Burlington High School has many different types of art classes that are available to students. Some are taught by the same teachers, although there are different teachers within the department that specialize in specific classes. 

These classes give kids many options to explore and express themselves in different ways through art. And the teachers have schedules set in place throughout the year for students to get to focus on different parts of each subject. 

Currently, the different classes are all working on specific projects and lessons of their own. Although they do multiple per year, these are the ones that are being worked on right now.

“The Studio Art Honors students are currently focusing on the art element of value.” Ms. Chang, BHS Art teacher, said. “They are creating large charcoal drawings. They first completed a drawing using a constraint of 100 marks and are now creating a new drawing based on the imaginative theme of a Dangerous Garden.”

Ms. Chang does not teach only one class during the year, she actually has multiple other types of art that she teaches for. One of these is an Architecture class.

“The Architecture class is currently studying Western Architecture Styles.” Ms. Chang said. “Students are learning about a variety of styles, time periods, and significant buildings. Their main project is creating a cardboard relief sculpture inspired by the styles they are researching.”

Both of these classes will be working on their projects for around two weeks. Some future projects for the Studio Art students to be expecting are realistic drawings of autumn leaves, which will contain an oversized drawing based on that study. This will be a part of projects focused on observational drawing. The students in Architecture will be creating floor plans, elevations, and designing their dream home in future classes.

“This project helps with their skills in the subject by teaching them architectural history and style recognition.” Ms. Chang said. “They are developing their ability to research and analyze architectural precedents and then apply that knowledge to a three-dimensional design and building project, which are core architectural skills.”

There are many different concepts that are thought about when making art. Part of these art classes is teaching the students about specific skills in the genre of art that they are doing.

“This work helps them master the concept of value, the lightness or darkness of a color, which is crucial for creating form and depth in a two-dimensional artwork. Working large with charcoal also develops their control and expressive use of the medium.” Ms. Chang said. 

Ms. Kazem is another art teacher here at BHS. She teaches studio as well as ceramics. These are two very different art forms and so the projects that they are currently working on usually won’t be focused on the same thing.

“Students are currently working on a studio project exploring the use of lines, values, and contrast to create original artworks.” Ms. Kazem, another BHS art teacher, said. “They’re applying the concepts of positive and negative space, subject and theme, and two-value contrast to design and complete compositions that demonstrate observation, personal expression, and balance.”

There are different parts to learning about art. Sometimes students learn about the actual techniques while other times it is hands-on.

“In Ceramics, students are in the pinch-pot sculpture unit, where they’re creating two pinch pots with a shared theme but unique forms, applying what they’ve learned about subject, theme, and meaning in art.” Ms. Kazem said.

There are many core techniques that students will learn throughout the year. In Ms. Kazem’s classes include, observing like artists, analyzing and discussing artwork, using feedback constructively and applying media-specific techniques. These techniques will help students see deeper into art, rather than just outlines, as well as learning how to refine their work.

“Each studio project typically lasts 2–3 weeks, allowing time for planning, sketching, technique workshops, studio creation, and reflection.” Ms. Chang said. “Ceramics students are currently in week two of their pinch pot sculptures and will transition into surface decoration and glazing techniques next.” 

Once their current projects are done, students in Ms. Kazem’s classes can expect to create sculptural projects, work on drawing and design, do collaborative art projects, and complete reflective self-assessments. All of these will broaden their current options of art and allow them to explore different and specific types.

Mr. Ratkevich, another art teacher at BHS, also teaches multiple art subjects. He teaches both graphic design and studio art, so their projects can be very different.

“We are completing a mask using Adobe Illustrator as a way to develop skills with a variety of tools and techniques in the program.” Mr. Ratkevich said, talking about his graphic design class.

In his other classes, studio art, they are working on a project called glass still life. The students are required to draw a still life of glass objects using chalk and charcoal. Mr. Ratkevich said the purpose of this activity is to improve observational drawing skills with increasingly more complex objects. 

“The intent of the Masks in Graphic Design is to learn a variety of tools and techniques using Adobe Illustrator, which is the primary program we use throughout the course and an industry standard for professional graphic designers.” Mr. Ratkevich said. “In Studio Art Honors and AP Studio Art, we are focusing on skill building in observational/representational drawing and painting, taking on more difficult and complex subjects and challenges. We are working towards more and more realism, which takes practice.”

While these are the skills students are currently learning, there are many others that they will go over throughout the year within their classes. These consist of design and composition, observational skills, craftsmanship, and creative thinking. Students will learn about these things in future projects that they do.

“Studio Art Honors III and AP Studio Art are both focused on still life drawing and painting this semester. We will then be moving onto figure drawing, drawing people is important in most narrative artwork - to tell stories, then exploring different materials and techniques and being more experimental and personal in our subject matter and approach.”

November 1st is quickly approaching. November 1st marks the first deadline for a number of early action college applications. Burlington High School students rush to get their final applications submitted in the next couple of days. 

The common application is the main resource students use to apply to college. Direct applications are offered on some college websites also which have the same deadline. In order to apply for “Early Action” students full applications must be submitted by November 1st. 

Early action applications are an opportunity for students to submit applications sooner and to get an acceptance letter earlier. As the deadlines are quickly approaching, students are working on various essays for each college.

”I’m a bit behind on my applications. The common makes it easy to see what I need to do. But there are a lot of steps I need to complete like my essay, supplemental, and my SAT” Stephanie Choi, a BHS 2026 Senior, said.

Each college has a different essay question students are required to answer. Along with the application, all of the essays must be submitted by November 1. Some students say they are behind others are ahead and have already submitted to all of their colleges.

For many students, the Common App has been easy to navigate. The Common App has many students on track and updated with their deadlines for every school. This has made the application process simple for students. However, some colleges do only take direct admissions

Burlington High School ends the first term on October 31st, Halloween. Common applications are due the next day. Students are struggling to balance the ending of the term and college apps. 

”I’m stressed because it's also the end of term and teachers are piling on work. Also balancing extracurricular activities and sports makes submitting applications by November 1st much more difficult.” Kritika Agrawala, a 2026 BHS Senior, said.

The end of the term is often when teachers begin to send out assignments to students to put in last minute grades. Between college applications and high school grades, BHS seniors are stressed. 

Balancing extracurricular activities, jobs, college applications, and school work is a challenge for many students. However if students can’t make the first deadline, there are other applications offered. 

“Preparing for college is extremely stressful on top of school work because I also have a lot of extracurricular activities and a job so juggling the college applications on top of all of that is a lot.” Ashley Tracy, a BHS Senior, said.

The workload balance with college is a struggle for many current seniors. Many feel overwhelmed and stressed with college applications with the first approaching deadline.

Despite the stress, students are working hard to submit their applications before November 1st. Their determination reflects not only their ambition for the future, but the dedication that will carry them through the challenges ahead.

This year for my JII project I chose to interview the captains listed for the fall sports teams. The goal of my article is to gather information and help share the differences some teams are going through while others may have different perspectives. We are able to tell and provide feedback from first hand experiences from players all across these sports teams.

Question 1: How do you feel your team is performing compared to others? 

Football: I think we've performed very well as we're undefeated, but we still have two games left. So it's kind of hard to tell without the season being over.

Girls volleyball: I think we're doing pretty good on our half of the league, we’re like, number one or two I think. We’re number two right now. So let's see we're doing pretty well compared to the original. 
We've won a good amount of games

Girls soccer: I think we are performing well. We finished 3rd in the league and qualified for the playoffs. We are performing well this season and I think that we are definitely a top team in the freedom division. 

Boys soccer: We definitely didn't do as well as last year, but that's because of all the seniors we lost. We lost around, 
I want to say 12, 13, which was definitely most of our Starting lineup, which definitely affected us. But we did better than my sophomore year, we didn't win any games. 
So definitely an improvement from there. And we have a lot of freshmen. It was a really developing season for all the younger kids. 
So it's nice to see them grow.

Question 2: Is there anything specific that you feel that your team struggles with?

Football: I think sometimes our, like, attitude, we get a little complacent, and sometimes show up to practice with no energy, even though we need to bring it every day.

Girls volleyball: I think maybe skill wise sometimes we struggle with, like, offense, but like, off the court, like, our, like, bond is good, our, like, connections are good.. I’d say our defense is really good. 
So if anything, I'd say we struggle a little bit on defense, but still, we're improving a lot, like compared to the beginning of the year, we've gotten a lot better. 

Girls soccer: One of our struggles would be consistency. We play really good some games and not as good in others.

Boys soccer: I think just age. 
Like most of the kids we started were freshmen, they're all pretty small, no offense to them. But definitely just maturity. There'd be situations where we’d be up, and we didn't have the, like, mental strength to keep the lead throughout games, which ended up handing us a few losses. 
So I definitely just think experience is the most necessary factor.

Question 3: Is there any area of improvement you feel your team needs?

Football:  Pretty much what I just said. I think our attitude and effort. We're usually always, like, happy in a good mood, but sometimes we need to come with more energy towards, like, football.

Girls volleyball: I'd say, like, considering the offense, I think, like, there's never a time where you, like, can be like, too good at it. 
So I think we can, like, continue working on our offense mostly.

Boys soccer: Not anything specific, just, like, get older. 
Definitely get more people into the program. We've done a good job of that over the last few years. So definitely just getting more touches on the ball, playing more games, maybe summer league, something like that for those kids, but just playing more.

Question 4: How has being a captain changed how you view leadership?

Football:It just brings a whole new perspective to, like, the leadership role. I'm paying attention to more of the things coaches say and sort of making sure that I'm good, but also everyone else on my team is doing well.

Girls volleyball: Oh, it changed my view that, like, it's a lot of, like, taking initiative it's not like you're always, like, given what you need to do. Like sometimes you have to think of what you need to do. 
And, like, it's a lot of just, like, taking initiative and being the one that steps up and it's not always, like, obvious we have to do, but just, like, figuring out what we have to do to be a leader and help the team the best you can. 

Girls soccer: I understand how difficult it is and the tasks that come with it. There are many things that I have to do that might not be seen by anyone. I not only have to be a leader on the field but also off the field. 

Boys soccer: We ran captain's practices throughout the summer. It was, like, five times a week at 8 a.m. It was definitely tough getting up and then having to teach a bunch of 14 year olds how to play soccer at, like, a high school-like mindset, but I definitely felt like it made me grow in terms of leadership capability and handling, like, pressure when a bunch of people are depending on you. 
So I feel like it was very important. 

Question 5: How has or has there been any preparation for the postseason so far?

Football: I think we still need to get through our next 2 games, but obviously the playoffs is the best part, but we just can't look too forward into it.

Girls volleyball: It's, like, fine, well, for preparation, like, it's just, like a lot of, like, what we're doing right now. 
Like, it's just, like, not stopping and giving ourselves, like, almost, like, a big break. It'll happen a lot more once, like, like our regular season is over and we like know who we're playing, because then you can like prepare a lot more, but like, at the moment is just doing the same thing you do every day and just  working like one thing at a time and just pushing on.

Girls soccer: So far we are working on staying in shape and continuing to play at a high level. We want to be our best for playoffs so playing as much as possible is our goal. 

Boys soccer: We didn't make the postseason, unfortunately, but definitely the younger kids were thinking of a winter league, so just preparing for next season. 
And maybe the future captains may have some stuff set up for next summer, but definitely just preparing for the next season.

These responses really help the reader understand what each team has had to go through to get to the highest potential achievable. First hand sources show many ups and downs teams face that fans can’t see. If it wasn’t for captains on sports teams as well, there may not be many more championships coming towards Burlington’s way. Every sport answered the question about being a captain almost the same every time with just wanting to provide good leadership for their team’s best ability.