February 9, 2022 Edition
IN THIS EDITION...Suicide Screening & Prevention Panel | Flathead Valley IEFA Institute | 4-Part IEFA Lesson Demos | NEW Black History Month Resources | SSoM Program Updates featuring SAVE THESE DATES | SSoM Partner Resources | Send a Message to the Moon! | Joke of the Week | Addt'l Resources | About SSoM
- Virtual Panel Discussion -
SUICIDE SCREENING & PREVENTION
IN MONTANA'S SCHOOLS
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 1 - 2pm

Join us for a virtual panel discussion to learn more about the Rural Behavioral Health Institute’s Screening Linked to Care (SLTC) suicide assessment and intervention. During this session, our expert panel will share an overview of SLTC and how the process works, followed by a discussion of why and how it was implemented in Livingston, how it fits with MTSS and other schools’ mental health programming, and how this intervention is likely to reduce suicidality. Also learn about how RBHI is currently able to offer the SLTC free to schools through grant support. Click here for complete details in a flyer you can share.

This is a FREE event! Please register here to receive the Zoom link to join. The recording will also be shared with registrants after the event. This webinar is brought to you through a collaboration between the Rural Behavioral Health Institute and School Services of MT.

Moderator: Melissa Tovaas, SSoM Director of Education Services
FLATHEAD VALLEY
IEFA INSTITUTE
March 16, 2022 | 8:30am - 3pm | Kalispell, MT

Join us for a day of IEFA learning with award-winning Montana educators, Jordann Lankford-Forster (Bright Trail Woman) and Miranda Murray.

The Flathead Valley IEFA Institute, hosted by School Services of Montana and Kalispell Public Schools, will provide foundational information concerning the seven “Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians” and tools to implement Indigenous content into your curriculum.

Participants may not feel comfortable or know where to begin, and that is okay! The facilitators will provide you with the support and sustainable resources to advance cultural content and Native resources in your classrooms, no matter where you are in your IEFA implementation. Participants will gain instruction and crucial essential understandings as diverse perspectives are important for all students’ success.

LOCATION: Flathead Valley Community College Arts & Technology Building
777 Grandview Drive, Kalispell MT, 59901
SSoM MEMBER PROMO CODE: getssom
Click here for a complete list of member districts.
IEFA LESSON DEMONSTRATIONS
with DOTTIE SUSAG
Jan 18* | Feb 1* | Feb 15 | Mar 1


Join us for a series of (4) 2-hour webinars facilitated by Dottie Susag. The goal of the series is to experience lessons that authentically integrate the Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians. After an interactive lesson, participants will debrief and discuss ideas for adapting and integrating the lesson into your classroom. Sessions will be recorded; join live *or watch the recorded sessions.

DATES & LESSON TOPICS
  • Jan 18* - Nature and Gifts Through Montana Indian Poetry (5-12)
  • Feb 1* - Living the Now in the Presence of the Past, Joy Harjo's Poetry (9-12)
  • Feb 15 - Healing Power of Indian Poetry and Film (6-12)
  • Mar 1 - Critical Literacy: Reading and Viewing Beyond Bias and Stereotypes (6-12)

OPI RENEWAL UNITS: earn 2 for each 2-hour session you join OR 4 per session by implementing the lesson in your classroom and completing a follow-up reflection form.
A Word from Our Tech Education Director...
FEBRUARY IS BLACK
HISTORY MONTH

Welcome to the second week of Black History Month. Today we have a wide-ranging list of resources that are connected to tools you're likely already using. Last week, I encouraged educators to focus not only on Black history (despite the BHM title) but on Black futures. This week, I'd like to suggest that even though many of the lessons/ideas for BHM focus on the painful histories around slavery, the struggle for civil rights, and racial unrest, we can also celebrate the joys and triumphs of the Black community in history, the present, and beyond. There are so many articles available discussing Black Joy, especially as a response to oppression, should you choose to examine this concept further.

Consider these classroom resources this month and throughout the school year:
  • Pear Deck: so many lessons to bring in! If you're familiar with Pear Deck, these are seamless, and if not, these lessons are a great way to start utilizing it in your classroom. 
  • Bitmoji Classroom BHM Tutorial: check out this quick, 6-minute tutorial from Miss L on YouTube for those of us still using a digital classroom setup or welcome page.
  • PBS DocsTeach: This is a fantastic resource in general, but especially for Black History Month. You can access the National Archives for analysis of primary documents. 
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum: Another resource to use year-round for just about anything, and a great place to find art centered around the Black experience. 
  • Books That Grow: If your district is utilizing this paid resource, be sure to check out texts like Letter from a Birmingham Jail, A History of Hip-Hop, and biographies of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and more. Registration is free if you want to see more about this service, which allows you to adjust the reading level of each article to suit students K-12.
  • Google Maps: When studying areas of interest for BHM, you can have your students create collaborative, interactive maps using the "My Maps" feature. 

Do you have more resources you'd like to share? Please let me know!

Sabrina Holland-Kump
Director of Technology Education Services
School Services of Montana
sholland@mt-schools.org
(406) 272-0046

Google for Education Level II. Certified Educator


SSoM PROGRAM UPDATES
& RESOURCES


  • Science Summer Institute 2022 July 25 - 27 @ MSU-Bozeman Campus IN PERSON
  • Fall 2022 Common PIR Day is Friday, Sept. 23, 2022; location TBD; IN PERSON
Contact: Melissa Tovaas, Director of Education Services, mtovaas@mt-schools.org

INFINITE CAMPUS DATA DAYS & MASTER SCHEDULING
March 1 - 3, 2022
200+ Districts, 10 sessions per day, 3 days of training on data and scheduling, 1 flat fee covers your entire district

CRDC RESOURCES (with love from your favorite SSoM Tech Minion)
  • TIMELINE: collection phase began 12/13/21 & runs 75 calendar days, ends 2/28/22
  • USEFUL CRDC INFO: School Characteristics & Null vs. 0 Values; click here

CO-OP FOOD PROGRAM SPRING 2022 DELIVERIES
D2: Feb 21 - Mar 11 | D3: Mar 21 - Apr 8 | D4: Apr 18 - May 6 | D5: May 23 - Jun 10
  • Contact: Jennifer Brekke, Co-op Purchasing Manager, jbrekke@mt-schools.org

MSU Invites Public to...
SEND A MESSAGE TO THE MOON


The Bobcats are going to the moon! Or at least their computer is. Through over a decade of research, MSU has created a new type of space computer that can operate in the harsh radiation environment of space while performing faster than existing space computers. It is called RadPC. NASA has selected RadPC to go to the Moon on an unmanned mission to really test it out. We put some extra memory on our computer to give you the opportunity to send a message along for the ride! Deadline 3/11/22.
SSoM PARTNER RESOURCES

COALITION TO SUPPORT GRIEVING STUDENTS
Discussions with Fellow Educators About Grief & Losses During the Pandemic


The losses caused by the pandemic are shared by everyone.

As educators, we often focus on the needs of others, which can create an environment that does not enable communicating about their own challenges and struggles.

The need for educators to offer support to fellow educators and to accept support personally is paramount as students need instruction and guidance delivered by emotionally available adults during critical periods of their development.

In this document, the Coalition presents a discussion guide on how to talk about the impacts of grief with your co-workers and colleagues.
Planning Ahead: Preparing for Summer School Reading Instruction
Summer school is an opportunity to build competence, confidence, and independence in striving readers. Now is the time to prepare and get ideas on how to deliver high-quality instruction to help close the reading gap.


Visit the Events Calendar for a full listing of offerings, or click their logo for more.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
MT OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

OPI Monthly Compass - Feb. 2022 Edition
Featuring: Spring Student Enrollment Day Feb. 7th; OPI Virtual Job Fair; State Graduation Rates now Live on GEMS; Calendar of Events Feb - May
OPI SPRING ENROLLMENT COUNT DATE = MONDAY, FEB. 7, 2022
This student data is used to calculate your District's ANB (Average Number of Belonging) which is used for SCHOOL FUNDING. CLICK HERE FOR THE AIM USER GUIDE

Last day to submit your data is FRIDAY, FEB. 11, 2022
NEW OPI HUB COURSE: 3-D LEARNING IN YOUR CLASSROOM
Facilitated by Bill Stockton, Arlee, MT; Montana Science Teacher of the Year
March 7 - April 17, 2022

This course will introduce the NGSS Framework which focuses on the science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, core ideas and the journey of becoming a 3D Science Teacher. Designed for all grade levels, K-12!

Click here for details. Enrollment opens 2/13/22. 24 OPI Renewal Units available!
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK OFFERING FREE K-12 RANGER-LED DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS!
Registration for the 2022 winter season began February 1st

Talk to our knowledgeable National Park Service Staff! Our educators have a wealth of knowledge about Glacier National Park and great stories about living and working in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem. Five distance learning programs are available:

  • Ask a Ranger - living and working in GNP (gr. K-12)
  • Bears in Glacier - our most famous residents (gr. 3-8)
  • Making the Mountains - the dynamic forces that shaped the park (gr. 4-6)
  • Habitat Adventure - explore GNP's habitats & the animals that live in them(gr. K-2)
  • Disappearing Glaciers - how the park is experiencing climate change (gr. 6-8)

All 5 CSPDs offer FREE VIRTUAL PD for their respective regions. Click for details:
ABOUT SCHOOL SERVICES of MONTANA
SSoM is a non-profit education service agency committed to unlocking the full potential of every child in each and every school we serve across the state. We accomplish this by providing a wide variety of professional learning activities and business services designed to meet the specific needs of Montana’s excellent educators and administrators. Interested in supporting our work? Click here to make a donation, and be sure to read all about our organization on our website.