Day two at Tybee is full of great activities like shark dissections, surf sleuth, coastal critters, and many more things.

This post offers highlights from the first full day of activities for the annual 5th-grade trip to Tybee Island. You can visit the school’s Facebook page for pictures from the day.

At BBS, we believe that every child learns differently, and understanding how each student learns best allows us to teach with purpose, compassion, and impact. That’s why we’re excited to announce that our 3rd-grade students will participate in the MindPrint Learning Assessment on December 8th and 9th.

We are thrilled to share that K4 teacher Joann Hellmann has been honored with the TAIS Hubert Smothers Award, recognizing outstanding service and dedication to independent education in Tennessee. This prestigious award celebrates educators who go above and beyond in their commitment to students, colleagues, and the mission of independent schools. Mrs. Hellmann exemplifies these qualities each day through their passion for teaching, care for students, and unwavering pursuit of excellence

We’re excited to announce a new partnership - Brainerd Baptist School is now a member of the Council for Educational and Spiritual Accountability (CESA).

Now, you might be wondering, “What does that mean for me?” This is a fair question, especially in education, where acronyms abound. Off the top of my head, here are just a few that are significant to schools like BBS: SAIS, NWEA, ERB, MAP, IEP, TAIS, SSAT, TACS, NAIS, ACSI, MISBO, NBOA, ESHA, TABS. Most parents may not know what all of these mean, and that’s okay. You’ve still trusted us with your children, not because of the acronyms we use, but because of the values we uphold and the strong education provided.

At Brainerd Baptist School, we believe that some of the most powerful learning happens when students step outside the traditional classroom and into real-world experiences. That’s exactly the goal of our CAT Day, which we do annually for 5th-grade students. This day stands for Curiosity, Adventure, and Thought.

Our track team recently wrapped up a successful season, with our students proudly representing BBS. The team was coached by Mrs. Connell and Caitlin Rogers, and included more than 40 student-athletes. Weekly meets were held at either Bright or St. Peter’s, where many of our students consistently placed in their events. The season concluded with a championship meet hosted at Chattanooga Christian School last week. The results from that meet are listed below:

Day three of our trip is quickly coming to a close, and it’s been another exciting and educational day. The schedule today closely mirrored yesterday’s, beginning with morning classes focused on the diverse wildlife native to this region.

Our first day at Burton 4-H Camp is coming to a close, and it has been a full and exciting one! The students began stirring a little after 6:00 AM, and by 6:30, they were already outside exploring. Right outside our cabins, we have volleyball and basketball courts, tetherball, gaga ball, and even a giant Jenga game—all of which the students can enjoy during their free time.

A few years ago, Tennessee began offering Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) to Hamilton County residents who meet certain eligibility requirements and complete the application process. Several BBS families currently participate in this program.

This blog post introduces a new scholarship opportunity that is available to many of our families. This program has fewer income restrictions than the ESA program. The Educational Freedom Scholarship (EFS), launching for the 2025–26 school year. There will be two scholarship options available:

We often discuss the importance of creating a learning environment that provides opportunities for all students. While we frequently celebrate achievements in athletics, our outstanding art program, our chorus, and even our Shakespeare on the Playground performances, we also recognize accomplishments in academics. Recently, one of our students competed in an international history competition. Fifth-grade Social Studies teacher Deb Gruner shares more about Porter’s impressive achievement.

This fall, 8th graders at Girls Preparatory School read Animal Farm by George Orwell. After finishing the novel, their teachers challenged them to write their own children’s books with an allegorical message, similar to Orwell’s work. As part of their final exam, GPS 8th graders visited Brainerd Baptist to share their stories. The students from GPS and BBS gathered together to read their books, ask questions, and engage in lively discussions. It was a fun and inspiring opportunity for our students to see that anyone can be an author and bring their own stories to life.

The SAIS Board of Trustees recently informed our school that we have been re-accredited for another five-year period, spanning July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. This achievement is the culmination of a comprehensive self-study that identified key areas of growth and self-improvement for our school. The SAIS accreditation process encompasses all aspects of school life and operations, ensuring we meet the highest standards of educational excellence.

Have you heard about the Bobcat News Network (BBN)? For many years, students at Brainerd Baptist School received their morning announcements over the PA system. However, this year, two innovative teachers, April Connell and Suzanne Breedlove, have taken this idea to the next level. They've transformed the routine task of delivering school news into a fun, engaging, and highly anticipated weekly video series.

If you have followed the Brainerd Baptist School social media accounts, you have undoubetedly seen the hashtag #learningisfunatbbs many times. I never cease to be amazed at the fun ways in which our faculty make learning fun for our students. This past Thursday was International Pirate Day and our 4th and 5th grade teachers did not let this special day pass without incorporating it into a fun day of learning. I have asked 4th grade teacher Jesse Robinson to tell us about this day.

If you have been a part of the Brainerd Baptist School community for a while, you have probably seen similar posts each summer introducing our new faculty members. I have often said that the most important part of my job is finding faculty who are the best fit for our culture and community. As we make final preparations for the upcoming school year, we are excited to introduce the new faculty and staff joining our team.

Since 2020, our school has completed several construction projects during the summer months that have completely transformed our campus. We have built new classrooms for 1st grade and K2, a new library, a STEM lab, The Learning Center, a new upper school office, new administrative offices, a new entryway, a new shop, and a remodeled cafeteria. Last summer, we completed a full remodel of our entire lower school, including new floors, paint, windows, furniture in all classrooms, and new bathrooms for our K3 and K4 students

Over the past few months, teachers at Brainerd Baptist School have collaborated to develop a new grading policy aimed at ensuring consistency across 1st - 5th grades. Historically, different grade levels have adopted their own grading policies, leading to discrepancies and confusion among parents and teachers regarding expectations from year to year. To address this issue, a committee was formed with teachers representing multiple grade levels. This group then met with each grade level to hear concerns and frustrations and also explored grading practices employed by other schools.

Day two is well underway here on Tybee Island. The weather has been absolutely perfect today. We began our morning with the infamous shark dissection (your children learned a new word - Ichthyology). All students were able to complete the assignment - and that doesn’t always happen! After the shark dissection, the students enjoyed lunch (pizza), and then we headed to the beach for one of the favorite classes at Tybee - “Choosies,” in which students were given a lot of different choices from playing in the water, building sandcastles, hunting for shark’s teeth, looking for seashells, playing volleyball, or just relaxing. Both our lacrosse and volleyball players spent some of this time practicing for their tournaments that begin when we return.

We're wrapping up our first full day at Burton 4-H Center, and I'd like to give parents a glimpse into our day so you can see what your children (and chaperones) have been up to. While we understand that some of you may desire more frequent photo updates, our standard practice is to capture moments throughout the day and post them in the afternoon. Due to limited internet and cell coverage at the camp, posting updates in real-time is challenging and also time-consuming. Our priority is to be fully present with the students as they are doing these fun things. However, rest assured, a comprehensive photo album will be shared soon via the school’s Facebook page.

I am passionate about sharing the wonderful events that unfold on our campus each day. This past week was particularly busy, brimming with various activities that our school community cherishes. Throughout the week, our students delighted in perusing the offerings at the book fair and showcasing their artistic talents at the art show. Culminating the week was our cherished annual Grandparents Day. The festivities commenced with a delightful breakfast and was followed by a program where our students showcased a medley of songs from beloved Broadway productions. Finally, students escorted their grandparents to their classrooms, where they engaged in special activities together.

If you follow any of our social media accounts, you will probably notice the hashtag #learningisfunatbbs. This is WAY more than a clever hashtag that we add to pictures when posting to our Facebook or Instagram pages. It is something we try to bring to life every week at our school in many different ways. One of the things that we do each spring is a school-wide contest centering on the greatest sporting event in all the land, March Madness. While trying to figure out who will win is fun, believe it or not, there are lots of ways to make this activity educational as well.

Keeping your child busy for an entire Summer Break can be challenging. Finding affordable but trustworthy childcare can be even more of a challenge. If you are currently exploring options for your child for the upcoming summer break, Camp Bobcat may be just what you’re looking for! Camp Bobcat is not designed to only provide childcare, but to provide a safe and fun environment for your child while they continue to learn new and exciting things and spend time with their peers! This year there will be a few new things happening at Camp Bobcat! 

The following is a guest post by World Languages teacher April Connell. In the post below, she shares her experiences from her time spent in Spain this summer. This was the fourth time that our school sent Ms. Connell to a Spanish-speaking country allowing her to immerse herself in the language and cultures. In previous years, she has spent time in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru. This time is invaluable as she returns to our campus and shares her experiences with our students.

We believe that prayer is crucial to our success. Our school has been blessed for decades by folks that uplift our school in daily prayer. Our teachers and administration have been praying over their class lists for several weeks now. On Tuesday, August 15, from 9 am to 12 pm, we are opening up our classrooms for a special time of prayer. Parents, grandparents, and friends are welcome to come into their child’s class and pray over their child (at their desk if you desire), the class, the teacher, and our school. This will be a special time when you can come and go as your schedule allows. There will be no formal program, just time and space provided to pray. We are expecting great things this year, and know that your prayers are vitally important in this pursuit

As we are making final preparations for the upcoming school year, we are excited to share with our school community the new faculty and staff that are joining our school. Brainerd Baptist School continues to experience significant enrollment growth, and we are anticipating enrollment for the 2023-24 school year will be the highest ever. We began working to fill our open positions back in January. The hiring process at Brainerd Baptist School is a very thorough undertaking that requires interviews with multiple groups, including an admin team and a team of teachers.

A question I often answer this time of the year is, “Do you have to work over the summer?” The reality is the summer at Brainerd Baptist School is often one of the busiest times of the year. We use the ten weeks of summer break to accomplish projects throughout our building that are just not possible when school is in session. We have some big plans in store for campus improvements over the next few weeks and are excited to share them with our families below.

We are busy into our 3rd day at Burton’s 4H Center here on Tybee Island. We turned our lights out at 10:30 pm last night, and our students certainly slept a little longer after a VERY long day yesterday. Like yesterday, photos from today will be posted to our Facebook page later tonight. Here is a rundown of the things we have done today.

For those of you who may have stumbled upon this blog, the next couple of posts will be about our 5th-grade trip to Tybee Island. This is the capstone trip for our students at Brainerd Baptist School, and they look forward to it for YEARS. This post is for parents (or other interested folks) to learn more about what we do each day.
So we are approaching the end of our first full day here on Tybee Island. The weather has been incredible, and our students are having an amazing experience packed full of learning in environments that are very different from what we have in Chattanooga. Our boys were up BRIGHT and early and were outside by 6:30 am (here’s hoping for a tired crew at bedtime tonight).

In my last post, I shared the results of an exhaustive parent survey that we completed in the fall. I mentioned that we would begin responding to some of the comments that parents shared in the survey. This post is a our attempt at answering/explaining questions that were raised about the new math curriculum that was adopted in the Fall of 2022. I have asked Mrs. Merrion to help with this post because she has extensive experience and training in teaching math and in our new curriculum. We are also planning a math night so parents can come in and see the instructional model in action to better understand how math instruction may look different today than it did when they were in elementary school. This time will also provide practical tips on how you can help your child if/when they need it with math.