Bengal Happenings

Bell Schedules

Year-at-a-Glance

September 8 and 9 - Frosh and Soph MAP Testing, Juniors ACT and Community Clean Up, Seniors Class Picture, Jostens Discussion, Counselor Presentation - Assessment Schedule

Attendance - hhsattendance@helenaschools.org; (406) 324-2211

Main Office - (406) 324-2200

Website - hhs.helenaschools.org

We will move back to the Helena High School (facebook.com/helenahighbengals) Facebook and Instagram pages as our main social media sites. Both sites have our logo with the tiger in the middle and Helena High School - Home of the Bengals around the outside.

Facebook - Helena High School

Instagram - helenahighschoolbengals

As we move our way into September, it is exciting to see classes begin to dig deeper into the content, the weather starts to shift, and the new year feels fully underway. It has been a positive start to the school year - thank you to our amazing students and staff for working through the uncertainty we all had with construction and working with us as we figure out how everything is going to work. We have great students in our building - this time has helped shine a bright light on that!

On Wednesday, September 9, we invite you to join us for our annual Open House. Departments will be spread throughout the building for you to make your way around and connect with your child's teachers for the year. We truly believe education is a partnership and we look forward to building further connections with you all. Feel free to stop by anytime between 6-7 p.m. We will have maps out so you can navigate where each department is hanging out, ready to meet you. Please note, this time is intended to build a connection with teachers and families - not necessarily a deep dive into the content of the class. If you would like to have a further discussion on that, please set up a time with the teacher to meet. We will have Heleburger and Habana406 present for families to grab a bite to eat before coming inside. These will be parked in the drop-off loop on the north side of the school.

Senior Parent Night will be on Monday, September 14 in the Little Theater from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Senior parents, we encourage you to attend as our counselors will review pertinent information around senior year planning, post-secondary opportunities, and answer questions you may have around graduation.

Our Seniors will be meeting with Jostens this week and will be given information on how to order their caps, gowns, grad announcements, class rings, and all the other things that come with being a senior. Be on the lookout for an email and packet information on how to order.

Finally, Homecoming Week is fast approaching. Staring Monday, September 28, we will be in full Spirit Week mode, plenty of home games and events to attend, the crowning of Royalty and the Homecoming Dance. Tickets for the dance will go on sale September 14 through RevTrak. Cash sales will be the week of September 28. Guest contracts are due October 1 at the latest. Tickets will be $15 for a single ticket, $25 for a double and $40 at the door. The dance will be held Saturday, October 3 from 7-10 p.m. in the HHS Gym.

Theme Days for Homecoming (think nostalgic):

• Music Monday – pick your favorite band or musical genre (could be a simple t-shirt or full out costume!)

• Twin Tuesday – find your buddy and dress alike! Bonus points if you match a picture from an old yearbook!

• Old School Wednesday – dress like an HHS teacher – even better if you can dress like them from their time in high school!
• Throwback Bengal Thursday – dig into the old closets, thrift stores, etc. to find vintage Bengal gear – maybe from last year or maybe from waaaayyyy back!
• Class Color Friday – let’s color wash the bleachers during the assembly!
• Freshmen: Purple
• Sophomores: Yellow
• Juniors: Pink
• Seniors: Blue
• Staff: Green

Go Bengals!

For those seniors who will be submitting a senior portrait for the yearbook, the deadline to submit those is October 31, 2026. Information on how to submit the pictures can be found on our website - https://hhs.helenaschools.org/about/yearbook/

Thank you to the many of you who were able to attend our Freshmen Parent Night. As you and your child continue to find your groove in high school, please do not hesitate to reach out with the questions you may have.

The presentation from that night can be found on our website and is linked below.

Freshmen Parent Night 2026.pdf

We continue to make strides with the development of our new building. This week marked a huge milestone as our architect team submitted the 100% Construction Document package. This moment, close to the one year anniversary of the community providing us this opportunity by passing the bond, is a major accomplishment and was made possible by the hard work of many people. Thank you, especially, to all our teaching staff who sat in meetings, provided input along the way, and worked to ensure that the building we have developed will be an incredible place for students to learn for years to come!

Looking forward, we continue to find ourselves in the foundations and footing phase of the project. Crews are working hard to make their way through the south and east side of the new building, working north toward the shops.

• Meet our new Career Resource Assistant - Mr. Jake Troyer. Mr. Troyer has hit the ground running, building connections with the community to benefit our students. Mr. Troyer is excited to start working with students to find Work-Based Learning Opportunities to gain experience and an understanding of what that career might look like. If you have an idea of an internship, apprenticeship, or pre-apprenticeship that you would like to try or learn more about, stop in and see Mr. Troyer, send a Teams Chat, or email him to determine next steps.
• There are many job posting on the wall outside the Counseling/Career Center for students to review. These will be updated regularly as we are made aware.
• A scholarship list is also available through Mr. Troyer for those that are starting to apply and look for collegiate support.
• Schedule changes are now complete. Counselors will now start working with seniors to discuss their next steps in life, do another check to make sure they have their graduation requirements met, and help with college and scholarship applications.

Welcome Back Bengals! Please reach out if you have a student with a health condition, midday medication, health related 504 plan, emergency medication, medical supplies that should be kept at school, or for any other health related concern. Please also reach out for injuries and upcoming surgeries so we can help navigate returning to school safely. Let’s troubleshoot together so we are prepared for another great year at Helena High.

Emily Rodway RN

-Office 406-324-2216

-Email erodway@helenaschools.org

-Cell 406-616-3860

Helena High School is identified as a Title I school. This designation is in relation to the percentage of students in our building that qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch. As a Title School, we are required to hold a Title I Parent Meeting each school year. This meeting allows to share with parents our goals for the year, discuss how we utilized the Title funding in our school to directly benefit students, and answer any questions you may have.

This year, we will host our meeting on Monday, September 21 from 4:00-5:00 p.m., virtually. If you are interested in joining, please use the link and information below.

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/258251492389761?p=uxmHAy4iktNHtben3J

Meeting ID: 258 251 492 389 761

Passcode: hu2ks6yc

Along with our Annual Title Parent Meeting, we are required to share additional documents. These documents outline your ability to request teacher qualifications from the school, notification that we are qualified as a Title 1 school, and notification on the experience of the staff in our building. Each of the documents are linked below. If you have any questions on them, please consider

• Verification of Teacher and Para Qualifications
• Title 1 Program Eligibility
• Right to Request Teacher Qualifications

For those who will be taking AP tests this year, it is now available on RevTrak for you to go in and pay for the test. Cost for a test is $40. If you qualify for Free/Reduced lunch, there is a reduced fee option as well. If you have questions about a test or payment for a test, please connect with your child's teacher or Mr. Kessler. Once notification is received that a test (or tests) have been paid for, we will confirm your test with College Board. We do ask that students are signed up for their tests by October 1.

9/8 - VB vs Sentinel 4/5:30/7pm; FLFB vs Big Sky 6/7:30pm

9/9-10 - GO @ Kalispell

9/9 - FR FB @ Sentinel

9/11 - FB vs Sentinel 3:30/7pm

9/12 - GSOC vs Hellgate 1/11; BSOC vs Hellgate 11/1; VB @ Big Sky; XC @ Bozeman

9/15 - JV GO @ East Helena; Var BSOC vs CHS (@ Carroll) 3:00; Var GSOC vs CHS (@ Carroll) 5:00

9/16 - JV Soc @ CHS 4:00

9/17 - FLFB vs Great Falls High 4/5:30

9/17-18 - GO @ Butte

9/18 - FB @ Flathead; VB @ Glacier

9/19 - XC @ Missoula; VB @ Flathead; FR FB vs Flathead 12:00; FLFB @ Butte

September 2026

• 7 – No School, Labor Day

• 8 – MAP Testing Freshmen and Sophomores; Juniors ACT Prep; Seniors Counseling Presentation (Assessment Schedule)

• 9 – MAP Testing Freshmen and Sophomores; Juniors Community Service Day, Seniors Josten’s Visit (Assessment Schedule); Open House 6-7 p.m.

• 13 – HEF Carnival Classic

• 14 – Senior Parent Night – 6-7 p.m. Little Theater

• 25 – 1st Quarter Mid-term

• 28-Oct 3 – Homecoming Week!

• 28-Oct 9 – College Application Weeks

Within the first couple of days of school, students will review updates to the Student Handbook in their 2nd period class. After review, students will bring home the handbook sign-off document. The full handbook will be linked on our HHS website for review throughout the school year. Please be sure to review the sign off sheet and various approvals we are asking from you and return it to the school.

Additionally, we will be sending home the list of approved clubs for HHS. Please review the clubs and return the club approval form, signed, for the clubs you approve of your student joining, if they choose. If clubs are added throughout the school year, students will need to gain additional approval from parents before a student can join.

Finally, on Friday, August 28, students in grades 10-12 will be asked to complete a survey similar to the one we have been asking parents to complete. This survey will help give us an opportunity to gain student perspective on what is going well at HHS, and areas they would like to see improve. If you would like your child not to participate in this survey, please send an email to bkessler1@helenaschools.org, or call at (406) 324-2202 and we will not have your child complete the survey. The survey is anonymous. There are some basic demographic questions, but those are optional for students to answer.

Lockers

Students have the choice on whether they have a locker or not. We recommend students utilize this resource and find one in an area that will allow them to change books/materials throughout the day and limit how much they are carrying.

If a student is interested in a locker, they will need to find one in an area they would like. They will then stop by the Main Office and connect with Mrs. White to reserve the locker. Students are asked to supply their own lock, but we can provide one for them if needed. Lockers with a backwards lock are ones that are still available.

Stop by the Main Office if you have questions.

Construction Updates

Things continue to get exciting with our new building. We appreciate your patience as we have worked together with the various street closures as they have worked on utilities the past two weeks. Traffic should be flowing more normally starting Monday, August 24, but I would continue to plan accordingly.

If you have been around the building lately, you've likely noticed more machinery popping up on campus. While we still have a ways before we see the building start to go vertical, we are definitely getting closer!

On our HHS webpage (hhs.helenaschools.org), we have added a section for construction. We will keep all of our construction-related communications on that page, along with a FAQ section for the common questions that we receive. Please let us know if there are aspects you would like to see included on that page to help with staying up-to-date on what is going on with construction. We also will continue to share out on social media.

As we shared out this week with parking, we are currently creating a wait-list for those that are interested in parking in the school-provided parking lots. We appreciate everyone's desire to be great community partners by parking in designated school parking areas. For those that park in the Harris Street Lot, we will have the shuttle bus available to get to campus, or you are welcome to walk. Please plan accordingly, though, to make sure you are able to get to your classes on time. As of right now, we do not have a 0 period shuttle, but will continue to refine the opportunities as we see what is needed the first couple of weeks of school. The name of the game will be flexibility and adaptability this year as we figure out how to live with construction on campus.

More Than a Meal

At the start of each school year, we like to remind our families to consider completing the Free and Reduced Meal Application. This application opens many doors for students from qualifying families beyond access to free or reduced-price meals.

When families fill out the application, this helps us also demonstrate student need and helps our district access federal and state funding that directly affects student success, student supports, fee waivers, scholarship and grant applications for students, and other resources for students and families. At this high school level, this also includes the ability for waivers of athletic fees and class fees.

Even if your child does not plan on eating school food every day, I encourage you to complete the application and see if you qualify. The link to complete the application is here - https://dca.opi.mt.gov/FRAPP?SponsorNum=0487

Additionally, we will have computers set up in the Main Office the first couple of weeks of the year if you would like to stop by complete the application that way. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

Clicking the photo below will take you to the website to register as well.

Want to Perform the National Anthem at a Game?

We love when our students are able to perform the National Anthem prior to our varsity competitions. In the past, we have reserved this for students in our choir classes or our Pep Band. This year, though, we would like to try something new and offer this opportunity to all students in our school. Students who are interested in auditioning for a game need to keep an eye out for the dates and times to play in front of Mrs. Kohoutek. Remember, the National Anthem can be sung, a trumpet solo, small ensemble, and more.

Initial Human Sexuality and Sexual Identity Notice

Throughout the year, there will be times in various classes in which lessons, units, or novels will contain material that is covered under the required Human Sexuality and Sexual Identity notifications. Within the designated time frames (no less than 5 days, no more than 14 days), your child's teacher will send home the notice of the instruction and alert you to the opportunity to review the material before the lesson, if you so choose.

For content that falls under the Human Sexuality notice, families will need to opt out of the instruction. For content that falls under the Sexual Identity notice, families will need to opt in to the instruction. This will again be outlined in the notices that come out.

General areas in which these topics typically fall include:

• Health
• Biology (1 and 2, AP)
• Psychology
• AP Psychology
• Certain English novels

Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions related to this.