SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School is in full swing with students filling the halls Tuesday, Aug. 29. New this year includes new music director Kristen Cottom and Secretary Cathy Novak will be teaching art. Students were also welcomed by four air scrubbers working non-stop to filter out the wildfire particulates in the air and can look forward to continuing Challenge Success and starting Naviance, a college/career readiness program.
Cottom is a first-year teacher that will be teaching band, choir and the History of Rock n’ Roll. She was selected from a small applicant pool. Students met with her before she was hired and Principal Dr. Kathleen Pecora said they were very excited about her. Cottom will live in Seeley Lake this school year and will also work part time at Seeley Lake Elementary and Swan Valley School.
Dani Parcell will no longer teach art. While they did have a few applicants for the position, no one was qualified. Dr. Pecora said they are thinking outside the box and SSHS Secretary Cathy Novak will be facilitating the class through the Digital Academy. Students will learn art appreciation through the Digital Academy.
There are four air scrubbers running constantly in the hallways. The other building has all new filters that filter out the hazardous particulates.
Dr. Pecora said the key card access for the entryways are still not complete. Once this part of the renovations is finished, the entryways will be complete. Dr. Pecora looks forward to decorating the interior in the first few months of school.
Teachers Tonya Smith and Shawn Holmes along with students Blake Lindemer and Nicole Williams will attend Challenge Success training at Stanford University over Homecoming weekend.
“It’s starting to make a difference in how kids view being here and each other and understanding that we are all different but we all have things we can offer,” said Dr. Pecora.
The third Leo’s Club in Montana was chartered at SSHS last spring. Mary Stone is the faculty advisor and senior Ibby Lorentz is the president. The club will be in full swing this year.
SSHS is looking forward to implementing parts of the Naviance program, a college and career readiness program for freshmen through seniors. The program takes students’ information and provides reports based on student’s strengths. It will give suggestions for college majors, the likelihood of acceptance to various schools with those majors based on students’ test scores and grade point average, the various schools’ tuition and scholarships for which the students would be eligible. If a student is struggling with a particular subject, the program can generate lessons to help them increase their proficiency. Students can also apply directly to the colleges of their choice.
The plan would be to meet for one hour once per month with each class to help them plan what classes they need to take to reach their end goal. Then students can also work with the program on their own time.
“It fills a gap that [the faculty and staff] thought that we had,” said Dr. Pecora. “It is all based on the students’ information and is very personalized. Their parents can be involved. It is very exciting.”
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