Dear Parents of New BK Students,

Welcome to Bishop Kelly! We are so excited for the new year and are particularly excited about having you and your child join the BK Family. We realize you have other options for high school and want to thank you for choosing Bishop Kelly. We believe the investment in your child's education will have strong returns in Spirit, Mind and Body.

New Student Academy
I want to personally invite you and your child to our "New Student Academy" which takes place on Wednesday, August 14th beginning at 8:00 am at BK. This program is designed to help all new students get a jump on the new school year. We will cover things like getting their computers set up on the BK network, academic expectations, different ways to get involved, etc. Students will hear from their counselors and administrators, and will have a chance to meet their classmates. New Student Academy is not mandatory, but it is valuable, and I strongly encourage all new students to attend. Lunch will be provided, and our day will conclude at approximately 2:00 p.m.

Parents, we want to meet you too!
We would like any and all parents of new students to join us at the start of New Student Academy for a welcome convocation and Mass starting at 8:30 a.m. in the Carley Center. We will conclude at around 10:00 a.m.

Help Us Get to Know Your Student
Whether your child attends New Student Academy or not, I'd love to get to know them a little bit before our first day of school. If you don't mind, please share a little about your child AND send me a picture of them so I can place a face with a name. 

Please reply to this email with the following:
  • First and Last name of your student (and their nickname if that's what they like to be called.)
  • At least one unique/interesting thing about your student - the more unique or interesting the better. Make it memorable! But also make sure it's something I can share with their teachers, counselors, etc.
  • Your student's top 3-4 hobbies
  • The school your student is coming from

Please attach two photos of your student. One that clearly shows their face, and one that shows them doing something they enjoy.
So this is not a one way conversation, please feel free to share the information below with your child about me. The reason I share this is because among all things, I am a principal that is here for your child. I want them to know me and I want to know each of them. 

My name is Mike Caldwell, and I'm the Principal at Bishop Kelly. This coming year will be my 6th year as Principal and my 14th year total at Bishop Kelly. I started teaching (Math) at BK in 2000, transitioned to administration as a Vice Principal in 2004 and worked at BK in administration until 2008. In 2008, I left BK for 6 years to be a Director at the Idaho Digital Learning Academy. In 2014, I returned to BK as the Principal. 
I have 3 kids. My oldest daughter is a junior at Boise State. My younger daughter is a Junior at BK and my youngest son is going to be a 8th grader at St. Ignatius Catholic School in Meridian in the fall. Finally, my wife of nearly 23 years runs her own business and also works part time as a 2nd grade Aide at St. Ignatius.
A few unique and slightly interesting things about me. I love sports and the outdoors. While teaching at BK many years ago, I was the head wrestling coach and assisted the football team. I've also coached my kids teams in volleyball, basketball and football. I'm an avid fly fisherman, backpacker, mountain biker, skier, snowboarder and archery hunter. I'm not musically talented, but I love music, especially folk rock. I've played the drums a bit and I'm currently trying to teach myself how to play the guitar and the harmonica. I'm not good at any of those yet, but I'll keep learning anyway. Lastly, I've spent most of my summer playing head landscaper at Bishop Kelly while working on “Our Blessed Mother’s Garden” in the back of the school near the Tennis courts. This project has been a vision for several years and I’m excited to see it come to life this year. My hope is that this new spiritual prayer garden will be a place of peace for all to enjoy. 
These are two photos of me. The first is my school photo so that you and your students know who I am when you see me at BK, and the second is a picture of me doing something I love to do - in this case, backpacking in Zion National Park with my younger daughter, Saige.
I look forward to reading the introductions of your new Freshmen soon. Don’t forget to include a picture so that I can put a face to a name!