This month, we celebrated Black History Month, specifically African Americans and Labor. The Black Student Union brought amazing events to BBCHS to help us celebrate and educate!

They brought back the Classroom Door Decorating Contest, where teachers decorated their doors showing celebration of Black History Month and were judged by BSU's cabinet members. Prizes were awarded for 1st-3rd place! Congratulations to the following teachers:

1st place: The Library Door - Mrs. Johnson

2nd place: Spanish Door - Mrs. Freytes

3rd place: Orchestra Classroom - Mrs. Williams

Honorable Mention: Hidden Figures Door - South Hall, African American Labor - Mrs. Januski, African American Labor - Mrs. Johnston

Black Student Union also hosted a Steppas performance at the Boys Basketball game, trivia week, a Chipotle fundraiser, Black History Month merch sales, a field trip to Pullman Museum and National Park, movie week, spirit week, a BHM Lunch-and-Learn, and a Boiler Block enrichment! We had so much fun celebrating Black History Month, and we thank all of the BSU members, Mrs. Dana Romano, and Mrs. Carleen Davis-Long for organizing all of these amazing events to help us learn more about Black history!

The members of Tri-M were selling Valentine Grams for students to purchase during lunch hours. They hope that these Valentine Grams brought happiness and cheer to someone's day when they received their delivery!

Our students had a great time at the Winterball dance on Saturday, February 8th! There were lots of smiles and fun as students were given the opportunity to share new experiences with their fellow classmates.

On Valentine's Day, February 14th, the National Honor Society hosted the spring blood drive in the East Gym at BBCHS. They received many blood donations. When NHS meets their goals with these blood drives, this allows them to offer scholarships to NHS members as they graduate.

The students from Boiler Creations and Mrs. Johnson's INCubator (entrepreneurship) class teamed up for two days to make buttons for the BUGC Spring Games! Boiler Creations student workers showed the INCubator students the process of creating buttons and helped them along the way. The students from the INCubator class were listening well and applying all they learned from Boiler Creations to make beautiful buttons!

Mrs. McCord from Boiler Creations was able to educate the INCubator students about how their business works and the positive impact that Boiler Creations has on her students to improve their readiness for the world outside of BBCHS.

Our BBCHS Black Student Union sponsored a Black History Month Spirit Week for this final week of celebration. Each day was a different theme for students to follow and dress accordingly. It has been a great way to end such an amazing month!

• Monday: African American Flag Color - Wear red, black, green, yellow
• Tuesday: HBCU/College Day - Rep your HBCU or College Gear
• Wednesday: Career Day - Rep what you want to do
• Thursday: Neon Day - "Shine bright" with acceptance and respect
• Friday: BHM Shirt Day or Black Out - Wear all black or your BHM shirts to celebrate unity and solidarity

The Bettering Boilers received another generous donation for the food pantry from Mike Murphy and his team at Let's Ketchup! Their donation included sweatpants, sweatshirts, socks, hygiene products, and food! We appreciate the help and support!

S.A.S.H. and Clove Alliance is hosting an event today at BBCHS called Candy and Consent during lunch hours. Students have been encouraged to join these two groups for consent-themed trivia to earn candy prizes. This is a great way for our students to become more educated and aware of setting boundaries and consent.

Our School District Superintendent, Dr. Matt Vosberg, who is a former high school Business teacher, is hosting a Boiler Block for students interested in learning more about investing and the stock market! His class discussed their knowledge already on investing, such as supply and demand, perceived product worth, index funds, and GDP. They also watched a video about Warren Buffet, who is the richest man in the world. They were able to see how much his life changed after learning to be a great investor.

The second week they met, they discussed tariffs and the rationale for them, such as protecting certain industries and trade deficit. They also had a guest speaker, Mrs. Laura Hines, who is the Director of Human Resources at BBCHS. She shared with the class her tactics in the stock market and how she grew to love it. She mentioned that the way to win in the stock market is time. Mrs. Hines also explained stocks that have high dividend pay-ins and how these can be extremely beneficial. She also explained the meaning behind split stocks. Her last bit of advice to the group was to "buy stocks you believe in."

The class had another guest speaker this week, Mr. Dan Snipes. He is the Main Office Administrative Assistant who has worked with investment companies and was an educator for 10 years. He discussed speculating and the risk that comes with it, especially with day trading which is considered extreme speculating. Mr. Snipes also talked about why investing is such a high risk, and it is because we are human! Emotion, fear, and greed all tie into the actions we can take in the stock market. He, like Mrs. Hines stated that the longer time you have in the stock market, the better. Mr. Snipes also advised the students to diversify across different investment types and apply multiple strategies.

Dr. Vosberg is not only teaching about investing, but he is also creating competition within his class! Each student starts with a fake, virtual $100,000 to start buying and trading stocks up until early May when this Boiler Block enrichment concludes. They are using a website called TD Bank, where they can see the price per share from each company and changes of price and trends over time for each company. Whoever "makes" the most money by the end of the Boiler Block enrichment class wins BBCHS Boilermaker gear! Stay tuned to see who will be named the BBCHS Master Investor!

BBCHS Varsity Dance Team made history and qualified for the Preliminary Round of the IHSA State Finals from their Sectional Champion performance. They then made even more history by moving on to Day 2 of the Dance State Finals! The girls gave amazing performances and placed 12th among the 30 teams who qualified for State. Congratulations BBDT and Coaches! You have a lot to be proud of!

Our JV Dance Team traveled to Glenbrook South High School to compete in the JV Championships in the last week of January. They advanced to the finals, making them a top 10 JV team in the state! Both teams have reached new levels this season and made history in the dance program! Way to go!

Our Boys Basketball Team had a great night for their seniors when they defeated Lincoln-Way Central after losing a tough game to the Knights earlier in the season. The final score was 54-37, and it was a great way to to celebrate our seniors. Great job!

Congratulations on a great talent show hosted by the Natural Helpers! The production hosts were Sarah Bouferrache, Ivan Dines, Kyle Gould, Quinn Meadows, Abby Morrey, and Bea White. Throughout the whole show, our Natural Helpers students took charge of stage curtains and ticket sales. Our stage manager and stage crew were even comprised of all students! Below is the list of students who gave amazing performances by showing off their special talents:

Caleb Williams

Logan Carline

Leja Ringo

Ava Mossop

Elijah Philips

Mattie Keller

Regan Patterson

Xavier Grimmett

Patrick McGinnis

BBCHS FTC Robotics competed in their League Tournament which was a qualifier for the State Finals. They made it to the playoffs and eventually the semi-finals! This year, the playoffs had a completely new and more challenging format. Our team became a captain in the playoffs and had a great showing.

One of our coaches earned the Volunteer Award for working at 7 events in a lead role! They had a great season and feel confident with the projects and additions they have in mind. They would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the season! Congratulations to our FTC Robotics team and Coach Geoffrey Gross!

Congratulations to our BBCHS Varsity Coed Cheer team for being named the Champions of their Sectional! The last time our school has won a Cheer Sectional was in 2011. The State competition was held on Friday, February 7th in Bloomington!

Our Robotics team visited a local library and hosted an outreach event to inspire children in our community who might be interested in the STEM field. They had a successful turnout and had tons of fun with those who attended. Thank you to everyone who came, and we hope to see you and many others at future events!

BBCHS hosted the annual swim meet the first weekend of February! Thank you to all the teams that participate and volunteers who make this event happen.

After a great performance by Eli Swafford at the Metea Valley Invite where he placed 4th in the 100 freestyle (50.56), next up for the Boys Swim team was Senior Night vs. Kankakee High School!

Senior Night was a night to remember. The seniors were able to choose which events they wanted to swim and which song to swim to for their last lap at the end of the meet. Coach Megan Sansone even found herself in the pool, as the boys gave her a celebration shove! It was a great night to show appreciation for the seniors who have contributed so much to the team.

Congratulations to Nick Allen on becoming BBCHS's All-Time Leading Scorer in school history Tuesday night, February 4th, against Carl Sandburg High School. This is an amazing accomplishment. We are proud of you!

Our Girls Bowling team competed in All-City at Brookmont Bowling Center on February 5th and were crowned CHAMPIONS! Congratulations girls and Coach Gina Ekhoff!

BBCHS held an 8th Grade Band Night for current 8th grade students who participate in their school's band program. These students were able to perform under the bright lights of the BBCHS auditorium and get a glimpse of how it feels to be in a high school band!

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to represent BBCHS at the SWSC Art Show this year!

Cole Artz
Lilli Balk

Avery Belluso

Mikylah Birk

Alexis Busch

Sophia DeCarlo

Alice Grizzle

Millie Nichols

Ginna Mays

Chris Proano

Everett Schierholz

Kylee Stone

Annabelle Ward

Katelyn Woodworth

Shaan Zaidi

An extra congratulations to Gianna Mays for taking home the Best in School Award!

The BBCHS Co-ed Cheer Team had an experience of a lifetime competing at the State Finals in Bloomington! Before they traveled down, they gave the faculty and staff a performance of their final routine. We are so proud of all your accomplishments as a team, and great job to the coaching staff!

Congratulations to our Girls Bowling team for placing 3rd at their IHSA Regional in Morton, Illinois on February 7th! Their great performances qualified them to advance to the IHSA Sectional in Decatur, Illinois!

BBCHS Special Olympics Unified Red team competed in Regionals at Andrew High School. Their first round game was on Friday, February 7th, and they were able to defeat Joliet. They then had to compete the next morning against Homewood-Flossmoor, who they were able to beat for the semifinal! Next up was the Championship game against Peotone. BBCHS came out on top and was named the Special Olympics Unified Basketball Regional Champions! Congratulations!

The Boys Swim team traveled to Lincoln-Way East to compete in the SWSC Conference Meet. They put in a lot of hard work and brought back 29 PR's!

Charlie Short, an AWD swimmer, got 1st place in all of his events, earning his very first medals in the 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 breaststroke!

Zach Morrey got 4th place in the 50 freestyle, and Eli Swafford got 2nd place in the 100 freestyle.

Zach Morrey, Max LaMore, Charlie Quigley, and Eli Swafford placed 3rd in the 200 freestyle relay, and Eli Swafford placed 3rd in the 100 backstroke!

The Speech team hosted the IHSA Regional Speech Competition on Saturday, February 8th. They advanced 11 of a possible 14 events to the Sectional tournament! This is the greatest number of events to advance to Sectionals for BBCHS since 2013. Congratulations to the following students who have advanced to compete in Sectionals!

Myah Crawford (advanced in 2 events and Regional Champion)

LilyAnne Daniels

Simon Hoekman

Nicholas Johnson

Ava Mossop (Regional Champion)

LayLah Perkins

Elaina Storer

Beatrice White (advanced in 2 events)

Savannah Zirbel

Congratulations to these wrestlers who qualified for the IHSA Sectional Wrestling Tournament!

Evan Johnson
Kayden Roach
Brayden O'Connor
Aubrianna Rapier
Sophia Domont

The Girls Basketball team hosted Senior Night vs. Oak Lawn. They celebrated #22 Cortlynn Ninis and #24 Morgan Reddy and showed their appreciation for the contributions these two seniors have made to the Girls Basketball program at BBCHS!

BBCHS held Senior Night on February 13th for our Special Olympics Unified Basketball teams! It was a great night celebrating and appreciating all of the seniors who are a part of the Unified program. Thank you for all you have done for the team!

Our wrestlers competed at the IHSA Sectional Tournament and fought extremely hard. Unfortunately, none of the BBCHS wrestlers were able to qualify for state. Sophomore Aubrianna Rapier was extremely close, being only one win away from qualifying. The Wrestling team has lots of potential with many underclassmen who are seeking to get better each day. Congratulations on a great season, and we cannot wait to cheer you on next year!

On Saturday, February 15th, our speech team competed in the IHSA Sectional in Washington. They placed 6th as a team and qualified 4 events for the state competition in Peoria! Congratulations to:

Myah Crawford: Sectional CHAMPION in Special Occasion Speaking

Ava Mossop: Qualified in Oratorical Declamation

Laylah Perkins: Qualified in Radio Speaking

Beatrice White: Sectional CHAMPION in Informative Speaking

After navigating a rigorous audition process and participating in the District Festival, ten singers and one future music educator from BBCHS were chosen to attend the Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria. Future music educator, LayLah Perkins, attended mentoring and discussion sessions and observed rehearsals as a pre-professional experience for aspiring music teachers. Singers attended three days of rehearsals and workshops in preparation for performances by three choirs made up of singers chosen from schools throughout Illinois. Representing BBCHS in the All-State Honors Choir were Cooper Sandeno, Jacee Yeates, Myah Crawford, and Elaina Storer. Performing with the All-State Choir were Maya DeYoung, Mary Claire Dwyer, Jack Schelling, and Wes Haggard. Ezra Soper and Avery Adams sang with the All-State Jazz Choir.

The BBCHS Speech Team traveled to Peoria to compete in State. Ava Mossop was able to advance to the Finals in Oratorical Declamation. She was the first state finalist from BBCHS since 1966! Congratulations, Ava! What an amazing accomplishment!

The Boys Swim team did a great job competing at their Sectional tournament, finishing 5th out of 12 teams!

Eli Swafford, Charlie Quigley, Max LaMore, and Zach Morrey placed 3rd in their 200 Medley Relay and their 200 Freestyle Relay.

Zach Morrey placed 5th in his 50 Freestyle.

Eli Swafford placed 2nd in the 100 Freestyle and 3rd in the 100 Backstroke, breaking his record that he broke last year!

Tylen Coyle, Jett Baker, Pierce Cailteux, and Asher Crawford placed 6th in their 400 Freestyle Relay.

Charlie Short placed 1st in the AWD 200 Freestyle, 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, and 100 Breaststroke, which means he will be competing at State tomorrow (03/01)!

All of the boys worked extremely hard to earn these medals. It was a great meet to finish the season. Best of luck to Charlie!

Our Scholastic Bowl competed in the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl on the 22nd. They went 3-3 and finished 4th in the Sandburg Sectional. They beat Homewood-Flossmoor, Minooka, and Romeoville. The three teams that defeated them all tied for first place at 5-1 each. They kept it very competitive against all three top teams.

Gavin Quinlan finished with 18 tossups, and Xavier Schultz finished with 14 tossups!

The BBCHS Ironclad FRC team traveled to Aurora, IL this past weekend to participate in a Week 0 competition. They are in the preparation phase for their official season approaching. At this event, they competed in practices and scrimmages that you can still watch on their Facebook page named "Ironclad Robotics". They are excited and eager to begin their season's game of "Reefscape", with their robot's first time competing on the field! Best of luck!

The BBCHS Steppas were invited to a Showcase hosted by Kankakee High School, where they were able to perform in front of the community. They did a great job!

Congratulations to Nick Allen on being named Southwest Suburban Conference First Team All-Conference! This is a huge accomplishment. Great job!

Congratulations to Gavin Kohl on being named Southwest Suburban Conference First Team All-Conference! Amazing job!

Congratulations to Junior, Liam Martin on being named Southwest Suburban Conference First Team All-Conference! What a great accomplishment as a Junior!

The Southwest Suburban Conference Player of the Year is our very own, #15 Nick Allen!! Nick has had a great season with the Boilermakers and has led the team to great wins and overall record. Congratulations, Nick! We are so proud of you!

Sophomore Madeline Folk is officially on the record board above the BBCHS swimming pool for her record-setting performance in the 100 Fly during the Fall season. She finished at 59.05 which has put her among the greatest swimmers in BB history. Congratulations Madeline - we are proud of you!

The BBCHS Boys Basketball team finished their regular season with a record of 21-7 and 12-4 in conference play. Throughout the month of February, they defeated Mt. Zion, Carl Sandburg, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way West, Lockport, and Unity Christian Academy and had suffered 0 losses this month up until Regional play.

They began their playoff road with the Regional Semifinal this past Wednesday at Normal West and fell to Minooka, making their overall record 21-8. The boys had a great final month of basketball. Congratulations on a great season, and thank you to the seniors for all of your contributions!

BBCHS Scholastic Bowl traveled to Lincoln-Way East on Wednesday to compete in the SWSC Tournament. Both the Varsity and Freshmen/Sophomore teams finished 2-1. The Varsity team finished in 5th place, and the Freshmen/Sophomore team finished in 3rd place and won the regular season Red Division!

This tournament was a great way to finish out the conference season! Next up is Regionals on Monday, March 10th at BBCHS.

Ted Wiese, motivational speaker, made a return to BBCHS to host the Challenge Leadership Summit sponsored by Student Council! During this event, Wiese helped students better understand how to be a student leader. They participated in conversations and activities with each other that helped them grow in leadership. This was a great day for our students!

Opening Night for SIX the Musical was last night and will be running until Sunday, March 2nd. This musical is a bold and exciting look at the wives of Henry VIII through a pop star lens. There will be songs inspired by Beyoncé, Avril Lavigne, Lizzo, Adele, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, and Alicia Keys! Tickets are $10 apiece, and you can purchase them using this link: https://gofan.co/app/school/IL15426

Best of luck to our very own, Charlie Short, as he travels to compete in the AWD State Finals this weekend. We are proud of all you have accomplished so far and can't wait to cheer you on against the rest of the state!

We are excited to kick off a new season of sports! Coaches are beginning to hold tryouts for their teams and practices are starting. We cannot wait to see all that is in store for BBCHS spring sports! The Track and Field boys team competed in their first meet yesterday, and the girls team competes in their first meet today!

Please visit https://schools.snap.app/bbchs for schedules and rosters for our teams.

Copy Runner for Special Services - Ross puts the "pro" in progress. He has been the most improved worker on campus. From learning the layout of the building to increasing his delivery speed, he really does not let anything get in the way of doing a super job every day!

Sweet Darren's - E shows up every day with a positive work attitude and is a true team player. He is willing to learn from his mistakes. He makes this world a sweeter place one cookie ball at a time.

If you are a parent/guardian of a BBCHS student, please take a few minutes to complete the 5Essentials Parent Survey using this link: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/

Your feedback will help us improve BBCHS, and we want to hear from you!

BBCHS is hosting the Freshman Showcase for current 8th grade students who are interested in attending BBCHS next year! This event is an opportunity for incoming freshmen to learn about the different sports, clubs, and activities that BBCHS has to offer. We hope to see you there!

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Kennedy Weigt - Director of Communications and Community Engagement

kweigt@bbchs.org