April 30, 2019

Dear Belton ISD Employees, We realized we included last year's Teacher of the Year graphic in last night's email by mistake. Given the time invested in creating this newsletter for you and our community, it means a great deal to know that its content is reaching you. Thank you for notifying us of this error. I look forward to celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week and honoring this year's campus and department Teacher of the Year nominees this month at a special recognition luncheon. Sincerely, Susan Kincannon, Ed.D. Superintendent

What a joy it was to celebrate a major milestone in the construction of Lake Belton High School during a special “Topping Out” ceremony last Friday, where one of the final steel beams for the main campus entry way was hoisted into place. Over 200 construction workers and 100 community guests gathered in the future site of the gymnasium for a BBQ lunch, followed by a short program and the ceremonial beam hoisting in front of the school’s main entrance.

Message from the Superintendent: Dear ,  Our Big Red Community recently experienced a first of its kind Topping Out ceremony when one of the final steel beams at Lake Belton High School (LBHS) was hoisted into place. Last Friday’s beam placement represented a major milestone for our school district and community, and it was a milestone that will forever be a part of our history. Giving the thumbs up to raise the beam was a moment that I will likely never forget, and I’m honored to have shared that experience with hundreds of the project’s construction workers and community members in attendance. I also loved seeing so many kids and their parents, the day before, making their mark in LBHS history by signing the beam. Topping out ceremonies are an age-old tradition of celebrating the placement of one of the last and highest beams of a building, usually with a tree sitting on top. These kinds of events most often symbolize the progress and approaching completion of a project, a safe construction site, and/or a blessing or wish of good luck for future inhabitants. The placement of the last beam, in my opinion, symbolized progress and the changes ahead: a new era in our history, one in which the District moves from one comprehensive high school to two; a change from one high school mascot to two; the transformation of a once small town school district to a district acknowledged as being in the top 10% of all Texas school districts in terms of student population; an opportunity for us to expand our vision of the community; and continued economic development and growth for this area.   Since we celebrated the groundbreaking and start of construction in May 2018, there have been approximately 65 sub-contractors engaged on this project. Some of our local subs include companies such as Advanced Electrical Systems; Bell County Glass; Lochridge-Priest Inc; Panel Specialists Inc; RK Bass Electric; Ralston Paint Contractors; and Wolff Construction. We’ve had tremendous participation from local subcontractors, making this one of the largest economic development projects in the area. I am thankful that the project has provided opportunities for so many local jobs as more than half of the subcontractors and workforce comes from within 35 miles of the Temple-Belton area. Our community is expanding. The final beam, and the tree that was placed tall on top of the roof, symbolize this growth and the life that will fill LBHS in the fall of 2020 when approximately 900 ninth and tenth grade students will be the first to walk through the doors and into the classroom spaces to experience an education designed to meet their academic and workplace needs as well as their interests and talents. Sincerely, Susan Kincannon, Ed.D. Superintendent

Some exciting athletic news! Last Saturday was a beautiful day for the Texas Special Olympics Spring Games in Waco. The Lady Tiger Softball team are Bi-District Champs and will face Prosper in the Area Round of the playoffs on May 2 (7:00 pm) and May 3 (6:00 pm). All games are at Baylor's Getterman Stadium. Congratulations to Maddison Parker who set the single season home run record! Tiger Baseball will take on Tyler Lee in a Bi-District playoff game on May 1 at Corsicana High School (7:30 pm). We are so proud of all of our athletes!

We are proud to recognize our Teachers of the Year (listed below). Be sure to express appreciation to teachers you know for the hard work they do. Next week is T eacher Appreciation Week, a week-long celebration in recognition of teachers and the contributions they make to education and society.

As spring is in bloom, it is a perfect time to recognize the outstanding teachers and staff here at Belton ISD. Recently, administrators and Board of Trustees Vice President Jeff Norwood and Board Secretary Janet Leigh surprised 47 employees with Big Red Heart Awards.

Message from the School Board President: After another round of spring showers, the sun was shining on the Big Red Community last Thursday. We had such an amazing turn out of folks who came to Lake Belton High School (LBHS) and signed one of the final steel beams before its hoisting into place. My fellow board members and I enjoyed seeing so many elementary and middle schoolers, who are the future classes of Broncos, and their parents adding their signatures and posing for pictures with hard hats and shovels. It was very special knowing that the signatures and special messages left by so many would become a permanent part of the new campus’ main entrance the next day during our Topping Out celebration. Before the beam was hoisted into place Friday, I was honored to stand under the gym roof and celebrate our plans and dreams becoming a reality thanks to the countless number of workers and manhours on this project, which is simply astonishing. For the more than 900 construction workers, that means as much as a year’s worth of work. For Bartlett Cocke, our general contractors, that was more than two years of work. And for O’Connell Robertson architects getting to this point meant approximately three years of work that began with a group of parents, teachers, students and other community members working alongside our Board and administration to develop the Roadmap to 2025 plan.  As a destination district for many families, Belton ISD has been designated a fast-growth district. With the help of Templeton Demographics, we carefully studied our growth. A build-out analysis identified the potential to have over 8,000 high school students in Belton ISD in the future. After months of discussion by the Long Range Planning citizens committee, it became clear that a new high school would be recommended to address our growing high school population, and this could not be properly tackled without tremendous community support. In May 2017, our community demonstrated their commitment to our kids by voting to approve the district’s bond program and the following year the board approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $106.4 million for the construction of LBHS, a budget that will provide a quality facility to meet the needs of our growing student population for years to come. I am proud of the way the Board and the Belton ISD Administrative team continue to plan for growth. And I am grateful to our community for their continued support. Whether serving on citizen committees like the 2015 Long Range Planning Committee or last fall’s Attendance Boundaries Committee, joining a PTA or booster club, or volunteering at a campus, one of Belton ISD’s biggest strengths is the continuous engagement of community members in our schools. Thank you for your support of the May 2017 Bond Program and thank you for continuing to support our kids and our schools. Go Broncos!  Sincerely, Sue M. Jordan President, Board of Trustees

The patriotic tradition continued at Lakewood Elementary's Old Glory Day where students learned to appreciate our soldiers and honored those who serve and fight for us and our freedom. The event included a parade around campus, a ceremony, and a p atriotic musical followed by a picnic lunch. Teachers, staff, students and their families welcomed soldiers participating in Project Hero for lunch as they traveled down FM 2305 on their way to Waco.

The Belton Educational Enrichment Foundation (BEEF) Golf and Tennis Tournaments were a great success and raised $40,000 for student scholarships and teacher grants! Thank you to all of the sponsors and participants who supported the Foundation.

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