by John Udabe

Per tradition at St. John Bosco, it has been customary for the homecoming court to be composed only of students from St. Joseph’s High School and the Winter Formal Court to be made up of students only from Bosco. Yet due to the unique circumstances of this year, this year’s homecoming court featured students from both Bosco and St. Josephs.

This year’s court was made up of two juniors and three seniors from each school. The king and queen were revealed at Bosco’s senior and homecoming night football game. For St. Joseph’s, senior Allison Gomez was crowned queen, and Bosco’s very own, senior James Pearce was crowned as king.

James was quite surprised first when he was nominated to the court and then later when he was announced as king. And with the signature James-style humour, he made sure to note the mispronunciation of his name at the homecoming game:

“Contrary to popular belief, though, I, James Pearce, was never crowned king. The announcer actually pronounced the name correctly, and James Parce was actually homecoming king. I was just the first person to step forward so they gave me the crown,” he said.

James was also a member of the winter formal court in early 2020 as a Junior.

“Formal court last year was super fun. I got to play my melodica in front of the SJ student body, wear a crown, and wear a cool sash. That’s all you can really ask for,” James said.

For the past four years, James Pearce has been one of the most active members within the Bosco community. His involvement and esteem around campus made him the ideal candidate for this year’s homecoming king.

One of his most prominent roles includes his positions within ASB. He has been a member of ASB for the entirety of his time at Bosco, and now sits on the Executive Board as Vice President. During his time on the Executive Board, as well as other class boards, he has assisted in leading the school by helping plan multiple events and by contributing to discussions to improve student life.

Speaking on his role on ASB, James said, “I wanted to be on [ASB] just to be a greater part of the school community and implement change and make decisions that I thought would benefit the school community.”

If there is one word that describes James, it is consistency. Whether it is consistency on ASB, within the classroom, or with different extracurricular activities, he continually follows through on anything that he starts.

Take tennis, for example. James has been playing tennis for over a decade. When he got to Bosco, he was thrilled to be a part of the tennis team. An early standout on the team, he is now the captain. Each year, he was excited to meet a new group of team members to bond with.

“I really like Bosco tennis because I was able to challenge myself playing against some very competitive teams in the Trinity League while I was still able to teach and mentor the guys on the team, especially as captain this year,” James said.

With the season not yet over, James hopes to finish the year off strong.

James has enjoyed his time at St. John Bosco. He recalls one of his favorite moments.

“My favorite memory at Bosco has been when I drove my friends around one night after a gig. I had bass boosted music bumping in my car as we drove through a crisp winter night and ate Chick-fil-a in my car. There have been many nights like this at Bosco for me, and every one of them has been memorable in their own way.”

For James, moments like these define his Bosco experience. 

“I feel the Bosco brotherhood for me has always been defined by going out to eat after a night of something crazy happening, just sitting down with your best friends soaking in the moment,” said James. 

James is pretty busy outside of Bosco as well. He is the Vice President of a youth advisory council of a community service group known as PKG, which is a nonprofit organization that connects teenagers with meaningful community projects. He specialized in the tech committee and even helped the nonprofit operate during COVID.

“I’ve seen the nonprofit go from a small group of kids and expand to where we now have different groups where we contribute to different parts of the nonprofit as a whole,” James said.

Along with this impressive community service, James also has been teaching piano to kids over the past two years.

“It’s really meaningful for me to see them get inspired in piano and music in the same way that I did when I first started taking piano lessons. I hope not just to teach them piano, but give them a skill they can take throughout the rest of their lives,” said James.

In his free time, James stays busy practicing piano, watching YouTube or Twitch, or playing video games. He has recently started sketching a little, and said he has gotten a little bit better. From the looks of it, James pretty much does everything.

James has a bright future ahead of him. He plans on attending UC Berkeley and will study computer science and music. He is looking forward to his future in college and his career afterwards.

“Ultimately, I hope to just not have to worry about money in the future and be able to live freely and artistically,” James said.

James Pearce is a well respected and highly admired member of the community. His fun personality is cherished by everyone who knows him, and he has gone above and beyond in everything he has done. He has left a long lasting legacy while at Bosco, and he was a perfect fit as the 2021 homecoming king. 

by Omar Cerezo

After a long first semester online, Bosco prepares to welcome the class of 2024 for the first time in the classroom.

Every upperclassmen at Bosco can remember their first experience spending time talking with friends, playing sports, being in clubs and spending time in the oratory as a Freshman. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the class of 2024 has yet to make any of those memories a reality.

After a successful reopening, Bosco has done an outstanding job in trying to get students to fully enjoy the end of their school year on campus. Primarily for freshmen, the opportunity to come back to campus with Bosco’s successful reopening plan has allowed them to experience everything the Bosco brotherhood and student life has to offer.  

Not only was it good for the freshmen who are returning back to campus and experience the excitement of any extracurricular activities they participate in, but it is also great for them to physically interact with their teachers and counselors for some extra help and guidance, while at the same time giving teachers and counselors time to interact and get to know the class before they enter their Sophomore year.

Lead Counselor Ms. Alyssa Skipper recognizes the hardships that the freshmen class will encounter as they transition into a new environment, however, Ms. Skipper hopes that the challenges the current freshmen class faces will prepare them for future adventures.

“On top of how tough these times have been, it will continue to build each and everyone one of your abilities to overcome things when hard things are thrown your way,” said Ms. Skipper

Still, while working in a hybrid learning system, as physical and online learning options are available for all students, many teachers feel the weight of preparing a new generation of Braves in what is an unusual situation. Freshman English Honors teacher Michelle Tracy has explained that this past school year, people have felt better and safer at home, where there isn’t that challenge of following these new imputed guidelines and being at risk at school.

“Paying attention to online and physical learning group is one of the things I’m currently working out right now. It’s hard trying to balance it so you’re paying enough attention to both groups,” said Mrs. Tracy.

Despite the difficulties that online learning and the quarter system has brought to the Bosco community, everyone feels happy to see people back in the classroom. Freshman Algebra 1 and Geometry Honors teacher, Edna Ramirez, feels thrilled to have students back in the classroom and have an experience close to what a “normal” semester would have felt like.

“I was definitely excited to be able to work with some of the students in person. It was joyful when they returned into the classroom and the students were also eager to have some interaction,” said Ms. Ramirez.

The strengths Mrs. Ramirez had from her students, especially with the online learning and the quarter system, provided her with the opportunity to have a smaller number of students in each period, which allowed her to meet with each student more on a one-on-one basis as well as hold conferences with parents and email updates of the progress of their sons.

Freshman student Joshua Pasillas said he expected his freshman year at Bosco to be a huge change and expected to have good communication with others.

“It was kind of hard since we’re on ZOOM and it’s going to be kind of weird knowing you’re not spending time during lunch speaking with each other,” Joshua said.

In a way, Joshua was feeling the Bosco Brotherhood through the breakout rooms on ZOOM with his classmates and friends where they can have some talking time with each other. He also explains that getting involved in groups, clubs, sports and school programs was a challenge for him, especially since that is the type of engagement you have to be physically present on campus for to fully enjoy and experience.

Freshman student David Martinez also considered his freshman year at Bosco to be weird because he is used to being in person at school than having classes online, but he is glad that he has returned back on the Bosco campus. 

“It’s definitely been a little bit of a struggle keeping myself focused and stop being distracted,” said David.

At-home distractions were a challenge for David throughout his freshman year at Bosco. David actually thought that the online learning at Bosco was pretty good. For some classes, though, he preferred in-person learning rather than online so it can make it easier for him to understand the materials. David has felt his Bosco Brotherhood mainly through his baseball practices after school with his teammates and coaches. He also includes that returning back to school actually made it easier for him to stay focused and turn in work then online school.   

While the transition from middle school to high school may be rough, the class of 2024 has done a great job trying to stay afloat in what has been one of the most unusual years of human history. But their years at Bosco are not set in stone, and they will encounter different experiences and challenges in the following years, gaining incredible memories and overcoming tough obstacles along the way, appropriate for a place such as Bosco.

by Pedro Ochoa

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life gives you sudden changes that call for certain measures, you have to reassign responsibilities. A Bosco veteran, the well respected Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt, will be stepping into a new role for the rest of the 2020-2021 academic school year. 

Bosco has been through so many obstacles this past year in regards with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Mrs. Hunt has risen to the challenge and has now settled in as the first ever Dean of Academics. The administration team formed a new position in Dean of Academics to collaborate with the Vice Principal of Academic Affairs, Mr. Edgar Salmingo. 

“My goal as Dean of Academics is to make the teachers happy. Whenever the teachers show their love and affection for the subject, the students tend to love the subject even more,” said Mrs. Hunt.

St. John Bosco High School welcomes everyone with open arms. Bosco’s community setting is unmatched, as teachers and staff choose to serve the school for many years. Mrs. Hunt is a prime example of this. 

Mrs. Hunt was referred to work at Bosco by Ms. Norma Aguilera, a Spanish teacher at St. John Bosco. Mrs. Hunt has had a handful of roles at Bosco, ranging from class moderator, to Spanish teacher, to Dean of Students and now to Dean of Academics. Mrs. Hunt has always had the willingness to help out wherever the school needs her. She was even once the Assistant Principal of Student Affairs because she was called to do it. It is challenging to take a new position, especially in these precarious times. Mrs. Hunt’s willingness and dedication to help the school is an example of why she is a true Salesian.

“If there is anything that this past year has taught us, it is that there are going to be many obstacles that come at us in life, and we need to learn how to be ready and be able to maneuver those obstacles to keep going on with our lives,” said Mrs. Hunt. 

She took this new step in her career because she is always open to help the school. She believes in the Salesian mission, and wants to continue to help the school be the best it can be. Even through the challenges of the pandemic, teachers stepped up to the challenge and Mrs. Hunt wants to continue to support teachers and continue to help them grow so they can be the best they can be for the students.   

“I think she took this position because she wanted to show us students that we need to be open to trying new things. She is trying to inspire us to find our courage within. I want to congratulate her and thank her for what she is doing for the school,” said senior Alfred Munoz

Mrs. Hunt has built connections with many students at Bosco, whether teaching them in her class, being on her class board or disciplining them in her office after breaking the rules. She has worked with students in so many capacities. The transition from Dean of Students to Dean of Academics means that Mrs. Hunt will still advocate for students and teachers to try to promote the conduct of the “Bosco Man,” but this time on the academic level. 

Mrs. Hunt’s main goal as Dean of Academics is to try to help the learning experience of students by supporting and working with the teachers. It has been noticed in the past that when the teachers are happy, the students are happy. She wants to try to find ways to make learning and teaching fun everyday so that Bosco’s young men are excited to arrive on campus for a great learning experience.