During winter break of the 2023 school year, Bonita Vista High (BVH) staff members joined efforts to create three new wooden benches to be placed outside of classrooms around campus. 

Several BVH staff members including 5-6, Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish teacher and Beautification Club advisor Maria De La Cruz contributed in the process to building the benches. De La Cruz shares her excitement of the meaning behind the benches for the BVH community.

“[The benches are] really for the students because we feel that they deserve so much more. They [the benches] are only the beginning [of beautifying Bonita],” De La Cruz said.

AP U.S. History and AP Art History teacher James Goodwin worked to build the benches himself and explained that they will serve students the opportunity to take a personal moment during class and sit down if needed. 

“I wanted to give some of my students an opportunity to sit, take time out. Some days kids are having anxiety and they need to step outside. There’s very little seating on campus and I thought it would be a great opportunity to provide a resource to students,” Goodwin said.

De La Cruz expresses the subtle liveliness the benches add to classrooms as well. She adds that she hopes these benches can be used for something greater, possibly as a future project revolving around dedication and appreciation.

“In the future, I would love to do a legacy project where community members or parents could honor someone who has passed,” De La Cruz said. “Maybe the school could honor a staff member who has passed and they could contribute to the cost of the benches.”

The idea for the benches themselves brewed within the Beautification Club. Beautification Club secretary and senior Patrick Piazza comments on the process to which Beatification club members took in coming up with a plan for the benches.

“We based [the project] off of Mr. Goodwin. He already had benches outside his class,” Piazza said. “[Members] were talking about [how] we could have Mr. Goodwin design more benches for us because we liked the ones [near Room 310].”

After securing the plan for the benches, Goodwin got right to work during winter break to complete them in time for students’ return. Prior to this project, Goodwin had built seven other benches that have already become a part of BVH’s atmosphere. He explains the list of multiple materials he had to purchase, including wood, various power tools and screws within the budget to which Romero had set for him.

“Each bench material cost about 150 dollars. The first seven I did for free, not worrying about the cost,” Goodwin said. “Each [bench] is about eight hours of work and I spread it out over the days.”

Despite the bench’s minimal time on campus the benches have already received positive feedback from students. According to De la Cruz and Piazza, the benches have been deemed to beautify BVH.

“We’ve been receiving a lot of positive compliments from [students]. We’re not done with them yet because they still have to be stained and we still have to put dirt in them for the plants. So far they have been quite an asset on this campus; they’re beautiful and they also give kids a chance to sit and rest,” De La Cruz said.

Similarly, Beautification Club’s main goal is to add more life to a neutral environment. As part of the Beautification Club, Piazza explains how he wishes to see more ways the club can make a difference in the appearance of Bonita’s campus.

“We wanted to see some form of impact at our school because a lot of our school is very monochrome and bland, so we thought these benches could [give] people more places to sit,” Piazza said. “These benches are like a breath of fresh air.”

Following their debut after winter break, the benches have already been put to good use during nutrition break and lunch time. De La Cruz shares her pride regarding the impact that the benches have already had on the school and the students.

“They’re not even done and students are sitting on them; that makes me happy. Students have walked by and they feel privileged. My students feel privileged to have one in front of their classroom,” De La Cruz said.