Dear Baker families,
As many of you know Governor Pritzker announced that schools will remain closed through the end of the year for the health and safety of our Illinois communities. While the news isn’t a surprise, it is certainly disappointing to know that we won’t all be back in our school house before the end of the school year. Our Baker team is feeling this disappointment acutely, as I’m sure you and your children are, as well.
In light of this announcement, we want to share out as much as we know at this time - with plans to continue communication early and often.
School-Wide Events
Our Baker team has been planning for this eventuality, reimagining the events and traditions that make the end of school meaningful for our students (and parents too!). We want to sustain the spirit and celebrate the resilience of our Baker community, creating as many connection points as possible for our students to stay engaged. We will be in touch soon about our virtual 5K (and 1K for PK-K) plans! Please expect a separate communication next week regarding this and other spring calendar events.
8th Grade Ceremony and End-of-Year Events
My heart particularly goes out to our soon-to-be graduates and their families. While we have plans to celebrate our 8th graders and help them transition to high school well, we know the traditions of the 8th grade trip, the Tribute breakfast, and the Graduation Ceremony are events they have looked forward to for years.
In times like this, when our students are experiencing uncertainty and a loss of control, it is so important that we give them the power, the voice, the choice to shape this experience together. Our 8th grade students will help us plan and implement our end-of-the-year events and traditions.
Ongoing Communication
When new families begin at Baker, we talk about the importance of the school-parent-teacher relationship. This is needed now more than ever. Please don’t hesitate to reach out and communicate your questions or needs to your child's teachers or to our staff. Staff details can be found
here
.
Please keep an eye on the Baker e-Bulletin, sent every Thursday, for updates and announcements. Also, I’ll continue sharing Monday Morning student videos. Look for those each Sunday evening. You will also receive regular updates from your child’s teacher or through the MS Weekly Digest from Tyler Leach.
In this midst of this challenging time, I am grateful to you, our families, for your incredible partnership, support of children, and care for our school community.
Be well,
