 Baxter Elementary started the new school year this week with a new principal. Dr. Tammy Stelmach joined the staff after serving in public education for over 29 years. She was previously a middle school assistant principal and served as the assistant principal at Riverside Elementary in the Brainerd School District. She's coached volleyball, basketball, track and softball and has been involved with various mentor and service programs. I am very excited to be at Baxter Elementary School this school year and I'm excited because the staff are amazing and the staff are excited and I just look forward to all of the opportunities that we have to offer the students and our family and the staff again here have been absolutely amazing and I couldn't be happier to be here. Staff at Baxter Elementary is looking forward to a good school year as well as some new programs they have planned. This year the elementary school is focusing on kindness and with that implementing a new initiative called the Baxter Kindness Project. They're kicking off the program schoolwide on October 1st. Our staff development team started it last spring and we've been working on it this summer and we're going to focus on three main areas which are unity, random acts of kindness and gratitude. So each trimester will be focusing in on those doing fun monthly projects with staff and students and I think the kids are going to enjoy it and I'm excited about it too. The school welcomed around 525 students back to the school on the first day of the fall session which started on Tuesday, day after Labor Day as it always does. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.