Boiler Vision
Built on Tradition...Preparing for the Future
BBCHS Strategic Plan Community Survey
BBCHS's strategic planning committee has been working hard outlining criteria for a strategic plan to determine the future direction of BBCHS. This plan will allow the District to create its own future, focused on students, through rigorous organizational assessment, followed by operational execution.
Parents, district employees, community members, and students are invited and encouraged to participate in this survey to provide feedback and guidance to the strategic planning team. This survey presents the goals currently created by the committee through months of discussions, research, and collaboration. BBCHS, and the strategic planning committee, are looking for community engagement in this survey to guarantee the goals for BBCHS are reflective of our community's priorities.
Follow the link below or go the www.bbchs.org to take our survey and help BBCHS finalize our strategic plan.
BBCHS Music Students Participate in ILMEA All State Competition
BBCHS is proud to announce that 11 Music Department students were chosen to participate in the 2018 Illinois Music Educators Association All State Music Conference in Peoria, IL. This annual convention was held from January 24-27. Based on their October auditions and participation at the November festivals, these students were selected to participate at the state level convention.
All State Chorus:
Issac Fabbro
Maddi Reddy
Honors Chorus:
Abby Altenberger
Kaleb Nuesse
Caitlyn Ozee
Ellen Stephens
Honors Band:
Jordan Garbaciak
Sarah Hourihan
Vocal Jazz Ensemble:
Joi Strickland
Future Music Educators Seminar:
Arianna Martin
This year, Connor Boudreau had 2 of his pieces selected for performance at the conference. Connor, along with nearly 30 other student composers attended numerous workshops throughout the 3 days to improve their compositional skills. At the end of the weekend, Connor's re-mix composition was played for other students and their families, which also included a brief question and answer session.
Congratulations to all the students selected for the 2018 ILMEA All State Music Conference in Peoria, IL. Thank you for your hard work and dedication and you represented BBCHS with pride!
For More Information Read Here
BBCHS hosts Journey to Success
Ms. Phelps spoke about her family life and her struggles with death in her family and having to find her own way. Ms. Phelps spoke about the difficulty she had from moving from Indiana to Illinois to attend college, and staying motivated during that time. She outlined that finding an outlet for herself was key in being able to handle life's oppositions. Ms. Phelps spoke to 4 points that consistently helped her maintain focus and get to where she needed to be.
- Focus on what you can control
- Be accountable for your actions and reactions
- YOU define you own success
- Value your relationships
BUGC Assistant Principal, Mr. Shannon Swilley, reiterated Ms. Phelp's message as he spoke to students. Mr. Swilley told of being 1 of 17 kids in his family and shared a personal story about letting people down and choosing to be his own biggest fan. He relayed to the students that there is no substitute for hard work and that sometimes you must believe in yourself more than what others are saying. Mr. Swilley has been a Teacher and Assistant Principal and said that the most important part of his job is becoming the bridge for kids to believe in themselves again. He wants to be that encouraging voice that encourages his students to continue to work hard and build the habits to success.
Thank you to both Ms. Denita Phelps and Mr. Shannon Swilley for speaking to our students! We appreciate when our community can come together and encourage our students that the only ones who limit us are ourselves!
BBCHS Chess Qualified for the IHSA State Tournament
New IHSA chess rules demand that teams now qualify for the state tournament. 128 8-man teams will be in attendance this year in Peoria IL.
With their 2-2 performance at the Sandburg Sectional, BBCHS Chess Qualified for the IHSA State Tournament!
One of the largest chess tournaments in the world now has a qualifying sectional.
Jackson Dupuis and Tommy Pfrommer finished the Saturday Sectional Tournament in 5th place.
The eight man team is excited to go to the IHSA State tournament February 9-10th.
Flexible Seating encouraging learning and community in Mrs. Bess's Class
The concept of flexible seating was introduced to the students in the community based program during the first semester in Mrs. Bess's room. When students left for the break they knew upon return that their classroom would have new seating options! Over break Mrs. Bess came in and rearranged and reformatted the layout of the room. The idea of flexible seating is to give the students options and choice in where they would like to sit for each class period. We know that students all learn differently and need accommodations in order to be able to maximize their potential.
Mrs. Bess was inspired to use flexible seating in her classroom after attending a workshop where Kayla Delzer, a teacher and public speaker from North Dakota, spoke on flexible seating and the relationship building it encouraged. Mrs. Bess did more research on the benefits of flexible seating and found that flexible seating gives students choice and creates a sense of community. The space is shared and encourages students to compromise, collaborate, be comfortable, and understand their sensory input and movement. The students have also averaged a 15.5 point increase on their Star 360 assessments from November, when in traditional seating, to January, when testing in a chosen seat through flexible seating.
“Flexible seating means I get the freedom to sit wherever I want. It helps me learn better because I am comfortable,” said Alyson Roter, freshman. “I think flexible seating is good for us because it helps some of us stay focused,” Kris Murphy, sophomore. “It’s pretty comfortable for me. I like to sit stools because I sit up higher” Sam Renchen, Senior.
BBCHS Robotics Team Expanding!
The Ironclad FRC team isn’t alone this year - BBCHS has added another robotics team to the Ironclad family: FTC 12868. FTC allows students to be thrown into the world of robotics right away. Evan Clark, one of the FTC team members, said “I have started to get in touch with stuff that I never knew I loved to do. I'm just happy that I'm a part of FTC and the FIRST/STEM community.” In their first season, there have been many accomplishments by these new members of Ironclad.
They have finished their awesome robot, “Odin,” and have even completed in two events. Odin is controlled via a Motorola cell phone, uses four motors to control the drive train, and two servos to control the glyph mechanism. The team took first place at both of the events they have participated in! They are currently preparing for the next competition, which is January 20th in Kankakee.
They’ve also been involved in the community. FTC 12868 helped Cornerstone Church set up Trunk or Treat, volunteered at our local Sleepy Hollow, and helped other FTC teams’ with their robots. FIRST is about more than robots and these young members represent this motto beautifully. It’s incredible what they have accomplished in their first season and we couldn’t be prouder.
- Coach Monica JohnsonSWSC Science team took home numerous medals at the SWSC Science Competition
Congratulations to the following students who took home medals at this years SWSC Science competition. All the SWSC Schools compete in a science competition that has multiple different conceptions. This is an annual event that the Boilermakers participate in.
Dan McGrady and Zach Randazzo - Silver medal Trebuchet
Matt Carroll- Gold Medal Anatomy
Ariel Denton and Tori Harle- Bronze medal Egg Drop
Alondra Esparza and Keegan Brumitt- Gold Medal Marble Maze
Paulyn Bernadit- Silver medal Egg Drop
Sarah Hourihan Bronze medal Anatomy
Nich Theisen- Gold Medal Hover Craft.
Great job, Boilers!