Navasota ISD administrators, teachers anticipate magical school year

NAVASOTA, Texas (KBTX) – Navasota ISD began its new school year Monday morning, and High Point Elementary faculty and staff members said the new year has an astonishing theme.

“We wanted to talk about the excitement that we have about learning and the magic of learning, and how you go from one area and not knowing something to knowing so much,” Principal John Bathke said. “We decided to go with ‘where the magic happens.’”

That theme is reflected throughout campus with décor reflecting Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, magicians, Disney characters, and more.

Several students got a first look at last week’s Meet the Teachers.

“It was so neat watching the kids walk through the hallway, and they’re pointing at little details here and there,” Principal Bathke said. “Just as you’re going through and listening to them get excited about the school year and be so excited to see everything. It’s really exciting.”

Along with working on hallway and classroom decorations, faculty and staff members spent the last week preparing lessons and activities focused on student growth in areas like reading.

The school is doing a 100-book challenge where every student will have a goal to read 25 books every nine weeks and write a report on them.

“At the end of each nine weeks, we’re going to give them a little party of some kind,” explained Principal Bathke. “If they make all 100 books, then they get a bigger party at the end of the year.”

Christina Veillon is a fourth-grade reading, writing and social studies teacher who’s excited about helping students improve their reading skills. Her goal is to help her students build their confidence in reading no matter the book or genre.

“I’m hoping a few of them jump into the Harry Potter series because I’ve got like two or three sets of those, but really just getting them to find books that they enjoy,” Veillon shared what she hopes to see in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Kindergarten teacher Teri Davis said she will be focused on making sure her students can read by the end of the school year. This is her first year teaching kindergarten and said she has more than 15 crates of books for her students to enjoy.

She advises her students’ parents to be just as excited about achieving those reading goals.

“Just make sure you review with the students, go over their papers with them at night and see what they’ve done that day, and be excited about it,” added Davis.