From the Principal’s Desk

 

From the Principal’s desk…
Follow all the Principal’s student news and announcements here

 

 

February 20, 2024

Congratulations to Annika Nehring and Kai Moser. I received word last week that these two outstanding students are now National Merit Finalists!

Congratulations to Layla Riggs as she qualified for the national speech and debate tournament in Congressional Debate. In addition, Emerson Poole is second alternate in Original Oratory. Ethan Taylor was also a semi finalist in Original Oratory. Finally, Samuel Hutchinson was a semifinalist in Humorous Interpretation.

Congratulations to our HHS Thespians as they performed, “Cut” by Ed Monk at the State Thespian Festival.  Gibson Grigg won Outstanding Performer and HHS won Outstanding Comedy!


February 12, 2024

I was happy to learn that Kai Moser has also been selected as one of our Presidential Scholar candidates. Thanks to all of those that have supported Kai through his educational journey.

We are happy to announce that one of our NHS chapter members has been selected for a National Honor Society Scholarship. Congratulations to Senior Katryn Seliskar!

Congratulations to the 13 Helena High students who competed in the State DECA competition in Missoula last week. Eight of those students will advance to the National DECA competition in California. They are:

Layla Riggs – Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Taya Munden – Retail Management Services
Aysia Phattavong – Entrepreneurship
Cate Hardan and Makenzie Groom – Ignite Leadership Conference

Claire Eaton – Elevate Leadership Conference

Matt Velasquez, Inara Guliyeva, and Michael Leyva – Gold Status for the Catty Shack in the School Based Enterprise Competition.

Congratulations to our wrestlers as they competed in the State Tournament in Billings this past weekend. Congratulations to:

  • Clara Schuele placed 6th at 138lbs girls

Congratulations to our swimmers as they competed in the State Tournament in Great Falls this past weekend. Congratulations to:

500 Yard Freestyle Boys Garrett Krattiger 1st (New School and State Record)
100 Yard Backstroke Boys  Garrett Krattiger 1st
200 Yard Boys Individual Medley Devin Goetsch 2nd
100 Yard Butter Fly Boys Devin Goetsch 4th


February 5, 2024

Please congratulate talented senior Annika Nehring as she was selected as a Presidential Scholar candidate. Thanks to all of her k-12 teachers and coaches that have supported her.

Celebrate our amazing counselors during National School Counselor Appreciation Week. Thanks for the critical work Chrissy, Ellaina, Jason and Jaime do every day in support of our students’ success!


January 19, 2024

Helena High School American Welding Society Club held its 12th annual “Weld-Off” against East Helena High School on January 18th. Students dug through scrap metal, chose pieces that would work for their project, then design and weld the project in four hours.

The students showed great creativity and sportsmanship. Congratulations to all the students and the winning team from Helena High and East Helena High School. Thank you for making the “Weld-Off” such a great success. 

Congratulation to our teams:
1st Place – HHS Jackson Cosgrove, Aidan Van Wyk, Kelton Holzar, RJ Berndt
2nd Place EHHS- Ryder Finstad, Sawyer Finstad, Cooper Larson, Izak Longcake
3rd Place HHS – Tithen FitzGerald, Haiden Hill, Casey Rule, Corey Rule

 We would like to thank our judges for taking the time to judge the projects. We could not do this without you.  Our judges were from Pacific Steel: Rhett Schoppe and Eric Kelley, General Distributing: Matt Storey, from Iron Workers Union Local 732: Brian Riby, Seth Bergan and Wesley Scott, from Helena Sand and Gravel: Paul Fantry, Western Water Wells: Brandt Netschert and Lane Grove, from Wyatt Winfield “Be Tough” Memorial Foundation: Brigette Bellefeur, from FarCountry Press: JoEllen Wood, from 406 Reality: Steve Netschert, Joe Wood

 We would also like to thank all the local businesses that supported the HHS AWS “Weld-Off”.

Pacific Steel & Recycling, Dick Anderson Construction, General Distributing, Northside Welding, Iron Workers Union Local 732, Boilermakers Union Local 11, Helena Sand and Gravel, Rock Hand Hardware, Home Depot, Costco, Power Townsend, FarCountry Press, 406 Reality, McDantim and Albertsons.

 We would also like to thank all the community that attended our “Weld-Off” your support was greatly appreciated by all the students and staff.


January 4, 2024

Congratulations to the BPA State Qualifiers, who competed at MSU on December 19th.
Isaac McNally 1st in Banking and Finance and 4th in Personal Finance; Titan Raskovich who placed 1st Computer Security, Cisco, Computer Networking and 2nd in Device Configuration; Kaden Price who placed 1st in C sharp programming and 6h in Java; Dominic Blake who placed 2nd in C sharp and 3rd in Python; Kahlil Ellis who placed first in Java; Matthew Roberts who placed 2nd in Java and 9th in Python; Lorenzo Phoenix who placed 8th in Java and 5th in Python; Kai Moser who placed 7th in Python; Emmett Brown who placed 1st in Ethics and Professionalism.


December 4, 2023

Please welcome Mr. Jason Selong to the HHS family. Jason will be teaching Earth Science for us starting Monday.

Congratulations to the members of the HHS Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams that recently received post-season honors:
Luke Ruch – All – Conference
Lewis Peterson – All-Conference
Avery Kraft – 1st Team All-State
Mia Melton – 1st Team All-State
Maddi Todorovich – All-Conference
Jadyn Koffler – Honorable Mention All-Conference.

Congratulations to Jesse Zentz as he was recognized by the National Federation of High Schools as the 2022-2023 Montana Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Congratulations to Trey Schlepp as he was recognized as Helena High’s Heisman High School Scholarship Nominee. He’ll now have the opportunity to compete at the state level for a scholarship with the possibility of competing at the national level.

Congratulations to the following HHS Football players receiving post-season recognition:
Kyler Larson – 1st team All-State, 1st team All-Conference Defensive End.
Manu Melo – 1st team All-State; 1st team All-Conference Punt Returner.
Jaxan Lieberg – 2nd team All-State; 1st team All-Conference Wide Reciever.
Ryan Frisinger – 2nd team All-State; 1st team All-Conference Inside Linebacker.
Dylan Mosness – 2nd team All-State; 1st team All-Conference Outside Linebacker. Honorable Mention All-State; 2nd team All-Conference H-Back.
Brett Grange – 2nd team All-State; 1st team All-Conference Nickle back
Carter Kraft – 2nd team All-Conference; 1st team All-Conference Quarterback.
Tevin Wetzel – Honorable Mention All-State Running back. 2nd team All-Conference Running back.
Ben LaForge – Honorable Mention All-State Guard. 2nd team All-Conference Guard.
Matt Goleman – Honorable Mention All-State Tackle. 2nd team All-Conference Tackle.
Matt Marcille – Honorable Mention All-State Center. 2nd team All-Conference Center.
Trygve Braun – Honorable Mention All-State Fullback- 2nd team All-Conference Fullback
Kehler Woodland – Honorable Mention All-State Defensive Lineman; 2nd team All-Conference Defensive Lineman.
Brady Swenson – Honorable Mention All-State; 2nd team All-Conference Nickle back.
Sam Ark – Honorable Mention All-State;  2nd team All-Conference Cornerback.


November 27, 2023

Congratulations to Lyla Ackerman as she was recognized as a Distinguished Young Women of Lewis and Clark County. Lyla becomes eligible for up to $150,000 in college-granted scholarships.

 

Congratulations to the members of the HHS VB team that were recognized with post-season honors.
Makenzie Jackson – 1st Team All-Conference; 2nd Team All-State
Birdie Heuiser – 1st Team All-Conference; 2nd Team All-State
Malena Onespot-Dansforth – 1st Team All-Conference
Chloe Sanders – 2nd Team All-Conference
Annika Nehring – Honorable Mention All-Conference
Ella McCarthy – Honorable Mention All – Conference


November 20, 2023

Thought I would share a couple of student highlights from last week as a  reminder of the great kids surrounding us. First, an email from a parent regarding his son, Ben Swift, and then a link from Samantha and the StuCo students participating in the Ruby Bridges Walk to School event.

All – If you haven’t heard already, Ben and the Tornadoes won their Special Olympics division over the weekend. They have earned the gold medal every year since we moved back to Helena in 2018. This was Ben’s last tournament as a youth athlete, so it was extra exciting. 😊

Also, Carter Kraft and Eli Peterson volunteered to referee a few of Ben’s games. They did such a great job and were super kind to all the athletes. In addition, Carter reached out to me on Fri and invited Ben to attend the dance/carnival with him along with James Fox. They picked him up and attended the event together. I can’t tell you how much that meant to us; we try to encourage Ben to get out and socialize and it always helps when it’s not us doing the encouraging!

I’m so proud of our Bengal community!
Shawn

https://www.kxlh.com/news/ruby-bridges-honored-at-central-elementary-with-ceremonial-walk-to-school

October 23, 2023

Congrats to the HHS Men’s Cross-Country team for bringing home some hardware from the State Cross Country meet this past weekend in Kalispell. The Boys team captured the third-place trophy led by all-state performances by Milo Kauffman (10) and Elliot Stimpson (11). Other team members include Henry Sund, Dylan Hill, Jake Matthews, Trey Schlepp and Garrett Hinderman.

October 16, 2023

HHS recently had several students awarded National Recognition from College Board under their “National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA). These students earned this recognition because of their academic achievements in school and outstanding performance on the PSAT and/or AP Exams.

Congratulations to Aine Cleary, Ashely Koenig, Avery Sanders, Brynn Woodmansey, Jackson Littrup, Jonathon Abel, Khalil Elias, Kylee Gardipee, Nolan Verrill, Ryan Maus, and Samuel Schiltz.

Here is the list of Advanced Placement recognition for our students that participated in exams last year. Long list of excellent accomplishments for our students and teachers.

AP (Advanced Placement) Scholar Awards:

Ackerman; Lyla AP Scholar with Honor
Anderson; Bryn AP Scholar with Distinction
Anderson; Finn AP Scholar with Honor
Barrs; Aelish AP Scholar with Distinction
Benson; Nicholas AP Scholar
Bishop; Willa AP Scholar with Distinction
Christensen; Allison AP Scholar with Distinction
Cleary; Aine AP Scholar with Distinction
Cline; Alma AP Scholar with Honor
Demmons; Nathaniel AP Scholar with Distinction
Drees; Loreley AP Scholar with Distinction
Elias; Khalil AP Scholar
Erdahl; Lexi AP Scholar
Fang; Nathaniel AP Scholar
Gardipee; Kylee AP Scholar with Honor
Grossman; Ryan AP Scholar
Harmon; Clara AP Scholar
Hernandez; Sofia AP Scholar
Hinderman; Sofia AP Scholar
Jacobsen; Ally AP Scholar
Johnson; Brynne AP Scholar
Klemp; Kendall AP Scholar
Koenig; Ashley AP Scholar
Kosena; Isabella AP Scholar
Kron; Schuyler AP Scholar with Honor
Lawlor; Tess AP Scholar with Honor
Littrup; Jackson AP Scholar
McAnally; Emily AP Scholar
McDonald-Garrity; Lucy AP Scholar
McGady; Connor AP Scholar
Moser; Kai AP Scholar
Nehring; Annika AP Scholar with Distinction
Oser; Taryn AP Scholar
Radley; Gabriella AP Scholar
Rasmann; Ian AP Scholar
Sanders; Avery AP Scholar
Schiltz; Samuel AP Scholar with Distinction
Schuele; Sandra AP Scholar with Distinction
Scoles; Hadley AP Scholar
Scott; Hailey AP Scholar with Distinction
Seliskar; Joseph AP Scholar
Smith; Foster AP Scholar with Distinction
Stafford; Mikayla AP Scholar
Stefaniak; Karson AP Scholar with Distinction
Stimpson; Robert AP Scholar with Distinction
Thomson; Julia AP Scholar
Wilkerson; Jeri AP Scholar with Distinction
Wittrock; Cameron AP Scholar
Woodmansey; Brynn N AP Scholar

 

AP Scholar= Scores of 3 or higher on 3 or more AP Exams.

AP Scholar with Honors= Average score of 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on 4 or more AP Exams.

AP Scholar with Distinction= Average Score of at least a 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on 5 or more of these exams.

September 11, 2023

Congratulations to the following All-State Choir students: Lyla Ackerman and Ella Nasset. Thanks to Molly Kohoutek for her work with these talented students. 

Congratulations to the following All-State Orchestra students: Clara Harmon, Freya Elias, Aine Cleary, Owen McDaniel, Caili Lowney and Elliot Cleary. Congratulations to Zach Harris and Cody Hollow. 

Congratulations to Jill VanAlstyne for her writing recognition during her sabbatical. From the district website:

Ms. Van Alstyne’s piece – “Survival Mode in Lame Deer” – won the Society of Professional Journalists Second Place Award for Education Reporting for Region 10, which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The story also took second place for education reporting and third place for feature story writing  in the Montana Newspaper Association awards.

Here’s the link:  https://helenaschools.org/student-and-educator-recognitions/


September 5, 2023

Congratulations to Adara Partridge and Sabrina Braden as they received first place in the Montana Meth Project’s Paint the State contest. They placed first in the Teen- Southwest group. Their artwork is on the side of the shed outside the welding shop. Thanks to Cindy Galbavy’s guidance. Here is the website https://paintthestate.org/winners/