Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School is the only school in Kankakee County that has received an AP Honor Roll designation. We are also in the top 20% in the state. We earned the AP Honor Roll Bronze designation and the Access Award by meeting the threshold in all three categories: College Culture, College Credit, and College Optimization. Here is more information on the three different categories:

College Culture: greater than 40 percent of students in the graduating class who took an AP exam at any point in high school, regardless of score. To avoid pressure on students to take large numbers of APs, only 1 AP exam per student.

College Credit: greater than 25 percent of students in the graduating class who took an AP exam at any point in high school, regardless of score. To avoid pressure on students to take large numbers of APs, only 1 AP exam per student contributes to this indicator.

College Optimization: greater than 2 percent of students in the graduating class who took 5 or more AP exams in high school, where at least 1 exam was taken in 9th or 10th grade. Because research finds that 6 or more APs do not improve college graduation rates beyond the optimal total of 5 such courses in high school, no exams beyond 5 per student contribute to this indicator. The Honor Roll also recognizes schools that encourage students earlier on their AP journeys so as not to overload them with AP courses their junior and senior years.

To qualify for the AP School Honor Roll, schools must meet or exceed the criteria for a given recognition level for all three metrics. The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose Advanced Placement (AP) programs are delivering results for students while broadening access to advanced coursework. Congratulations to all AP Students and Teachers for your hard work!

Our district takes pride in its long-term financial stability. BBCHS District 307 has achieved the highest financial management assessment rating of any school district in the state of Illinois. We are consistently below the state average in instructional expenditures per student and operational expenses per student.

Financial Status: Recognition - 4.0

If a district receives a score of 3.54 - 4.00, they are in the highest category of financial strength - Financial Recognition.

Instructional spending per student includes only the activities directly dealing with the teaching of students. Operational spending per student includes nearly all costs for overall operations in the school district, including instructional spending. BBCHS has a trend of being well below the state average in both, reflecting responsible financial management. According to the Illinois Report Card, this past school year, BBCHS's operational spending was $16,000 per student, and the state average of operational spending per student is $18,905.

Thank you to the Bradley and Bourbonnais communities for voting on our bond referendum and putting our students first. We are extremely excited about the future of BBCHS and the educational improvements that are to come for our students. We appreciate all of the support!

Boiler Creations is a classroom business in the Community Based Instruction program. Students with disabilities create different designs of holiday cards and gift tags to sell to the staff and community. They do this through using their card cutter, gift tag template, painting, and their newest addition, a colored printer! The Academic Foundation provided Boiler Creations with a grant to help make the process more efficient through the use of this new printer.

Students work extremely hard practicing various vocational skills to prepare them to work independently in the future. Through this business, students strengthen skills such as, communication, fine motor, money management, problem-solving, task independence, self-advocacy, and more! If you would like to place an order and support Boiler Creations, please fill out the form using the link below:

The BBCHS Academic Foundation's annual dinner was held on November 6th. At this event, two BBCHS alumni were recognized, Jaymie Strand Simmon from the Class of 1966, who was awarded the Alumnus of the Year, and Dr. Gregg Montalto from the Class of 1988, who received the Outstanding Achievement Award.

The evening consisted of appetizers, dinner and speeches from our illustrious BBCHS alumni. It was a great night to honor great people!

Yesterday, November 21st, the AP and ACC Spanish classes went on a field trip to the National Museum of Puerto Rican Art in Chicago! The students learned about Puerto Rican artist, Juan Sánchez and had the opportunity to create their own piece of art in the collage style. Thank you to BBCHS Spanish teacher, Allison Freytes, for planning this great field trip for the students!

Today during PE and health classes, students learned about the Winter Sports Festival in December and its history at BBCHS. All physical and health education students are participating in the 44th Annual Winter Sports Festival once created by Coach Doug "Barc" Barclay. Winter Sports Festival is a fundraiser for students and families in need of some extra financial assistance. The Health and Wellness department partners with Helping Hands to reach families in need in our own school community. In December, students will be competing in class competitions to see who can raise the most amount of money.

If you would like to donate and help our families in need, please scan the QR code below or use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQIbXcod8bR4343HKQutvI1ec9VihqoF0xHjR6mq2MeuhVsw/viewform

The Gay-Straight Alliance at BBCHS held bracelet sales to celebrate Solidarity Week! People who are not members of the LGBTQ+ community show their support for members of the community especially during this particular week.

Our very own Bettering Boilers students were featured on the Explore Act Tell Facebook page and website! Their feature read:

"Amanda Walker and her Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School student team from Bradley, IL, is one of our 2024 Challenge Winners!! We were so moved by your project to create a school-based food pantry at BBCHS.

Associate Principal: Mr. Matt Fox"

This is an amazing accomplishment, and we are so grateful that Explore Act Tell recognized their hard work. Great job!

Our football team hosted the second and third round playoff games. In the second round, they defeated Chicago Whitney Young 42-0. They then moved on to the third round quarterfinals, which has only happened 3 times in the last 50 years of our football program! They competed against Lincoln-Way Central who unfortunately defeated the Boilers 28-16. Great season, Coach Kohl and team! We are proud of you!

Congratulations to the BBCHS Girls Swim & Dive All-Conference Swimmers! Abby Bonilla received 3rd place in the 200 Free, Isabelle Trudeau also received 3rd place in the 50 Free, Madeline Folk earned 2nd place in the 100 Fly and 4th place in the 100 Breaststroke, and Savannah Zirbel was the Champion in the 200 Free, 50 Free, 100 Free, and 100 Breaststroke! Great job ladies!

On Saturday, November 9th, our Robotics team competed in their first meet of the season. They were able to secure 3 victories at their very first meet! They have worked extremely hard to design, code, build, and run their robot. This year, the team built two fully functioning robots in five weeks! Congratulations, Robotics! Good luck in your meet next month!

Savannah Zirbel won all 4 of her AWD (Athletes With Disabilities) events at Sectionals. She also broke 3 AWD school records in the 200 Free, 100 Free, and 100 Breaststroke. This qualified her for a spot at the State Finals!

Madeline Folk broke the school record in the 100 Fly with a time of 0:59.05!

Our sophomores, Abby Bonilla, Isabelle Trudeau, Madeline Folk, and Bria McCrary broke the sophomore records for the 200 Medley Relay and 400 Free Relay. Abby Bonilla, Mia Ecker, Madeline Folk, and Isabelle Trudeau broke the record for the 200 Free Relay. Congratulations!

On November 11th, BBCHS celebrated Veterans Day by honoring our faculty and staff who are veterans themselves. Those who wanted to participate received their own spotlight, and it was hung in the main entrance lobby. Thank you all so much for your service!

BBCHS celebrated School Psychologists Week by thanking our very own psychologists who help our students every single day. We are extremely grateful for everything you do for our school. We appreciate you!

Our Girls Basketball team is starting up the 2024-25 season! They held a preview night for the community to come and get a sneak peak of their team. They had their first game on November 19th against Kankakee High School at the Beecher Fall Classic. Good luck on your season, and Go Boilers!

Our Friends with Pens Boiler Block enrichment group reunited with the second-grade students from Alan B. Shepard Elementary School for another exciting event - this time, a Show-and-Tell! Our high school students had a great time learning about the unique items the second-graders shared.

Congratulations to Lyzale Edmon, who was named IHSA 7A First Team All-State after this past football season. We are so proud of your hard work and dedication to our program. You had a great season, and this is an outstanding accomplishment!

On November 15th, we celebrated School Board Members Day! We are extremely grateful for our incredible board members for all they do for our school and community. Their hard work and commitment to shaping the future of our students is invaluable. The leadership they show is making a positive impact every single day!

The BBCHS Theatre Department performed their Fall Musical from November 14th to November 17th called, "Once Upon a Mattress." They had great performances each night and a great audience to watch! We are proud of the hard work and dedication of David Morgan, our Theatre Department Director and all of the student participants. Great work!

Savannah participated in the IHSA State Swim Meet. Here is how she finished:

• AWD 200 Free - 2nd place
• AWD 50 Free - 3rd place
• AWD 100 Free - 2nd place
• AWD 100 Breaststroke - STATE CHAMPION & IHSA STATE RECORD Breaker!

In all of these events listed, she broke all of the BBCHS AWD (Athletes With Disabilities) School Records in each one. This is an unbelievable accomplishment. We are so proud of you, Savannah!

Several student-athletes at BBCHS have signed their NLI (National Letter of Intent) or other official document, showing their commitment to being a student-athlete at a college or university. This next step takes dedication and lots of hard work. We know you are all going to thrive at the next level. Congratulations!

Bella Pusateri (Softball) - Indiana State University

Emiliee Fitzgerald (Volleyball) - West Liberty University (WV)

Kason Bynum (Baseball) - South Suburban College

Cayden Arbour (Baseball) - South Suburban College

Nicolas Allen (Basketball) - Illinois State University

Mason Shaul (Baseball) - Olivet Nazarene University

The Bettering Boilers are continuing to take a deep dive into their Explore Act Tell curriculum. This outstanding group planned, shopped, networked, and brought their vision to life!

Last night, they packed 50 Thanksgiving meals for BBCHS students to eat over the break. Thank you to the two retired BBCHS teachers and Jewel-Osco Bourbonnais for their generous donations to make this possible.

These meals will be available to pick up today, November 22nd, by students who need it for themselves and their families for the holiday. Bettering Boilers continues to strengthen our BBCHS family. Thank you for all you do!

Come on out to see a preview of our boys' basketball program at BBCHS tonight! There will be 4 different scrimmages held, with the varsity starting at 6:45pm. It is a fundraiser night, therefore, there will be a $5 admission cost. Concessions will be available. We can't wait to see you there!

We hope our Boilermaker family has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your break, and we will see everyone when we return on Monday, December 2nd! As always, Go Boilers!

Ron Polk is coming to our community on Saturday, December 7th at 3:30pm to talk to all junior high through high school baseball players! This is a great opportunity to learn from a legendary Hall of Fame Baseball Coach!

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Kennedy Weigt - Director of Communications and Community Engagement

kweigt@bbchs.org