Friday Update from Superintendent Weltz | November 1, 2024
In today’s newsletter
– Bengal boys take 2nd at State AA Cross Country
– Students attend tsunami conference in Japan
– CHS Marketing students create virtual NFL team
– Humphrey named “MEA Outstanding Business Teacher of the Year”
– New Helena Food Share facility now open
– Reminder: Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday!
Dear Families and Staff,
I’m happy to share some inspiring stories from our schools today, both of which highlight the robust opportunities for learning that students find at Helena Public Schools.
Last spring, I shared details of our district’s sister city partnership with the Japanese City of Tamana forged by retired Helena High Principal Steve Thennis.
As a result of Mr. Thennis’ diplomacy, Helena High hosted 13 band students from Tamana High School back in 2013. Tamana is located on Japan’s southern island of Kyūshū.
Mr. Thennis continued to support the sister city connection, and visited Tamana High School last spring to deliver a commencement speech to the Class of 2024.
With Mr. Thennis’ retirement, a new educator, Helena High’s Lauren Gustafson, is helping carry forward exchange opportunities with Japan. In October, Gustafson and three of her AP Geography students took an 8-day trip to Kyūshū island, this time to the city of Kumamoto, to study a topic that resonates with cultures the world over – natural disasters. They joined students and educators from 42 countries around the world for a summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day.”
While tsunamis may seem a world away from Montana, we are no strangers to earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters that have ravaged communities in Japan and Montana alike. These include the 1935 earthquake that collapsed a wing of the newly completed Helena High; the 1959 Hebgen Lake quake that dammed the Madison River, creating a new lake; the massive tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in 2011 and the devastating 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.
Sessions at the conference focused on a wide range of disaster prevention and response topics, including disaster mitigation, economic impacts, response times, population density and environmental factors. The conference was designed to educate and inspire future leaders who will build resilience in their communities while deepening ties between countries all over the world.
Helena High students Evelyn Callery, Kenzi Criswell, and Eva Skibicki represented Helena well, becoming the first known group from a mainland U.S. high school to attend the summit. Funded largely by the Japanese government, with the remainder paid for by the students’ families, the trip offered our students a unique perspective on disaster response and international collaboration.
“It was a phenomenal experience with so much learned and so many lifelong connections made,” said Ms. Gustafson. Before the summit, the group toured the Kumamoto area, learning about responses to the 2011 tsunami and the 2016 earthquake. Armed with this knowledge, they collaborated with other students at the summit to create action plans to help mitigate future disaster impacts.
Thank you, Ms. Gustafson, for making this incredible experience possible. This is just one example of the kinds of life experiences and growth opportunities that our Helena Public Schools offer through curriculum, clubs and extracurricular activities.
CHS Marketing students create virtual NFL team
Meanwhile, at Capital High, Business and Marketing Teacher Jessica Freeman is taking her students on a virtual adventure. Her fifth-period Sports & Entertainment Marketing class is competing in the “2024 Sports Career Consulting Fantasy Football Classroom Challenge.”
Hosted by Portland, Oregon-based Sports Career Consulting, LLC, the contest invites high school students to create a comprehensive marketing and community relations plan for a hypothetical expansion NFL team. The contest immerses students in sports marketing, challenging them to apply concepts ranging from budgeting and branding to crisis response and community relations. (The contest is not related to the online “Fantasy Football” competitions).
Ms. Freeman’s class created the “Utah Yetis” football team based in Salt Lake City. The students describe their team brand as “family-oriented and community-centric, while also being aggressive and ambitious, with the ability to overcome obstacles and harsh conditions.”
With four of the competition’s six challenges completed, the Yetis have tied for first place and taken a second place.
The Yetis wowed the judges with their “Fear the Frost” slogan, their team mascot – a friendly, but fierce yeti named “Everest” – and accompanying merchandise. Fans even have a signature “Yeti Yell” call, which can be achieved with the help of a horn available for $5 at merchandise stores throughout the Yeti’s home stadium.
The Yetis’ mascot, Everest, “represented the strength and perseverance of a mountain climber, which tied in beautifully with the team’s branding,” wrote the judges. “Game day experiences were designed to be exciting for all ages, with snow guns creating a blizzard-like entrance for players and the “Yeti Yell” engaging fans after every touchdown. The “Icettes” cheer squad represented an excellent extension of the brand.”
If you’re a football fan, you’ll find it worthwhile to check out the excellent work of Ms. Freeman’s class as they participate in this great learning opportunity.
The Yetis now have just one more round to go. Fear the Frost!
Helena High’s Humphrey named “Outstanding Montana Business Teacher of the Year”
In other staff recognitions, I’m honored to share that Helena High’s Samantha Humphrey was named Outstanding Montana Business Teacher of the Year at the recent Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE) Educators Conference in Bozeman. Ms. Humphrey teaches personal finance, career planning and other business-related courses and serves at Helena High’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) advisor. Thank you, Ms. Humphrey, for all you do to prepare your students for career success!
New Helena Food Share facility open to shoppers
In community news, I’m pleased to congratulate one of our most critical community partners – Helena Food Share – on their move to their new facility at 1280 Boulder Ave. This beautiful and conveniently located facility houses Food Share’s Grocery Share Market, food donation drive-up, commercial production kitchen, warehouse, community room for food prep and nutrition classes and administrative offices. The expanded space facilitates Helena Food Share’s production of Kid Packs for schools, which provide a nutrition bridge for kids who may be at risk of not getting enough food over the weekend.
Please see the flyers below for shopping information.
Bengal boys take second at State AA Cross Country
Finally, please join me in congratulating our Helena High Boys Cross Country Team and Coach Kelley Gilbert who took second place at the State AA Cross Country meet last weekend in Missoula. Thanks to all of our cross country athletes and coaches for your hard work this season.
And best of luck to our Bengal and Bruin Volleyball players, who host Divisionals here at home Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
Enjoy your weekend and remember to turn your clocks back so you can enjoy that extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning.
Respectfully,
Rex M. Weltz, Superintendent Helena Public Schools
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