Bengal Happenings

Bell Schedules

Year-at-a-Glance

No School - December 22 through January 2

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

Main Office - (406) 324-2200

Website - hhs.helenaschools.org

As we close out 2025 and start to look toward 2026, there is plenty to be thankful for at HHS! A few of the highlights from this calendar year:

• Boys Basketball wins the Western AA Conference Title and brings home the 3rd Place Trophy
• Evelyn Callery and Eva Skibicki earn National Merit Scholarship
• Our Thespian Troupe is once again recognized as the Outstanding Troupe at the Annual Thespian Festival, alongside awards in costuming, performing, and design
• Our Mock Trial Team won its 6th State Championship and competed at the National Tournament
• Softball wins the Western AA Conference Title for the first time since 1990
• Girls and Boys Track bring home the 2nd Place Trophies from the State Meet (the only school in the state to have both teams end their season on the podium)
• Madi Todorovich broke the record for most medals won throughout a career in Track
• Faith Howard is selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year for Softball in Montana
• Michael Leyva receives the prestigious Horatio Alger Award
• 21 members of the Class of 2025 earned the MUS Health or STEM Scholarships
• The Class of 2025 had 10 AP Scholars, 7 AP Scholars with Honors, and 14 AP Scholars with distinction based on the amount of 3s, 4s, and 5s received on their many AP tests over their four years. Those receiving a Distinction notation averaged a 4.09 out of 5 on their AP exams.
• Our Student Council was recognized as a Council of Excellence, a National Honor
• Layla Riggs became the first Montanan to be named a National Finalist for the Speech and Debate Student of the Year Award, placing runner up in the competition

• Over 20 students earned their Seal of Biliteracy in either Spanish, French, or German
• HHS continues to out pace the state, and most of the AA, with getting students prepared for college and future careers coming in 3rd in the AAs in Math proficiency, 6th in Science, and 7th in ELA. All scores being well above the state average.
• Boys Cross Country finished 2nd for the second year in a row at the State Meet with our Girls finishing 3rd. This is the first time in over 30 years both teams have finished on the podium in the same year.
• In October, we again named two National Merit Semifinalists - Brady Lay and Grey Gildroy
• The fall season was capped off with our Lady Bengal Soccer Team winning the Western AA Conference Championship!
• Finally, we had 12 individuals earn the honor of being recognized as All-State Musicians, participating in the All-State Music Festival this fall.

While I know I might be missing a few highlights, this is still an impressive list to highlight the amazing work our students, and staff, are doing every day. We are fortunate to have an amazing student body who pushes themselves to be great each day, and a staff that helps them achieve those goals.

As we look forward to 2026, there is plenty on the horizon! We cannot thank our community enough for the passing of the bonds, allowing us to build a new Helena High School building. This work has been exciting as we work to hire our key players, finalize and develop our footprint, and start to envision what our new building will look like. Helena High has always been a special place, it is exciting to think through what we are going to be able to do with the new building in the future!

Thank you, Bengals, for helping continue the tradition of excellence in our building. We are fortunate to be part of the journey! Go Bengals!

When we return from the break, we have only a couple of weeks before our Semester Tests. Students are required to be here for their tests. If there is a need for your child to be absent during a testing period, you need to start working with their Assistant Principal to formulate a plan for a re-take. Students must also be on time for their tests each period.

Test Week Schedule:

• Monday, January 19 - No School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Tuesday, January 20 - Regular Schedule
• Wednesday, January 21 - Periods 0, 1, 2
• Thursday, January 22 - Periods 3, 4, 5
• Friday, January 23 - Periods 6, 7

Test Day Bell Schedule:

• January 21:
• Period 0 - 8:20-9:40 a.m.
• Period 1 - 9:55-11:15 a.m.
• Lunch - 11:15-11:50 a.m.
• Period 2 - 11:50 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.
• Make-up Period - 1:25-2:45 p.m.

• January 22:
• Period 3 - 8:20-9:40 a.m.
• Period 4 - 9:55-11:15 a.m.
• Lunch - 11:15-11:50 a.m.
• Period 5 - 11:50 a.m. - 1:10 p.m.
• Make-up Period - 1:25-2:45 p.m.

• January 23:
• Period 6 - 8:20-9:40 a.m.
• Period 7 - 9:55-11:15 a.m.
• Lunch - 11:15-11:50 a.m.
• Make-up Period - 11:50-2:45

Winter Formal is right around the corner! On Friday, January 9, from 8-11 pm, the Bengals will take over the Civic Center for a Great Gatsby themed night of fun! Tickets are currently on sale through our online RevTrak system for students to purchase. Online ticket sales will close at midnight on January 8. Tickets will be available to be purchased by cash or check when we return from the break - January 5-9 at lunch by the Counseling Office.

Doors will open at 8:00 p.m. at the Civic Center. Students will not be allowed entry after 9:00 p.m. If you need assistance with tickets, please contact the main office.

As mentioned in our last Happenings, our Football recipients were not quite ready for me to share out. Below are our Bengals who received honors in Football this year:

• Peyton Lorenz - 1st Team All-Conference, All-State Running Back, 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Inside Linebacker
• Riley Schulte - 1st Team All-Conference, All-State Punter, 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Corner
• Nick Kantorowicz - 1st Team All-Conference, 2nd Team All-State Tackle, 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Defensive End
• Gracen Silvonen - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Wide-Receiver
• Brayden Garza - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State H-Back
• Seth Kiser - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Outside Linebacker
• Colin Mehrens - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Nickle
• Sean Gibson - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Kickoff Returner
• Drew Esponda - 2nd Team All-Conference, HM All-State Special Teams Player
• Cjay Fritz - HM All-Conference Tackle, Defensive Lineman
• Chase Orchard - HM All-Conference Guard
• Auston Rowe - HM All-Conference Safety

Students of the Month:

• Casey Rule
• Josie Buck
• Elliot Palamountain
• Taylor Hinckley

Bengal Pound Winners for November:

• Kinleigh Murray
• Gabby Rolph-Jackson
• Grace Dobler
• Augustus Baum
• Lyla Wood
• Peyton Mosby
• Ava Irey
• Izaik Murfitt

Congratulations to Dick Anderson Construction for being approved by the Board of Trustees as the General Contractor/Contract Manager for HHS. We now have the major players in place for our new build. Soon, we will be able to share out dates related to the next community meetings, updates on when you likely will start to see activity on the campus, and a better understanding of what the next two years will look like as we build our new building. Stay tuned!

Additionally, in an effort to gain student voice in the process, SMA will be at HHS during lunch on Tuesday, January 13 and Wednesday, January 14. During that time, students are welcome to stop by, answer questions to the prompts they have available, or generally give the team their ideas on what we needs to be included in our new building.

For those that are interested in auditioning for a spot in the Night to Shine event, you must sign up for an audition spot by January 2, 2026. Posters are on the walls around the school with the QR code to get an audition spot.

For those that make the show, rehearsals will be Monday, February 16 with the Annual Night to Shine show taking place on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.

The submission window for our student produced magazine that highlights writing and artwork from both HHS and CHS is now open. Students are encouraged to consider submitting a piece of writing or artwork through the website linked below by Friday, January 16 for consideration. The Pen and Ink magazine is an incredible way for our community to truly see the amazing talents of our students! Students are encouraged to talk with their English and/or Art teacher if they have questions.

Pen and Ink Submissions

When we return from the break, Semester 2 schedules will be distributed to students as a reminder of any changes they have coming in late January. If a student is wanting to change a class, they can start to work with their counselor to see if a change is possible. A reminder that any teacher-specific changes need to come through your child's Assistant Principal. If you have any questions on your child's schedule, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Congratulations to our Helena Exchange Club Youth of the Month for December: Nora Dwyer, Garrett Hinderman, Freya Elias

Save the Date! Rising Junior & Senior (current 10th & 11th grade) Parent Night is scheduled for Monday, February 9th at 5:30pm.

**Helena College Spring Registration is now open for Early College students. Early College classes are taken at the college or online through the college for college credit only. Early College is open to any student that is 16 years old OR a junior in high school. If your student is interested, please encourage them to schedule a meeting with the Helena College Dual Enrollment coordinator, Cheryl Ravenscroft. Cheryl is available every Tuesday from 8:30-10am at Helena High to answer any questions or to explore early college credits and classes.

Below are key items on the Senior College Checklist for college-bound students. Please take a moment to verify that your student has completed these three major tasks. Winter break is an excellent time to get everything finalized.

1. Apply to a College or Trade Program
   Students should submit applications to their college(s) or trade program of choice. Applying in-state, use https://applymontana.mus.edu/apply.html

2. Send Official Transcripts

• Students who applied outside of the Common App must request and send official transcripts through Parchment.com.
• Students who applied using the Common App do not need to request transcripts through Parchment. Transcripts are uploaded directly by the counselor listed in the student’s Common App account.

3. Complete the FAFSA (2026–2027)

• Student creates FAFSA account and adds parent(s) as contributors
• Parent(s) create and verify their own account using the FAFSA email invitation
• Student completes and submits the 2026–2027 FAFSA
• Submission confirmation shows “Submitted and Processing”

Seniors can visit their Senior Teams page for additional step-by-step instructions. Please contact Ms. Navarrete with any questions.

Scholarships:

**MUS Honor Scholarship application opens December 1st. The MUS Honor Scholarship is a 4-year renewable scholarship, which waives the recipient’s tuition when used at an eligible in-state campus. https://applymontana.mus.edu/paying-for-school/scholarships/mus-honor-scholarship.html

**Montana STEM/Healthcare Scholarship application opens December 1st. https://applymontana.mus.edu/paying-for-school/scholarships/stem-scholarship.html

Youth Serve Montana scholarship:

$1,500 to a Montana campus network for civic engagement institution.

-High school Graduating Seniors

-100+ Hours of qualifying service hours completed in the last 12 months

Limited scholarship - visit Serve.mt.gov for application

Please take a minute to view the Montana Community Foundation Scholarships for Helena high Students.

https://mtcf.org/scholarships/scholarship-directory

Reach Higher MT is another great website for Montana College/Trade bound students

https://reachhighermontana.org/

Speaking of classes, registration for the 2026-2027 school year is right around the corner. Students will start the registration process in February to help give us an idea on class offerings and requests as we start to prepare the master schedule for the next school year. The general format for registration includes our counselors visiting classes at the start of the week, discussing requirements for the next grade level, reviewing current credits and needs with students, and walking them through the options available to help prepare them for their next chapter in their lives. The registration booklet will be online only this year, but if you need a printed copy, please let us know.

Registration Timeline:

• Juniors
• Initial meeting with Counselors in English Classes - Monday, February 9
• In-class request inputs - Friday, February 13
• Sophomores
• Initial meeting with Counselors in Biology Classes - Tuesday, February 17
• In-class request inputs - Friday, February 20
• Freshmen
• Initial meeting with Counselors in World Studies Classes - Monday, February 23
• In-class request inputs - Friday, February 27

12/19 - BBB vs Billings Senior 4:30/4:00/5:30/7:00; GBB @ Senior

12/19-20 - WR @ Great Falls Holiday Tournament

12/20 - BBB vs Billings Skyview 9:30/11:00/12:30/2:00; GBB @ Skyview; JVWR @ Great Falls Invite; SW @ Polson

1/2-3 - BWR @ Bozeman Invite, GWR @ Belgrade Invite

1/3 - JVWR @ Bozeman Invite; BBB vs Great Falls High 10:30/12:00/1:30/3:00; GBB @ Great Falls High

1/6 - WR vs Capital 6:00/7:00/8:00 p.m.

1/8 - GBB vs Big Sky 4:30/4:00/5:30/7:00; BBB @ Big Sky

1/9 - WR @ Sentinel/Big Sky; Winter Formal

1/9-10 - S&D Helena Tournament

1/10 - BBB vs Sentinel 10:00/11:30/1:00/2:30; GBB @ Sentinel; SW @ Butte

Yearly Updated Document

December 2025

22-Jan 2 – No School, Winter Break

January 2026

1-2 – No School, Winter Break

9 - Winter Formal – 8-11 pm @ Civic Center

19 – No School, MLK, Jr. Day

21-23 – Semester Tests

26- No School, Records Day

27 – Start of 2nd Semester

Continued Progress...

Bengals, as we make our way through the last two full weeks of school leading into the Winter Break, there is plenty going on at Helena High to get us through the end of the calendar year. We know this can be an exciting time for many as you prepare for the holidays, but also know there are families in need of support during this time as well. Please see the resources below if you are interested in them.

Each Bengal Happenings, we have been providing insight into what students are learning in classes, but after reviewing whether those are being accessed or not, it did not appear that this was the preferred way for parents to receive that information. Moving forward, instead of me linking those in this communication, teachers are being asked to include that same information alongside their agendas on their teacher pages. I encourage you to check those agendas and updates on a regular basis to have a better understanding of what your students are learning each day.

Friday was the mid-point of the 2nd quarter, believe it or not. If your child is struggling in a class, I encourage them to connect with their teacher and work together on ways to help with their growth. They can also utilize the Academic Support Center at any point throughout the day.

Finally, we continue to make progress on the design aspect of the new Helena High building. It has been great to work on these initial aspects of the building footprint - there is definitely excitement in the air. This past week, a group of HHS staff visited schools in Washington that were designed by the firm AE-SMA is working with, NAC, to get a better idea of the different design aspects they utilize and see things we would like to see in our new building, and others that we do not believe would fit well. The district is hosting another Brews and Blueprints event on Wednesday, December 17 at Brothers Tapworks. I would highly encourage you to attend this event to hear more on where we are at with all the projects related to the bond and have an opportunity to ask questions. Moving forward, we will start our process this week to hire a General Contractor for our project. The Request for Qualifications is due on Monday, with the team reviewing those on Tuesday this week to select the finalists that will interview in front of the committee on Tuesday, December 16.

If you ever have questions on the project, or anything related to our school operations, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Congratulations to our All-Conference and All-State Recipients

The Bengals had another great fall sports season, with at least one member of all our teams competing in the State Tournament. As such, we also had many individual students be recognized with All-Conference or All-State Selections. Below are the individuals who earned those honors. Football will be included in the next edition as those were voted on this past week.

Girls Golf (2nd Place at Divisionals)

• Mya Helvick - All Conference, All State
• Cate Hardan - All Conference
• Glacia Lucchetti - All Conference

Boys Golf

• Austin Kauffman - All Conference, All State

Girls Cross Country (3rd Place Finish at State)

• Kortney McKay - All State
• Isabel Ward-All State

Boys Cross Country (2nd Place Finish at State)

• Milo Kauffman - All State
• Dylan Hill - All State
• Garrett Hinderman - All State

Girls Soccer (Western Conference Champions)

• Keira Schulte - All Conference, All State
• Hailey Hayes - All Conference, All State
• Talia Demers - All Conference, All State
• Greta Petersen - All Conference
• Stella Hilton - All Conference
• Lillia Foley - All Conference
• Jayka Delude - All Conference

Boys Soccer

• Harper Karalus - All Conference, All State
• Laine Foley - All Conference

Volleyball

• Ella McCarthy - 1st Team All Conference
• Dakota Lieberg - 1st Team All Conference
• Lauryn Lieberg - 1st Team All Conference
• Sammy Knutson - 2nd Team All Conference
• Avery Peterson - 2nd Team All Conference
• Brooklyn Smith - Honorable Mention

Parent Council Meeting

For our December 17 Parent Council Meeting, instead of a separate meeting, I would like to encourage you to attend the Brews and Blueprints Event at Brothers Tapworks on December 17. That will start at 5:30 p.m.