BBCHS Newsletter

Senior Palooza was an extremely helpful and enjoyable event for our seniors! They were able to learn more about postsecondary planning and how to be prepared for future endeavors once they graduate from BBCHS. Our seniors listened to several guest speakers and BBCHS counselors about certain topics, such as FAFSA and the military!

After these small sessions, a resource fair was held that allowed our seniors to explore and learn more about the resources we have available nearby for educational and professional opportunities.

Thank you to these organizations for coming and speaking to our seniors:

The U.S. Marine Corp

The U.S. Army

Harbor House

Olivet Nazarene University

Kankakee Community College

Clove Alliance

Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)

Industrial Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW 176)

Hemenover Construction

Also, a huge congratulations to all of our seniors who won fun prizes from our Senior Palooza: Summer Pruitt, Rylin Neumann, Tristen Mulder-Navarrette, Kalynn Paschall, Cynthia Cardenas Garcia, Nevaeh Davis, Jude Laney, Eduardo Olguin, SwannYai Gaines, Arayah Barnes, Myraiah Maxwell, Kaylee Reynolds, Mason Jolley, Kate Prairie, Alexis Richey, Phebe Lindauer, Kayden Balk, and Kaden Davis!

George Washington (Mr. Kladis) visited BBCHS last week to teach about the American Revolution! The students were engaged and learned a lot about the importance of this event in American history.

Mr. Demetrios Kladis mentions that he is consistently “trying to make the learning environment as fun and enjoyable as possible” and explains that he understands some people view history as “boring”, therefore he tries to make his lessons engaging and interesting to high school students. He also stated “if I can put a smile on just one of my student’s faces, that is a huge win.”

Thank you to Mr. Kladis for creating fun learning environments for our students and truly caring about their learning!

A new facilities project update is here! Design Development meetings were held on September 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Discussions about department spaces were discussed in regard to collaborative meeting spaces, access to STEM labs, and students being all under one roof. Reminder: these plans are subject to change. Stay tuned for specific department design development plans!

Miss Racehl Hoekman's Anatomy and Physiology class has been working on learning regional and directional anatomical terminology. This week, to work on application of the terms (and scalpel technique), they dissected gummy bears!

Bettering Boilers partnered with Boys Soccer to host their Kick Hunger event where they held a table that welcomed donations to their in-school food pantry! The donations they received helped them stock their pantry to have available goods for students and their families who need it. Thank you for all of the donations!

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High school celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th - October 15th)! We are proud to honor the rich histories, vibrant cultures, and countless contributions of the Hispanic and Latino communities.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at BBCHS, Mrs. Idalia Marin held a Latin Dance Boiler Block, another Boiler Block sponsored by the Latin Student Union that invited students to come play a game for a chance to earn prizes, a fundraiser at Casa Acapulco, a group picture, and sales at lunch that include bracelets, stickers, and more!

At last night’s board meeting, Samantha Czako was elected as the newest member of the BBCHS District 307 School Board. We warmly welcome her and look forward to the positive contributions she will bring to our students and school community!

Congratulations to our Commended Student in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, Emily Lyle! About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. She placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. We are proud of you!

Congratulations to Alexis McCullough who is now officially an Eagle Scout, and she was also 3rd runner-up to Miss Illinois team at the Miss Illinois Teen Competition 2025 in Marion, Illinois! We are proud of you!

One of our math teachers, Mrs. Adina Johnston, and her classes are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by learning about one Hispanic mathematician each day! The image below shows just one example of a lesson in her classroom during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Last Friday was the Best Buddies Match Party! Each student was paired with buddies who will be guiding them through the school year and connecting with them and their family to make sure all of their needs are met at BBCHS. This is a time where our students get connected and form long lasting friendships, showing the importance of inclusion in our school daily!

Congratulations to these students who earned a 3.5 GPA or higher for the 2024-2025 school year! We are so proud of you!

Please check our District Facebook for the list of students!

Our student members of our Bettering Boilers program made 4 submissions to the Explore.Act.Tell. program. Three out of the four groups won, and they received a total of $3000 in grant money! This money will continue to help them run their food pantry and make it accessible for our students and their families who need it. Our faculty recognized them at the last all-faculty meeting! Congratulations on your hard work!

Our Homecoming Week was a success! Each day, there were different dress-up themes for students and faculty to follow, with a powderpuff football game on Monday, senior rock painting on Wednesday, an all-school assembly on Thursday, our parade on Friday, and the Homecoming Dance on Saturday! We also inducted 4 new members into the BBCHS Athletics Hall of Fame - Scot Boudreau, Kathy Colclasure, Neha Chandan, and Maddie Vaccaro! Congratulations to these four amazing people!

Homecoming King and Queen were announced at the football game on Friday Night! Congratulations to Charlie Chisum and Lydia Hammond on being named King and Queen!!

Yearbooks from last school year are available for pick-up in the Main Office! If you are a graduated senior, you may have a family member come and pick up your yearbook for you.

School Board member Mrs. Damarah-Pammer is holding a Boiler Block for students to learn more about caring for pets! She began her Boiler Block on September 15th. Mrs. Damarah learned about her students' interests in regard to pet care. She mentioned that she is going to have lots of guest speakers come in to speak on different topics. Some of these different subjects include: animal shelters, grooming, veterinarian work, pet owning/sitting, farm animals, and small side jobs available to care for pets.

Mrs. Damarah-Pammer mentioned that she wants to increase the awareness of treatment of all types of animals. She believes that when students volunteer to help, school is a much more positive environment. "Show Your Soft Side" is an organization that she mentioned that is focused on educating people about witnessing and reporting animal cruelty to authorities. This is a focus area that her students will be learning about as well. Her students are extremely excited to be in this Boiler Block and are ready to learn more! Thank you, Mrs. Damarah-Pammer, for having this available for our students!

BBCHS Football started off the season strong with a big win over Thornton Fractional North! The Boilers held TF North scoreless, as our boys dominated the entire game. Ellis Johnson threw for two touchdowns and got one of his own! Kyren Edmond ran one of his own in as well.

Our boys soccer team started off the Boilermaker Invite with a convincing 8-0 win on Friday night! They then played two games Saturday where they faced Rock Island and then Romeoville. They beat Rock Island with a final score of 4-2 in the semifinals. For the Championship, their game against Romeoville went to a penalty kick shootout, where the Boilers came out victorious. Their overall record is now 3 wins and 2 losses. Congratulations, boys and Coach Stembridge!

The BBCHS Girls Volleyball team has been on a winning streak as they have won the last 5 games! Throughout the month of September, they have defeated Beecher twice, Maine West, Niles North, Hoffman Estates, Kankakee, Bishop Mac, Herscher, Rock Falls, Grayslake North, TF North, Marian Catholic twice, Thornwood, and TF South. They are now sitting at a 16-7 record with their next game on Thursday at home vs. Andrew at 6:00pm. Let's go, girls!

The BBCHS flag football team currently sits at 12 wins and 2 losses with another opportunity for a W tonight (9/30) vs. Rich Township at home at 7:00pm! In their last game vs. Joliet West, they were able to hold them scoreless. They have been able to score 40 points or more in 7 of their wins this season so far. Keep it going!

BBCHS Boys Cross Country secured a team win, finishing with 12 points! Morris closely followed with 13, Herscher with 26, Kankakee with 53, Bishop Mac with 54, Beecher with 64, and Peotone with 87.

Our team was led with a first-place finish from junior Sully Westover and freshman Brayden Domont, who finished with a time of 19:31:44. Great job Sully, Brayden, and team!

Our Girls Cross Country team finished in fifth with 34 points behind Herscher, Beecher, Morris, and Chicago Christian.

Please read the article below to read more about Domont's experience on the BBCHS cross country team!

"Entering 2025, the last three boys soccer meetings between All-City foes BBCHS and Bishop Mac had gone a decided 23-1 total margin in favor of the Boilermakers" (Daily Journal, 2025). We saw six different Boilermakers score in this contest. We can't wait to see where this season takes them - good luck, boys! Read the article below for more information on the game!

The BBCHS Girls Swim & Dive team traveled to Shepard High School for their invitational where they were crowned Champions! Aly Swafford broke the freshman record in the 100 Fly, and Madeline Folk broke the junior record in the 100 Fly.

Abby, Madeline, Isabelle, and Aly broke the meet and pool record in the 400 Free Relay (3:47.71)! Also, Abby, Madeline, Isabelle, and Mia broke the meet record in the 200 Free Relay (1:47.16)! Congratulations!

Our very own Quarterback, Ellis Johnson, was named the Taylor Dodge Offensive Player of the Week from his performance in Week 3 of the football season! He was 18-21 for 227 yards in a huge win against Waubonsie Valley. After Week 3, he was sitting at 38-49, which is 78% with 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

BBCHS Football has played 5 weeks of football so far, and Ellis has helped lead them to a current undefeated record of 5-0. They have another big game on the line Friday night at Lincoln-Way Central! Keep it rolling, boys!

Max LaMore was the medalist for the third time in their match against Andrew at the Kankakee Elks Country Club. He shot a 37 while Jake Kehoe shot a 41, Kaden Davis shot a 42, and Sam LaMore and Sam Frey each shot a 44 in a BBCHS win!

The Boilers finished shooting 164, Beecher with 163, Dwight 186, and Momence 207. Congratulations, boys and Coach Klimchuck!

Our Boys Soccer team is looking to get back to their winning ways tonight (9/30) at Lincoln-Way West beginning at 5:00pm! This past month they have had great wins over Bishop McNamara, Peoria Christian, Urbana, Kankakee, Herscher, and Manteno! Good luck, boys!

Our eSports team is currently competing in Marvel Rivals competitions virtually with other schools. They are currently 2-4 with another opportunity to secure a win tonight at 4:45pm! They are continuing to improve and working to get better. Good luck, eSports!

BBCHS Cross Country claimed the All-City title with 17 points defeating Bishop Mac and Kankakee. Freshman, Brayden Domont had a winning time of 13:42.12. He finished just ahead of teammates Kyler Savini and Sully Westover. Luca Nims placed 5th to give the Boilermakers four of the top five finishers! Great job, boys!

Head Football Coach Mike Kohl hosted a night of Best Buddies Football! He and his players took our best buddies through a practice and taught them important skills to know when playing football. The team then welcomed our buddies to do the helmet run, Boiler walk, and to watch warm-ups on the sideline at the Friday Night football game! This was an amazing event of inclusion, and everyone had loads of fun!

Congratulations to our Girls Golf team for defeating Bishop McNamara to claim the All-City title! Senior Beatrice White who shot a 51 to lead BBCHS to victory! The Boilermakers shot 219 as a team to top the Irish's 235.

Youth Night last Friday was unforgettable! Head Football Coach Mike Kohl and senior players met with local young football players to talk about the BBCHS football program, while the dance team performed on the field with our young dancers from the community. Our marching band also collaborated with young people from BUGC, Bradley Central, and St. George school districts to play the National Anthem and our school fight song!

Our Best Buddies did the Boiler Walk with our football team, interlocking arms with our players and then led our team out of the helmet to get ready for the big game! The night ended with a great win for our football program over Waubonsie Valley - what an amazing night of community and fun!

This is the first time since 2011 that all three All-City teams (BBCHS, Bishop Mac, and Kankakee) competed for this title. Bria McCrary and Madeline Folk each took first in a pair of individual events, with McCrary winning the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke. Folk won the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly.

Freshman Ally Swafford won the 50-yard freestyle, Abby Bonilla took the 100-yard freestyle and Isabell Trudeau won the 500-yard freestyle.

Ashley Smith also picked up a win as the lone participant in the one-meter dive, while Bonilla, Trudeau, Folk, and Swafford won the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. McCrary, Brooke Schwob, Anneliese Schneider, and Mia Ecker won the 400-yard freestyle relay.

BBCHS Girls Tennis picked up a 6-2 victory over the crosstown rivals and was crowned All-City Champions! Senior Mary Claire Dwyer was victorious at No. 1 singles, taking down Kankakee's Charisma Hill 6-2, 6-0.

The longest match of the day was at No. 2 singles, where the Boilermakers picked up another win thanks to sophomore Lauren Fischer.

We also secured a singles win from No. 3 Jordynn Ryan. Lillian Myrick and Madyson Bittles won at No. 2 doubles, Aurora Ramos and Eva Mancenido Anton won at No. 3 doubles, and Bella Beaver and Natalia Grabow-Foote won at No. 4 doubles.

Please use the link below to read about golfer Max LaMore and where his golf journey began! He shot a 36 in a quad hosted by Lincoln-Way West on September 2nd, a 38 in a home triangular on September 3rd, and a 37 against Andrew on September 4th to earn him the Daily Journal Player of the Week. Congratulations, Max!

On Friday, September 19th, BBCHS Choir hosted Dr. Marin Jacobson, the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Valparaiso University! Dr. Jacobson coached choir students on vocal skills and songs to be performed in our first concert. Thank you for visiting and teaching us, Dr. Jacobson - it is greatly appreciated!

Please use the link below to read about swimmer Madeline Folk and how she started getting involved in competitive swim! She won 4 golds in the All-City swim meet, winning the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly, and serving on the winning 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays.

Our BBCHS Unified Bocce Ball team had a match on September 20th on our home turf! They competed against their friends from Kankakee, and Good Shepard Manor joined in on the morning of inclusion and fun!

Please fill out the 4-question form below to help us improve our communications each day at BBCHS. We appreciate your feedback - thank you!

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Kennedy Weigt - Director of Communications and Community Engagement

kweigt@bbchs.org