November 10, 2021 Edition |
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IN THIS EDITION...Infinite Campus Nat'l Training Week Nov. 15-19 | MECC Social Studies Reviews | Spring 2022 Food Order Open | Professional Learning Website Updates | Nov. Native American Heritage Resources | Grant Opportunity | Paid Summer Research Experience for Elementary Teachers | Joke of the Week | NEW Additional Resources | About SSoM
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>> ONE FLAT FEE FOR DISTRICTWIDE ACCESS <<
NATIONAL TRAINING WEEK
NOVEMBER 15 - 19, 2021
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LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!
Sign your district up today and join 650+ districts for this premier professional development event! Discounts are available for SSoM Member Districts and Infinite Campus Passport subscribers.
JUST A SAMPLING OF SESSIONS TOPICS INCLUDED
Academic Planning; Ad Hoc; Assessments; Attendance; Behavior; Campus Community; Campus Portal; Customizing Campus; FRAM; Grading & Standards; Messenger; Scheduling; Surveys. Informational Courses and Sales Demos also available! Click here for the Session Booklet; click here for times.
CURRENT DISTRICTS REGISTERED IN MONTANA
Belgrade, Butte, Cut Bank, Hamilton, Hardin, Havre, Kalispell, Kila, Laurel, Manhattan, Medicine Lake, Missoula, Park City, Sun River Valley, and Wolf Point. Add your district TODAY!
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Contact our Infinite Campus Extraordinaire for more:
Mary Anne Skinner | maskinner@mt-schools.org | (208) 631-2053
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MECC Fall / Winter 2021 - 2022
CURRICULUM REVIEWS:
SOCIAL STUDIES
Hello curriculum aficionados! Here are the details on the virtual Social Studies reviews we are offering this school year. These reviews are available to our Montana Education Curriculum Consortium members, and we would love to share how a MECC membership would benefit YOUR district! Click here for the updated MECC 21-22 Meeting & Events Calendar for a complete list of events, descriptions, and registration links.
>> NEXT WEEK <<
Nov. 18: Social Studies Overview, 12:30-3:30pm
- Overview of the new Montana Social Studies Content Standards, key shifts based on the C3 National Framework, and an overview of the curriculum review process, resources we use to support the process, and next steps for social studies curriculum alignment.
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Audience: K-12 Teachers, Curriculum Coordinators/Directors
FUTURE REVIEWS
Dec. 2: Prioritizing & Unpacking Social Studies Standards, 12:30-3:30pm
Dec. 8: Social Studies Standards-Based Assessment Alignment & Design 8:30am-12pm
Jan. 13: Social Studies Unit Frameworks, Understanding By Design
- Elementary (K-5) 8:30-11:30am)
- Secondary (6-12) 12:30-3:30pm)
Contact the SSoM Director of Education Services for more:
Melissa Tovaas | mtovaas@mt-schools.org | (646) 831-7264
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SSoM SPRING 2022 CO-OP
FOOD ORDER NOW OPEN
November 8 - December 7, 2021
The Spring 2022 order features several brand new items, a 5th delivery to support your summer food programs, and NEW flexible program fee options! This program is open to ALL Montana K-12 schools, and SSoM membership is NOT required. Click a button below for more!
The first Delivery period begins January 24. Join over 150 school districts to SAVE BIG on quality K-12 food for your nutrition programs, receive up to FIVE deliveries (each approx. 1 month apart), get advance notices of your delivery date and emailed advance notices of order shorts (plan ahead!).
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Questions? Need a refresher? Contact our Purchasing Manager today!
Jennifer Brekke | jbrekke@mt-schools.org | (406) 580-7547
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SSoM WEBSITE UPDATES: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Education Services is excited to announce
the following new & updated pages in
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SSoM UPCOMING EVENTS featuring our new facilitated IEFA Facilitated Course, 2022 Montana Science Summer Institute, a Feb. 2022 Tech Summit teaser (details coming soon), and more!
CUSTOMIZED DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING for your school or district, based on the needs of your staff and students. We will work with you to create a professional learning plan that meets your needs. Whether it's in-person or virtual, we are flexible in our delivery and range of learning topics.
VIRTUAL COURSES currently features our IEFA Book Study, Dyslexia Course & Resources, PLC Implementation, and Trauma-Informed Approaches
THESE NEW PAGES & UPDATES COMING SOON
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21-22 SY Curriculum Consortium (MECC) updates
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Meet Our Facilitators (including photos, bios, areas of expertise, and shout-outs from happy educators)
- Indian Education for All (IEFA)
- Crisis Prevention/Intervention (CPI) Workshops
For questions or additional information, please contact:
Melissa Tovaas, SSoM Director of Education Services, mtovaas@mt-schools.org
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NOVEMBER IS NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
A Word from our Tech Education Director
Happy November and welcome to Native American Heritage Month! This month I'll be sharing tech tips, sites, extensions, apps, etc. that can help educators better integrate more knowledge and culture within their classrooms. While most schools offer some sort of European language course, more and more schools are expanding to include some of the Native languages from the region.
This week I'd like to point out the incredible work that the Kalispell Tribe, centered just north of Spokane, has been doing regarding language. Their website includes written and audio resources and a curriculum for an introduction to Salish, as well as keyboard software to enable typing with Salish characters. Check it out!
Lemlmts! (Salish for 'Thank you'.)
Sabrina Holland-Kump, SSoM Director of Technology Education, sholland@mt-schools.org
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YOUTH GARDEN GRANTS by KidsGardening.org
...awarded to support school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for students and their communities. Any nonprofit organization, school, or youth program in the U.S. or U.S. territories planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of three and 18 is eligible to apply. Forty winners will receive award packages valued at $1,050 each. In addition, ten winners will receive the $1,050 award package plus additional prizes. The selection of winners is based on demonstrated program impact and sustainability.
Application deadline: December 17, 2021. Visit KidsGardening for guidelines and forms.
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SSoM BUSINESS PARTNER RESOURCES |
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MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY OFFERS PAID SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS!
June 20 - July 29, 2022
Are you a Montana elementary school teacher looking to enliven and improve how you teach STEM in your classroom? This 6-week summer program will be offered to 10 teachers per summer for 3 years starting in 2022, and it takes place in-person in Bozeman.
In this energy-themed program, teachers gain hands-on experience in state-of-the-art engineering research labs and will visit multiple energy facilities such as hydroelectric dams and oil refineries. The field trips include visits to nearby American Indian cultural sites and discussions about Indigenous perspectives in engineering, with a focus on integrating STEM with Montana's Indian Education For All curriculum. No specific STEM background is required, and all elementary teachers are encouraged to apply.
- Participants receive a $6,000 stipend; travel funding also available;
- Housing & meals provided; all program & research costs covered;
Questions? Contact: Paul Gannon, MSU College of Engineering, pgannon@montana.edu
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SSoM Partner COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOM
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.
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RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR TEACHING & LEARNING
BEYOND GOOD INTENTIONS: TEACHING WITH A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, & CULTURAL LENS
Dec. 1, 2021, 2-2:45pm Mountain
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Nancy Markowitz, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Reaching & Teaching the Whole Child, and Dr. Suzanne Bouffard, VP of Publications at Learning Forward and Editor of The Learning Professional, as we discuss their book. Register here.
OERA WINTER 2022 COURSE Begins Jan 20, 2022
Register for the Online Elementary Reading Academy (OERA), a self-paced online course that teaches the essential components of reading instruction, offered in partnership with the Consortium on Reading Excellence in Education (CORE). Learn more & register here.
Learn how our evidence-based, ESSER-eligible curricula address the impact of lost instructional time, nurture strong learning communities, and support students socially, emotionally, and academically.
60 DAY FREE TRIAL with full digital access to all Collaborative Classroom curricula; sign up here.
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MT OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Featuring: MT School Law Conference; new Educator Licensure System; MT Executive Leadership Academy; link to important dates, and more!
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DONORSCHOOSE.ORG
Founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx, NY, DonorsChoose empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials for their students. Teachers can add their project to the site (Donorschoose.org matches donations from every donor for your first project!), and donors can make a one-time OR monthly donation.
The site's 'Nearby Projects' section currently features a teacher from Emily Dickenson Elementary School in Bozeman, MT! This is a great site to share with...well, everyone involved with public schools in Montana. Check out the site today!
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...an off-field competition between Montana State University and the University of Montana to see which school can collect the most donations for its local food bank (or as U of M calls it, Can the Cats). Read the MSU press release here. The drive will conclude at the end of the first quarter of the annual Brawl of the Wild football game on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Everyone wins when you take part in this massive food drive to support the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Missoula Food Bank. Of course, Cat fans & Griz fans are also competing for BRAGGING RIGHTS. Make a food OR a monetary donation. $1 = 1 pound of food. It's so easy! They even accept donations via Venmo: @canthegriz.
If you aren't near one of these 2 sites, please give to your local food bank.
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ABOUT SCHOOL SERVICES of MONTANA |
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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.
ONCE AGAIN! Oodles and oodles of new updates, new PD, and new pages on our WEBSITE! Click our logo anywhere in the newsletter to check it out : )
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