By Jeff Roland

Banfield Principal

A back to school tradition since I have been principal at Banfield has been our Parent-Teacher Committee hosting a Family Fun Night outside on the school grounds. It coincides with the end of our fund-raising efforts, but it has come to mean much more for our families. It has come to be a celebration of a new school year and all the possibilities and excitement that the starting school year can bring. It started as families sitting at folding tables on the blacktop. It has evolved to families scoping out a shaded spot, bringing camping equipment, deck chairs and coolers, and making an evening of it. Parents seem to look forward to this new school year celebration as much as the students do.

One of the benefits of going to school is that each new year is a fresh start for everyone. It doesn’t matter what happened during the previous school year; it is a clean slate for everybody each September. A new grade level, a new classroom, a new teacher, a new schedule, and new classmates all add to the excitement generated by a new school year. The new year negates a forgotten assignment last February or a playground dispute in April or being sick during May. The excitement comes about because of the new environment, new learning, new friends and new perspectives each student will experience with the change of school year. More than anything, I believe this is what our Family Fun Night has come to represent; the celebration and excitement of what is to come.

And the great thing about having a Family Fun Night celebration to begin the new year is that all families have that same common bond of starting fresh to celebrate. Our Fun Night is a mixture of catching up with old friends about our summers and meeting and getting acquainted with new families we will be involved with during the new school year. In addition to a great meal and fun activities for students to do during the evening, our parents get the opportunity to get to know each other in a social setting with school and children as the focus. From a principal’s perspective, this is time well spent at school.

Our Family Fun Night is scheduled for Sept. 23. If you are a Banfield family, I hope to see you here. But other schools host similar events throughout the year. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities by simply attending. It’s a great way to connect with both your home school and the families that attend it. I truly believe it will be time well spent at school.