By the time this message reaches you, the 2017-2018 school year will be less than three weeks from its conclusion, and we will be preparing to say goodbye to the members of the Bethel Park High School Class of 2018, who will graduate on Saturday, June 2.
It seems like it was only a couple of months ago that I was writing a message for this publication to welcome everybody back to the new school year. Albert Einstein said, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” but I would like to amend the quote to read something like, “Time flies when students are having a great year,” and Bethel Park students had a terrific year of achievements in the classrooms, on the athletic fields and on the stage, which is why this school year passed by so quickly.
And even though the year is not quite over, I am proud to reflect back on the wonderful things that were accomplished in our schools by our students.
In the classrooms, our teachers continue to challenge our students to learn and deepen their understanding of what they are learning by looking at things in new and challenging ways. A great example of this is included in this issue of Chronicles, where second grade students at Memorial Elementary School are developing what we call a “growth mindset,” and doing it in a fun way, through the study of various fairy tales.
We’re also proud of the way our students competed at interscholastic academic events, such as the Science Olympiad, the Allegheny Mock Trial Competition and the Three Rivers German Day Competition, to name a few. I won’t spoil the stories for you by telling you how well the students did in these events, but I encourage you to read about them—and many others like them--in this issue.
It is a priority of mine to attend as many after school and evening events as possible, whether they be athletic, academic or artistic. I continue to be impressed with how our student athletes compete and represent Bethel Park. Several of our winter sports teams and individual athletes made deep runs into WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, and we are especially proud of their accomplishments. I also wish our spring sports teams continued success as they wrap up their seasons.
Among the many highlights of this school year for me were the spring musicals at Independence Middle School and Bethel Park High School. I could not be prouder of these two showcase events that really highlight the talents of our students, not only to our families and community members, but also to those from outside our community who make it a point to annually attend these two events because they know it will be an evening well-spent. If you have never seen an IMS or BPHS production, you owe it to yourself to attend next year. Everyone associated with these productions can be proud.
Even though the 2017-2018 school year is not over, planning has been going on for months in anticipation for the 2018-2019 school year. Not only have we conducted Kindergarten Registration to gauge enrollment for the upcoming school year, we are also putting the final touches on the 2018-2019 budget and establishing goals for the new school year.
The summer will go by even more quickly than the school year, and we will be working diligently over the summer to make sure that we will be ready to welcome our students back to school in August.
On behalf of everyone in the Bethel Park School District, I would like to close this message by extending our congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2018 and to wish everyone a safe, healthy and restful summer.
It continues to be our honor to serve you and your children.
This message appeared in the May 2018 issue of The Bethel Park Chronicles.