May 2023

The S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club of Bluffton announces the winners of its “Service To Humanity” Scholarship Awards, given to graduating seniors of Bluffton High School. Here are the 2023 outstanding $1000 scholarship winners:

The Bluffton Exempted Village Schools 2022-2023 Spring District Newsletter has been arriving in Postal Patron boxes. The schools shared this digital version with the Icon, below, and as a pdf HERE.

~Superintendent News~
Greg Denecker, Superintendent

The school year is quickly coming to a close with the last day on Friday, May 26. We hope all of our students had a positive experience this year.  We congratulate the Class of 2023 and wish them the very best as they leave our high school for the last time as students of BHS.  Commencement ceremonies will take place on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at the Bluffton High School gymnasium starting at 7 P.M.  We believe we have prepared our graduates well to be successful in whatever career path they choose.  Congratulations to our graduates!

In addition, we wish the best to several employees who will be retiring from Bluffton Schools at the conclusion of this school year.  Karen Falk has taught Family Consumer Science classes, formerly known as Home Economics, for the past 25 years in Bluffton; Jodi Braun has worked as a cook in our cafeteria for 32 years; and Mardy Herr has been in our district as a teacher and then our technology coordinator for the past 23 years.  We thank Karen, Jodi, and Mardy for their long-term dedication to our school district and the students they served on a daily basis.  We wish them the very best in retirement. 

May 20-21 is the Bluffton Soccer Clubs tournament for U12 & U15 divisions.

Money raised from this tournament goes to support the entire club (recreation and travel teams) for field maintenance and equipment replacement (nets, balls, goals).

Organizers rely on volunteers to help make the weekend run smoothly. Forgot to sign up? Check out volunteer opportunities on May 19-20-21 HERE.

Bluffton University baseball skipper James Grandey has been named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Beavers to a 3rd place finish in the HCAC. Also recognized by the Heartland Conference were seniors Jaden Jaques (New Palestine, Ind.) and Jake Baumgartner (Toledo/Start) who notched first team honors. Fellow senior Jack Towell (Batavia/West Clermont) collected Second Team All-HCAC recognition while sophomore Justin Maurer (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) earned Honorable Mention acclaim.

The Bluffton University baseball team equaled the 2023 school record of 22 victories. Bluffton finished its Heartland Conference slate with a 14-8 mark, giving the Beavers a school-record .636 winning percentage in HCAC contests. The 14-8 mark sent Bluffton into the HCAC Tournament with a Bluffton-best #3 seed after wrapping up the regular season with a 22-16 mark overall. Coach Grandey pushed his team to a 3rd-place finish despite entering the season tabbed 7th in the coaches' poll! He also notched career victory #300 against Alvernia in Florida on March 7.