![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
![Junior Mia Milicevic practices her forehand at tennis practice with the WJ girls tennis team. “Sometimes I don’t like [tennis] because you’re alone but most of the time, I do like it for that reason because it really is just you out there. I do experience being part of a team at WJ but in tournaments and when I’m playing outside of school, I like that rush when I win a point because I did it all by myself, Milicevic said. (Courtesy Mia Milicevic)](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/c54807e1-6ab6-4b0b-9c65-bfa256bc7587.jpg)
![The Jaguar student section sits down while the girls basketball team plays in the Great Eight game at the Denver Coliseum against Valor Christian High School Feb. 29. Many students who participated in the boys basketball student section prior to the girls basketball game left before half-time. I think it [the student section] plays a huge role because we actually had a decent crowd at a ranch game. I think that was the only time we had like a student section. And the energy was just awesome, varsity pointing and shooting guard Brooke Harding ‘25 said. I dont expect much from them [the Golden Boys] at all. But the fact that they left at the Elite Eight game when they were already there is honestly mind blowing to me.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7517-e1716250578550-900x1200.jpeg)
![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-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.”
A lot of useful tools have been taken: drills, Bosch impacts, these big snap-on tool chests that alone were worth thousands of dollars, …[it’s] a bunch of stuff that we use in class everyday, it really sucks.
— sophomore Henry Howisey
“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.
