![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Over Spring Break, approximately $25,000 worth of tools and other equipment was stolen from the school. A police investigation is ongoing concerning the stolen items which included two tool boxes and other cordless tools from the woodshop and metals teacher John Foster’s classroom, as well as a 3D printer and a computer from CTE teacher Brian Connolly’s classroom.
Security cameras captured footage of a truck pulling into the North parking lot the morning of April 9.
“Tuesday morning, a teacher came in around 10 o’clock and saw that there [were] a couple of carts and a vacuum that were out in the alley, and then got suspicious and came around and saw that the office here had been broken into and that the tools were gone,” Foster said.
When contacted about the break-in, Principal Abby Hunt said she could not comment.
This incident follows two recent break-ins that occurred in a similar area of the school. In the instance of April 9, the perpetrator first entered Foster’s office, then proceeded into the woods/metals classroom as well as Connolly’s classroom.
“They took what was here and busted open one of the big cabinets [in the classroom], [but] it seems they knew that the good tools are in [my office],” Foster said.
For students in Foster’s classes, the effects of the break-in resonate in their day to day learning.
“A lot of useful tools have been taken: drills, Bosch impacts, these big snap-on tool chests that alone were worth thousands of dollars,” sophomore Henry Howisey said. “What’s been stolen is just a bunch of stuff that we use in class everyday, it really sucks.”
Similarly, Foster expressed the importance of these tools for the general function of the woods and metals programs.
“The big thing is, I’m constantly fixing and repairing stuff,” Foster said. “I have two options. I can call the district… but I have five overloaded classes every day, so when I have a machine down… I end up fixing a lot myself and maintaining stuff, and so already I’m starting to feel that.”
Beyond their utility in the classroom, these tools are also a testament to the history of the CTE and woodshop programs at BHS.
“So the toolbox that we had here by the door had legacy tools [that were] 30 plus years [old],” Foster said.
Neighboring public school shop classes have closed due to lack of funding, including Whitman Middle School. As a result, BHS’s shop has collected materials from these programs over the years, amassing tools that have been passed down for generations.
With that said, Foster expressed that the expenses of his programs are comparable to other school-funded programs.
“One of the reasons that administrators close down these [programs] is just because it’s expensive to maintain, which isn’t really the case when you compare it to other programs like athletics and band and things that need all this equipment,” Foster said.
Beyond impairing his classes, this break-in also takes away Foster’s ability to repair and create, an aspect of his job that he cherishes.
“I’ve had stuff stolen from me before, but I’d say part of it [is that these are] legacy tools,” Foster said. “I like tools, I like to fix stuff, that’s what I do.”
This story was originally published on Talisman on May 15, 2024.