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Bayless Junior High
By Ms. Christine Prosser - Principal
jh.baylessk12.org Bayless Junior High School
Honoring our common purpose
Community: “It means embracing and celebrating our differences as well as our similarities,” Susan Reeves, a long-time community and Bayless Junior High staff member said. At BJH, community is people working together and sharing a common purpose. It is one of our greatest strengths. This sense of community is represented in many ways among our students and staff, as well as in the larger community.
As a staff, we work hard to provide community among our students. There are many opportunities for students to be connected and involved. We have a variety of after-school clubs, organizations, sports and intramurals. We have academic support for our students during and after school. We strive to build excellent character among our students with lessons and practice.
Seventh grader Anida Ismirlic said we have a great community and character. “You have to be nice to people, cooperative, interactive, respectful and responsible,” Ismirlic said.
Seventh grader Marwa Joya said “It feels nice coming here and having students say hi. Teachers and students are nice.”
We work hard to build a community where everyone feels they can reach their full potential.
There is also a strong community among our staff. We embrace it by participating in pot-lucks, competing and playing sports together, attending events together, collaborating, celebrating successes and supporting each other. We understand the value of working together and helping each other. “We always find ways to support each other and each other’s students,” special education teacher Renee Owens said. “We work together as a team to meet shared goals.” Our students and staff would not be successful without our district, families and neighborhood. As a district, we try to honor that. We host our families for events like conferences, Trunk or Treat, theater and sports. We participate in community events like the Affton-Lemay Community Parade, Bayless Homecoming and canned food drives. The district provides staff with excellent professional development opportuni-
Students in Jeanie Avery’s ties and gestures of class celebrate community appreciation. and gratittude. If you ask anyone what it feels like to work or go to school at Bayless, a common response you will hear is, “It feels like family!” I couldn’t agree more, our community is a family!
Lifestyle Magazine The BJH Staff after the staff volleyball game.
Students working together in class.
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