As our school year closes, I want to say thank you to all of the students, parents and staff members who have made this truly a year worth celebrating.

While the school year may be ending, I always think of this as a time of new beginnings.

For the more than 1,230 seniors who just graduated, this is an exciting time full of possibility as they begin their futures. These students will continue their secondary education at local community college, universities throughout the nation and world, and through serving in the U.S. military. The Class of 2018 received more than $13 million in college scholarship offers and includes two National Merit Finalists and more than 340 students who earned honors diplomas. We are proud of these graduates and believe each one is capable of changing the world.

I’m proud that our schools are places of academic rigor and learning.

This year our students scored 57 points higher on the SATs than peers around the state and our students took 1,492 Advanced Placement Exams in more than 26 subjects.

Our schools are also home to rich music, physical education and art programs at all levels. We value our specialists who help enrich our students’ school experiences. Our schools are home to state and national award-winning activities including: newspaper, band, speech and debate, robotics, DECA, Future Farmers of America, Future Business Leaders of America and more. This year, our students also earned individual or team state titles in volleyball, swimming, track and field, cross-country, baseball, wrestling, swimming, golf, tennis and more.

Our schools also connect students with meaningful experiences beyond academics. At Three River School in Sunriver, for instance, more than 80 percent of all students participate in at least one after school club — from sewing to chess to robotics. At Silver Rail Elementary School, every student participates in a Day of Kindness and provides a service to community members — whether that’s singing to residents at an assisted living facility or saying thanks to local firefighters. We are helping create a generation of thriving citizens.

This year we also continued to deepen our focus on our student’s mental, emotional and social well-being.

We recognize that in order for student to learn, they need to feel safe and welcome at our schools.

We are continuing to emphasize and develop social and emotional learning — teaching first-graders techniques to help calm intense emotions and helping high schoolers develop deep empathy and understanding of their peers. Thanks to a partnership with local law enforcement, this year we also introduced a new service for students in grades 6 to 12 (that is also available to parents), called First Step. This application gives users access to a variety of mental health and safety tools — including a bullying and safety reporting tool, a free and confidential teen-to-teen help line and links to free counseling and support services.

Listening to students and understanding their needs is important to me. This year, we created a Student Advisory Team made up of middle and high school students from throughout our schools. These students help me stay connected to what’s important in our schools from the student perspective.

Soon we will be welcoming new kindergarteners and students to our schools, as well as new staff members. We are also thrilled to be opening new schools this fall. We will add two new small high schools — Realms and Skyline high schools.

Thanks to the voters who passed the 2017 construction bond, we are well on our way to creating two more schools. Earlier this week, we hosted a groundbreaking on our 19^th elementary school, which will be located in north central Bend at the corner of O.B. Riley Road and Cooley Road and opening in fall of 2019. A new high school in southeast Bend is slated to open in fall of 2021. The bond will also fund more than 150 other projects throughout our schools. I invite you to learn more about all of these projects by visiting our Bond Webpage.

Ultimately, building new schools isn’t about brick and mortar — it’s about us continuing to serve our students as best we can. Ultimately the most important thing is what takes place INSIDE our school buildings.

Our mission is for every student within our schools to be known by name, strength and need.

Our goal is to serve every student in Bend-La Pine Schools and to help build a brighter future for all of our students.With all of your support — we are making that a reality.

It’s been an incredible year – full of accomplishments. I look forward to our next new beginning as we continue to grow and learn together.

Have a wonderful summer!

Shay Mikalson