Bonita Unified Musicians Win Awards at Route 66 Jazz Festival
Bonita Unified’s domination of music competitions continued at the Route 66 Jazz Festival on April 20, where San Dimas High School’s jazz band took home three individual awards. Hunter Peterson’s compositional/arrangement talents, evident in his jazz arrangement of “Cantina Band,” inspired judges to create a new award category and name Peterson as the inaugural Outstanding Young Composer Award recipient. John Lopez and Anthony Bailey were also honored with Outstanding Soloist Awards.
Bonita Unified’s commitment to fostering student excellence, bolstered by robust academic support and college and career readiness efforts, has once again earned Bonita and San Dimas high schools recognition as top-performing public high schools, according to the 2024 Best High Schools rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. Bonita and San Dimas high schools maintained their strong rankings from the previous year; in 2024, the schools rank in the top nine percent and 15 percent, respectively, of public high schools nationwide. Both schools achieved graduation rates of 97% or higher.
Bonita Unified Students to Be Honored for Perseverance, Service
Bonita Unified students will be given a moment in the spotlight to honor their perseverance in the face of adversity – as well as acts of kindness toward others – during the 2023-24 La Verne/San Dimas Educational Foundation Awards at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 29. The ceremony is one of the foundation’s signature events, and provides awards and scholarships to students who overcome physical, emotional, or academic challenges, complete charitable acts in their community, or demonstrate excellence in CTE courses. The awards ceremony will be held at the Bonita Center for the Arts, 822 W. Covina Blvd., San Dimas.
Bonita Unified Culinary Students to Represent State at Nationals
Bonita High School’s culinary team “Chicks” will represent California at the National ProStart Invitational from Friday, April 26 to Sunday, April 28 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront, facing off against the top culinary students from high schools across the country in the quest to prepare the best three-course meal. Led by Bonita High junior Charli Padilla, “Chicks” advanced to nationals following their win at the California ProStart Cup in February, becoming the second Bonita Unified team to advance to the national competition.
Bonita Unified School District celebrated its 2024 Certificated, Classified, and Management Employees of the Year during the April 10 Board of Education meeting, recognizing their dedication to supporting student success. The recognition by the Board was the second in a three-part celebration for the Employees of the Year, who were first surprised with the announcement – complete with flowers and banners – at their respective sites in mid-March. During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Kevin Lee introduced each employee with a heartfelt speech that featured insights from the nominations submitted by their peers and superiors.
Using pool noodles as lances and large tricycles as horses, Ramona Middle School seventh-graders faced off in a series of medieval jousting matches during the school’s annual Renaissance Faire, held April 10, where students experienced living history by recreating activities that brought the world out of the Middle Ages. From launching trebuchets and stilt-walking to dressing peasant dolls and creating woodblock prints, Ramona’s Renaissance Faire had something for every student, including a falconry demonstration and a live whip-cracker/juggling performance. Nearly 400 Ramona students participated in the Faire, with the majority dressing in Renaissance-era clothing.
Bonita Unified students are getting a head start on their careers in barbering and cosmetology – and preparing to enter the workforce after graduation – through a partnership with the San Antonio Regional Occupational Program (ROP), which provides after-school courses in the two subjects at no cost to students. Bonita High School seniors Alexis Miranda, Bianca Estrella, and Selina Heng became the first BUSD students to complete the cosmetology class at San Antonio ROP in more than 20 years, each putting in 1,000 hours to learn skills in hair cutting, styling, and coloring, manicuring/pedicuring, and skin care services. Since Miranda, Estrella, and Heng completed the program, seven students from Chaparral-Vista, Bonita and San Dimas high schools have enrolled and are working toward their certification in barbering or cosmetology.
Bonita Unified Middle School Band, Choir Win Gold at Heritage Festival
Lone Hill Middle School’s music program continued Bonita Unified’s winning streak at the latest WorldStrides San Diego Heritage Festival, held April 11 to 14. Lone Hill is the third Bonita Unified school to win major awards at festivals in the last month, taking home Gold ratings for Choralairs, Jazz Band and Advanced Band, Best Overall Choral Group, and the Sweepstakes Award for the best overall scores combined in band and choir, as well as Maestro Awards given to four soloists. Bonita Unified offers a robust visual and performing arts program that begins in elementary school and empowers students to develop their musical talents.
Bonita High School senior Junze “Jenny” Zhang was a sixth-grade English learner when her family moved from China to the United States. Even as Zhang worked to master a new language, she was already immersing herself in research that would lead her to focus on the destructiveness of climate change and the possibility of establishing colonies within our solar system. Zhang’s enthusiasm for STEM subjects, willingness to put in long hours of research, and determination to find solutions for global environmental issues were rewarded when she was named a 2024 Edison Scholar, which will provide her with $50,000 to support her dream of attending Cal Tech to study aerospace engineering.
Grace Miller Elementary School first-grade teacher April Maidens has been recognized with Computer-Using Educator’s (CUE) second annual Suzanne Mitchell Award, honoring her years of volunteer work for the nonprofit, which aims to advance student achievement through technology. Maidens, a former Grace Miller student and Bonita High School alumna, has been a member of CUE’s planning committee since 2011, helping organize CUE’s annual conferences, working behind the scenes to schedule sessions, prepare speakers, talk to guests, and ensure that the events run smoothly.
