(BEDFORD) – The first day of school was just the first step in 180 days of this school year and there may be some unexpected events that follow.
However, what is not unexpected is the work that Principal Lucas Calhoun and his staff have put in to make a Bedford Middle Schoolers’ educational experience out of this world.
The day started with the National Anthem played by a student to the crowd of onlookers in the cafeteria.
“I heard him play over the summer, and I told him the first day of school you will have to play for me. He did and is a very talented individual for an eighth-grader and he rocked it out, ” said Calhoun.
The enthusiasm for the new school year started Wednesday afternoon with the staff welcoming students during an open house.
“The students were really wanting to come back to school; it was a long time since they have been in the classroom and they are ready to meet their friends,” Calhoun added.
“One of the things that we want to make sure we are on top of is making sure the students feel comfortable in their learning environment. If not, we want to find out why,” said Jennifer Gratzer, a Science Teacher at BMS.
The teachers have been using professional development and curriculum alignment to make sure the students are prepared, especially in STEM.
“We have worked in groups and will continue to work in a collaborative way to use one another’s ideas that may work in other areas, and work together to identify strengths and weaknesses of the students. We want to identify areas where we can help them sooner and get them academically to where they need to be,” added Gratzer.
“We have established our own goals for our school and the corporation itself has its own goals that they want us to achieve in this academic year,” said Calhoun. “In the end, our goal is to see the students a lot further along than when they first started this school year.”
The transition for Shawswick Middle School students into the new facility went well for the first day.
“Some of the students are already familiar with Principal Calhoun telling the others in the halls that he is a really cool guy. Students from both schools were accommodating to one another,” said Mrs. Gratzer.
There are many things planned throughout the school year to make groups of individuals feel like they are part of the team. Most of all the staff wants them to be proud of the school and say, ‘I came from Bedford Middle School.’
The school is a lot better prepared for a virtual format should that be needed. However, most of the teachers would like to be able to have an in-person learning experience.
Today, the most frequent issue was a student forgetting their locker combination.
“We cannot wait to see what this year becomes for us at Bedford Middle School,” stated Calhoun.
