As we entered a new school year, our teachers and staff came back rejuvenated with a sense of focus after our successes last year. Our theme this year is Superheroes, “If Not Us, Then Who?”, and H.O.P.E. Squad (Heroes of Public Education), following last year’s theme of Going for Gold as Team BUHSD. Our Professional Development activities in August followed suit and our #hopesquad worked hard on aligning their curriculum with support for all students, including integrating English Language Development into their content. 
During our first week of school, classes were bursting with enthusiasm and conversation. Teachers converted their once plain, empty classrooms into learning centers, discovery zones, and in one case ... the beach! Teachers are stepping back to allow students to collaborate and think as they grapple with new material.
Monday brought an amazing eclipse that had STEM and Science classes making view boxes for safely experiencing this phenomenon. Desert Valley made this a campus-wide activity as Welding and other classes also offered students safe ways to view the spectacle that will only happen a few times in their lives.
Math teachers offered an array of mathematical tasks as a form of review, with students calculating losses from a store owner who was robbed and estimating how many people were on a crowded beach through collaboration with their partners and coming up with answers many different ways. In Social Studies classes, students started day 1 with asking questions about history and diving deeper into the concepts as opposed to memorizing dates and facts; English teachers wasted no time in learning about their individual students through activities that allowed students to showcase who they are; PE teachers took students around the campus to make sure they felt comfortable with their campus; and a Spanish teacher took her content introductions even farther with a #breakoutedu activity where students had to solve puzzles to “break out” and escape fictitious detention with bad music.
Smiles and laughter while learning ran through BUHSD campuses this week, which culminated into a pep rally for the first football game and a great crowd at the field on a warm, late summer night. As we move into the 2017-18 school year, keep talking with your child to learn of the activities and content they are experiencing.
Welcome back to BUHSD!
Personal Progress Report to BUHSD Staff:
Now at a 15-minute mile!
Made time to take kids to the new Splash Pad for a fun time!
Left personal notes & snacks - - - keep building on the R for Rapport.
#ifnotusthenwho #hopesquad #brawleyproud #scorpionpride
