Back to school: New sign, new staff and a delayed start after area wind storms

With a new school year underway students at Seeley-Swan High School and Seeley Lake Elementary School will be greeted with many changes.

One of the most visible changes at Seeley-Swan High School is the new sign that was built towards the end of the previous school year. History teacher Trace Stone worked with the student government to design and build the sign. Other high school students also helped with the construction.

Materials for the project were provided by The Lodges, Peak Fabrication, Timberline, NatureScapes and Montana Rockworks.

"Our hope is that it makes the school more welcoming to our students and visitors," Stone said.

Since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the high school has been using a block schedule for core classes. Business instructor Michele Holmes described the schedule as something that, "allowed for smaller class sizes and more individualized instruction."

This year the school is going back to an hourly schedule. This means there will be more elective options for students. Money from the Seeley Lake Community Foundation glass recycling event is contributing to the new electives.

According to the community foundation website, 3,500 pounds of glass was recycled and $3,002 were donated to the high school after the last glass recycling event this July. Over one thousand dollars of that money came from a match by the local nonprofit Charlie's Helping Hands, which focuses on supporting children in Seeley Lake and surrounding areas.

"Thank you to the community foundation and people who donated their glass," Michele said.

Going back to an hourly schedule means high school students will be able to use lockers again. The last time lockers were used at the high school was in the spring of 2020, before the school was shut down for the pandemic.

While all the staff members are veteran teachers, some of them are new to Seeley-Swan High School. This includes the new math teacher, Leslie Berg, who previously taught at Big Sky High School in Missoula. She is taking over for Mary Stone who retired at the end of the last school year.

Christine Kolczak is the new online counselor. She is splitting her time with the Missoula Connect Academy. There is also a new paraprofessional and a new head engineer. Principal Shawn Holmes said he is very happy with the new staff.

Seeley Lake Elementary School will move from a five day school week to a four day school week.

"I am very excited about the four day school week. I believe it will allow families more time together," says Lisa Maughn, substitute teacher at the elementary school.

Overseeing the schedule changes is the new SLE Superintendent Christina Hartmann.

"I am looking forward to working and getting to know Christina Hartmann. She seems like a very nice, organized and motivated administrator," Maughn said.

Many teachers and school staff have expressed their enthusiasm for the start of the year. High school teacher Bridget Laird said, "I think it's going to be a great academic year."

After the wind storms that blew through Seeley Lake last Friday, classes at the high school were canceled on Aug. 26.

While SLE was scheduled to start classes on Aug. 27, that was subject to change. It was also unknown as of press time on Monday whether classes for tenth through twelfth graders would begin on Tuesday, Aug. 27 as was scheduled.