Before students return to school, Bethlehem faculty and staff gathered at the high school on Tuesday, September 5 to meet their new colleagues, celebrate some career milestones and begin preparing for the arrival of students on Thursday, September 7.

After a faculty and staff breakfast, the day began for all district faculty and staff with an opening day welcome from Board of Education President Christine Beck and Superintendent of Schools Jody Monroe.

Faculty & staff play a game of “To Tell the Truth” with district administrators.

Beck and Monroe were joined at the morning assembly by Board Vice President Lynne Lenhardt and board members Charmaine Wijeyesinghe, Michael Cooper and Jonathan Fishbein. Together, they welcomed 53 new teachers and staff and paid tribute to longtime employees who are celebrating employment milestones this year. The majority of new hires in the 2017-18 school year will fill vacancies created by retirements and by staff who have left the district.

In addressing new and returning district employees, Superintendent Monroe set the tone for the new year by asking administrators, teachers and support staff to take the time to nurture students’ enthusiasm with opportunities to learn and grow – academically, socially, emotionally and globally – and celebrate each students’ individuality and uniqueness.

“To each child who comes through our doors, who boards our buses, who lines up for lunch, youare a monument. A living monument, with a story to tell,” said Superintendent Monroe. “I want you to tell those stories and invite your students to tell theirs. These stories are often told in the small moments of every day but they are cumulative and they make a difference. This is what creates the kind of environment we all long for.

“Just looking around I see so many stories I already know,” said Monroe. “People whose stories resonate beyond the classroom, who are remembered by students not only for what they do — in and around our schools — but for who they are.”

Superintendent Monroe concluded her opening day remarks with thespecial song that former colleague and BC alumnus Mike DeAngelis, who retired from his position as a physical education teacher in June 2016, wrote and recorded last year as a surprise tribute to his former colleagues and as a love letter to his alma mater. The song has been adopted by schools districtwide and has been performed by choral and musical groups many times since its debut at the start of the 2016-17 school year.

The staff kick-off also included what Monroe called a collective effort “to bring humor, joy and excitement back into our work and our schools.” Faculty and staff who spent much of the day in meetings and setting up classrooms were treated to a barbecue with food prepared and served by district administrators.

Teachers will also be back in their classrooms on Wednesday, September 6 preparing for the first day of school on Thursday.