Chaparral-Vista High School Advanced Culinary students are making a name for themselves, pooling their talents and stretching their imaginations to create award-winning dishes under the guidance of hospitality instructor Ben Pando, who trained at the Le Cordon Bleu satellite campus in Pasadena. Against a crowded field that saw entrants serving up time-honored family recipes, a team of five Chaparral-Vista culinary students shocked judges, contestants and chili lovers alike with a stunning first-place finish at the inaugural Bonita PTA Council Chili Cook-Off in September. About 30 students are enrolled in the continuation high school’s culinary classes – learning proper food handling, plating, and knife skills, preparing baked goods and desserts, creating recipes, planning meals, catering and more.
Chaparral High School senior Natalie Bolanos, San Dimas High School senior Jaiden Miranda, and Bonita High School senior Grishm Sethi were welcomed by the Bonita Unified Board of Education as the student representatives for the 2022-23 school year. Miranda, Bolanos and Sethi, who were sworn into their positions during the Oct. 12 Board meeting, will attend all regular monthly Board meetings during the school year, provide school reports and advocate for their peers. Each student leader is an active member of various campus activities and has aspirations to attend college.
The atmosphere was electric as supporters wearing face paint and sporting school colors streamed into Citrus College Stadium to celebrate the golden anniversary of the cherished football rivalry between Bonita and San Dimas high schools, known as the Smudge Pot, on Sept. 10. The 50th installment of the rivalry featured the return of nearly two dozen former Bearcats and Saints players and coaches who participated in the inaugural Smudge Pot game in 1972, who came to cheer on their alma maters and were honored during pregame festivities. The game provided a chance for them to catch up and reminisce about their days of glory on the football field and revel in the camaraderie that brought them together as teammates and lifelong friends. Bonita High School rallied to win the game, 21-13.
The College Board has recognized 14 Bonita High School and 10 San Dimas High School students with National Recognition Awards, an honor given to underrepresented students for academic excellence. Each Bonita Unified student received the award for placing in the top 10 percent of students taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test or placing in the top 10 percent of Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores among California Hispanic, African-American or Indigenous students.
Two Bonita Unified elementary schools began the 2022-23 school year with new principals, one of a series of administrative promotions and new hires that include two new assistant principals at Bonita High School, a new assistant superintendent of business services, and new senior directors of fiscal services and educational services. The promotions include Nicole Grant as La Verne Heights Elementary School principal, Joshua Richards as Bonita High assistant principal, Sonia Eckley as the assistant superintendent of business services and Dr. Jaymi Abusham as senior director of educational services. New to Bonita Unified are Gerard Granade as Ekstrand Elementary School principal, Rene Gonzalez as Bonita High assistant principal and Jazmin Ortega as senior director of fiscal services.
The Bonita Unified Board of Education unanimously appointed longtime educator and proven leader Matthew Wien to serve as the District’s interim superintendent during a Board meeting on Sept. 7. Wien, who brings more than 20 years of education experience to his new role, will also continue to serve in his current position as assistant superintendent of educational services. During his tenure as assistant superintendent, Wien has overseen the development of a comprehensive academic program that has resulted in high levels of achievement on state assessments and placed Bonita Unified in the top 10 percent of unified districts in California.
Bonita Unified Football Teams to Face Off in 50th Smudge Pot Rivalry
San Dimas and Bonita high schools are warming up for the 50th annual Smudge Pot football game, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at Citrus College Stadium, 1000 W. Foothill Blvd., Glendora. The friendly rivalry – a beloved District tradition that aims to foster school spirit and unite the community – started in 1972, with both high schools competing for an iconic silver Smudge Pot, an oil-burning tool used to shield fruit trees from frost and a symbol of the two cities’ roots in the region’s citrus industry.
For generations of Bonita Unified students, staff and alumni, the annual Smudge Pot football game is the most anticipated athletic event of the school year. The cherished football rivalry that pits the Bonita High School Bearcats against the San Dimas High School Saints will celebrate its golden anniversary this year, as the schools prepare to play their 50th game in the series. To honor the memories, sportsmanship and heroics of the game, which is one of the oldest continuous rivalries in southern California, the Smudge Pot’s rich and colorful history has now come alive in a new website, smudgepotgame.com. Created by Bonita High students, the website features photos, news clippings and decade-by-decade accounts of the competition.
Bonita Unified School District students descended upon cheerfully decorated campuses – bedecked with vibrant welcome signs and filled with cheers of encouragement – on Aug. 22, marking the start of a new school year that is focused on empowering students to live their purpose and ensuring new levels of achievement. Roynon Elementary School welcomed new and returning students with cardboard cutouts of superheroes representing every grade level, including transitional kindergarten (TK), which is being offered to more students than ever, thanks to the rollout of a universal TK program that has welcomed nearly 430 young learners to classrooms this year.
San Dimas High School achieved its highest Advanced Placement (AP) test pass rate in school history during the 2021-22 school year, reflecting the school’s commitment to fostering academic achievement and preparing students for the rigor of higher education. San Dimas High School students collectively earned a pass rate of 68.2% during the first full year of in-person instruction following the COVID-19 pandemic. The average national pass rate is 60.5%. San Dimas High offers AP courses in 20 subjects.
