Dear Families and Staff,

We have lots of positive student and staff recognitions to share this week. Chances are, you know someone involved in one of these success stories, be it a student, a coach, a teacher or a volunteer.

Please be sure to thank them for helping our district put our best foot forward. We have much to celebrate and be grateful for.

Before we dive in to recognitions, I want to take a moment to revisit the topic of last week’s update, which is investment in our aging school facilities.

As I shared last week, I plan to make a slate of facilities recommendations to the Board of Trustees at their regular meeting Tuesday evening. These include:

• Seeking a bond for major renovation of Capital High School, construction of a new Helena High School and construction of a new Kessler Elementary School.

• Recommendations for the future use of Hawthorne Elementary School.

• Reassessing district boundaries.

• Recommendations for use of existing unused buildings, including sale or lease.

• Potential purchase of land for the district transportation facility and for athletic playing fields. This would be a positive financial move because the land on which the district’s transportation facility sits is currently leased, as are some of the district’s playing fields.

On that first bullet point – going out for a bond – the agenda will include a presentation by Bridget Ekstrom, Public Finance Banker with D.A. Davidson out of Great Falls.

Ms. Ekstrom will walk us through a “Bond 101” presentation, explaining how the district can approach the bonding process to give taxpayers the best bang for their buck while minimizing the monthly cost.

I invite you to attend or, if you can’t come in person, to listen in to Ms. Ekstrom’s presentation via Zoom on Tuesday. The link to join will be posted here.

I also want to thank the more than 100 people who attended our first community facilities forum and tour at Helena High earlier this week to get a first-hand look at the urgency of our facilities situation. And kudos to our student tour guides from the HHS National Honor Society, who were exceedingly knowledgeable and well-spoken.

The students spoke plainly about the facility conditions they experience every day, from stale air and insect infestations to classrooms stocked with blankets due to poor heating.

I appreciate your attention to these issues as we continue to manage aging facilities, student safety needs and escalating construction costs.

More basketball buses to hit the road! 

Now let’s switch gears to the fun stuff. How about those Bengal and Bruin hoopsters?!

Following two hard-fought wins last night, we’re putting more buses on the road to Bozeman!

The Lady Bengals beat Kalispell Glacier 51-36 and Bruin Boys took Missoula Big Sky 55-38, punching their tickets to join the Helena High Boys at the Class AA State Tournament next week.

The Lady Bruins will battle Butte for their shot at a state berth tonight at 6 p.m. at Butte High School. Check out the full tournament brackets here:

AA Boys’ Bracket 

AA Girls’ Bracket 

Way to go, Bengals and Bruins – see you at state!

Cheer on our Future Chefs tomorrow

We’re feeling the competitive spirit from the court to the kitchen this week!

Tomorrow morning is our annual Sodexo Future Chef Challenge.

This is the first year we’ve had finalists compete from each of our 11 elementary schools. This year’s theme for the timed, high-pressure event was “favorite main dish.”

The young chefs will work in teams of three under the tutelage of professional chefs and high school culinary students. Each competitor will lead their teammates through preparation of their unique recipe.

The recipe of the grand prize winner will go to the Sodexo Future Chef nationals. Sodexo is the district’s food services vendor, sponsoring the event at the district and national level.

If you’re looking for a fun family outing tomorrow morning, stop by the Central Kitchen at Capital High School. When the competition ends at 11 a.m., family members and the public will have the opportunity to sample the recipes, talk with the chefs and nominate a recipe for the people’s choice awards. Please use entrance #6 near the tennis courts on the east side of the building. The event ends at noon.

Treat yourself to some delicious dishes and support our Future Chefs!

Bruins Shine at State Science Olympiad

Moving from the kitchen to the lab, our Bruin Science Olympiad competitors took home top awards from the event at Montana State University-Bozeman this week.

The Capital High Varsity Team placed second overall for Montana and two event teams took home first place awards:

1st place in Code Busters: Rowan Humbert, Sydney Harman, Fiona Kuntz

1st place in Optics: Isaac Urban, Kate Drynan

Elliot Ganno and Braedon Burke at the Montana Science Olympiad at MSU-Bozeman

Our Bengal and Bruin teams competed with top science students from across the state. Special thanks to our outstanding Science Olympiad Coaches who make these experiences and lifetime memories possible for our students: DeLacy Humbert and Sarah Urban (CHS) and Tyler Hollow, Jonathan Driggers and David Pepper (HHS). See complete Science Olympiad results below.

Students hit right notes at AA Band Festival

Also this week, 42 of our outstanding high school band students traveled to Great Falls (CHS) and Kalispell (HHS) to participate in the annual AA Band Festival.

They were among student musicians from across the state who traveled to four locations for two days of intense rehearsals and performances with master teachers. Multiple high school bands are blended together to perform as a single “mass band.”

Mr. Hollow and HHS Band students at the AA MHSA Band Festival

HHS Band Teacher Cody Hollow described the intensity of the experience. “There are six hours of intense rehearsal each day in which invaluable knowledge and inspiration are gained,” said Mr. Hollow, whose team traveled to Kalispell while CHS band musicians traveled to Great Falls.

“They learn how to collaborate with complete strangers and learn so much about the music, their instruments, being an artist and life,” Mr. Hollow said. “The students all performed a wide variety of challenging literature with great skill and musicality.”

Enjoy a piece from the Bozeman and Helena Combined Symphonic Band here.

Scroll down for more positive news, including more finalists for Speech & Debate Nationals, a listing of our HEF Distinguished Students for 2025, district events and more.

Enjoy this weekend with your loved ones.

Respectfully,

Rex M. Weltz, Superintendent
Helena Public Schools