BHS Parents Group

Dear BHS Community,

Reminder: Starting May 18, please check the bell schedule for changes. 

We are entering the final month of the school year. It will be frenetic. This is good preparation for future stressful situations, such as: HS AP Exams-College Finals; Transition from HS to College-Transition to working/adulthood; juggling season/year-ending events-managing big milestones in the future. 

Please talk with your children about what is important and what isn’t, so they can make mistakes as young people often do, without excessive stress. For example,

A single grade in a class is just one data point for a college application and doesn’t define you. 

At the Senior Meeting, I told the senior class that as a mom of teenagers, I turn off my Do-Not-Disturb feature on nights like prom, so that my kids can call and wake me up and ask for a ride or assistance, with no questions asked. I’d rather they get home safe than exacerbate a poor situation by trying to hide it from their parent and let’s say get into a vehicle with someone under the influence. 

Invitations to one-time events which compete with each other. Which one do you attend? How do you send regrets to the important event you have to skip? One of the biggest challenges in high school is narrowing down one’s commitments, as high school teams/activities are much more time consuming than youth sports. 

Cheating and other academic integrity violations are never worth it.

We are experiencing an uptick in referrals and poor decision making. I hope that no one misses prom or graduation due to poor decisions. I also hope not to enforce our Academic Integrity policies this May, as it will impact semester grades. Students should not use AI to write their papers, nor sneak in unauthorized materials for exams. It is also very sad for me to see students crying after they get caught. As parents, we may be placing pressure on our children, or it can be self-placed, or peer-pressure. Helping your child normalize their expectations and discuss strategies for handling stress could help them to accept a good outcome on an exam, even if it is not the highest outcome. Good luck Panthers. You can do this in May!

Go Panthers!

Principal Jen Fong

jenfong@smuhsd.org

April 2026

Dear Families,

We hope everyone is settling back into their schedules after what we hope was a relaxing Spring Break. It’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks, we will wrap up the 2025–2026 school year.

Our Seniors are beginning to close out their time at BHS and are gearing up for all the excitement that comes with graduation and the end of this chapter. It’s a special and memorable time for them and their families. Parents cherish these moments as they really do fly by way too quickly.

The BHS Excellence Fund covers $20,000 of graduation costs for stage and sound system rentals, but there are additional expenses that come out of the school's general budget. If you've been thinking about making a contribution to the Excellence Fund, now's a great time — anything you're able to give helps keep more resources in the classroom. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has already given so generously!

Please plan to join us at our next Parents Group meeting on Thursday, May 14th, where we will vote in our new Parent Group Board members and hear updates on new leadership at BHS. Principal Fong has done so much for our community, and we will truly miss her as she heads into retirement. We are grateful that she is helping lead the search for the perfect next principal.

Following the Parent Group meeting, we will host a Senior Panel: “What I Wish I Knew.” We invite parents to join via Zoom to hear directly from our Seniors about their experiences as Panthers and the insights they’ve gained along the way.

Be a true Panther—help us shine and support our school all the way to the finish line!

Warmly,

Ingrid Gauthier, BHS Parents Group President

ingridgauthier@bhsparentsgroup.org