WELCOME BACK! As the sun sets on another brief (and crispy) Montana summer and fall looms on the horizon, all of us at School Services of Montana look forward to a fantastic year of service to school districts across our great state. This year will feature expanded programs, new services, and an increase to our staff. Stay tuned for more : )

IN THIS EDITION... Common PIR Day Sept 24 | Infinite Campus Training & Resources | Science Summer Institute 2021 Resources | SSoM Program & Staff Updates | Grant Opportunities | SSoM Partner Resources | Joke of the Week | Addt'l Resources | About SSoM

September 24 | 8:15 am - 3:30 pm | Manhattan School

Please reach out to SSoM Director of Education Services with questions:

*Exclusively for registered districts* Join us for the first-ever launch party in Infinite Campus history! This exciting live event will kick off session registration and festivities surrounding National Training Week. There will also be many great prizes and giveaways! 321 districts have registered for this PD opportunity that will cover 25+ session topics for anyone that uses Infinite Campus at all skill levels. Plus, 10 session times each day and repeated sessions throughout the week will accommodate all schedules.

Non-Passport Customers login & click HERE

Passport Customers login & click HERE

Registration discounts available for School Services of Montana member districts & Passport Customers!

INFINITE CAMPUS BEGINNING OF THE YEAR CHECKLIST

NEW AIM/OPI DATA COLLECTION SCHEDULE 21-22 SY

TBD: FRAM and FALL COLLECTION TRAINING SESSIONS

(OPI offering some via the August Bulletin)

For refreshers, questions, and assistance please contact SSoM Tech Minion ASAP:

Many thanks goes out to the planning team, presenters, panelists, sponsors, and participants!

We're so thankful for all of the participants who joined our virtual conference last week! While a virtual environment is not nearly as enjoyable as connecting in person, we hope you were able to leave with ideas, resources, and inspiration going into the 2021-22 school year.

The recordings and any presenter-shared resources are now uploaded for all registered participants to access. Find them by logging into your ‘Sched’ platform (https://mtssi2021.sched.com/) and clicking on the selected session within the ‘Schedule’ area. Scroll down and you will see the “Session Recording” field toward the bottom.

We have reserved space on the MSU campus for 2022! Please send requests for any areas of focus you'd like to see at next year's conference. We hope you'll join us!

mtovaas@mt-schools.org | (646) 831-7264

Schedule: Delivery 1 8/23 - 9/10 | Delivery 2 9/20 - 10/8 | Delivery 3 10/18 - 11/5 | Delivery 4 11/15 - 12/3

Program Details: Fall 2021 order & program details

Your District's Delivery Date: shared via email; contact your US Foods bid rep Tammie or Carmen

Program Registration & Details: Jennifer Brekke, SSoM Purchasing Manager, jbrekke@mt-schools.org

Melissa Tovaas "This summer, I went tent camping with the family and woke up at 6am to the sound of bear spray in the tent! It was not a bear (thankfully), but my mischievous 10 month old puppy who punctured the bear spray can. Lesson learned: keep bear spray out of the reach of your dog!"

Jennifer Brekke "My left foot's little toe (the GOOD little toe!) made a violent connection with a door jamb earlier in July resulting in my first broken toe and an impressive 3" black & blue bruise. There is NO give in a door jamb, and I learned a lot about my friends' broken digits when I first shared this info."

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation is dedicated to advancing literacy and fostering a love of reading among underserved and at-risk children and youth. The Foundation's Bookmobile Grant Program provides support to nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories that operate a lending bookmobile that travels into neighborhoods populated by underserved youth. These grants, ranging from $500 to $3,000, are for purchasing books published for young people, preschool through grade eight, and cannot be used for administrative or operational uses. Applications may be submitted through September 1st of each year. Visit the Foundation's website to review the guidelines for the Bookmobile Grant Program.

Support for Projects to Address Poverty and Education

The Tomberg Family Philanthropies consists of two separate charitable funds: the Marty Tomberg Charitable Fund and the Philip and the Helen Brecher Charitable Fund. Grants are provided to nonprofit organizations and certain government entities, such as public schools and universities, based in the United States for projects in the U.S. and worldwide. For the 2021 funding cycle, the Philanthropies will be supporting new projects in the areas of education and poverty alleviation. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $15,000. Letters of inquiry are due September 7, 2021; invited full proposals must be submitted by December 13, 2021. Visit the Philanthropies website to learn more about the application process.

Now is the time to invest in high-quality curricula that will accelerate literacy learning, attend to students' social and emotional needs, and build inclusive, equitable communities for all learners.

Register for Virtual Events - View All, Complete Descriptions, & Registration HERE

FREE PD! OPI INDIAN EDUCATION FOR ALL (IEFA) ADVOACY AWARD RECIPIENT WEBINAR SERIES: Contemporary Topics in Indian Country September - March

This series of six FREE webinars will feature a different Teresa Veltkamp Advocacy Award for Excellence in Indian Education recipient. Each session will cover current events and contemporary issues facing Montana tribes. Learn how to research primary documents for classroom use and how to respectfully integrate them into your instruction. REGISTRATION OPEN - click for complete details.

OPI MONTANA AUTISM EDUCATION PROJECT is offering 80+ hours of online training in Teaching Procedures for students with autism/cognitive delay, Applied Behavior Analysis, and a variety of focused topics. Click here to learn more.

REGION IV CSPD offers FREE VIRTUAL PD for SW MT! (click here for website)

THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING READING, a 12 part series with Carrie Cole, Wednesdays September 8 - December 1, 4 - 6pm via ZOOM

All 5 CSPDs offer FREE VIRTUAL PD for their respective regions. Click for details:

Region I (Eastern MT) | Region II | Region III | Region V (Western MT)

WORLD LANGUAGE INITIATIVE - MT highlights from Tuesdays at 2pm Newsletter 8/19/21

"WLI-MT's mission is to make language & culture programming available for ALL Montanans."

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.