Junior High Field Trip

"Love thy neighbor as thyself"   "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

These are tenets of the Christian faith that we teach each and every day at First Baptist School. And they are among the hardest of things to do day in and day out. For we are people of prejudice. ALL of us! My students had a brief study of the Holocaust--that terrible time in the 1930s and 1940s when Hitler and the German Nazis persecuted, tortured, and killed between 10 and 12 million people because of their faith, their ethnicity, their disabilities, or their life style choices. We visited the Houston Holocaust Museum and learned more about the events of that period of time. It wasn't a 'fun' field trip. It wasn't intended to be. These young people are the leaders of the future and I hope that each of them will take the lessons learned and do their best to prevent another Holocaust. I hope that each of them will practice tolerance and understanding toward those who are different--be it different skin color, different cultural heritage, different religion, different choice of lifestyle. It's not necessary to agree with those who are different from us but it is necessary to be human and compassionate and to think that well worn phrase 'what would Jesus do?'

The FUN part of the day was visiting the Weather Center museum, also in downtown Houston. We had a nice young lady (a meteorologist) who provided our students with a tour of the facility. This museum is housed in a re-purposed historic home and it had a back yard. We were able to enjoy our picnic lunch on the premises.

Thanks to Mrs. Perry for driving, for the moms who went along, and to St. Paul's United Methodist Church for allowing us to park our bus in their parking lot.

Easter Party

First Grade at Work and at Play

We sampled vegetables, rode our bikes, and got some time on the playground. This is a great group of students!

PINKED Out!

Our school is small and there is a strong sense of 'community' among our staff, our students, and our families. That was more than evident today as we came together to show our love and support to a beloved staff member who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and who will undergo radical surgery to remove the malignancy. Students and faculty were encouraged to wear something pink! Some came in pink from head to toe and others were creative with pink accessories. We even had a mom come to school with pink ribbons for those who didn't have something pink. And she helped create the beautiful poster pictured below.

Thanks to all who participated in any way! The gesture spoke volumes!

And first grade will be treated to doughnuts for 100% participation!

Paper Creations and a Good Story

Junior High Guest Speaker

Our junior high students were privileged to hear Heather Alexander, PhD. speak today. Dr. Alexander is an assistant professor of biology at the University of Texas in Brownsville and is a well-known and respected plant ecologist. She spent some time with our students today talking about and showing photos of her research trips to the interior of Alaska and Siberia. She researches the effects of fire on boreal ecosystems as well as other really cool things! We were delighted to have her take time from her busy schedule to visit FBS.  I have known Heather since the day she was born. Her late mother was one of my dearest childhood friends. I'm very proud of the woman she is and her great achievements in the field of science. It's my hope that perhaps she inspired one of my students to aspire to something similar.

Reading is REWARDING!

Each of my students met their AR reading goal for the 4th six weeks grading period. Because I believe in rewarding them for great accomplishments, I treated them to a milkshake from McDonald's. Congratulations first grade. I'm very proud of you.