Welcome!

 

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! I am honored to serve as your principal here at Baker-Butler Elementary School.

Over the past few weeks we have had an amazing start to the school year as we welcomed back more than 60 teachers and staff along with our 623 students. Our teachers and students are working hard every day in their classrooms, and the energy level in the building is high and positive.

As just one example of the excitement we’ve seen in the past few weeks, our annual Bike Rodeo event was a tremendous success. Hundreds of students and their families joined together to ride their bikes, eat delicious food and spend time together at our first community event. We’d like to share a very special thanks to our incredible PTO for their hard work to make this event successful for so many students and their families.

We know that relationships – and in particular the relationships between our students and teachers- are one of the most important components of our school. Strong relationships help develop the incredible sense of community that we experience every day at Baker-Butler.

Recently I had an opportunity to experience that sense of community through the eyes of a new student on the morning of his first day at Baker-Butler. He and I said goodbye to his parents in the office, who were understandably nervous about his new school, and we walked down the hallway to his new classroom. As we talked about his favorite sport (soccer) he began to share that he was nervous about not knowing anyone in his new school. We opened the door to his new classroom and walked in, and he immediately recognized someone he already knew. His friend saw him, jumped up and ran to give him a hug and said “I am so glad you’re here!”  His new teacher put her arm around him, looked him in the eyes, and said “I’m glad you’re here, too. We’re so excited you’re going to be with us. Come, let’s see the seat that your new friends saved for you.” As he walked into his classroom, his friend on one side and his teacher on the other, he forgot about all of his nervousness and he was instead thrilled to be welcomed into his new classroom.

In this moment I saw the power of relationships in building strong communities for all of our students. Every time I have visited that classroom since that day I have seen that particular student smiling and enjoying class with all of his new friends, and every time I am reminded of the power of relationships as a key component of our mission to educate the whole child.

This story is but one example that shows that our school is a special place. As principal of Baker-Butler, I am fortunate to experience moments like this every day.

We are off to a great start, and we are all excited about the coming year. We look forward to working with you and your children in the coming months.

Sincerely,
Steve Saunders

Principal