The Brave Experience

Dear Banks Community,

As we head into Fall Break, we have much to be thankful for in the Banks School District, where students are thriving in and out of the classroom. 🏆 Huge congratulations to our cross country teams, with the girls taking the state championship for the first time in school history, and the boys taking fourth place.

Read on for more about what our students are up to in band, choir, FFA, theater, football, and more.

Every day, Banks students from the high school Life Skills classroom proudly operate the Brave Beans Coffee Cart for staff across the district to enjoy. The program provides a wonderful opportunity for students to gain real-world job experience and develop important life skills. Staff members have the opportunity to place orders twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon. Students serve 16-ounce beverages including espresso drinks, hot chocolate, Italian sodas, and infused Red Bulls. All proceeds from Brave Beans go directly back into keeping the cart operating. Through Brave Beans, we are empowering our students to build confidence and contribute a meaningful service to their school community.

Banks High School drama students have been preparing for their presentation of “Clue” next month. The community is invited to attend Dec. 12-13 at 7pm and Dec. 14 at 2pm in the BHS Cafe. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10, and food and drinks will be available for purchase. Come cheer these students on and show them the strong support of our community.

Each year, the Oregon Department of Education gathers school and district data together in one place to display in At-A-Glance School and District Profiles. These reports highlight categories like attendance, graduation rates, English Language Arts performance and more. This year, we’re especially proud that every group of elementary students achieved a growth rating of 5 on their state math assessment, the highest growth rating possible. Additionally, across the district we saw improvement in regular attendance. We have more regular attenders than the state average. We are grateful to our staff, students, and families for working together to help students get to school and to progress in their academics. Profiles are available for viewing here.

Clean Water Services contractors will begin construction on a sewer Force Main and Pump Station project next month, and construction will last through November 2026. This work is to connect the area east of the railroad tracks to a CWS sanitary sewer pump station near Jim's Market, requiring installation of new pipe under the train tracks to and through the neighborhood along NW Oak Way. Use the QR code or click here to learn more about this project, its timing, traffic detours, and impacts.

In-Kind Work

P&C Construction serves as the main point of contact for contractors or vendors in the community who are interested in contributing in-kind work to these bond projects. If you have leads or referrals for this type of work, please contact Brian Sica at the Superintendent’s Office at brians@banks.k12.or.us or 503-324-8591.

• The Banks High School addition design will be complete soon with early demolition beginning in January 2026.

• A webpage to showcase artifacts of historical significance is coming soon.

• Aux gym construction is slated to begin in March. The new gym is expected to be ready by Early Winter 2026!

• For the Banks Creek culvert repairs, we have completed all field work for design, with culvert repairs planned for summer 2026.

For more information and the latest on everything bond-related, please take a look at our bond web page.

Congratulations to our girls cross country team on winning their first team state championship in school history! Led by senior Sophie Schoolmeester, the runners soared to first place on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Lane Community College in Eugene, defeating top-ranked Enterprise. The boys had a fantastic day too, coming in fourth in state. What a day for Banks! We could not be prouder of the way these student-athletes represented our community on the state stage.

Overall, it has been a strong fall sports season, with our volleyball and girls soccer teams also making the state playoffs and the boys soccer team competing well in the Cowapa League as a very young team.

Winter sports began practicing on Monday, Nov. 17. That means our basketball, wrestling, and swimming teams are all getting to work! We look forward to another great season of Banks sports!

“The Brave Experience,” besides being the title of this newsletter, is a mantra we use as we strive for educational excellence. The Banks School District strives to ensure that ALL students have a school experience that makes them happy and proud. That is the BRAVE EXPERIENCE.

View the Banks School District 2025-2026 calendar here.

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Banks School District has partnered with SafeOregon, a statewide school safety tip line that gives kids, parents, schools, and their communities a way to report safety threats or potential acts of violence anonymously or confidentially. Individuals can submit a tip through SafeOregon online, via email at tip@safeoregon.com, or by texting or calling 844-474-3367. Together, we’ll empower people to speak out, spark change, and save lives.