The Burlingame B

05/31/2025

05/28/2025

Senior Nico Bennett has had a long-time passion for theater, beginning at a young age with strong influences from his parents, who were musical theater majors in college. Since his freshman year, Bennett has performed in seven productions as part of Burlingame’s theater program.

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(Reporting: A. Zarahn, Photos courtesy of Nico Bennett)

05/23/2025

On Thursday, May 22, selected seniors were honored in the theater during the annual senior awards ceremony. Students were recognized with awards and scholarships for their academic, athletic, and extracurricular achievements throughout high school.

Among the seniors recognized were Jeannine Chiang, who received the Daughters of the American Revolution award, and Anya Ardito and Christian Kleinekorte, recipients of the Pete Torrey Memorial Scholarship. Others were honored as valedictorians or recognized for their community service.
(Photos and reporting: K. Shah)

05/22/2025

Students arriving at school Thursday morning were met with a surprising sight: toilet paper draped across trees, bushes, buildings, and scattered throughout the entire campus. A group of students from the senior class initiated the incident as part of an alleged annual “senior prank” performed the night before.

Counseling Department Chair Luis Mashek sent an email to 12th-grade students and their families this morning condemning the incident. In the email, Mashek said that faculty will not sign senior check-out forms — a graduation requirement due Friday, May 23 — until the toilet paper is cleaned up.

“Please do not expect the maintenance staff and faculty to clean up your mess,” Mashek wrote in the email, “This shows a sense of entitlement and disrespect that most of you don’t go through your life with.”

According to Principal Jen Fong, security footage was active at the time of the incident, and the administration will use it to identify involved students.

“We will absolutely use all means possible, including surveillance footage,” Fong said.

Fong said that she has the ability to suspend students from participating in the graduation ceremony — but she could also issue disciplinary action beyond school walls. 

“Anything that causes damage to the school, I mean, this is vandalism. It’s a crime. I could prosecute everyone that did it criminally, not just as a school consequence,” Fong said.

Per Fong’s instruction, seniors during their first period class were required to clean up the toilet paper, regardless of their involvement in the incident. 

In a follow-up email regarding the “senior prank,” Mashek wrote. “This is a good lesson for the graduates. Sometimes, people come together to help other people, out of the goodness of their hearts — because that is the RIGHT thing to do.”

Senior Jayden Wan, who helped clean up the toilet paper on the front lawn, said he was proud of the students’ efforts to return the campus to its original state.

“Personally, I’m impressed and also happy to see the community come together for this cleanup. I think it’s a symbol that if we come together, BHS as a community, we can do anything we put our minds to,” Wan said.

05/22/2025

On Wednesday, May 21, students, faculty, and family members gathered in the alumni room for the annual signing day, a ceremony honoring seniors who have committed to playing their sport at the collegiate level.

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(Photos and reporting: A. Zarahn)

05/21/2025

The B entered their work into the Journalism Education Association of Northern California (JEANC) Annual Contest 2025 and the National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA) Best of Show competition. Our newspaper was awarded second place from JEANC and fifth place from NSPA. In addition to these awards, JEANC recognized several of our reporters for their work.

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05/21/2025

For senior and trumpet player Eleanor Points, the music department has always felt “like a second home.” That sense of belonging seemed to echo in the atmosphere of the annual Spring Potluck and Awards event on Monday, May 19. The event celebrated graduating seniors and recognized the department’s achievements with a potluck, a presentation from the Music Boosters, and an awards ceremony for seniors and other students across the five ensembles.

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(Photos and reporting: I. Li)

05/20/2025

The May issue is here. Scroll to see what’s inside.

In today’s paper: school elevators are back in service, teachers retire after years in the classroom, students share words of wisdom, and the class of 2025 looks back on their high school experience.

05/17/2025

After a year’s worth of late nights, countless photos, and hours of editing, the yearbook staff held their annual distribution event on Friday, May 16. After school, dozens of students gathered on the front lawn to receive their books. Senior and editor-in-chief Kelcey Flenniken said organizing the yearbook took careful planning, but the students’ reactions at distribution made the effort worthwhile.

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(Photos and reporting: E. Yu)

05/16/2025

On Thursday, May 15, Advanced Drama put on their annual “Night of One-Acts,” a showcase of multiple short student-directed plays. These plays offered students the chance to hone their writing, directing, and acting skills while demonstrating what they have learned over the past year.

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(Photos and reporting J.Wettan)

05/14/2025

Before their final home game against Woodside High School on Tuesday, May 13, varsity softball celebrated their seniors with flowers, sashes, and gift baskets. The team honored nine departing seniors: Eleni Menicou, Hailey Miller, Naomi Leslie, Giana Johnson, Sienna Fuss, Kelcey Flenniken, Anya Ardito, Amalia Alfers, and Caitlyn Casazza.

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(Photos and reporting: O. Newman)