Greetings, and welcome to the 2021-22 school year at Mountlake Terrace High School!

I am delighted to open up this coming year as Terrace students return to in-person learning and attending school each day. The time away from school during remote and hybrid learning has been challenging, lonely and left us all feeling disconnected from school and each other. It will be exciting to return to a familiar daily experience, and to begin to re-establish the relationships that make school and learning so important.

Safety is, of course, the top priority. We will be talking about and presenting important protocols for mask-wearing, physical distancing, traffic flow and behaviors to keep Terrace safe. We can do this!

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes secret: the adults at school get nervous for the first day of school, too. Returning to in-person learning, while exciting, can create some stress for all of us. Your well-being is as important to me as your learning and achievement are. Please know that we will be working with all students to make sure you know where to go, how MTHS works and all of the fun activities that you can join and be a part of. We will make sure you’re aware of all resources, providing everything including homework help, financial resources and support for anxiety about returning to school. You are important, and we commit to working with you for your wellness.

I urge you to learn what is happening with school activities and events, and make a plan to get involved. Exploring an interest at school and finding classmates that share that interest is one of the best ways to build amazing memories. Next summer will be my own 35th high school reunion. The memories that have lasted this long are those with friends that I worked with closely and had fun with.

Finally, we certainly realize that we have many, many new people in the Terrace community, staff and students alike. This includes new students that haven’t been in school since March 2020. This unique endeavor of bringing Terrace back together is a thrill. I look forward to beginning this school year and the opportunity to start again to work with each other for a safe and amazing 2021-22!

Go Hawks!