Well, Bomber Family...our first week is in the books. And as a Principal, I couldn't be prouder!

On Monday night, our school was packed for the Back-to-School Bash. On Tuesday morning, the doors opened and another school year officially began.

There were schedules to figure out, names to learn, routines to establish, lessons to teach, lunches to serve, buses to run and about a thousand little first-week things happening all at once.

But before we head into the weekend, I asked our staff a different question:

What mattered this week?

Not necessarily the biggest accomplishment.

Not something that would normally make a newsletter.

Just a moment from the week that stuck with them.

I absolutely loved what came back.

Mr. Bell | 5th Grade Art

Fifth graders began their two-year Journey Through Art History by traveling all the way back to the Stone Age. They mashed charcoal, mixed their own paint and applied it to their "cave walls" with brushes made from feathers.

In the middle of the project, one of Mr. Bell's students said:

"I love it when school can be fun."

Mr. Bell said the comment added a little extra validity to a project he already loves.

I'd say that's a pretty good way to begin a journey through art history.

Ms. Raaf | Lunch

During first-grade lunch today, a couple of boys decided Ms. Raaf needed to dance with them.

So she did.

No test score. No award. No lesson objective.

Just a couple of first graders dancing with an adult at school and having a great time.

Joy matters.

Mr. Hannam | Dean

Mr. Hannam's moment happened before we even made it to the first day of school.

It was watching how much fun our students had getting the chance to dunk him at the Back-to-School Bash.

Based on the enthusiasm I witnessed Monday night, I think we can safely say that dunking your Dean apparently matters quite a bit.

As for dunking the principal.... I actually had a great time too! Maybe you'll get me in there next year as well!

Ms. Bowker | ELA

Seventh graders got their hands on Story Cubes this week and were genuinely excited to use them to create their own short stories.

There is something pretty great about seeing kids excited to create.

Creativity matters.

Mrs. DeWitt | School Bus

This one got me.

A preschooler was sitting on the bus feeling nervous when a familiar face climbed aboard.

A friend who had been his preschool classmate last year, and is now in kindergarten, saw him, excitedly said hello, sat down beside him, and the two spent the rest of the ride talking about what they had done over the summer.

Mrs. DeWitt watched the nervousness melt away.

Think about that.

The older student probably had no idea what he had just done.

But for one little kid on one big first-week bus ride, a familiar face made all the difference.

Mr. Hart | First Grade

Mr. Hart watched his first graders take a book about an umbrella and begin connecting its message to something much bigger: how we show kindness to other people.

They're six and seven years old.

And they're already figuring out that how we treat each other matters.

Mrs. Powell | AM Preschool

Sometimes you don't need much explanation.

At the end of the day, her preschoolers told her:

"This was the best day ever!"

For some of our youngest Bombers, these are the very first pages of their Williamsfield story.

What a way to start.

Mr. Lynn | Freshman Class

During our freshman class meeting, Mr. Lynn watched students come together and thoughtfully elect the classmates they believed would best represent them in each office.

Students getting a voice.

Students making decisions.

Students learning what it means to lead and to trust others with leadership.

That matters.

Mrs. Tucker | Kindergarten

Mrs. Tucker introduced her kindergarten centers this week and discovered that her kids were especially excited about...

the writing center!

She's already accumulated quite the collection of drawings.

Something tells me there will be a whole lot more where those came from.

Mrs. Kapraun | Middle School

And then Mrs. Kapraun sent me one that I think says an awful lot about what I want this year to be about.

Ms. Raaf is helping in her science classes this year and made some copies for her.

That's it.

Copies.

Mrs. Kapraun even acknowledged:

"I know that seems small...but such a huge help already this year!"

And I love that she sent it.

Because that's the point.

We can become so busy looking for the big moments that we miss the person who noticed we were overwhelmed and took something off our plate.

The colleague who stepped in without being asked.

The kid who sat beside someone who was nervous.

The teacher who danced at lunch.

The classroom where kids couldn't wait to write.

The little voice that said, "This was the best day ever."

None of those things will show up on a report card.

Most won't make the yearbook.

Some of the people involved probably didn't even realize they had done anything worth mentioning.

But they mattered.

A MOMENT THAT MATTERED TO ME

For me, I don't think I can choose just one this week.

Mine was seeing this place become a school again.

I saw kids waving across the cafeteria when I walked in. I heard laughter coming out of classrooms. I watched teachers welcome nervous kids and old friends find each other again. I saw our staff troubleshoot problems, help one another, laugh together and do the thousand little things it takes to get a school year off the ground.

I've been fortunate enough to watch Williamsfield begin a new school year many times now.

And somehow, it still gets me.

An empty classroom is just a room.

An empty hallway is just a hallway.

Then our people come back.

And it becomes Williamsfield.

That's what I hope this new Friday tradition helps us remember.

There will be big things to celebrate this year. Championships. Concerts. Great test scores. Academic accomplishments. Performances. Graduations. Awards.

We'll celebrate every one of them.

But a school year isn't built only from the days when something big happens.

It's built in moments like these.

A feather dipped in homemade paint.

A dance in the lunchroom.

A seat beside a nervous preschooler.

A stack of copies made for a colleague.

A kindergarten drawing.

A kid discovering that learning can be fun.

Little things? Maybe.

But put enough of them together and they become a childhood.

They become a school year.

They become a school.

And that's why...

WE ARE WILLIAMSFIELD SCHOOLS.

Where Every Day Matters.

Have a great weekend, Bomber Family.

Principal Binder

One School. One Bomber Family.