Spring is Sprung!

Featured below are Mythology, Folklore, and heritage book selections to browse through. These selections highlight stories placed in Greece, Norway, Alaska / Canada, America, Japan, and China. One series featured here takes place in America but is based on Hindu Mythology. This month we are also celebrating Greek and Irish American heritage months, as well as Women's History month. Enjoy browsing through these striking tales from around the world. You may check out, renew, or return these online through your school Google account!

For our Makerspace, we have been making Origami fidget toy infinity stars with as many bright, Spring inspired colors as possible. This has been a blast to fold and create💥

-Ms. Hochgesang

This was one of the longest and hardest shows we have performed here at the high school, lasting three hours, featuring difficult songs with rhyming lyrics, and tackling some more deeply emotionally challenging themes. We could not have accomplished this show without the support of our amazing school Arts department teachers and advisors, Drama Club families, and Bogota community. Our students are super excited for planning our next year’s shows with us.

-Ms. Hochgesang

• 🌱 The spring season gets its name from the verb "spring." It's a nod to the flowers and plants springing up, springing open, and bursting into blossom.
• 🐣 The word itself comes from the Old English word "springan," which means "to leap, burst forth, fly up; spread, grow."
• 🌸 During the 14th century, the word came to describe the spring season, the time when plants wake from their winter sleep and bloom.
• 🌅 Before that, the word "Lent" was used to describe the season: "In the past it was the main word for ‘spring.' Lent surfaced as ‘lencten,' that is, ‘lengten': the season got its name because in spring days lengthen." (full article here)

The 8th graders had a great time on their field trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Students attended their trip on March10th and were very excited to tour the center, engage in interactive activities and see the exhibits. Thank you Ms. Henriquez, the 8th grade advisor, for organizing this great experience. Thank you Ms. Atempa, Ms. Lavelle, Ms. Duchensky, Ms. Adam, and all the parents that attended to accompany our students, they had a great time!💜💗

• In our last project students were challenged to create sculptures using only 3 Styrofoam cups. Students transformed a simple everyday object into a unique three-dimensional artwork by cutting, bending, stacking, and rearranging the cups in creative ways.

• Each piece highlights the students’ creativity and problem-solving as they turned a common object into a work of art.

Art 1 has been progressing through our curriculum and is wrapping up our unit on FORM. Students have learned how they can utilize value (shading) in order to create a sense of three dimensionality. Check out these cool forms they drew from observation!

Students created expressive charcoal portraits by distorting and exaggerating features of a chosen subject. The focus was on using value, blending, and mark-making to enhance mood while moving beyond realistic representation. Check out this realistic portrait of Gustavo Cerati by 12th grader Natalia Bichara Espinal!

In this project, students used the Google Drawings app to create a digital image that imitates a traditional mosaic. By arranging small shapes to build a larger image, students focused on color, value, and placement to develop detail and depth. This project helped students practice patience, planning, and digital design skills.

P. De La Cruz

● Mr. De La Cruz’s World History class is learning about the Cold War, socialism, and capitalism.

● The students in his United States History I class explored immigration and urbanization.

● To honor Women’s History Month, his students learned about active members of World War II specifically in the Soviet Union and America and gave presentations on various female figures in history.

K. Duchensky

● Ms. Duchensky’s Social Studies 8 class continued their study on ancient India, focusing on the creation of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and how each influenced society and culture. They created acrostic poems to demonstrate what they learned about the political, cultural, and social aspects of ancient India. They began to study ancient China, discussing the impact of East Asia’s geography on the development of early Chinese civilization and the achievements of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

● In her Zombie-Based Geography class, Ms. Duchensky’s students learned about the different types of landforms and their physical features and characteristics were created. They also learned about climate and what caused climate to be different around the world.

● For Women’s History Month, Ms. Duchensky highlighted a different female with a quote of theirs, sharing their profession, and held a class discussion about it. Her classes also read an article about the importance and rise of women’s sports, both professional and collegiate.

M. Siddiqi

● In his United States History I Honors/Pre-Advanced Placement class, Mr. Siddiqi’s students went over Reconstruction. Students worked on primary and secondary source analysis, including a DBQ on Reconstruction. Students created memes on historical events they have discussed. Students also created digital collages for a decade from the 1800s. We also discussed important women through American History through various Do Nows this month.

● Mr. Siddiqi’s Advanced Placement United States History II students covered the Nixon Presidency through the Trump Presidency. Students also worked on reading and answering questions from the AP textbook. Students also worked on answering the DBQ for the AP exam. Students created memes on historical events we have discussed. His class started the review for the course in preparation for the exam. We also discussed important women through American History through various Do Nows this month.

● Mr. Siddiqi’s students in his Advanced Placement Comparative Government class finished their study on the Russia Unit and are currently working on China. Students also worked on reading and answering questions from the AP textbook. Students worked on answering the essay portion of the AP exam.

● Lastly, in Advanced Placement Human Geography, the students began to study rural land use and worked on urbanization, Students also worked on reading and answering questions from the AP textbook. Students worked on answering the short answer portion of the AP exam.

K. Varon

● Mr. Varon’s United States History I class studied American expansion, Manifest Destiny, and sectional division leading up to the Civil War. For Women's History Month, we looked at early female reformers in America in various movements including abolition, temperance, and women's suffrage.

● In United States History II, Mr. Varon’s students finished their study about World War II and the Holocaust and are now covering the Cold War. We saw how women contributed to the war effort both in the military and at home.

On March 26th, several BHS students participated in the Bergen County Youth Art Month show held at the Bergen County Administration Building in Hackensack. Organized in partnership with local schools and the Art Educators of New Jersey, the exhibition celebrates the role of art education and gives young creators a public platform to share their talent. Shout out to David Beria, Isabella Medina, Juan Loaiza Estupinan and Natalia Bichara Espinal for their great work!

The Culinary Arts students recently completed their unit on soups, where they practiced building flavor and developing fundamental kitchen skills. The class has now moved on to stocks and sauces, focusing on the foundations of classical cooking. Students are currently learning about the five mother sauces—Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato—and how these sauces serve as the base for many others used in professional kitchens, such as braised beef short ribs and chicken pot pie.

The Business Club is moving full speed ahead with one of our most

exciting opportunities yet, our Mock Interview Contest! We are proud to

partner with Trek Bicycle Corporation, a Fortune 500 company based

in Waterloo, Wisconsin, which has agreed to work directly with our club

to create an authentic, real-world experience for students.

Trek’s hiring manager has designed a custom position just for our

students: “Trek University Marketing Intern.” Students will have access

to a professional job description, requirements, and qualifications,

mirroring what they would encounter in a real hiring process. Even

more exciting, Trek representatives will conduct live virtual interviews

on April 22nd, giving students a chance to practice their

communication and professional skills in a meaningful way.

To help students prepare, Trek will host a virtual Q&A session on April

15th, where participants can ask questions, gain insight into the hiring

process, and receive tips directly from industry professionals.

This opportunity is open to all students. Morning show announcements

will begin on Monday, March 30th, with flyers distributed on Monday,

April 13th. Sign-ups will close on Monday, April 20th, so students are

encouraged to register early.

Each participant will receive a personalized feedback report from Trek,

highlighting both strengths and areas for growth—making this an

invaluable learning experience regardless of the outcome. The contest

will conclude with a winner announced on April 24th, who will receive a

$50 cash prize.

This is an incredible chance for students to step into a real-world

business scenario, build confidence, and gain professional experience.

Mr. Spirig's students are engaged in engine disassembly and measurements, reinstalling crankshafts, and exploring construction of components.

This month, students were challenged to develop a complete brand from the ground up. They designed original logos using Adobe Illustrator and expanded their concepts into full brand identities. Students then applied their designs by creating product packaging in Adobe Photoshop, thoughtfully considering how visual elements communicate a brand’s message and appeal to an audience. With their package design, they had the opportunity to cut and fold their design in real life!

Students applied their knowledge of design principles and motion graphics to create original animations inspired by album artwork of their choice. Drawing from real-world promotional strategies used by contemporary music artists, students explored how motion enhances visual storytelling and elevates brand identity in the music industry. Check out this great animation!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_3DpV2C_sZi9E30NPH-LLZb_W9DdRsco/view?usp=sharing

Students completed their first major project, focusing on creating a digital illustration of their choice while following the full digital drawing process. Emphasis was placed on developing ideas, refining sketches, and applying techniques to produce a polished final piece.

This month, students focused on strengthening their compositional and technical photography skills. They practiced using the rule of thirds to create balanced and visually engaging images, while also developing their photo editing techniques. In addition, students explored various camera angles including high, low, eye-level, and Dutch angles to better understand how perspective influences mood and storytelling in photography.

Yaritza Aparicio, Maria Pino and Antonia Cortes Henao competed at the New Jersey

Twirling Association competition held at Bloomfield High School. They won the halftime

team category. They all competed in team and solo for the first time. In first-time junior

solo Yaritza placed first, Maria came in second and Antonio was third in a very close

category. Congratulations buccaneers!💥

• Atempa- 8th Gr. ELA - 8th Gr. students are working on their “Who’s to Blame?” essay to conclude our Romeo and Juliet unit.

• Creative Writing 8 - Students are working on strengthening their descriptive writing skills. They are writing a spring narrative by describing a topic of their choice (they were given five choices).

• Feliciano - We are working on the preterito in spanish II H, Indirect object pronouns in Spanish II, Spanish III Irregular preterito, AP Las identidades.

• Jerman - 10th grade ELA students are reading the play ""The Glass Menagerie"" by Tennesse Williams and learning about the historical background and literary movements that are portrayed throughout the play.

• 10th grade AP Seminar students are working on developing their research questions for Performance Task #2.

• 12th grade ELA students are preparing to read 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho."

• Fridman - English III wrote consecutive literary, argumentative, and explanatory essays to prepare for the NJGPA (4 in total). We have now moved on to watching the 'Pride and Prejudice' movie as a hard-earned reward before we read the novel in the original text.

• AP Lit was definitely the most fun class in March. They are finishing up their independent novel studies, each student reading their own chosen book, and completing a music soundtrack project and analysis.

• AP LANG is hard at work with their essay writing and sentence level writing skills.

• King - Students in Resource 8 ELA have been acting out Romeo and Juliet. We have been reading both a simplified version of the text in addition to the original Shakespearean text. I have been adding extra elements to enrich the experience of the play like playing music during the Capulet masquerade. Students will be working on a modified version of the Mask Project for Act 1 that Mrs. Atempa assigns, however they will be doing it all in class with a lot of support. In preparation for the project, students have added Characterization notes to their interactive ELA notebooks.

15 creative writing buccaneers were chosen to be published in an anthology of unsolved mysteries!!!🕵🏻‍♂️🕵🏻‍♀️

Please help us to congratulate these wonderful authors:👏💐✨🎈🌟🎊🥰

Jakob Alvarez

Camila Castro

Antonia Cortes Henao

Michael Demetriades

Rodaina El-Bousjy

Benjamin Gomez

Catalea Imbert

Josiah Jimenez

Sofia Loza

Aileen Mendez

Sophia Mesa

Sophia Velez

Oliver Hernandez

Eric Valerio

Amir Lopez

Congratulations to the students of the month! Keep up the good work buccaneers!

8th grader Khloe Nunez, 9th grader Rudra Patel, 10th grader Max Fernandez, 11th grader Elmer Perez Ortiz, and 12th grader Emma Fowler!! Looking forward to our breakfast together🥯🍳🥓🥞

Peer leaders met this month and played a game of Family Feud- one group against the

another group. Topics in this Family Feud game included including others, showing

empathy, taking responsibility, being a good leader, Self-care, welcoming others,

appropriate behavior with adults, friendships, and healthy relationships🌸

Ms. Adam is working hard with our 8th graders to prepare them for the exam. She reinforces foundational skills with them like geometry, while Ms. DeAngelis focuses on systems of equations.

In Ms. Hrabovsky's Algebra I classes, students worked in small groups to discover and correct errors in quadratic equation problems. Some errors were easy to spot, but others really put them to the test. They rose to the challenge and found them all!🤓

Maeng: Students in Algebra 2 are learning the concept of "dividing polynomial" by three methods: long division, synthetic division, and direct substitution. After this, they will consecutively be learning "Zeros of Polynomial Functions" next. Also, they do practice problems by using relevant IXL assignments.

VanTine: Students recently completed their trigonometry unit exam and are now learning about circles. They are especially excited to review key concepts through a fun and engaging game of Trashketball, before Spring Break.

Grom: Students in my Algebra I class are experimenting with exponential growth & decay functions, and quadratic equations. My College Algebra Honors class is learning about polynomial division. And finally, my Algebra II students are working with equations & inequalities; and polynomial operations & identities.

Ms. Grom has a great time teaching math to her students and coming up with innovative ways to make math fun. She had the opportunity to attend a great workshop titled, 'Practical and Proven Strategies for Improving Your Algebra Instruction'. She reports: "This month I attended a super engaging algebra workshop with educator Brad Fulton and walked away with tons of fun, practical math strategies. We explored creative ways to make algebra come alive, like using real-life fast food menus, tapping into the “magic” of patterns and puzzles, and incorporating engaging visuals to break down complex problems. I’m looking forward to making algebra more interactive, meaningful, and (dare I say) FUN for our BHS math scholars."

Kordosky:

• Anatomy: Skeletal system: axial and appendicular: bone identification and major landmarks
• AP Biology: cell communication presentations, chromosomal inheritance
• Forensics: observation/inference, uses for forensics, securing a crime scene, direct evidence
• Engineering: Scale model house construction, CAD introduction
• Honors Integrated Biology: Genetics projects, intro to ecology: biotic/abiotic factors, food webs, How do autotrophs and heterotrophs obtain energy?

Kaur:

• Integrated Biology: Completion of genetics. Evolution: how species evolve: The “Future is Wild Activity”

Dr. Murphy:

• AP Psychology: Social psychology, motivation and emotion, stress and health
• H integrated Chemistry I: Chemistry I: Ionic and covalent bonding and compounds; the mole and how to use dimensional analysis to convert from moles to grams to molecules; percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas
• Chemistry in the Community: Climate change project presentations; pollution in the atmosphere, acids and bases and the effects of acid rain on the environment.

Gamarra:

• Hons. Physics Hons. Physics: Moving onto Rotational Dynamics. Currently on Torque. Identifying parallels between F=ma and their rotational counterparts. Completing problems with balanced torques.
• Integrated Physics/w Lab: Complete rotational kinematics & centripetal acceleration quiz. Based on student results will address struggling topics to highlight before Rotation chapter test.

• Essentials of Physics: Finish Rotation Lab where students spun a rubber stopper overhead and analyzed angular velocity, linear velocity, and period. Students used the CER model to make relational statements regarding the radius and linear velocity of the stopper. Currently, working on rotational kinematics where students follow procedures to correct equation selection.

Henriquez:

• STEM 8: creating different slime ingredients recipes to find which one works the best to build the best slime recipe, bridge building
• 8th grade Integrated science: Punnett squares, genetics, and heredity. Looking into cloning and the woolly mammoth debate.

Prenderville:

• Cybersecurity: Pearson UCertify hands on labs, A+ Core 1 acronyms, identifying parts of a PC and their definitions.

Ms. Lavelle guided her students in some great experimenting! Student extracted DNA from strawberries to show how all living things, contain DNA🍓

Nice job Ethan!

In this edition of our S'mores newsletter, we'd like to recognize our very own, Ms. Stephanie Reyes. Ms. Reyes graduated with the Class of 2008. She went on to earn her Bachelors of Arts in English at Felician College. She is currently pursuing her Master Degree in Special Education at Rowan University. Ms. Reyes just couldn't stay away from Bogota High School, and so she returned first as a classroom aide on November 18, 2016. But on March 6, 2023, Ms. Reyes officially joined our English Department as a Special Education teacher, and has been with us ever since. Thank you Ms. Reyes for everything you do for our buccaneers! We love and appreciate you💟