lorentzen, Alahna Lovan, Kaeden Lozano, Jenna Lundeen, Peyton Maulsby, Allie Mayer, Isaac McCleary, Lydia McCleary, Kendra McDaniel, Zackary McDaniel, Natalie McDaniels, Jackson McGovern, Joseph McGovern, Rachel McKern, Carter Meislahn, Devin Miller, Kennedy Miller, Alexandra Miner, Mara Moeller, Seth Moeller, Harrison Morris, Skylar Mullen, Mason Murphy, Megan Murphy, Cole Nicholson, Emily Nicholson, Carissa Noland, Gabe O'Brien, Grace Omundson, Regan Osborn, Kendall Osier, Madisen Padgett, Haleigh Penton, Kade Pitzen, Gabe Ploeger, Alexia Plumb, Lilliana Pollard, Laria Preston, Benjamin Riemersma, Kipper Riemersma, Paul Riemersma, Drew Rinehart, Noah Robben, Payton Rowe, Brody Sandin, Luke Saunders, Marilyn Schuling, Brittney Schwager, Jacquelynn Schwager, Kaylee Seitzer, Margo Shafer, Trenton Silvers, Grainne Smith, Jenna Smyth, Jaeni Sprague, Riley Standing, Nolan Sullivan, Ethan Swartz, Rachel Tegeler, Cameron Thrap, Elise Thrap, Caleb Townsend, Benjamin Trulson, Aiden Turner, Seth VanBaale, Brenden VanGorp, Kaiden VanHoozer, Kieran VanHorn, Landon Wahe, Casi Waterhouse, Brant Watson, Jackson Weaver, Rozlynn Weaver, Olivia Wendt, Ethan Wengert, Oskar White, Reagan Wilson, Caleb Wirtz, Brooklyn Wright, Kinsey Zvokel
2nd SEMESTER BFHS "B" HONOR ROLL - 3.0-3.499
NEWS FROM THE ENGLISH/LANG ARTS DEPARTMENT
English 12
In the second semester, Mrs. Cue’s English 12 students submerged themselves into reading some fine classical literature while also writing college-level essays. We began with one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. As we followed our protagonist Hamlet through his journey of procrastination, reflection, insanity (real? pretend?), and revenge wreaked at the bitter end, we also analyzed Shakespeare’s use of figurative language, imagery, and other poetic devices. Next, we wrote a research paper. Students were allowed to self-select a topic regarding any problem that is present in today’s world along with that particular problem’s current solutions. As we read, took notes, crafted theses statements, created outlines, wrote drafts, and polished papers into their final forms, we learned about the Modern Language Association’s way of incorporating reliable sources as evidential support into a composition as well as correctly citing those sources. Then, we looked at one of the earliest stories ever recorded in the English language, Beowulf. We read how brave Beowulf not only destroyed a diabolical monster named Grendel but also destroyed Grendel’s mother! After Beowulf, we had a few questions to consider: Is evil real? And if it is real, how do we recognize it and what do we do with it? As we read William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, we struggled with the significance of several conflicts, such as good leaders vs. evil leaders, right action vs. wrong action, and the struggle between what is good for the individual and what is good for the group. Finally, we ended the year with one of the world’s best and most-beloved epic poems: the Odyssey. With this final selection, we studied the elements of the epic poem: the epic hero, epic settings, epic themes, epic battles, epic monsters, epic gods and
goddesses, and epic love. Although this poem came to us from Homer who lived in Greece about 2,800 years ago, we were able to find many life lessons that apply to each one of us today in 2018. Mrs. Cue thoroughly enjoyed the seniors in her English 12 classes; she wishes all of them well as they go off on their own personal “odysseys.”
AP Language and Composition
Mrs. Cue’s AP English students were busy getting ready not only to take but also to pass the
national AP Language and Composition exam, which was given on May 16 at the high school. We won’t know the results of the national exam for several weeks, but we feel confident in the outcome of our scores. How did we prepare? We took a plethora of timed, practice multiple-choice tests and wrote so very many in-class essays. Always, we practiced reading passages closely, determining the authors’ purposes, and analyzing the authors’ techniques. Every week we learned new vocabulary words while staying in touch with the world’s events. What else did we do? Over time we wrote ten types of essays that covered the main modes of discourse: the narration, the description, the process, the exemplification, the persuasion/argument, the definition, the analysis, the synthesis, the classification, the compare and contrast, and the cause and effect paper. What a lot of writing! Mrs. Cue enjoyed challenging her students every day; plus, her students challenged her, too. What a lot of fun! Mrs. Cue will miss her AP English students. And we shall find out in mid-July if all of our hard work paid off.
Literacy 9
Mrs. Cue’s select group of freshmen were reading, reading, and reading some more. The Iowa Assessments were given in February; eighty percent of the reading students passed (became proficient) on the reading test. Way to go! Mrs. Cue is extremely proud of her students! What did we do the rest of the year? Well, we continued reading and keeping reading logs, we read and discussed John Steinbeck’s novel The Pearl, and we worked on reading problems in a text titled 501 Reading Comprehension Questions. Every day we read for fun or for information or for both. Mrs. Cue was fond of her Literacy 9 students; they brought curiosity, joy, and energy into her room every afternoon. She just hopes that her students will continue to read because reading is a skill that only gets better over time and through practice. Plus, reading really is so much fun!
One final note…
The English Department was delighted to present this year’s department award to senior Lindsey Carter, a fine English student who not only worked hard for us but was also a kind young lady—a true pleasure to have in our classrooms.
SUMMER PLANS FROM OUR SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
The science department wants to wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer. Another year has come and gone and we wanted to thank everyone for all of the hard work and perseverance over the course of this year. Here is a short snapshot of what each of us will be doing with our summer.
Annemarie Hamborg:
Mrs. Hamborg will be spending the summer with her family. Between chauffeuring to driver’s education, soccer practices and tournaments, county fair, bible school and Adventureland, she hopes to spend time in the yard and working on the house. A family vacation will bring many adventures and lots of family time.
Lance Maffin:
Mr. Maffin will be going on a trip with the Spanish kids in June where they head to Costa Rica and Panama. He looks forward to the adventures that lie ahead in these tropical paradises. He also will be brushing up on his AP Bio skills at a workshop. When all that is done he hopes to spend much of his time boating at Spirit lake with his family. He will be focusing on his summer job, being a great father and husband.
Tanner Urich:
Mr. Urich will continue to enjoy the new house he and his wife built and moved into this last spring. Summer also means that he and his wife will be busy with wedding season as they are also wedding photographers and run their own business which can get pretty busy. He will hope to relax by doing some fishing in the down time and continuing to focus on his Olympic Lifting.
Jacob Weber:
Mr. Weber will be looking to finally move from Webster City and end his long commute. He will be working with the Iowa DNR Prairie Resource Center at Brushy Creek hoping to revitalize some of Iowa's lost prairie land. He does not have any big trips planned but hopes to start competitively catfishing again to celebrate completion of his first successful year teaching.
LOOKING AHEAD
August 14 - New Student Meet and Greet (1:30-2:30pm)
August 15 - Schedule Adjustments (9:00-11:00am)
August 16 - Schedule Adjustments (1:00-3:00pm)
August 20 - 9th Grade Orientation (5:30-7:00pm)
August 23 - First Day of School
September 3 - Labor Day, No School
October 8 & 11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (Dismiss at 2:00pm)
October 12 - PD Day, No School
October 26 - End of Quarter 1
November 21-23 - Thanksgiving Break, No School
December 24-January 1, 2019 - Winter Break
January 2, 2019 - PD Day, No School
January 11, 2019 - End of Quarter 2, Semester 1
Check out the official athletics site of Bondurant-Farrar HS for recent updates and news:
COUNSELORS' CORNER
Casey McMurray
Tammy Kaufman
NEWS FROM THE COUNSELORS...
UPCOMING DATES/EVENTS
June 9 - ACT Test
July 14 - ACT Test
August 14 - New Student Meet and Greet (1:30-2:30pm)
August 15 - Schedule Adjustments (9:00-11:00am) *Seniors must make changes with Mrs. McMurray
August 16 - Schedule Adjustments (1:00-3:00pm) *Seniors must make changes with Mrs. McMurray
August 20 - 9th Grade Orientation (5:30-7:00pm)
September 6 - Jostens Senior Challenge Leadership Conference
September 23 - Golden Circle College & Career Fair
GOLDEN CIRCLE COLLEGE & CAREER FAIR
Students of all ages are encouraged to visit the annual Golden Circle College and Career Fair. Whether you're a freshmen or sophomore just starting to explore career options, or a junior or senior narrowing your list of college choices, Golden Circle College & Career Fair is the perfect opportunity for you to gather knowledge, make connections, and begin to make informed decisions about your future.
2018 Fair:
- Date: Sunday, September 23, 2018
- New Location: Iowa Center for Higher Education Activities Center - 2280 Bell Avenue, Des Moines (map)
- Time: 12:30 - 3 pm
CLASS OF 2018
Final transcripts were sent Monday, June 5th to the post-secondary institution listed on your senior checkout sheet. If you need to request any further transcripts, please make sure to use the transcript request form on the high school website. Here is the link: https://www.bfschools.org/domain/275
Also, please remember if you took classes at DMACC or another college, you will need to request directly from the college that a transcript be sent to the institution you will be attending in the fall.
TRANSCRIPTS/GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Please look on Infinite Campus at your child’s semester grades and have your child review their transcript with you so that you understand how many credits they’ve achieved thus far.
A total of 48 semester credits are required for graduation. Each semester class is worth one credit, except PE, which is one credit for both semesters. In order to ensure that your education will be well-rounded, courses will be required in the following subject areas some time during your high school career:
Needed for Graduation: (All taken while in high school)
- 8 semesters credits of English
- 6 semesters credits of Math
- 6 semesters credits of Science
- 6 semesters credits of Social Studies
- 4 credits of Physical Education
Required Courses:
- English 9
- English 10
- English 11
- Algebra I
- Health
- Personal Finance
- Physics & the Universe
- Biology
- American History
- American Government
- Physical Education
REASONS TO MAKE A SCHEDULE CHANGE
Schedule changes can be made starting:
August 15 - Schedule Adjustments (9:00-11:00am) *Seniors must make changes with Mrs. McMurray
August 16 - Schedule Adjustments (1:00-3:00pm) *Seniors must make changes with Mrs. McMurray
Here are the reasons to make a change:
-Already took the class
-Missing a class
-Want to get rid of a study hall
-Don't have the prerequisite
-Failed a class
Reasons NOT to make a change:
-I want a different teacher
-I want a different lunch
-I don't know anyone in the class
-I wanted PE at the end of the day
13 REASONS WHY RESOURCES
Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why has been released. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has designed a new webpage to learn more about the series. The webpage is: https://afsp.org/13reasonswhy On the webpage, you will find resources for schools, parents and young adults, a list of helpful AFSP materials, plus the 13RY Resource Guide that AFSP and Netflix developed together.
Another good resource is AFSP’s newly developed “Teens and Suicide: What Parents Should Know” web page, which contains helpful information and guidance in a question and answer format on how to have a conversation with a teen or young adult about mental health and suicide prevention.
RESOURCES WHEN IN NEED
NOTES FROM THE NURSE...
ATTENTION PARENTS of students 16 and older!!!
Please be aware that the Iowa Department of Public Health has made changes to the Iowa Immunization law regarding the Meningococcal vaccine starting the 2017/18 school year. All students entering 12th grade must have proof of having two meningococcal vaccines before school starts their senior year. There is NO grace period for the implementation of this requirement. In order for your student to attend the first day of school of their senior year, written proof of these two vaccines must be received in the High School Health Office.
Please make arrangements now to receive these vaccines and provide written proof to your school nurse as soon as possible. Thank you for your attention to this new requirement.
FROM THE DESK OF MR. SADLER (SRO)
Articles will resume in August from Deputy Sadler.
Bondurant-Farrar High School
Email: garnasse@bfschools.org
Website: bfschools.org
Location: 1000 Grant Street North, Bondurant, IA, United States
Phone: (515) 957-8191
Twitter: @BFHS_News
It is the policy of the Bondurant-Farrar Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy please contact the district’s Equity Coordinator; Chad Carlson, Director of Administrative Services, 300 Garfield St SW, Bondurant, IA 50035, 515-967-7819, carlsonc@bfschools.org. -OR- Director of the Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-7204, Telephone: (312) 730-1560, Facsimile: (312) 730-1576, Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov