With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, a new unique opportunity has opened up for all students with a creative mindset — the opportunity to attend Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School (BAIMS)! The newly renovated school — formerly the Memorial Boulevard Middle School — is quite a sight, inside and out! Opportunities for students to let out their creative energy are certainly abundant and also allow for students from both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern to collaborate together, creating many amazing projects unlike anything offered at B.C. Brand new technology and equipment fill the classrooms, construction labs, BlackBox theater, and art rooms, giving students a realistic immersion into potential career life within each subject. And of course, BAIMS wouldn’t be complete without its iconic Rockwell Theater — a theater like no other! With its large capacity, mezzanine, and absolutely beautiful overhead lighting, events in the theater are not ones to miss!

BAIMS wouldn’t be complete without its iconic Rockwell Theater

High school students are currently allowed to take up to four elective courses at BAIMS (or enough to fill A ½ and A ¾ for both semesters), classes categorized into four main pathways being art, music, creative construction, and theater. The classes are certainly unique as well, BAIMS students having the opportunity to take classes such as Music Video Production, Interior Design, Cartooning and Sequential Art, and even Musical Theater! Of course, down the line, staff hope to add more classes and pathways so that even more students can find a place at BAIMS. Many students have already begun to flourish, one student describing the school as, “…very nice! The staff are very respectful! Most of all, the teachers are very good!” (Maleeah R).

“The experience of going to BAIMS is for those who want to pursue or have an interest in the arts. You are around other people from Eastern and also staff for which you get an opportunity to perform or showcase what you’ve got. With it being the school’s first year, it will develop over time, and more opportunities will become available for students to take classes that will lead them outside the classroom and into the path they want to take while finding what makes them happy. I am glad that I get to experience it with new and old friends, following the art that I fell in love with as a kid.” -Anne A.

…this school is truly amazing

As a BAIMS student myself, I can agree that this school is truly amazing, offering many unique and creative opportunities for all students. Rather than having to complete the typical bookwork assignments, I have had the opportunity to work on projects such as creating a podcast, recording and editing a walk-through tour of the school, creating scale-model theater sets, as well as designing — and soon-to-be building — props for the production that the Dramatic Theater class is putting on. I’m also really looking forward to having the opportunity to work with my newfound friends to create our own music video in the near future!

Meeting and working with students in different grades and different schools altogether have also definitely been an eye-opening experience. If you’re currently in your freshman, sophomore, or junior year, and this sounds like something you’d be interested in, you’re in luck!

You could have the opportunity to take these many amazing classes as you progress through high school. I honestly wish BAIMS was open when I was a freshman so that I could come back and take even more of the many specialized classes that are offered! So, take advantage of this truly unique opportunity! It’s worth it! If you are a creative person or wish to explore your inner imaginative side, consider taking classes next year at BAIMS! Become a BAIMS Bear and let your creativity run wild!