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Beaverton Schools

History

Bonny Slope Excellence:  Ten Years in the Making


As we work toward building BSCO’s future achievements, take a walk down memory lane to remember the last decade’s milestones that have shaped our school’s success today.

Bonny Slope was the 32nd elementary school built in the Beaverton School District.  Over 100 names were suggested through the public comment process included Tom Hartung School, Odus Bales Elementary, and McDaniel Elementary. Ultimately, the school board chose Bonny Slope based on its ties to the history and geographic region.  

An Inaugural Year (2008) 
BSE opened its doors in 2008 with 449 students and was available for open enrollment (the process in which limited schools are open to enrollment to students outside of their boundaries).  Kim Haskins was BSE’s first principal, moving from her principal position at McKinley Elementary.

Haskins, Bonny Slope staff, and the motivated parents of the Bonny Slope Community Organization quickly began laying the groundwork for many enduring BSE traditions that have lasted all ten years, including the Jog-a-thon (then held in May), Bobcat Trail Club, Geography Club (began as Passport Club), Artist in Residence, Monster Mash (previously called Harvest Fest) and Carnival.

Community Growth (2009-2011)
As Bonny Slope brushed off the dust from its inaugural year, the parent community rolled up its sleeve to continue expanding school programs.  Parents jumped in to build and organize BSE’s Community Garden, creating a mission statement and organizing logistics.

Additional events were added to the BSCO lineup, including Art Fair, Pancake Breakfast, Kids Care Club, the Earth Sustainability Team, and subsidizing Outdoor School.  BSCO also purchased $6000 worth of xylophones for Bonny Slope’s music program.

In 2010, Bonny Slope received IB authorization, at that time only one of three schools in Oregon with the Primary Years Programme and the only public school.  Since then, many more schools in Beaverton are now in some stage of IB authorization.

In the spring of 2012, BSCO organized its first silent auction, which was held during Carnival, and raised over $12,000 for new technology in the classroom.  That same spring, the Jog-a-thon team introduced an online donation platform-- doubling their previous totals.

New Responsibilities & New Faces (2012-2014) 
The 2012-13 school year held deep and impactful budget cuts throughout Beaverton School District.  BSE lost several classroom teachers and its librarian as the district reshuffled hundreds of teachers.  BSCO began to do even more heavy lifting when it came to school support by increasing its fiscal contributions of teacher grants, PYP support and most significantly, technology, in order to fill in the gaps. 

2013-14 also saw BSCO reinvent itself in several ways.  BSCO leadership rolled out a brand-new website and joined Facebook.  The Parent Education series began, originally with speakers presenting at BSCO’s monthly meetings.

The first off-site BSCO Soiree & Auction, “Kentucky Derby,” was held in May 2014, which included classroom art, sign-up parties, silent and live auctions.  That spring also saw the community vote to approve the installation of a new playground cover.

The following year, 2014-15, was again a time of change at Bonny Slope, as we welcomed our new principal, Janet Maza.  BSCO leadership switched from monthly meetings to our current three-a-year, and the BSCO Listening Sessions were introduced in April.

Bigger Dreams Become Reality (2015- 2017)
In the summer of 2015, the playground cover was finally installed, nearly 16 months after its funding approval.  This school year had the largest student body at Bonny Slope– 660 students, allowing BSE to be granted its first vice principal. 2015-16 also marked the last year of open enrollment at Bonny Slope.  

Even with the loss of open enrollment, the construction boom within our boundaries has quickly filled in the outgoing, open-enrolled students and our enrollment numbers have steadied since– hovering right around 640 students in the last three years.  

BSCO continued to build upon and improve its infrastructure, moving all files and communications to google drive in order to create one centralized location for all historical information.  BSCO introduced a new logo to better brand their activities and the BSCO instagram was introduced.  

Fall of 2015 introduced another major change to BSCO’s fundraising.  Jog-a-thon, historically held every May, moved to October, with huge success and record-breaking totals every year since.  In spring of 2016, the community approved another major project– the installation of a new gym projector.

In the fall of 2016, BSCO leadership announced its intention to rewrite both the Board Handbook and Bylaws.  After months of revisions and feedback, these new bylaws were approved at the community meeting in May 2017, along with a STEM in Residence program and the latest BSCO project– replacing all classroom projectors.

Celebrating Ourselves (2018)
As we look back on the many different programs and initiatives that have come and gone, one thing remains constant throughout the past ten years.  Everything BSCO has accomplished has been made possible through the enthusiasm, passion, and generosity of our parent and staff community.