Hello Panthers & Families,

We end this year with many questions about what the future will look like, far different from how we end most school years. Despite this uncertainty we are continuing to plan and prepare for student return in August and will work with Benicia Unified School District to send information out to staff, students, and parents as that becomes available.

The Reopening of Schools Design Team, with teachers, parents, and administrators, is hard at work to create a plan for the return to school in the fall which will be presented to the School Board on June 4th. Recognizing that will be the best plan based on the information available to us at that time, we know to expect that changes will occur and we will need to be flexible in how we adapt to those changes over the summer. School will likely look different next year, and we will communicate with you so that you know what to expect as well as to gather information for our planning. Please continue to check your email for communications from BHS and BUSD over the summer. You can also keep updated with our websites and social media where we also post announcements and links to information.

As we close out the 2019-2020 school year, we want to sincerely thank all of our staff, volunteers, students, parents, families, business partners, coaches, PTSA organization, and the entire school community in whole for your support this year. In difficult times, the Benicia High School community shows strength in the ability to come together and stay connected.

We miss seeing our students and families at our various school events and in the hallways. We wish you all a safe summer and look forward to seeing you soon. We are also excited to welcome our incoming freshmen Panthers!

Summer School will be entirely online this year and will be in session from June 15th through July 8th. If you would like more information about Summer School, please reach out to your Counselor this week.

While we do not yet know of the status of Fall Sports, we are working with the other schools in our league and with guidance from CIF and the North Coast Section. As we receive information, we will be sure to share that with our school community. We encourage our student-athletes to continue to train and condition within social distancing guidelines so that you are ready for the return to sports.

We anticipate changes and information to share throughout the summer. While our offices will continue to be closed to visitors until further notice, and our office staff will be out of the office during the month of July for their summer break, I want to assure you that I will continue to provide email updates and posts to our Benicia High School social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter) to keep you informed. I will also send informational emails to student email accounts to keep students informed should they want to check their email over the summer. If you have questions or concerns over the summer, please reach out via email to BHSInfo@beniciaunified.org so that we can best assist you.

Go Panthers!

Brianna Kleinschmidt, Principal & Proud BHS Alum

Students returning to BHS next year will keep their Chromebooks over the summer. Seniors and students in grades 9-11 who are not planning to return to BHS next year must return their Chromebooks and charging cord along with their textbooks.

If you have any questions, please email BHSInfo@beniciaunified.org.

We recognize what a difficult time this has been for students and families and want to continue to provide supports that students can utilize during the school year and throughout the summer. The Benicia Teen Center, at 1135 Church Street, will be providing services throughout the summer, including group and individual therapy sessions. There are also a range of resources available online and by telephone:

• SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Line: Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
• Teen Line: Call (310) 855-HOPE or (800) TLC-TEEN (nationwide toll-free) from 6pm to 10pm PST or Text "TEEN" to 839863 between 6:00pm-9:00pm PST to receive person teen-to-teen education and support.
• The Peer-Run Warm Line: Call 1-855-845-7415 for peer-run non-emergency emotional support.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7): Call 1-800-273-8255.
• The Trevor Project (24/7) LGBTQ+ youth up to age 25: Call 1-866-488-7386
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• NAMI Solano County Resource Line: Call 707-422-7792

District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or related recovery, parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.