By: William “Buzz” Lance, Head of School
I had a great summer working with our teachers and staff. I also went on vacation and got rejuvenated. Now, I’m ready and excited for what 2021-22 has in store for South Baldwin Christian Academy (SBCA).
Here’s what every family needs to know about the upcoming school year:
We’ve Upgraded Our Campus
It’s been a pleasure seeing new and returning faces on campus during the registration period. (If you haven’t registered yet, reach out to the office ASAP.) A few upgrades you may have noticed:
- We installed lights in the parking lot. This will be a welcome improvement for our evening athletics and other events, especially when the sun starts setting earlier.
- We added storage areas in the gymnatorium. The storage is going to make our gym and campus more organized and beautiful.
- We made classroom upgrades, including a remodeled kindergarten classroom.
Not only that, but I’m happy to say that it looks like Operation: New Playground will finish ahead of schedule! We expected the project to be completed mid-September, but the old playground has been removed and we’re already installing the new equipment.
We’ve Grown
At the end of the spring last school year, we had 141 students enrolled. This year, we’ve seen an impressive 28% student body growth, and we’re elated to welcome 40 students and about 25 new families to our academy.
Monday, August 9, is an important night for our school community: It’s New Parent Orientation and Meet the Teacher Night. New Parent Orientation begins in the gymnatorium at 6 p.m. with Meet the Teacher beginning at 7 p.m. Meet the Teacher will also be available for preschool families on Aug. 9 as a come-and-go event from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
We encourage everyone to attend this event and ask that returning families really help the new families and students feel welcome.
We’ve added some fantastic new teachers, too. Learn more about them and all of our staff on the “Meet Our Team” webpage.
We also have a new student management system, “Blackbaud.” This will replace “Sycamore,” and enable us to better serve our families. Thank you to everyone for your patience and grace as we learn this new operating system. If you have questions about onboarding or using Blackbaud, reach out to the school, and we can point you in the right direction.
We Want Parents to Be Involved
Parent involvement earned one of the year’s biggest success stories: $35,000 raised for a better, safer, more engaging playground for our students, and we want to keep the momentum of parent involvement growing.
The Parent-Teacher Fellowship (PTF) and the Booster Club are the two best and simplest ways to jump in. The first meeting of the Booster Club is August 19th at 2:15 p.m. in the courtyard and the first PTF will also be in the courtyard at 5:30 p.m. on August 26th.
Parent and family involvement is one of our highest focuses. We’re looking to a great school year where parents can not only be involved, but also be on campus.
We Have an Amazing Year Planned
We’re anticipating an incredible year at SBCA. Check out our current year-at-a-glance calendar and keep checking the school calendar on our website for more events and info.
Exciting things are happening in our academics, athletics, arts, chapel, and other programs, so keep an eye out for news and updates in that regard.
As always, I’m monitoring what’s happening with Covid-19 in our region. I’ll make adjustments for us if things change, but as things stand right now, we don’t anticipate any disruptions to our school year.
Go Knights! I’ll see you on campus!
