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Christina Hartmann had teaching on the brain as a career path from a young age. She always played school with her three younger siblings, where she was the one in the role of the teacher and made sure her siblings were organized into various parts to conduct the role play. In high school, she was asked to be a teacher's aide in a kindergarten class. She worked with a non-verbal student for two years, and was inspired by how she was able to see this student's lightbulb moments from the gains they...
Mike Fowler brought a small temperature sensor with him from Seattle to a presentation he was a part of held at the Foundation Building in Seeley Lake. On that Wednesday, with outside temperatures in the nineties, Fowler said his sensor showed 78 degrees in the Foundation Building. Fowler is the sustainability integration leader for Mithun, an architectural firm in Seattle. He and other members of his team came to Montana in May to tour five schools to start thinking about potential design upgra...
Thirty-five years ago ... Thursday July 20, 1989 Four wrestlers in national meet, Schwarz takes third Four area wrestlers represented Seeley Swan and Montana in the AAU/USA Grand National Wrestling Championships held July 7-9 in Billings. Competitions consisted of the best wrestlers from 38 states and Canada. These following young men are to be congratulated for their efforts and dedication to the sport of wrestling: Third place Tyler Schwarz Seventh place Jacob Baker Eighth place Pat Morin 15th place Ariah Baker Schwarz and Jacob and Ariah...
The Summer Reading Program is in full swing. If you haven’t already signed your kiddos up, there’s still plenty of time to join in the fun. We kicked off this year’s program with the All Under One Roof Road Show on June 20. Many thanks to the Seeley Lake Elementary School’s Outdoor Education program for partnering with the public library to make this event a success. Kids participated in fun events with the spectrum Discovery Area, Families First, MCAT, UM’s Living Lab and additional staff fro...
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks swore in a new game warden to cover the Seeley Lake area in January 2024. Garrett Kocab of Helena started the lengthy hiring process while completing two degrees at Carroll College. Graduating in May 2023 with Environmental Policy/Project Management and Sociology degrees and hired in January 2024, Kocab then had three months of law enforcement training in Helena before coming on the job in Seeley Lake in May. "Although I used to come up here hunting while going...
On a sunny day buzzing with the anticipation of summer days to come - people lining up outside The Ice Cream Place, a boutique pop up outside of Good Times Gifts - some Seeley Lake locals were gathered outside the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building to celebrate the end of a month-long fundraising event. Twenty groups participated to raise $126,000 during the ninth annual Change Your Pace fundraising challenge. Both of those numbers are record-breaking, Seeley Lake Community Foundation...
The fate of Pyramid Lumber has been very much a topic of local discussion over the last few months. It isn’t just the employees and owners of the mill that will be affected if it closes. Foresters, loggers and truckers are all part of the machinery that generates “timber dollars.” More than recreation, those “timber dollars” are what caused Seeley Lake and the Seeley-Swan Valley to grow in a stable fashion and become complete communities with schools, churches, grocery stores, hardware stores, auto parts, pharmacies and even a medical/d...
Shortly after a swimming safety assembly at Seeley Lake Elementary School, a mermaid and a lifeguard walked into the Grizzly Claw. Olivia Colburn (lifeguard), Melanie Blank (mermaid) and Michela Reese (local chiropractor) had wrapped up a three-week round of swimming lessons in Seeley Lake for about 70 school-aged children, four and up. The Double Arrow Lodge allowed the instructors, who all went through Red Cross training funded by the Seeley Lake Lions Club, host the swim lessons at the...
Summer brings the field season for Blackfoot Challenge program staff - teaming up with landowners, state and federal partners and fellow conservation organizations to make hay while the sun shines. From new electric fences to piles of biochar, here are a few updates on Blackfoot community stewardship work happening around the watershed. Education In spring and fall, school-based education events are in full swing. In May, Challenge staff took part in an all-day bear-aware event for Seeley Lake...
Danielle Oyler has worked across Montana teaching kids and adults about living in bear country in her role as the wildlife stewardship outreach specialist with Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. In front of a group of Seeley Lake Elementary School third graders at the Bear Fair, she said students in Seeley Lake have seen more bears on average than any other students at schools across the state that she's talked to. The next closest school is Lincoln. "There's a very good chance you're going to see...
Primary election ballots were mailed to Montana residents on May 10. The Pathfinder reached out to the 12 candidates running for state House and Senate seats that are relevant to Seeley-Swan area residents to ask them a handful of questions to help voters better understand their prospective legislators. After the decennial redistricting, new maps were drawn by the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission in 2023. That prompted a new district for Seeley Lake, which now lies in House...
Loose and sometimes aggressive dogs have caused problems for some Seeley Lake residents, leaving people wondering where the solutions lie. While Missoula County doesn’t have a leash law, there are ordinances related to controlling one’s dog. Dogs must be in clear view of their owner and the owner must be able to control and recall the dog at all times. Dog owners can receive a citation for having a dog at large. Also under ordinance, dogs must be licensed in the county, which lets authorities know the dogs received rabies shots. Missoula Cou...
After making an offer to an applicant for Seeley Lake Elementary School’s principal and superintendent position, the school board had to reassess after the applicant declined the job. Stetson Spooner, current athletic director at the Mullan School District in Idaho, was the first candidate the school board offered the position to, and he declined due to some personal concerns about moving to Seeley Lake, School Board Chair Doc Welter said. Welter said Spooner didn’t bring up housing as a concern for the move, but did request a larger sal...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday May 4, 1989 'Mock' school disaster, Emergency personnel cope with over 20 injured children "There's none better!" That's what the Red Cross official, Duane Hawk of Kalispell, had to say when the exercise ended Sunday, according to Joyce Himes of the Condon QRU. Emergency personnel from the Condon QRU, the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department, the Seeley Lake QRU, Swan Mission Search and Rescue, Black Paw Avalanche and Rescue Dogs and hospital helicopters from...
Samantha Arroyo remembered Girl Scouts fondly when she was growing up in Seeley Lake in the eighties. As she recalled it, the troop meetings happened after school and the troop leaders were also elementary school teachers. There was a really active parent group at that time, Arroyo said, which also supported Boy Scouts and the Seeley Lake Lions Club. "But they've grown, their kids have grown, and a lot of them moved," Arroyo said. Arroyo and other parents are trying to get the next generation...
The Swan Valley Elementary School Board voted unanimously to switch to a four-day school week on April 9. A survey sent out to parents and community members before the vote showed strong support for the switch. Principal Angie Mock said the four-day school week seems to be the better model for Class C schools and it puts Swan Valley School in alignment with both the high school and elementary school in Seeley Lake where students in both districts share extracurricular activities. Swan Valley’s graduates also attend Seeley-Swan High School. T...
Editor's note: After press, the Pathfinder learned Stetson Spooner decided to not take the superintendent position offered to him by the Seeley Lake Elementary School Board. An update will be provided next week regarding the candidate who took the position — Christina Hartmann from Townsend Public Schools — according to the school's attorney. The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board voted unanimously to hire Stetson Spooner as the new superintendent and principal of Seeley Lake Elementary School. The decision came after a review of four can...
Two Seeley Lake organizations - Seeley Lake Elementary School and the Clearwater Resource Council - have received the full amount possible - $4,000 - from Missoula County through the Rural Impact Grant program. This program is intended for groups like community councils, nonprofits and schools to be used for projects that "enhance the quality of life" in rural Missoula County. Last year, the Seeley Lake Lions Club received funding from this grant to hire swimming instructors and the Potomac Scho...
For the first time in 12 years, Swan Valley School in Condon is presenting voters with two levies to vote on. A combination of factors like rising costs, increased need for technology to support education, a drop in enrollment and the loss of ESSER funds — money provided during the covid-19 pandemic to support schools — led to a general fund and technology levy to be presented to voters in a special election on May 7. “Our school has navigated the difficulties of staffing needs, the rising costs associated with maintaining a high standard...
MISSOULA, Mont. - Hale Devins, a second grader at Seeley Lake Elementary School, took first place in this year's 63rd Keep Montana Green statewide art contest with his striking depiction of this year's theme: "Go the Extra Mile Each Time You Burn a Pile." Second and third place were awarded to Madysen Lines of Browning High School and Logan Kellom of Hobson, respectively. The top three winners were selected from over 800 entries submitted by participating educators on behalf of their art...
Swan Valley School is nestled in between the Mission and Swan Mountains and inside Jamie Matthew’s classroom, light from the east-facing windows glows beautifully. The wood on her reading loft seems to stand out in the 3 p.m. sunshine. Students had just been released, and Matthew hugged a former student in the entrance to the school before walking back to her classroom to talk about something she kind of hates talking about — herself. Matthew was designated the Montana Rural Teacher of the Year...
The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board voted unanimously on April 3 to change the school schedule from a traditional five-day school week to a four-day week structure. Starting next school year, the new calendar will include 29.5 hours of instruction each week, with a proposed schedule starting at 7:50 a.m. and going until 3:50 p.m. Per state law, schools are required to provide 1,080 hours of instruction — 720 hours for kindergarten through third grade — over the course of a school year at a minimum. The proposed school year will begin Aug...
Lesley Jungers was born Lesley Carol Jochim on Jan. 23, 1970, in Bozeman, Montana. Lesley graduated from the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Elementary Education and with a minor in K-8 art. In the summer before her college journey, Lesley met Ed Jungers which eventually - after seven years Lesley would say - led to their marriage on Aug. 6, 1994. Lesley and Ed were blessed with the joy of raising three boys: Cole, born on May 6, 1996; Bo, on June 24, 1998; and Aaron,...
Both Seeley Lake and Swan Valley Elementary School Boards are discussing switching to a four-day school week. A couple nearby schools — Seeley Lake High School and Potomac School being two examples — have adopted the four-day school week schedule, and statewide, as of 2022, 222 schools operate four days a week out of 826 total schools, according to the state Office of Public Instruction. Staff, board members and parents at both elementary schools are weighing the pros and cons of making the switch. Factors like better staff retention and rec...
Ballots this year will include a variety of political representatives for people in the Seeley-Swan Valley to choose from as the calendar rolls closer to primary elections, and some opportunities for people to get involved in local boards or districts. So far, it doesn't look like voters in the Seeley-Swan will have any special district or school board elections to vote in, though the school board candidate filing period is open until March 28. Ballot language for things like levies could also b...
