Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 266
HELENA - Like rural school administrators across Montana, Terry Public Schools Superintendent Joe Krause keeps a close eye on his enrollment numbers. The Terry District, which serves Prairie County, population 1,100, has 134 students this school year, said Krause, who's new to the superintendent job this year. Only 31 are high schoolers. Last year, Terry's high school was forced to team up with neighboring Glendive to field a football team through a co-op arrangement. Excluding foreign exchange...
It really goes without saying, but Missoula County is an amazing place. And in a county that is home to 119,000 souls, spanning terrain from rugged wilderness to the second largest city in Montana, county government plays an important role in our day-to-day lives, whether we realize it or not. Over the next year, to better communicate the many facets of county government (arguably one of the least understood levels of government), Missoula County elected officials will contribute monthly...
SEELEY LAKE – On Aug. 26 the otherwise quiet halls of Seeley Lake Elementary school were filled with the sound of an air horn. More than 30 teachers and staff from Seeley Lake Elementary and Swan Valley Schools hid themselves in the two junior high classrooms in preparation for an active shooter drill where there were told they could do nothing but hide. Swan Valley School teacher Chris Maudlin had 60 seconds to hit as many people as he could with ping pong balls. He methodically moved t...
SEELEY LAKE – When students start school at Seeley Lake Elementary this year, there will be a new game in their classrooms. Thanks to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Providence Hospital, SLE is one of more than 30 schools to receive a grant to implement the PAX Good Behavior Game. SLE kindergarten teacher Sheila Devins sees the program as an opportunity to provide continuity in the way SLE’s approaches teaching healthy emotional regulation and social skills and gives students the ability to navigate various soc...
MISSOULA - The Missoula County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is seeking new members to share in the management of local National Forest lands. Volunteer RAC committee members serve an important role in recommending how funds received by counties under the Secure Rural Schools Act will be spent in the county on projects that are on, or will benefit, nearby National Forest lands. By law, RACs must be comprised of 15 members from Montana with balanced and broad representation of the public. RAC member duties and commitments: • Review and m...
SEELEY LAKE –Seeley-Swan High School's new principal Kellen Palmer is excited for the first day of school when the halls will be filled with students and he can start getting to know everyone. He looks forward to helping SSHS continue the good work already being done and celebrating new successes as the students and faculty strive to become even better. He is also excited to meet the community and invites everyone to meet him at the concession stand before the first home football game, Aug. 3...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Elementary School District Board of Trustees hired Dan Schrock July 31 at a special board meeting. In other business Bridget Laird will fill the open junior high teaching position. The Board interviewed three candidates including Schrock, Leland Stocker and Jody Welter July 29. A fourth candidate, Kevin St. John, was scheduled to be interviewed however he dropped out due to taking a job in Philipsburg. The board took public comment before discussing and deciding w...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is proud to announce two $500 scholarship awards to Gabrielle "Gabby" Sexton and Elizabeth "Ibby" Lorentz. Gabby has lived in Seeley Lake all her life, graduating from Seeley-Swan High School in 2018. She participated in 4-H, Student Council, Missoula Education Foundation, poetry slams, Leos Club, volleyball, basketball, track and managed football. She achieved Honor Roll all four years of high school, as well as Academic All State, top English...
SWAN VALLEY – The Swan Valley School Board approved a contract amendment with Seeley Lake Elementary to continue several necessary services at their regular meeting July 9. They also tabled a contract for principal submitted by Chris Stout, recently resigned superintendent from SLE who also served as the administrator for Swan Valley Elementary for the past several years. The Board was presented with an amended contract from the SLE School Board that removed the administrator services but continued to provide special education, counseling, d...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board hired three new teachers, appointed a new board trustee and approved a parent request for a student to enter kindergarten at a special meeting July 10. Since SLE has not hired a new superintendent, Missoula County Superintendent of Schools Erin Lipkind worked with a hiring committee to offer the board hiring recommendations. The committee recommended candidates for four different positions at SLE. The board only approved three of the four recommendations. The board approved Susan Bracha to...
SEELEY LAKE –The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board had a packed agenda for the June 20 regular meeting with topics ranging from bidding schedule and changing the force main route to Rules and Regulations (R&Rs) and cost estimates for Phase 3 and 4. The meeting ran nearly four hours with some agenda items being tabled. Bidding Timeline District Manager Jean Curtiss asked that the board to consider changing the bid dates from late this summer or early fall to January. Curtiss explained that a small sewer job in Missoula that went to bid in A...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School seniors and their parents gathered for the annual senior awards ceremony May 31. While many awards and scholarships had already been awarded, some students continued to add to their list of recognitions with class awards and local scholarships. Of the 28 SSHS graduates, 17 maintained a cumulative grade point average of a 3.0 or higher throughout their high school career. Brian Atwell, Lily Mercer, Hunter Shelmerdine and Jory Towe scored higher than a 27 o...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley-Swan High School students and area community members performed at the SSHS spring music concert May 10. The SSHS choir performed songs including "Pacem, Dona Nobis Pacem," originally written by Mary Lynn Lightfoot, and "Homeward Bound," originally written by Marta Keen. Audience members were also treated to "Memory" from the Broadway show, CATS, performed by Lane Mackie-Wendel and Korinne Treser. Songs were accompanied by pianist Shauna Anders. The band, which consisted of...
SEELEY LAKE – Missoula County has 103 confirmed pertussis cases as of Tuesday, May 14. Cases have been reported across all ages, from infants to adults. There are 16 schools involved in this community-wide outbreak including Seeley-Swan High School. The duration of the outbreak means it is possible for people who were exposed earlier in the outbreak to be re-exposed. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a type of bacteria. Pertussis can affect people of all ages, but can be very s...
POLSON - The Boys and Girls of Seeley-Swan took second place at the Dave Tripp Memorial track meet April 12. The meet attracted three Class B schools and 12 Class C schools. The Boys were just 3.5 points short of Powell County's 105 points while the Girls were 12.5 points behind Charlo's 105.5 points. On the track the Boys shined in the 100, 200, 400-meter and both relays. Logan Robinson won both the 100 and 200-meter races with times of 11.62 and 23.44 seconds. Dakota Wood hot on his heels...
MISSOULA – Missoula County Public Schools Trustees approved a secondary school levy to appear on the May 7 ballot to support the high school operations budget. This will be a mail-in election with ballots being mailed out April 17. The operations levy is for $118,986 and will cost taxpayers $1.55 on a $200,000 home. Due to the restoration of state funding that was reduced in the 2017 special session, this is a$1.02 increase on a $200,000 home. Schools are required to raise a portion of their budgets through a voter-approved levy. When the n...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School English students are embarking on a new project entitled the Empathy Project. With the help of the University of Montana School of Journalism and guided by the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the students will be capturing the stories of community members to share through podcasts and photographs. “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. One of the main themes in the book is compassion. In the book Father Atticus Finch spoke to his six-year-old daughter...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board discussed a wide range of topics at their March 21 board meeting including hiring a Project Manager, obtaining easements, User Agreements and attorney bills. In other business, representatives from Midwest Assistance Program (MAP) presented on ways they can provide assistance to the District. At last month’s meeting the board expressed concerns about having Great West Engineering (GW) being the only ones overseeing the construction of the collection system. Missoula County was originally goi...
SEELEY LAKE - Missoula County Public schools announced Kellen Palmer, current Instructional Coach at Douglas High School in Douglas, Wyo., will fill the principal position at Seeley-Swan starting with the 2019-20 school year. Palmer was among three candidates that were interviewed the last week of February and was the only one that was not current MCPS faculty. Palmer grew up in Fairfield, Mont. He served as the Assistant Coach of the University of Montana-Western men’s basketball team in 2009-2010 in Dillon, Mont. After moving to Wyoming, he w...
Community invited to join MCPS superintendent search SEELEY LAKE - Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Thane is also retiring at the end of the school year. MCPS Board of Trustees with the support of Ray and Associates, Inc. is conducting a search for the new superintendent. The consultant group is gathering critical information for the selection of the new leader for MCPS. The community is invited to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions about what they want in the next MCPS superintendent during a Parent and Community Focus...
Help set the stage for the 2019-2020 2 Valleys Stage season SEELEY LAKE - It’s already time to start making plans for next season’s 2 Valleys Stage performances! Everyone in the community is invited to participate and provide input on which performers will be invited for the 2019-2020 season. Join 2VS Friday, March 1, 4 p.m. at The Hub in the Bison & Bear Mall in downtown Seeley Lake. They will listen to CDs and/or watch videos of prospective guest artists and discuss their suitability as performers for the community and for area schools. First...
Public invited to meet SSHS Principal candidates, join MCPS superintendent search SEELEY LAKE – The community is invited to meet the three Seeley-Swan High School principal candidates and offer their feedback Thursday, Feb. 21 from 8:15 – 9 a.m. at SSHS. Dr. Kathleen Pecora, SSHS principal, will be retiring in June. The three candidates include Wendy Hansmann from Missoula County Public Schools, Kellen Palmer from Douglas, Wyo. and current SSHS Science teacher Tonya Smith. Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Thane is also retirin...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School rises to the top in the recent report released by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Of the four Missoula County Public High Schools, SSHS’s graduation rate for 2017-2018 was the highest and 10 percent higher than the Montana average. The Montana Office of Public Instruction’s Growth and Enhancement of Montana Students data reporting system provides access to multiple years of data and interactive reports on student achievement, graduation rates...
MISSOULA – Membership recruiting is underway for the Missoula County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) and Forest Service officials are soliciting applications from individuals interested in serving in one of the available 15 positions on the RAC. The RAC positions are unpaid but members provide a valuable service by making recommendations on projects that benefit Forest Service land within Missoula County. The membership terms for the original membership have expired and appointments beyond eight years (two, four year terms) are not c...
SEELEY LAKE – "What are you going to be when you grow up?" asked University of Montana President Seth Bodnar of Seeley-Swan High School juniors and seniors Dec. 3. While Bodnar promoted higher education at UM and Montana College answering specific questions and talking individually to each student, he also left them with three important messages that he hoped would help them wherever life takes them. After asking the students what they wanted to do after graduation, some were quick to share a...
