FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bishop Union High School Senior Grabs Third Win in a Row in Local Trig-Star Competition BISHOP — On Wednesday, April 23, a collection of students from Bishop Union High School (BUHS) took part in the annual Trig-Star competition. They were tested on their knowledge of the practical application of trigonometry, a branch of mathematics that is instrumental to the field of professional land surveying. The students of Diedre Buchholz’s math class had one hour to complete the test, and when the scores were tallied, the top four students finished with an average score of 89.2, including one perfect score of 100. Alyssa Buchholz, senior, achieved the perfect score of 100 and needed only 15 minutes and 57 seconds to do it. This was her third win in a row for Bishop Union, a first for the school, and she collected the $175 prize. Buchholz is the daughter of math teacher Diedre Buchholz. The rest of the top four finished as follows: Teagan Orr, junior, 30 minutes and nine seconds, $90 prize Faye Spoonhunter, sophomore, 34 minutes and 52 seconds, $50 prize Oscar Woods, sophomore, 57 minutes and 56 seconds, $35 prize
The Trig-Star competition tests the students’ abilities to apply math to real-world situations and heightens the awareness of land surveying as a profession. Land surveying is the art and science of locating or determining (by measurement) the shape or size of any portion of the earth’s surface and representing these surveys on maps. The Trig-Star competition is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors, the California Land Surveyors Association, and Caltrans. In March of this year, Caltrans District 9 Senior Transportation Surveyor Sereyna Cagle gave a presentation introducing the land surveying profession and Trig-Star competition to a BUHS math class led by Diedre Buchholz. Funding for the local competition came from the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) and the BUHS Mathletes. The CTF donated $175 for the competition, a figure that was matched by the Mathletes. For those with sensory disabilities requiring alternate formats (i.e. Braille, large print, sign language interpreter, etc.) and those needing information in a language other than English, please contact Angela Bates at 760-881-7145 or TTY 711. | 
