Dear Baldwin Community,
We had a fantastic first week of classes! It was great to see so many smiling faces on the first day and during the entire first week! All of our students looked excited to be starting a new year and our teachers were well-prepared to receive each one of them. It's unbelievable that we are starting our fifth year together at Baldwin. We ended the last school year with many accomplishments and everyone should be very proud of our students' successes. We have about 750 students and are waiting to see if more will join us this week. We still have space in our Pre-K program for more students, so if you know of anyone that has a 4 year old send them our way.
This school year, we will focus on each individual student's academic and social progress. We will continue to implement the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in all content areas so that all of our children are meeting and/or exceeding the standards at each grade level. We will also implement the district's Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum in each of our classrooms. Research indicates that emotional well-being and social competence provide a strong foundation for brain development and emerging cognitive abilities. Students will learn critical life skills such as recognizing and managing emotions, solving problems effectively and establishing positive relationships. During our first week, we focused on being "respectful," which is also the first skill that is emphasized in our R-O-A-R expectations: the first "R" represents respect. I am sure you have seen our ROAR expectations throughout our building and on your child's agenda. Baldwin's ROAR expectations are how we expect every Bobcat to represent themselves: R-respectful, O-outstanding, A-accepting, and R-responsible. You will hear more about our SEL lessons and learning throughout the year. I encourage you to ask your children to share what they are learning in all areas. I bet there will be some skills that you will be able to implement at home too.
We have begun to plan many activities and events for our families. The first two events will be our Back to School Nights, which are scheduled for Sept. 8 and Sept. 11. We want to see all of you on these nights so that you can learn more about our learning goals and expectations for this school year. It is also important for you to attend so that we can hear from you regarding how we can work together to build stronger partnerships to help all of our children learn at high levels. I look forward to seeing all of you at our Back to School Nights.
I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone to review the drop-off and pick-up procedures that have been sent in our weekly ROAR news and are posted on our website. It is important that we all follow the set procedures so that we can keep all of our children safe at all times. If you have a change in pick-up procedures, be sure to inform your child's teacher with enough time so that he/she can have your child in the correct pick up line. We appreciate everyone's efforts in following our procedures and keeping all safe.
Don't forget that this Wednesday is Spirit Night at Craig-O's Pizza and Pastaria. If you go to Craig-O's between 4-10 pm Wednesday, 10% of all proceeds will benefit Baldwin. Also, don't forget to wear purple and gold on Fridays to show your school spirit!
I look forward to another exciting, fun and successful school year! Thank you for being a part of our learning community and for sending us your children every day!