Hello, BHS Community ~
Lots of exciting times at BHS - culminating tournaments and honors for many clubs and groups, and upcoming celebrations as we approach the end of the year are coming. Plus, the flowers are blooming around campus and the cherry blossoms brighten the morning. BHS is always beautiful in the Spring!
I wanted to take a moment to spotlight a new program at BHS this past year. Each Tuesday, our entire school takes 75 minutes to engage in some type of community building. We call this time “Homeroom” and we want to make sure that our families know about this time and partner with us on its value for our students. Please encourage your student to tell you about it. Some weeks, Homeroom looks like important grade level meetings surrounding school-wide topics, class election voting, district or state surveys, pep assemblies, or other all school events. It also involves time to “check and connect” with classmates or teachers which results in time for academic support. At least twice a month during Homeroom, a group of dedicated teachers have put together social emotional learning (SEL) lessons, aligned to new Washington State SEL state standards, that are implemented school-wide. These lessons are designed specifically for high school and cover important topics such as self care, healthy relationships, communication skills, self-regulation, and goal-setting, amongst others. We continue to build upon this first year roll-out, and look to communicate further and with more detail moving forward.
And finally, a huge thank you and congratulations to the student and staff planning team who executed an incredibly emotional and moving Out of the Darkness Walk this morning at BHS to bring awareness to suicide prevention and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health. (See photo above.) We had over 150 participants and raised more than $11,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Go Spartans!
Kristina Rodgers, BHS Principal
