Congratulations to our Unified Basketball team for winning their two games down at the State Finals in Champaign last weekend to be crowned the Special Olympics IHSA Unified Basketball State Champions! This is the 2nd championship in 3 years in our 4th straight trip to State. Congratulations to athletes and coaches - we are so proud of you!

BBCHS celebrated Women's History Month during the month of March. We did several student spotlights of young women who attend BBCHS and asked them some questions about the women in their life and the impact of representation in society. They were asked:

1. Who is a woman in your life that you admire and why?
2. Why do you think representation of women in society is so important?
3. What advice would you give to young women who are trying to create positive change in the world?

Our participants included Rachel Meskis, Ava Mossop, Ana Pignatiello, Leila Middlebrook, Isabella Pusateri, and Maliyah Johnson! If you are interested in reading their answers, please visit the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District 307 Facebook page.

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School has partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools in an initiative designed to foster a greater sense of belonging within the learning environment for all students. Three teachers demonstrated research-based belonging strategies in their AP classrooms that were intended to cultivate key student outcomes such as identity, curiosity, community, creativity, and advocacy.

BBCHS and EOS are taking meaningful steps to enhance a sense of belonging for all students in AP classrooms. This initiative aims to break down barriers, encourage student participation, and ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive and achieve their goals.

BBCHS celebrated Spread the Word Week, which is a global campaign to promote inclusion and end discrimination against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The campaign includes an annual day of awareness and a week of activities to spread the word.

We celebrated by hosting a Best Buddies Talent Show, a pledge to sign in the main lobby, questions and conversations about inclusion, and prizes for students and staff! The Best Buddies Instagram page also shared features of buddies with their partners and their favorite memories throughout the year.

The ultimate goals of Spread the Word Week are to raise awareness, stop the use of hurtful language, show respect to all people, and create socially inclusive places to learn, work, and live!

The Best Buddies hosted a talent show to display all of their amazing talents! Students who purchased a ticket were able to come and watch the show during their last two periods of the school day. Some of the talents included singing, dancing, gaming, and even basketball skills! The Steppas even came out and performed as well! It was a great day of inclusion and celebrating all of our talented students!

One of our BBCHS junior students, Alexis McCullough, is competing for Miss Illinois Teen this year. She has raised $120,000 for a memorial monument to honor the families and fallen soldiers within our community and was named Young Citizen of the Year 2024! She is currently fundraising again for her competition coming up for Miss Illinois Teen.

The BBCHS Natural Helpers helped our school celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week by hosting a table in the main lobby during lunch periods to encourage others to spread kindness in our school.

The table consisted of a "wheel of kindness" to spin and fun prizes for students and staff! Each section on the wheel was a call to spread kindness, such as writing a nice note to a staff member and placing it on the wall for all to see!

The Bettering Boilers tackled hunger in our community by raising funds for the BBCHS Bettering Boilers food pantry! They held a raffle where tickets could be purchased or food items could be donated to receive tickets in return. Each participant placed their ticket(s) into the bins according to which basket they desired. The baskets included a sports themed basket, a gift card tower, a beach day basket, a movie night basket, a BSU self-care basket, a milkshake hair basket, and a camp goodies basket!

BBCHS hosted a Cool School Plunge on March 12th on the turf for students and staff! This event was sponsored by Special Olympics Illinois. Each plunger was required to raise $100 in order to plunge. These donations contributed in helping provide Special Olympic Illinois athletes with life-changing experiences including year-round training and competition, as well as leadership, personal development, and health education opportunities.

Boiler Brigade eSports started a "war" at BBCHS with a competitive fundraiser! Penny Wars was held from March 10th to March 14th where teachers competed against each other. Here were the rules:

• Collect as many coins or bills as possible from students, family, friends, etc.
• Silver coins and paper money are positive.
• Copper coins are negative (which means sabotage can happen).
• US currency only.
• Teachers had a coin tub in their classroom and one in the main lobby (during lunch periods) with their name on them.
• The winner gets lunch delivered to the school on the day of their choosing.
• The winner is considered BBCHS royalty for a year.

This year's winner of Penny Wars is....

Mrs. Johnston!

She was trailed by:

Mr. Heyman

Mrs. Keraga

Mrs. Madgziarz

Mrs. Wierzal

Mrs. Altenberger

Mrs. Vieceli

Mrs. D'Aversa

Mrs. Licka

Mrs. Katzmann

Mr. Mills

Congratulations to all, as they were able to raise $1100! Great job!

One of our senior students, Myah Crawford, was chosen to perform the National Anthem on Thursday night, March 13th, at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals in Champaign, IL at State Farm Arena! She did an amazing job. If you would like to see the full video of Myah's performance, visit our Facebook page, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District 307, or click the link below:

The original video game voice actor of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryan Drummond, had an autograph signing event in Bradley, and part of his autograph proceeds were donated to Boiler Brigade eSports! What a fun event for the community that also supported our eSports team!

As US History classes were preparing to discuss World War II, Mr. Kladis brought in family artifacts to share as a Boiler Block enrichment with our US History students. As an engineer during the war, Mr. Kladis' grandfather had a multitude of maps, sketches, patches, and other artifacts from during this time, and we are grateful to Mr. Kladis for bringing history to life by sharing them with our history students!

The BBCHS Leo's Club has been collecting used tennis shoes to recycle for the Illinois Lions Club. For every 2 pairs of shoes that you brought in, you received a raffle ticket. Raffle prizes included gift cards to Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and Chik fil A!

Ms. Wierzal and Ms. Magdziarz hosted a perfect Boiler Block enrichment with it being Women's History Month! In their EmpowerHer enrichment, they discussed some points of women's history and big accomplishments by women throughout the history of the United States. They explained the importance of Women's History Month, which is to "remember those who paved the way in the struggle for gender equity in the United States and recognize those who continue to break barriers today".

A few women were brought up in discussion who have made impacts on women in our society such as Sandra Cisneros, Michelle Obama, Laura Liu, and Jane Addams. They discussed that women's contributions have been significantly underrepresented and often overlooked in historical narratives.

To honor more women who have contributed to equity and women's representation in society, the class participated in a project to help celebrate some of these women. They were given many options in choosing two women who have made positive impacts. The students were then asked to write a short, 3 sentence biography about them, color their hexagon, and glue them all together to create a paper quilt to celebrate them. It turned out beautifully - what a great way to celebrate Women's History Month!

Congratulations to Charlie Short for his amazing performances at the AWD State Swim Finals in 4 different events! Charlie competed in the 200 Freestyle, 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, and 100 Breaststroke. We are so proud of you!

Click the link below the picture to read his amazing story that was featured in The Daily Journal!

Seven area high schools participated at the Art 4 Heart event with 55 total students, of which BBCHS had 22 students. Being chosen by the panel of jurors is a huge accomplishment. A special congratulations is in store for Sophia DeCarlo for winning "Best of Show" at this event. Congratulations to all students who were accepted into the show:

Kayden Balk

Lilli Balk

Mikylah Birk

Alexis Busch

Sophia DeCarlo

Emilee Fitzgerald

Addison Flowers

Alice Grizzle

Abby Gutierrez

Lila Koziol

Kenley LeRoy

Loziah Lott

Ella Moore

Millie Nichols

Nick Papineau

Chris Prozano

Addy Raper

Noe Rodriguez

Jessica Sowder

Elaina Storer

Emmerson Whittington

Alexander Wierzgac

On March 8th, the BBCHS Music Department hosted Solo and Ensemble. Twenty schools participated in approximately 1,000 solo and small ensemble performances for adjudication. Our own BBCHS music students performed in over 100 events. Not only did 47 BBCHS student musicians earn the coveted "Best of Day" award from their judges (pictured below), the BBCHS Music Department currently ranks second in the state for the 2025 IHSA Class AA State Sweepstakes Tournament. The BBCHS Orchestra is currently ranked in first place for the 2025 IHSA Class AA String Orchestra Sweepstakes. We are very proud of all of our students who performed!

The BBCHS wrestling team had several wrestlers who qualified for the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association State Finals! Congratulations to Sommer Boswell, Sophia Domont, Kylie Rapier, Razi Perez, Cullen Parks, Aubrianna Rapier, Zach Hoffner, Jayden Cooper, and Kayden Roach for qualifying!

Our Scholastic Bowl team hosted and won the Regional Championship by defeating Kankakee, Herscher, and Champaign Central! This is the first Regional Championship for BBCHS since 2017, and they were able to improve their overall record to 30-12!

Individual Scoring Results:
Xavier Schultz (Freshman): 11 tossups
Gavin Quinlan (Senior): 10

Quinn Meadows (Senior): 7

Libby Johnson (Senior): 7

Emily Lyle (Junior): 7

Pine Kimery (Junior): 3

Jiya Rana (Junior): 2

Congratulations to all competitors and Coach Mike Dorsam!

A big "congratulations" goes out to Maddy Miller as she committed to Olivet Nazarene University's Swim & Dive team! We can't wait to see you compete at the college level. What a great accomplishment!

Congratulations to our girls basketball player, Abby Bonilla on being named SWSC All-Conference as a sophomore! We are so proud of you!

Our team played three good matches and finished 1-2 at the Mattoon Sectional. They lost to Champaign Centennial 420-340 and eventual Sectional Champion, Urbana University 460-310. They bounced back to beat Charleston 370-250. Their overall record is 31-14. The season isn't over yet! Next up for Scholastic Bowl is the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta during Memorial Day weekend! Best of luck!

Navaeh Brown set three new indoor school records in the 55m, 60m, and 200m dashes! She beat the previous 60m record of 8.13 with a blazing fast 7.89! Brown's record-setting 200m came in at a 26.20.

Niyah Crockett also beat the previous 60m record by running an 8.09, the second fastest time in BB history! Niyah Crockett ran the third fastest time in school history, 27.50. Niyah and Navaeh also ran the 2nd and 3rd fastest indoor 400m sprints, with Niyah's 62.5 and Navaeh's 63.05. Navaeh beat the previous 55m time of 7.54 by running an official time of 7.41.

Other notable indoor performances:

2nd Fastest 4x400m: Navaeh Brown, Meara Pizur, Nora Hyma, Niyah Crockett

3rd Fastest 4x200m: Niyah Crockett, Malayah Rahman, Sammariah Hicks, Navaeh Brown

6th Fastest 60m Hurdle: Meara Pizur

8th Best Shot Put: Natalie Gross

9th Best Shot Put: Lillian Longtin

10th Best Long Jump: Abigail Shelton

The girls are looking ahead to Indoor Conference tomorrow (3/22) and are hoping to qualify for Illinois Prep Top Times the following weekend! Best of luck!

The season is 7 weeks in with already lots of success! The team has had four meets so far at ONU, Lincoln-Way Central, North Central, and the Boilermaker Invitational at ONU for a second time.

At the ONU Invite, the team finished in 4th place out of 18 teams, scoring 44 team points. They were led by 3 top finishers: Malachi Lee (long jump - 1st place), Lyzale Edmon (200m - 3rd place), and the 4x200m relay team (Jordan Fitch, Lyzale Edmon, Isaac Allison, and Seth Teague - 2nd place).

The Boilermaker Invite at ONU was a huge success for our Boys Indoor Track and Field team. For the second year in a row, they took 2nd place with 20 teams at this meet. BBCHS was Runner-Up to Lincoln-Way West and were led by 3 top finishers: Malachi lee (long jump - 1st place), Lyzale Edmon (60m - 2nd place, 200m - 3rd place), Sully Westover (800m - 4th place), Kyler Savini (3200m - 2nd place), their 4x200m relay team (Jordan Fitch, Lyzale Edmon, Kyren Edmon, and Malachi Lee - 1st place), and Joel Morrical (shot put - 3rd place).

The Conference meet is today, March 21st, at ONU, and any top qualifiers for the Illinois Prep Top Times meet will run on Saturday, March 29th over Spring Break at Illinois Wesleyan University! Best of luck, boys!

The BBCHS Special Olympics Swim Team competed in the District swim meet at Stagg High School. The following swimmers earned a 1st place medal and qualified for the state meet held at Illinois State University in June!

• JoAnna Holt: 50 backstroke
• Josie Brandon: 50 freestyle
• Max Berry: 25 backstroke
• Blake Dunham: 25 freestyle

Congratulations and good luck at state this summer!

Congratulations to our BBCHS wrestlers on outstanding performances at the IWCOA State Finals!

Kayden Roach - 2nd place

Zach Hoffner - 2nd place

Aubrianna Rapier - 2nd place

Jayden Cooper - 7th place

Cullen Parks - Top 12 (one win short of Top 8)

Razi Perez - Top 12 (one win short of Top 8)

Sophia Domont - Top 12 (one win short of Top 8)

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association names top players in the state from each competitive class every year (1A-4A). Our very own, Nick Allen, was named to the 2nd Team IBCA All-State list! This places Nick in the Top 20 basketball players in Class 4A amongst all different player positions. What a great accomplishment - we are so proud!

Varsity Boys Water Polo started the season off strong with their home tournament where they defeated Shepard 8-7 then Riverside-Brookfield 14-2. They unfortunately lost the Championship round against Niles West.

They will be competing in a very difficult conference schedule, but that does not frighten this team! They look forward to seeing their growth and improvement as the season progresses. Last year, they finished 2nd in the SWSC at the end of the year, and they are working to stay at the top!

To start the season off right, our BBCHS Softball team defeated Marian Catholic in a convincing win, 12-0! Their next game is Monday, March 24th against Herscher at home at 11:00am!

Congratulations to all of our art students who were featured in the 36th Annual KCC Art Exhibition! They held the Awards Reception on Wednesday night and gave awards in drawing (color), drawing (black & white), painting, photography & graphic design, and 3D.

Congratulations to our award winners!:

People's Choice Award:

Avery Belluso

Black/White Design:

Chris Proano - Merit Award

Abby Glidewell - Honorable Mention

Avery Goden - Merit Award

Color Drawing & Design

Sophia DeCarlo - Merit Award

3D Design

Lilli Balk - Merit Award

Gianna Mays - Merit Award

Graphic Design and Photography

Alexis Busch - Merit Award

Tristan McCabe - Honorable Mention

Kylee Stone - Honorable Mention

Painting

Alice Grizzle - Merit Award

Raziel Perez - Merit Award

There have been lots of individual success seen on the BBCHS Indoor Track and Field team, as several athletes have entered the all-time record books for BBCHS. The following athletes have moved into position to either break a standing record or have broken a record this season:

Lyzale Edmon: All-time #2 in the 60m dash (7.03 seconds) and the 200m (22.66 seconds)

Kyler Savini: All-time #1 Freshman in the 3200m (10:03.62) and the 1600m (4:47.44)

Joel Morrical: #2 All-time indoor shot put 14.62m (47' 11.75")

Malachi Lee: #2 All-time long jump 6.81m (22' 4.5")

Sully Westover: #2 All-time 800m (2:03.9)

Congratulations to these athletes and their coaching staff!

BBCHS Ironclad FRC's first competition began yesterday and continues through tomorrow! Their team has been working hard on their robots and just shared a video this week of their new and improved robot, Leviathan! Click the link below to see it!

All three levels of our Girls Badminton program traveled to Lincoln-Way East last night to compete! They did fall short as a team, however, Haylea Grilli had an amazing game. She split with her opponent in singles and won the third game! The Girls Badminton team is ready to bounce back at their next match on March 27th at Reavis High School!

Our Girls Water Polo team is 2 games into the season and are working hard as a team! They have a game on Monday, March 24th at Morton HS at 6:00pm. Wish them luck!

The BBCHS Baseball team has begun their season, and they will be traveling to Gulf Shores, Alabama during Spring Break to compete with teams from all around the country! What a great experience for our baseball players and coaching staff. Good luck to all!

Our Girls Soccer team kicks off their season tonight at home vs. Peotone! Come out and cheer them on. Best of luck!

Cafeteria and Office Custodian - Be careful if you are in the cafeteria after lunch hours because Adrian just might sweep you off your feet! Adrian also has a variety of surfaces to sanitize daily on his handy dandy checklist. He pays attention to detail and does not miss a spot!

Ba Da Bloom Flower Shoppe - Vanessa looks forward to working with flowers every day. She helps label packages, arrange bouquets, and measures and cuts ribbons. Vanessa completes all tasks swiftly. One could say she is really blooming at her assignment here!

• 03/22 Girls Track & Field SWSC @ ONU 9:00am
• 03/24 Baseball @ Gulf Shores, AL vs. Hayden HS 9:00am
• 03/24 Softball vs. Herscher (home) 11:00am
• 03/24 Girls Water Polo @ Morton 6:00pm
• 03/24 Girls Soccer vs. Plainfield Central (home) 6:15pm
• 03/25 Baseball @ Gulf Shores, AL vs. Paragould HS 9:00am
• 03/25 Softball vs. Coal City (home) 11:00am
• 03/25 Boys Volleyball vs. TF North (home) 6:00pm
• 03/26 Baseball @ Gulf Shores, AL vs. AP Brewer 9:00am
• 03/26 Boys Volleyball @ Joliet West 1:00pm
• 03/26 Softball @ Benet Academy 4:30pm
• 03/27 Baseball @ Gulf Shores, AL vs. Cottonwood HS 11:30am
• 03/27 Girls Badminton @ Reavis HS 4:30pm
• 03/27 Girls Soccer vs. Kankakee (home) 6:15pm
• 03/28 Girls Track & Field @ ONU vs. Lincoln-Way East 4:00pm
• 03/28 Girls Badminton @ Joliet Central 4:30pm
• 03/28 Boys Volleyball @ HF Invite 5:00pm
• 03/29 Girls Track & Field @ ONU vs. Lincoln-Way East 8:00am
• 03/29 Boys Volleyball @ HF Invite 9:00am
• 03/29 Girls Soccer @ West Chicago 11:00am

BBCHS wants to wish you all a happy and healthy Spring Break! We can't wait to see our students again on Monday, March 31st!

Save the date! BBCHS is inducting Ryan Fitzpatrick into the Fine Arts Hall of Fame! He will be inducted on April 29th in the BBCHS Auditorium during the spring concert at 7:00pm. You do not want to miss it!

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Kennedy Weigt - Director of Communications and Community Engagement

kweigt@bbchs.org