It was such a joy graduating students from Belton High School and Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow. This year we graduated 798 students. Our graduation ceremonies are a truly special experience, and the celebrations of the Class of 2019 were no exception.
|
|
Belton ISD offers so many choices and opportunities because this community has made a commitment to prepare our students to excel in tomorrow's world. We are grateful our graduates can share in the benefits that come from living in a community that supports our kids.
|
|
Message from the Superintendent:
Dear ,
This year 665 seniors from Belton High School and 133 students from Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow collected their diplomas.
Our graduation ceremonies are a truly magical experience, and this year’s celebrations were certainly not an exception. Our Board of Trustees and I have the honor of awarding the graduates their diplomas and congratulating them for their achievements. As I celebrated the graduates during spring events and at graduation, I became inspired more than ever before by the extraordinary way that the entire educational process impacts the lives of our children. I was truly moved by the poignant and moving speeches from our BHS valedictorian Jacob Jimenez and salutatorian Marcus Ake, as well as BNTHS@W valedictorian Sarah Batson and salutatorian Maia Borchardt. I encourage you to read the Temple Daily Telegram’s stories on our graduations, which share portions of the students’ inspirational words. I also hope you will visit
www.bisd.net/news
to read the ‘Terrific Tiger’ series that spotlight more members of the Belton ISD Class of 2019. Sharing these wonderful stories about our graduating seniors like BHS varsity Tigers baseball manager Cooper Kolodziejczk, whose infectious smile and can-do attitude inspired his teammates and helped him discover his passion for helping children, demonstrates just how unique and special our students truly are.
Though their future paths may be leading them in different directions, all of our graduates are part of a great tradition. An unbroken bond connects them to the generations of Belton ISD students that have graduated before and to those who are yet to come. As our district continues to grow, that connection strengthens and grows too. And as BNTHS@W salutatorian Maia Borchardt told her classmates in her graduation speech, their thirst for knowledge will only intensify: “Learning, at its core, never ends. It doesn’t end today, it won’t end after college, and it won’t end after we retire.”
As our graduates venture out into the world, our employees are already diligently at work preparing and improving facilities for the new school year.
Among the projects that we are working on this summer are a roof replacement at Leon Heights Elementary School, enhancements to the drop off area at Southwest Elementary, the addition of a retaining wall to provide better drainage at Lake Belton Middle School, a track at Lakewood Elementary School, and the relocation of the Human Resources Department to the north side of the administration building in order to accommodate the expansion of Business Services. Additionally, we are beginning the first phase of the orchestra addition at Belton High School, which will include an additional 3,200 square feet for a dedicated orchestra rehearsal hall, sectional room and three practice rooms, along with renovations to 1,200 square feet of existing band hall, instructor office space and the band music library.
Our campus and district administrators are also participating in “Read to Lead 19,” a summer-long book study where Belton ISD leaders will read books tied to our district priorities that will help them strengthen leadership skills and continue creating moments that matter for our students. The first session was led by former Belton ISD Superintendent Dr. Vivian Baker on Tara Westover’s book “Educated: A Memoir.” Summer reading is just as important for our students, and I encourage you to watch and share this adorable video below about the benefits of summer reading from our pet spokesperson, Luna the High Point Hamster.
Thank you for supporting our students - from the seniors we just graduated, to this coming year’s prekindergartners, who will graduate in 2032!
Sincerely,
Susan Kincannon, Ed.D.
Superintendent
|
|
Graduation is a special time of sharing joy with family and friends! We wish all of our graduates much success in their futures!
|
|
Message from the School Board President:
On May 24, the staff and students of Miller Heights Elementary School hosted the 52nd annual Proud to Be An American Day. I feel blessed to have been a part of this important tradition because multiple generations of the Miller Heights family gathered to celebrate community, patriotism and service. Doing this for half a century represents the dedication of Miller Heights and Belton ISD to the parents, students, and Miller Heights community. I loved seeing the children dressed in their special red, white and blue outfits, waving small American flags as they paraded along the streets and were led by the Belton High School Drum Line alumni who again picked up their instruments for this special tradition. It’s a great show of patriotism and unity where the students experience an amazing sense of pride and understanding of what it means to be an American.
One of the proudest days the Board of Trustees experience is graduation. On Thursday, May 30, we gladly shook hands with and congratulated 133 Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow seniors and
665
Belton High School
seniors for their accomplishments. Graduation is always a truly special event for our graduating seniors, their families and friends, and the Big Red Community.
We can be extremely proud of the education our children receive in Belton ISD, and how our graduates have been prepared for success in their chosen college or career path.
You can read about some of these outstanding graduates by
visiting
www.bisd.net/news
to selecting the ‘Terrific Tiger’ series written by our Communications Department. It features wonderful stories about six graduating seniors like New Tech’s Destiny Wicks, who was motivated by her own life experiences of having a visual impairment to enroll in the Texas A&M University PATHS program to train as a special education aide for younger kids. Another amazing student featured is Belton High School’s Jacqueline Corona, who was awarded a $20,000 Dell Scholarship and became the first in her family to graduate high school and be accepted to college. Jacqueline was a part of the 162 student recipients of a total of 166 scholarships totaling $228,000 awarded by the Belton Educational Enrichment Foundation (BEEF) during their senior scholarships ceremonies last month. Our community has continuously invested in our students, and we sincerely appreciate the financial support our community gives to ensure our students have the resources they need to succeed.
Looking ahead for the summer, I am eagerly awaiting what will be a truly memorable July 4th
celebration in Belton! It’s the best place to be on the 4th of July, and this summer marks the centennial birthday of the Belton Parade! We’ll be celebrating 100 years of our parade, and that means it’s sure to be even bigger and better than ever before. There are so many activities planned for the week of the 4th
including a Downtown Street Party on Saturday, June 29, a carnival, a festival on Nolan Creek, the 95th Annual PRCA Rodeo, and a 4th of July Backyard Party at Schoepf’s with Concert and Fireworks. Be sure to come out to the parade and support the Magic Belles, Marching 100, Belton FFA, and National Champion BHS Cheerleaders who will be participating in the festivities.
I hope you have a wonderful start to the summer, and thank you for your continued support of our schools and our kids!
Sincerely,
Sue M. Jordan
President, Board of Trustees
|
|
Gifted and Talented Summer Enrichment camps were held this month. Students participated in a variety of activities teaching them useful lessons in Coding, Physics and Art History all while having fun! For the second year, Belton ISD partnered with the National Inventors Hall of Fame to offer a summer program. Students participated in an innovation camp focused on creative problem solving, teamwork, entrepreneurship and curiosity. Camp Invention was an exciting week filled with creating, making, building, prototyping, and most of all, fun!
|
|
Students also participated in Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) at Southwest Elementary where they experienced hands on learning and explored new interests and skills. SAIL is not your typical summer school but a chance to expand our students' love of learning with 10 different sessions over 3 weeks. And...there are hedgehogs!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
