By Bill Husfelt, Superintendent, Bay District Schools
It’s hard to believe that we’re half way through the school year but here we are!
Almost as soon as we’ve put away Christmas and wrapped our heads around 2022, it’s time to start planning graduations, senior trips and other wonderful end-of-the-year traditions and rites of passage.
While all of our schools have needs and want the best for their students, I’ve been using this space to focus on the needs of our schools at the beach since that’s the main readership of this magazine, and so I’d like to talk about a few ways you can help the seniors at J.R. Arnold this semester.
First of all, did you know that Arnold recently reopened an old favorite resource called the “C Store”? The C Store is a convenience store on campus BUT one with a twist … none of the amazing items can be purchased with cash or credit, they can only be bought with points awarded for exemplary behavior. The C Store is a HUGE hit with students and we can already see it serving as a wonderful incentive for the kids of behaviors we want to see at school. If you’d like to donate items for the store (think boxes of individually packaged chips, candy bars and drinks etc.) please take your donations to Arnold’s front office any day of the week.
Another way you can help our beach seniors is by contributing to their senior trip. While a senior trip isn’t a requirement, it’s certainly a wonderful and well-earned time for our 12th graders and we’d like as many students as possible to be able to go on this once-in-a-lifetime vacation. If you can sponsor a senior for this trip (or even part of a trip), please reach out to Mrs. Brown at browntc@bay.k12.fl.us or call (850) 767-3733.
Likewise, the school wants to provide shirts as souvenirs for the seniors on the trip and they want to do this at no additional charge to the students. If you can help with a donation, no matter how large or small, please also email Mrs. Brown at browntc@bay.k12.fl.us or call (850) 767-3733.
And finally, Arnold is building its own cadre of volunteers and mentors. Many of our students will be the first in their families to graduate from high school and so they need a little extra help from time to time as they navigate their post-secondary options like college, the military and other choices. Sometimes the difference between just finishing high school and finishing high school and launching a new career or path to college is literally whether or not the student had a trusted mentor or advisor providing individualized advice. Of course our school staff do all they can to support everyone but we could definitely use the help of some civic-minded community members as well.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming an Arnold Ambassador, you can do so by contacting Kristin Mixon at mixonkm@bay.k12.fl.us or by calling the school. Parents and community members are invited to join this program which is designed to provide encouragement and support for students who need a little extra help.
Thank you, in advance, for all that you continue to do to support all of our schools. We appreciate your continued partnership, and your trust, and we look forward to a fantastic 2022.
