Blackhawks return to school - What's new?

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan High School welcomed freshman and new students Aug. 30 and resumed Aug. 31. New Principal Shawn Holmes is excited to welcome new and returning teachers and students and continue learning and growing together while prioritizing student and staff safety in light of the ongoing pandemic.

COVID Accommodations

Holmes said while they had students out because they were identified as a close contact, SSHS did not have a positive COVID case in the school last year.

"Our kids realized if they don't feel well, they stay home. We were in school all year long with every kid and we hope to do that again. As numbers go up, it gets hard and harder to do."

At their Aug. 17 meeting, Missoula County Public Schools school board voted 6-3 to require masks indoors for students and staff. They will reevaluate this decision mid-October.

"It's going to be hard for our kids. They haven't been in masks since school got out...none of us have," Holmes said. "We are just going to have to work at it."

In addition to masking, Holmes said they are trying to maintain the three-foot distancing between students in the classroom. However, since enrollment is up, that is a challenge this year.

Holmes said they are ready to teach remotely if needed through Google Classroom. There is also the online option through MCPS for students that choose to learn remotely.

"If you read everything, everyone wants kids in school and we do too," Holmes said. "Teaching remotely is a nightmare. Some kids do great but most kids struggle with it."

SSHS is implementing a modified block schedule again this year. Last year, Holmes helped develop the block schedule with past principal Kellen Palmer that ran one core class for three-hours in the morning for 18 days. The afternoons were for electives and met for one hour.

The goal was to keep every kid in school and while reducing contact between individuals. Even though the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) did not require the regular amount of instructional hours, they were able to get close and meet the other two goals with the block schedule.

Holmes said after the first block they polled the teachers and students who were all very positive about the schedule. They started working on how they could still use the block schedule and meet OPI's instructional time requirement. While they tried to figure out how they could do it with both the core and elective courses, "it just didn't work. We had some big gaps in kids' schedules."

This year, freshmen, sophomores and juniors will take two core courses per semester that will meet for a two-hour block each in the morning. The electives will meet for one hour periods in the afternoon.

Holmes said cutting down to two-hour blocks will be an adjustment but students will only have to juggle five courses instead of seven. Staff will also have a reduced course load teaching three instead of six classes.

"I think it will work well," Holmes said. "It is a test and we will see how it goes. Not many schools do this."

Holmes said the modified block schedule is not quite as seamless for the seniors. Because of offering the dual credits, seniors will change classes every hour. If a senior does not take a dual credit math, which is an elective, they don't have a class in the morning until 9:50 a.m. Holmes said while he is trying to work on offering something, the reality is the students don't need to be there. However last year, some seniors realized that if they have a two period study hall they are more willing to take dual credit courses because they know they will have time to complete their assignments.

Holmes added that unless students are in class for at least five periods, they are not considered full time students. Last year SSHS realized that when they had students attending part time students, the school lost a lot of money.

"The whole District's goal is to get everybody back in, full time, at least five periods. It is not just that we want to educate our students, there is a big financial part of it that you have to consider."

New Staff

Half of SSHS's staff are new to SSHS this year.

"That is scary and exciting all at the same time," Holmes said. "Most of them have some teaching experience but not all."

While they are still looking to fill the full time combined Tech Ed/Art teaching position as well as the guidance counselor, there are four new teachers starting at SSHS.

Science teacher Gretchen Watkins has spent a number of years teaching in Minnesota. Holmes said she worked as a full-time sub in Missoula last year.

This is English and Drama Teacher Katy Pellett's first full-time teaching position. She graduated last year and worked in Missoula in the classroom with students one-on-one and in small groups.

Special Education Teacher Julie Haines moved up from Seeley Lake Elementary. Holmes said she has a number of years working with elementary and middle school-aged students including working with high schoolers in Corvallis, Montana.

Math Teacher Melissa Lapka will teach Algebra 1 and Geometry. She has taught at Big Sky for many years and lives in Ovando.

"Our culture [will] change a little bit with all the new staff," Holmes said. "We've had a great culture the last couple of years and we are going to try and continue that where every students feels welcome and every staff member feels welcome and can have a little fun."

Dual Enrollment Courses

This year, instead of offering Math 115 and Statistic dual enrollment classes, students will have the opportunity to take College Algebra or two different technical math courses, Technical Math and Contemporary Math.

Holmes said College Algebra is more of a good base for any one going into a four-year school. The technical math courses are for students hoping to pursue a two-year or technical degree.

In addition to the dual credits, Holmes said they will also offer Pre-Calc online through a facilitator.

Dual courses will continue to be offered for English, Writing and Lit and Government. Holmes said they are also working on offering a dual course in science as well.

Facility Upgrades

Holmes said they have done a lot of little things inside the building this year, however, the big projects have been to the property.

They are in the process of installing a new water pipe that connects from the water main to the building. All the interior plumbing was replaced in 2020 after discovering a high concentration of lead in the pipes in 2017. While the school's supply line from the water main has leaked for several years, Holmes said this was the first year they had the funds to replace it through a grant. He hopes they will have more water pressure now that the leak has been fixed.

Improvements to the football field have also been made. Holmes started working with Palmer on the field improvements last year.

"The field is pretty rough with big holes in it. We get the rock pushing up because of the frost," Holmes said. "We've always had four-wheeler and RAZR marks through the football field because people think they should spin brodies in the field."

This past July they installed a fence. Holmes said this will not only keep animals and vehicles off the field, it will also help manage spectators at games.

"With COVID we realized we need to do a better job of watching our spectators," Holmes said. "We are hoping [to add new bleachers and make other improvements] in the next couple of years but the fence had to be the start to protect it."

The SSHS Booster Club will be installing signs hopefully by the first home varsity football game, Sept. 3. Spectators will now enter on the west side of the field by the Crow's Nest. As of Aug. 23, there is no limit to spectators and they are not required to wear masks. However, people are asked to socially distance.

Holmes added that they will bring in topsoil and seed the area following the football season to try and level out the field.

New Volleyball Coach

Pattie Crum was hired to replace Shelby Holmes as the new volleyball head coach.

"She is very energetic and knows how to work with kids," Holmes said. "With coaching that is the biggest thing. Kids respect her and listen to her. We are hoping for good things out of the sports teams this year."

Volleyball spectators will be required to wear masks per MCPS rules. However, as of Aug. 23, neither the Montana High School Association or MCPS have any limits on the number of spectators.

"Try and sit three feet a part and stay in your pods, " Holmes said emphasizing that everything could change by the first home volleyball game scheduled for Sept. 2.

Holmes will send out a weekly email to parents every Sunday highlighting everything going on for the week. He encourages the community to follow the Seeley-Swan High School Activities page on Facebook. The most current updates and other information will be available.