Category: Student life

Branford Buzz Wins Connecticut Press Award

Staff reports The staff of The Branford Buzz was recognized recently by the Connecticut Press Club for its writing and news coverage of Branford High School’s cell phone restriction policy. The Buzz, and its student journalists, were awarded an honorable mention for a High School News Story as part of the 2022 Connecticut Press Club Awards for the article “Cellphones Silenced at BHS: Classroom Ban

BHS Girls 2023 Spring Sports Preview

By Jake Elpi and Brody Fagan After another successful winter season, we head into the warm weather hoping for a great start to the 2023 spring sports season. Branford High School is wishing luck to the baseball team, boys lacrosse team, track and field team, golf team, and the boys tennis team. For the latest schedule of all the spring teams click here. Let’s dive

BHS Musical Comes Back Stronger Than Ever after COVID

By Elliot Urbina and Matt Cabahug This year’s BHS musical, School Of Rock, turned out to be a huge success with a 50% increase in crowds for this year’s show compared to the last few years, organizers said. Teacher Lauren Farrell, the musical’s ticket director, said that people missed live theater and that “the last few years were impacted by COVID.” She thinks that because

Paws For A Cause Brings Smiles to BHS Students

By Angie Cox and Gabby Darling  To give students at Branford High School additional support and a break from the stress of school, Officer Rich Simons recently brought his dog, Heidi, an emotional support dog, to the school as part of the Paws With A Cause program. Simons and Heidi have done this program with area schools since 2020, and have started paying frequent visits

Students Face New Attendance Check In

By Gianna Piscitelli and Adrianna Barretta  Branford High School has recently implemented a new attendance check-in at the front office which has caught the attention of tardy students who now have to scan a student identification barcode to enter the building. The new scanner system was implemented a few weeks ago. This new process of checking in with attendance when coming in late to school

BHS Starts Bathroom Pass Policy to Reduce Student ‘Roaming’

By Scout Engstrom and Paige Johnson Branford High School implemented a new bathroom/hall pass policy this month to minimize roaming and congregating in the halls and bathroom. However, this has caused some controversy among students and teachers.  Principal Lee Panagoulias said it was not solely up to him to decide to implement the hall pass system, but it came from the BHS leadership team, which

Career and Pathways Coordinator Tina Valaourus' job is to help students find their path after graduation.

Valaourus Helps Students with Post-Secondary Plans in New Role

By Taylor Tracy From owning four kickboxing gyms to heading Branford High School’s career and pathways program, Tina Valaouras knows what it takes for students to succeed in their after high school plans, whether it’s jobs, internships, college visits and so much more. Valaouras helps set up college visits as well as career visits through Naviance to help students get a better insight into what they

BHS Alum Discusses Dream Job: ‘One big competition every day’

By Gianna Piscitelli From the small town of Branford to New York City, Branford High graduate Kelly Laske, 29, has lots to share about her journey of becoming the social media manager at Page Six at the NY Post.  Laske talked to the BHS journalism students last week in class to help them better understand the true world of journalism, reporting and social media.  Ever

Bittersweet Goodbye: Gravina’s Last Days at BHS

By Paige Johnson Gary Gravina, a beloved math teacher, spent his last month Branford High School recapping and reminiscing over his time and accomplishments before he said his final goodbye last month.  Gravina has been a pleasurable tribute at BHS for almost 30 years now, being involved in a variety of communities within the school such as horizons, the math department and athletics. He has