Dear Families and Staff,

The end of a school year is a special moment.  It is a time of transition — graduations, retirements, moving up days – a time to celebrate the accomplishments of jobs well done, to celebrate new beginnings with new challenges, and to feel the connections that make our schools the heart of our community.

Once again, HHS and CHS graduation will be held at Nelson Stadium on Saturday, June 7.  Capital High friends and families will gather at 8:00 am to celebrate with the 290 graduating seniors.  Bob Heberly, Vice President at Dick Anderson Construction and a CHS 1995 grad will be the commencement speaker.  Helena High friends and family will gather at 11:00 am to celebrate 223 graduating seniors with former principal Steve Thennis giving the commencement address.  Both graduation ceremonies will be live streamed and links can be found on the high school webpages.

Helena High School – https://hhs.helenaschools.org/about/helena-high-school-graduation/
Capital High School: https://chs.helenaschools.org/graduation/

PAL graduation will be held at the HMS Auditorium on Friday, June 6.  Friends and family will gather to celebrate 33 graduating seniors with Dr. John Cech, President of Carroll College giving the commencement address.

Congratulations to the 426 students of the Class of 2025!

Another milestone passed this week as the community honored our retirees for their many years of dedicated service to public education.  This year, one family in particular – Terry and Patty Beaver and their children Jeff and Julie — drew my attention as an example of the lifelong commitment our employees make to the young people in Helena and, as a result, the lifelong friendships built.   This family dedicated a combined total of 155 years to the Helena community.  That’s incredible!! And the community showed up to show their appreciation.  My heartfelt gratitude to the businesses and school district employees who treated the retirees, their families and friends to a memorable evening recognizing their career accomplishments.

Community commitment to public education was also on display at this week’s school board meeting as our three recently elected trustees were sworn in for their three year terms.  Jenny Butcher will be serving her first term while Kay Satre and Siobhan Hathorne have been reelected to serve additional terms.  The Board elected Jennifer McKee as Chair and Jennifer Walsh as Vice Chair.   Our trustees serve as volunteers, committing countless hours to doing their part to ensure our schools are the best they can be.

To that end, both of our high schools ranked in the top 10 in a Money Inc. article on the 30 best high schools in Montana.  Factors taken into account when creating the ranking included college preparation and extracurricular offerings, student-teacher ratios, graduation rates and state test scores.  Congratulations to both schools on this achievement!

Across the district, transition events are happening.  Helena High School is inviting all current 8th graders and their families to a BBQ on June 5 from 5 pm to 7 pm.  This is a great opportunity to meet others in the Bengal family!  On the Bruin side of town incoming CRA 6th graders can participate in Cub Camp on August 14th and 15th to make new friends, familiarize themselves with their new school and get tips on how to make a successful middle school transition.

Schools are also preparing classrooms for our youngest students.  To get ready for the KinderSprouts program, schools are seeking imaginative play items like play kitchens, dolls, trucks, outdoor play equipment, wagons and other toys suitable for preschoolers. If you have any of these items you’d like to donate, please reach out to us and/or drop off items at Lincoln Center!

Finally, we are continuing our bond planning with the intention of bringing the plan to build a new Helena High school, a new Kessler School and complete a major remodel at Capital High School to the full board for a vote in June.   This effort will be a major step towards maintaining our schools as the heart of our community and I look forward to sharing more details on this exciting new chapter in the near future.

Enjoy this beautiful three day weekend,

Respectfully,

Rex M. Weltz, Superintendent
Helena Public Schools

Jeff, Terry and Julie Beaver celebrate a family combined total of 155 years of service.