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Bonita Unified School District

  • Bonita Unified Seniors, Coach Selected for L.A. Rams All-Star Flag Football Game

    The first full year of CIF-sanctioned high school flag football was a resounding success for Bonita Unified schools, with both Bonita and San Dimas high schools making great strides in their inaugural seasons, led by top players establishing themselves as fierce competitors and passionate coaches eager to develop their athletes as winners on and off the field. Four of the District’s standout seniors will get an opportunity to play one final high school game after being selected for the Los Angeles Rams/National Football Foundation Senior All-Star Flag Football Game, to be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21 at Simi Valley High School. Ashley Sandmark and Anelly Alba from San Dimas High will join Bonita High seniors Breanna Sandmark and Kayla Heinlein on the San Gabriel Valley/Pasadena roster. They will play against a team of San Fernando Valley/Ventura area all-stars. Bonita High head flag football coach Mike Mann will coach the SGV/Pasadena squad.

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  • 24 Bonita Unified Students Synchronize Harmonies in Southern California Regional Honor Choirs

    Bonita Unified School District’s choir program has found the secret ingredient to success: cultivating a community of singers from elementary to high school, supported by passionate educators who nurture talent, and preparing students for professional opportunities on elite stages. This year, a record-breaking 24 choir students from Bonita Unified’s two comprehensive high schools were chosen for the Southern California Vocal Association’s (SCVA) Honor Choirs. Bonita High School choir students made history with 21 individuals named to the prestigious group – the most students selected from a single campus across eight counties.

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  • Bonita Unified Celebrates Retiring Board Member Glenn Creiman for 21 Years of Service to Community

    Amid a festive backdrop of Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis, the Bonita Unified School District community said a final aloha and farewell to longtime Board of Education member Glenn Creiman during a retirement ceremony on Dec. 11 at Lone Hill Middle School. Creiman’s 21-year tenure on the Board was defined by his unwavering desire to do what was right for Bonita Unified students. Creiman made a lasting impression on the District, which saw the four-time Board President as honest, kind, humble, and devoted, with a homespun civility that put people at ease. During Creiman’s years on the Board, he oversaw two bond measures that helped finance three new gymnasiums, the Bonita Center for the Arts, a new District office, and many other modernization projects. In his tenure, the District also improved its relationships with the cities of San Dimas and La Verne; achieved its highest-ever scores on state assessments and mitigated learning loss from the pandemic; expanded its career technical education offerings; and more.

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10 Bonita Unified Singers Selected for Southern California Vocal Association Honor Choirs

Continuing what has become an annual tradition for the District’s top vocal talent, 10 Bonita Unified students have been selected to perform with the prestigious Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) Honor Choirs, with multiple performers chosen from both Bonita and San Dimas high schools. San Dimas High School senior Steve Moreno, junior Soft Washburn and freshman Leanne Flores joined Bonita High School seniors Eric Romero, Audrey Granger, Gage Dowdle and Nathan Kwan, juniors Christian Weber and Ksenia Freeborn, and sophomore Valeria Geren to be among the 270 top choir members from Southern California selected to perform Saturday, Nov. 18 at the University of Redlands.

Bonita Unified Teachers Awarded 35 Mini-Grants by La Verne/San Dimas Educational Foundation

The La Verne/San Dimas Educational Foundation (LVSDEF) continued its annual tradition of supporting education in the classroom as it announced its 2023-24 Teacher Mini-Grant award recipients during the Bonita Unified Board of Education meeting on Nov. 1. LVSDEF President Anthony Porter and LVSDEF member Michelle Riddell presented more than $14,000 in mini-grants to teachers from 11 Bonita Unified schools, money that will help fund a variety of small classroom projects. The grants, which range from $100 to $500, are provided to teachers to encourage projects that benefit students and address a classroom need. The Foundation received 78 applications this year and was able to award 35 mini-grants, which will support projects focused on mental health and wellness, the arts, field trips and more.

Bonita Unified Elementary School Beautification Project Brings Community Together

Roynon Elementary School students crowded around the garden bed with rakes, shovels and hoes, breaking up dirt clods, pulling up weeds and roots, and expelling invasive species like grubs. Meeting every Tuesday after school, the students are proudly upholding a grand tradition at the school: the ongoing and successful Roynon Beautification Project. With nine garden beds to work with, Roynon student volunteers – nearly always accompanied by peers from Oak Mesa and La Verne Heights elementary schools, as well as Ramona Middle School – tend to crops such as tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, peppers, sage, oregano and green beans. When ripe, the produce is distributed to students, staff and local residents.

Bonita Unified Middle School Students Discover the Joy of Woodworking in Shop Class

Lone Hill Middle School students are learning the joy of developing their craft skills in wood shop, an elective class that allows them the freedom to create intricate works of art and discover that woodworking is a pursuit that can bring the whole family together. In his 27 years as Lone Hill’s wood shop teacher, Mitch Jacobs has seen modern technology transform the class by making the wood-cutting process safer for students, who are fashioning projects well beyond the bookshelves and bird feeders of wood shops past. The elective has also experienced an influx of female students; the inclusivity is evident in the scope of projects created by students, which range from simple wood carvings of animals to elaborately designed and etched plaques.

Bonita Unified Student Earns Perfect Score on Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles Exam

Bonita High School senior Nathan Kwan approached his Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) exam with every bit of confidence needed to get a top score of “5.” What Kwan never dreamed of doing was recording a perfect score. Kwan is the second Bonita High student in three years to earn a perfect score on their AP CSP exam, an accomplishment so rare that less than 1% of AP CSP exam takers achieve this result. Bonita High Class of 2022 graduate Ashley Padres also received a perfect score on her AP CSP exam.

Bonita Unified Celebrates Record Gains in 2022-23 CAASPP Scores, Mitigates Pandemic Learning Loss

Bonita Unified students achieved record-setting scores on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in 2022-23, reflecting its success in overcoming the learning loss that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CAASPP results for spring 2023, released by the state on Oct. 18, 72 percent of Bonita Unified students met or exceeded standards in English language arts (ELA) – an all-time high for the District – and 58 percent met or exceeded standards in math, achieving the District’s second-highest math scores of all time. The 2022-23 results also indicate a four-point growth in both ELA and math from the 2021-22 school year.

Bonita Unified Freshman Diving Prodigy Looks to Become Olympic-Level Athlete

San Dimas High School freshman Jacqueline Chen first displayed her diving prowess at nine years old during a trip to Cancun, Mexico with her family. Standing atop a cliff more than 15 feet above the water, Chen showed no fear when she suddenly leapt off, performing a perfect dive. Now Chen is preparing to make another huge leap – from high school student to Olympic athlete. After years of participating and medaling in USA Diving Junior Olympic competitions, Chen will travel to the Philippines for the Asian Age Group Championship, to be held from Dec. 3 to 6, trying to stamp her ticket to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. At San Dimas High School, Chen plays clarinet in the marching band and enjoys art class, juggling campus activities with Honors classes and her rigorous diving practice schedule. Chen will also represent San Dimas High in CIF meets when diving season begins in spring 2024.

Bonita Unified to Host Skilled Trades Fair for High School Students

Bonita Unified School District will host a Skilled Trades Fair from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6, providing students from Bonita, Chaparral-Vista and San Dimas high schools the opportunity to network with professionals from a variety of industries, learn about industry needs and trends for future employment, and receive insight into training opportunities. Bonita Unified is seeking to expand its work-based learning and career technical education in 2023-24, providing students with a greater understanding of the professional and educational opportunities that await after high school. The fair will be held at Bonita High School, 3102 D St., La Verne.

Bonita Unified Board Appoints New San Dimas High School Principal

The Bonita Unified Board of Education appointed Omar Mayen as the new principal of San Dimas High School during its Oct. 4 meeting. Mayen is an experienced high school educator; prior to coming to San Dimas High, he spent six years as an assistant principal and an additional 12 years as a high school special education teacher in Corona-Norco Unified School District. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Redlands, teaching inclusive practices to credential and master’s degree candidates.

Bonita Unified Board of Education Welcomes 2023-24 Student Representatives

Bonita High School senior Andrew Watson, Chaparral-Vista High School senior Riley Koscielski and San Dimas High School senior Beatrice See stepped up to the podium – and into new leadership roles – before the Bonita Unified Board of Education on Oct. 4, receiving applause and cheers of encouragement as they took the oath of office to serve as the Board’s student representatives for the 2023-24 school year. Watson, Koscielski and See will serve as the voices and advocates of their peers throughout the school year, attending all regular monthly Board meetings to provide school reports and share feedback and concerns. All three students also serve in leadership positions on their campuses.