The year was 1956. 13 years before the moon landing. 1956 was the year when Japan joined the UN, the year Sudan became an independent nation, and the year that BPHS started the amazing journey of education. With the school’s first principal, Mr. Richard Spaulding, and an enrollment of only 508 students, this school would begin on its fast-growing track to being an exceptional Californian high school, become the third high school in FJUHSD.

We have a small gold mine of history right here on campus, and every student and staff member has access to it. In our own school library, you can find yearbooks of all past years at BPHS, going all the way back to 1958. Inside, you can find photos of almost every student who ever attended Buena Park. Along with photos and records of the amazing events of the school year such as sports games, Hoco and Prom Kings & Queens, and a bunch of smiling faces experiencing and enjoying the things BPHS has to offer.

The oldest yearbook we have is from 1958, only two after the opening of the school! At this time, the school was still very fresh and you could tell. Such a small enrollment that there were no graduating seniors, the oldest students in the school being Juniors. Some fascinating differences between 1958 and 2024, a position at the school at the time was “Leader of boys vs girls”. This does lead to a question of, if the girl students were treated the same as the boy students on campus. At this time in the US, meny women would receive their high school diplomas, but would not move on to higher education, meny schools limited or not even allowing women to apply. Even up until the late 1990s, higher education schools still had unfair gendered admission policies. Another difference, BP used to have a Wood and Metal Shop class, neither of which exists today. Drivers ED is also no longer a class on campus, but school administration can now help you find driving classes off campus!

As some of the old classes have now disappeared from our rosters, meny of the few electives offered at this time are still around! Agriculture was an elective in 1958, now we have a nationally awarded AG program with meny award-winning FFA students and meny classes dedicated to the different sections of Agriculture, such as Ornamental Horticulture, Floral Design, Soil Chemistry, Veterinary Science, and so much more! Old BP also included Art, Business, Publications (Journalism), Drama, Band, Chorus (Choir), and Speech classes that all still exist today, meny of them have expanded to provide students with a deeper understanding and appreciation of these topics! Not only are there meny surviving electives, but older clubs as well! The three longest surviving clubs that are still around today are Key Club, FFA, &  CSF (CA Scholarship Federation)! 

Now, looking at previous years through a yearbook can be fun, but we wanted to get the inside scoop from the old student’s mouths! Luckily for us, we have multiple Alumni here at BP! 

At BPHS we have a good amount of teacher alumni who have returned to teach here. As we reflect on this school year and look forward to next year, we asked two teacher alumni, Mr. Galindo and Mrs. Gallego, about their experiences here at BPHS and what advice they would give to graduating seniors.

Mr. Galindo was in the class of 2007. He is the current Theatre teacher and is also an English teacher. During his time in high school, he was very involved in theatre production and was part of 10 musicals/plays. His favorite memory of high school was being in his first show, Blood Brothers, and “getting to experience what it’s like to perform on the stage.” Besides

his passion for theatre, he also enjoyed many of the classes that he took while at BP. He enjoyed all of the teachers that he had, and he especially enjoyed learning about History.

After graduating high school, he went to UCLA and majored in History. He started his career with substitute teaching and then went to National University, where he got his teaching credentials in English and History. This finally led to him being hired at BPHS in 2018, to teach Theatre and English, and since then he’s been super involved in the Theatre program at our school, directing the plays and musicals, putting on the productions, and is a teacher favorite to many people at BPHS. His advice to graduating seniors is to “enjoy your youth, have fun making memories, and be safe through it all.”

Mrs. Gallego was in the class of 1992. She is one of our school’s current counselors, helping many students on their high school journey. She was very involved in school, being a part of swimming, cross country, ASB, and CSF. Her favorite high school memory was “hanging out with her friends during practices.”

After high school, she went to UCLA and got a BA in Biology and then transferred to Cal State Long Beach to get her masters in school counseling and her PPS School Counseling credential. After graduating from Cal State Long Beach, she worked at UC Berkeley, a high school in the SF Bay area, and then spent a few years at La Quinta HS in Westminster before she came back to BPHS as a counselor. When we asked her how the school felt different from when she went here, she said that “the facilities are now much nicer but the heart of the school has stayed the same, with the staff caring about the students, people being happy to be at BPHS, and helping to challenge students to help shape their future.” Advice that she would give to graduating seniors “be adventurous and try new things and learn about people and cultures, work hard and serve others, and to overall strive to make the world a better place.”

As the school year comes to a close, one of the hardest parts of the school year stands before us, saying goodbye to our seniors. It’s a sad pain that affects everyone in the school. Seniors may be parting when peers go different directions starting their adult life, saying goodbye to teachers who have supported and inspired over the past 4 years, and the pain felt by younger students, knowing that they will be arriving next year without their closest friend. However, this graduating class has been prepped for success, and they are already making us proud with their hard work getting into amazing schools and winning scholarships. One of these students is Jasper Ellis.

Jasper is a Senior involved in Theater, Choir, JROTC, and CSF. He plans to go to Fullerton College and later transfer to a 4 year. One of the amazing memories he made here at BP “was going to Disneyland for choir!” He has really made his mark on this school with his involvement in JROTC, and his most recent role, as the lead in the final theater play, The Plot Like Gravy, Thickens. He shows his love for the theater program here at BP by saying his favorite teacher is Mr. Gallindo, and his favorite class by far is theater! And, perhaps the most impactful statement we got from him is when we asked him to advise future seniors. He said, “Don’t try to pile on every possible class. Let yourself relax, give yourself a break, and manage your time wisely!” A smart piece of advice. Senior year is what you have been working for, ever since 1st grade! And while you do need to focus on and work toward your future after high school, try your best to savor the moments, as they won’t happen again. 

Looking back, this was a great year at BP. We had an amazing improvement in our football program, with the team increasing their win percentage by 20% from the previous year.

 And at Friday night football, we also had our wonderful cheer, dance, and band entertaining us during halftime!

Speaking of our cheer program, they cheered away the competition by winning their entire division, winning with the most spirit, and the judge’s choice award!

Cheer wasn’t the only team this year that decided to take it all! Our girl’s basketball team had a Perfect Record during their league play, winning all 10 of the 10 games they played! They later made it all the way to the CIF semi-finals!

Another group putting in the work this year was our school’s theater program. This year they put on 3 amazing shows; Alice in Wonderland, Beauty & The Beast, and finally, The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens. Beauty & The Beast was the biggest success of the year having three sold-out shows, and 4 nights of standing ovations!

Being a part of a group on campus can be amazing, but there are so many times we come together as a school and celebrate being coyotes! We had so many fun events this year like International Day, where all of the school comes together to celebrate the culture we see around us every day. And it was most definitely a highlight this year! 

We also had events like Food Fest, where students could get a taste of food they don’t get to eat every day! Food Fest is a great source of smiles and funding for the clubs and organizations that participate.

Overall, we have had an amazing year full of smiles, cheers, and triumphs. BP is only going up. People come to school every day ready to learn, grow, and make memories with friends. And next year, we will have a new generation of Coyotes ready to continue this legacy. BP is truly the place to be. Goodbye and good luck to our graduating seniors and until next year Coyotes, this is Journalism out!