FPC’s Bobby Bossardet’s 1st Day Welcome: Celebrate, and Be ‘Better for Each Other and Our Kids’

With the new school year in Flagler County beginning this morning, Flagler Palm Coast High School Principal Bobby Bossardet wrote his faculty and staff his traditional day-before letter, which follows in full. 

Well, here we are. Another season starts tomorrow.

Tonight feels a little different in the Bossardet house. Missy and I returned home to FPC as young teachers and coaches after graduating from here ourselves. This place has watched us grow up, build our careers, get married, and raise our family. Some of our veterans may even remember when we had a daycare on campus. There was a time when Buster and Brinklie spent their days there while Mom and Dad were teaching down the hall.

Tomorrow, that story comes full circle. Missy heads back into her classroom ready to make another year matter. Buster enters his sophomore year proud of what he accomplished last season, but knowing he left some goals on the table and has areas where he needs to get better. And Brinklie finally gets her turn to walk these halls as a Bulldog and begin leaving her own mark on a place that has been part of her life for as long as she can remember.

And I get another season to serve alongside all of you.

From the beginning, we’ve trusted this place with our whole world, and tomorrow we do it again. Only now, we know exactly who we’re trusting them with.

You.

And I know our family isn’t alone. Many of you will send your own kids into these halls tomorrow. Some are seniors preparing for their last first day. Some are freshmen experiencing their first. Some of you chose FPC because you wanted the opportunity to work in the same place your children would grow up.

I don’t take that lightly.

We spend our careers asking families to trust us with the people they love most, and many of us are willing to make that same choice ourselves. That says something about this place. More importantly, it says something about you.

I wouldn’t trust any TEAM more with the people I love most than this one.

I’ve also thought a lot about the conversations we had this week. I’ve listened, and I’m grateful. Some of you shared pride. Some shared ideas. Some shared concerns. Some were vulnerable enough to tell me things I needed to hear. Whether you shared feelings or facts, excitement or uncertainty, I value the trust it took to have those conversations. That’s where getting better starts. We talk. We listen. We work through things. We have each other’s backs, and we stay focused on our people and our kids.

For those of you who have received one of these night-before letters from me before, you know there is something I remind us of every year. Tomorrow, not everyone walking into this building will be excited to be here.

Some of our kids will be nervous as all get up. Some will be scared. Some won’t want to be here at all. Some are coming off the best summer of their lives, while others are going through things we may never know about. And let’s remember, the same may be true for the adults walking through our doors.

We don’t always know who is going through it.

So tomorrow, be that person for somebody. Smile. Learn the name. Check in. Hold the expectation high. Give some grace. Let them know they matter. Relationships came up over and over again when you shared what you wanted to get better at this year.

Tomorrow, we get our first opportunity.

Our kids gave us a pretty awesome example on Thursday. Nearly 100 student leaders welcomed more than 400 freshmen into FPC and showed them what being a Bulldog is all about. Our clubs, athletics, activities, Staffulty, students, and families filled this campus and welcomed our newest Bulldogs home.

Bulldogs Building Bulldogs!

I absolutely love that because that’s what this place is supposed to be.

Some of you have carried FPC for decades. Some once sat in these classrooms and chose to come home. Some came to us from somewhere else and now bleed as much green as anybody. And some of you are about to experience your very first, first day at FPC.

We need all of you. We need the history and experience. We need the fresh eyes and new ideas. We need the energy and commitment. We need people willing to challenge us when we need to hear something, and people willing to put an arm around us when we need that too.

We need each other.

It doesn’t matter how you got here. You’re part of the Bulldog Family, and every one of us has a hand in what happens next.

We also spent this week recognizing something incredibly special. We are an “A” school. We showed growth everywhere, and we should be incredibly proud of what we accomplished. But Phil [DeAugustino] gave us the perfect perspective this week: We congratulate the result. We celebrate the work.

That “A” matters. We earned it. But it doesn’t define us. What defines us is how we got there. The relationships. The expectations. The consistency. The support. The willingness to show up for kids and for each other.

And if you know me, you know the mentality. Get in your feelings. Enjoy it. Be proud of it. Then get out of them real quick.

On to the Next!

Not because what we accomplished wasn’t good enough. It was. Not because we need to chase another grade or compare ourselves to another school. We don’t chase anybody.

We focus on US.

That’s what being the “Best at Getting Better” means to me. It’s not about adding pressure to win again. It’s about taking some of that pressure away and focusing on the process. What can we control? How can we grow? How can we help the person next to us get better? How can we be better for our kids tomorrow than we are today?

Which is why I meant it when I told you this week: Today is the worst we’ll ever be.

Not because today isn’t good. Today is pretty freaking special. Look at what you’ve built.

I believe it because we haven’t seen our best yet.

Tomorrow is another opportunity to listen better, teach better, lead better, support better, and be better for each other and for our kids. Nobody is asking you to be perfect. I’m certainly not. I’m asking all of us to keep growing together.

That’s THE STANDARD.

My commitment to you this season is simple. I’ll keep listening. I’ll keep learning. I’ll support you, challenge you, trust you, and do everything I can to put our people first. And I trust all of us to do the same for each other and for our students. Set the expectations high. Hold each other accountable. Support each other relentlessly.

Then watch what our kids do.

Tomorrow morning, the buses start pulling in, the parking lot fills up, and the hallways get loud. Somewhere in all of that, somebody is going to need you. Maybe they’ll tell you. Maybe they won’t.

Be there anyway.

Welcome them home. Learn their story. Build the relationship. Believe in them until they believe in themselves. Show them what it means to be part of the Bulldog Family.

I love this school. I love our people. I believe in this TEAM with everything I’ve got, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to do the important work alongside each and every one of you.

Tonight, enjoy that nervous energy. Tomorrow morning, when you pull into that parking lot, look at the building for a second and remember what we get to do. We get another season, another group of kids, another opportunity to make a difference, and we get to do it together.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to wake up.

Get some rest, Bulldogs. Tomorrow, we go again.

…On to the Next!

As always, thank you for ALL you do.

GO DOGS!!!!! 💚

~Boss

Bobby Bossardet has been the principal at Flagler Palm Coast High School since July 2022.