Employee News / Employee News

News & Notes

A Newsletter for Employees of Missoula County Public Schools
May 20, 2013

Hellgate High School to celebrate successful first year of International Baccalaureate Programme

Missoula County Public Schools and Hellgate High School will celebrate the completion of the first year of the International Baccalaureate Programme with a special event from 8-10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 21 in the lower gymnasium.

Hellgate launched the IB programme, which serves junior and senior students, in fall 2012. The programme offers rigorous classes that incorporate project-based learning, international education and service learning. Students can complete the full two-year programme and earn an IB diploma, or take select IB classes and earn certificates. Many colleges advance college credit to students who have earned an IB diploma in high school. This first year, 23 students are enrolled in the full IB diploma program and approximately 100 students have enrolled in IB classes at Hellgate.

Administrators from around the District, community members, and Hellgate’s IB teachers and students, will come together to recognize the mission and vision of the program, its first year successes, and the importance of international education in the 21^st century.

Speakers will include Superintendent Apostle P. Apostle, who will address how IB fits into the District’s vision for 21^st century schools, and Hellgate Principal Lisa Hendrix, who will discuss Hellgate’s transformation during the IB implementation. Ambassador Mark Johnson (Ret.) of the Montana World Affairs Council, keynote speaker, will share the importance of globally-minded education. Hellgate IB teacher Britt Hanford and IB student Addison Melvin will talk about their classroom experiences, and IB Coordinators Jenni Frizzell and Kevin Ritchlin will share how IB successfully supports Hellgate’s unique population, and future goals for the IB programme. The event will also feature the catering talents for Hellgate’s Culinary 3 Class.

Congratulations to the staff and students of Hellgate!

MCPS retirees to be honored at the May 30 ‘Grill and Chill’ Year-End Picnic

MCPS will honor this year’s retirees on Thursday, May 30, 3:30 p.m., at the MCHS Stadium at Big Sky High School. All MCPS employees are invited to the annual District Wide All Employee “Grill and Chill” to help honor these individuals and to enjoy great food and prizes! Here is the most current list of retirees:

Retiree:	Building	Years of Service
Elaine Anderson Wood	Franklin	6
Robert Andrews	Meadow Hill	15
Marilyn Beers	Hellgate	31
Sue Black	Franklin	16
Mary (Suzanne) Bobowiec	District	41
Nick Carter	Big Sky	29
Wanda Catogge	Hellgate	26
Mary Christensen	Big Sky	13
Cynthia Chumrau	Russell	14
Charles Freeland	Franklin	8
Carla Getz	Porter	25½
Denise Giuliani	Rattlesnake	20
Steve Gustuson	Washington	25
Diane Johnson	Franklin	13½
Keith Hanson	Sentinel	28
Doug Heyer	Porter	20½
Diane Holden	Cold Springs	26
Gloria Howell	Paxson	6½
Colleen Livingston	Russell	35
Mary Manning	Paxson	36
James Marsh	Hellgate	5½
Ron Martina	Big Sky	35½
Barry Miller	Cold Springs	6
Maureen O’Malley	Sentinel	5½
John Paulson	Big Sky	35
Bonnie Powell	Hellgate	22
Eugene Randall	Willard	22
Scott Reed	District	20
Sally Reinhard	Franklin	23½
Murvin Rickel	Lewis and Clark	5½
Tom Ross	Big Sky	35½
Maribeth Rothwell	Rattlesnake	20½
Jerrilyn Scheytt	Sentinel	21
Pam Serba	Russell	26½
Dan Sieckman	Sentinel	26
Marvin Smith	Cold Springs	34
Ron Stirling	Big Sky	16
Kevin Stroh	Seeley-Swan	17
Jack Sturgis	Lewis and Clark	20
Laurie Suprock	Jefferson	14½
Steve Vernier	Big Sky	19
Bernard Wandler	Hellgate	12½
Donna Warren	Willard	6
Elaine Williams	Cold Springs	25½
Lisa Wimett	Meadow Hill	32½

§ Information provided by the Human Resources Dept. For any additions or corrections, please contact Human Resources.

Office of Public Instruction awards $5,000 grant to Graduation Matters Missoula

Graduation Matters Missoula and Missoula County Public Schools have received a $5,000 Challenge Grant Fund from Montana’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI) to support programs that are aimed at reducing the dropout rate. The grant funding was made available through a partnership between OPI, State Farm Insurance and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, which awarded $450,000 in 2012 to OPI to be distributed over three years in support of Graduation Matters initiatives around the state.

The 2013 Challenge Grant will be used to support expansion of “Youth Building Bridges” workshops in MCPS classrooms. These trainings are given by the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) and serve to facilitate positive school cultures, increase student engagement and support the transition of 5^th grade and 6^th grade students as they move into middle school. This early-intervention model will ultimately help to reduce drop-out rates by providing students with additional tools to succeed emotionally and academically as they move into a new school environment.

This 2013 Challenge Grant is the second that Graduation Matters Missoula has received from OPI. The program received a $3,600 Challenge Grant in late spring 2012 to launch the NCBI workshops in MCPS schools. This year’s funding will allow expansion of that program.

Human Resources & Benefits Corner

MMCEO MEMBERS: Friday, May 24, 2013, certified vacancies that remain unfilled after the MEA Arena 1 and 2 postings and interviews will be posted on the District website for Arena 3 which is open to members of the Merged Missoula Classified Employees Organization who submitted an MCPS online application and all required materials by April 30, 2013. Instructions regarding how to apply for the openings will be on the vacancy announcement. All eligible applicants are interviewed. Interviews will be held May 29-30 in the Administration Building beginning at 4:00 p.m. Applicants need to make sure they are available from 4:00 p.m. through late evening on both days. Applicants’ interview dates and times will be scheduled by Human Resources and emailed by Val Crumbley, ext. 1042. Please contact Val Crumbley via Outlook or by phone (406)728-2400, ext. 1042, if there are specific times you are unavailable. Applicants must attend the schedule arena interviews to be considered, unless arrangements are made for a prior interview due to mitigating circumstances.

Reminder to staff members hosting summer camps: Staff members must refer to district policies 3221 and 4331 when planning summer camps for students. Outside groups, including governmental agencies, parent and student organizations not sponsored by the District may be permitted to display materials on a centrally located bulletin board and/or table available for displaying. However, materials to be distributed to students must be submitted to the Business Office for prior approval. Staff are prohibited from promoting their private businesses through the District including email communications and website postings. Questions? Please contact the Human Resources Office.

Attention: Staff members who donated sick leave during the 2012-13 school year: If you wish a staff member, to whom you have donated sick leave, to be able to use your donation after June, 30, 2013, you must notify Theresa Roullier in the Payroll Department via e-mail on or before June 30, 2013. Otherwise, your donation will be returned to you effective July 1, 2013.Staff members who received and who have continuing need for donated sick leave are: Charlene Rivera, Leslie Hiller, Russell Swinger and Mischelle Thomas.

Do you have any recent or upcoming absencesdue to injuries, surgeries, extended illnesses, maternity/paternity leave, or to provide care for an ill relative? If so, employees must notify the Human Resources Department immediately for the following reasons: 1) Human Resources must notify employees, in writing, of the employee’s eligibility for FMLA and other leaves; 2) Human Resources must notify employees of requirements for a physician’s release prior to the return to work; 3) lack of notice increases the liability risk of the District and; 4) lack of notice may result in a lapse of insurance coverage for an employee, depending upon the employee’s eligibility for leave. Please do not forget to report these types of absences by contacting Human Resources at 728-2400, ext. 1035.

SubFinder Access: Staff members experiencing difficulties accessing SubFinder may troublshoot by using the option to open Internet Explorer and type http://Subfind.mcps.k12.mt.us.wc2 in the address bar. In addition, absences may be reported by contacting SubFinder at 329-5970. Staff continuing to experience difficulties accessing SubFinder, may contact Anita Thomas at ext. 1020 during her scheduled operating hours of 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday - Friday.

MCPS has partnered with St. Pat’s Broadway Pharmacy. The Broadway Pharmacy is available to meet all prescription needs. The pharmacy will do mail order prescriptions ($1 shipping fee applies) and 90 day supplies. In addition, the pharmacy will transfer existing prescriptions….just provide the name of the current pharmacy and the staff at Broadway Pharmacy will handle the rest. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday – Friday. to provide cost savings and special pricing for staff participating in the MCPS Health Benefits planFor questions, please contact Benefits Technician Shannon McWilliams at ext. 1044 or the Broadway Pharmacy at (406)327-1650.

MCPS employees now have the ability to update their vital contact information online to ensure they continue to receive important district information and messaging alerts. Employees that experience a change of address, drop or add a landline based telephone, or change cell phone numbers will now access the Employee Contact Information Update form to update their information as these changes occur. Click here to view the form or access the form on the MCPS staff webpage. For questions, please contact Mischelle Thomas in the Human Resources office at ext. 1035.

Classroom Opportunities

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture is proud to announce specially featured art exhibit, A Hundred Years Later: Julius Seyler Among the Blackfeet. The exhibit commemorates German painter Julius Seyler’s (1873-1955) centennial visit to Glacier National Park. Seyler spent two summers among the Amskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet), Sqeilo (Salish) and K’tanaxa (Kootenai) tribes developing a body of work recording their culture. The artwork will be exhibited in the Meloy & Paxon Galleries in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television located on the University of Montana campus. Admission is free and daily tours are available. To schedule a tour for your classroom, please contact Shawn Whitworth (406)243-2019 or email museum@umontana.edu.

Arabic students should not miss this opportunity! The Arabic Studies Section has received a STARTALK grant to host the Montana Arabic Summer Institute (MASI) for high school students. Students will develop and improve Arabic language skills and gain cultural knowledge in a fun and academic environment. MASI will have two levels available; Level 1 for new students with no previous knowledge of Arabic and Level 2 for students who have previously studied Arabic. The grant will cover tuition fees, instructional materials, t-shirt, and a USB flash drive. Upon successful completion, students will receive 5 college credits. MASI 2013 will from June 17 through July 12. Seats are limited so register now! Click here to register and for more information.

MCPS Bulletin Board

The Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals (MAGIP), a non-profit organization supporting the advancement of geographic information, has recently awarded C.S. Porter’s Scott Edge a 2013 K-12 Education Grant.Congratulations Scott! Edge will purchase GPS units for use in a 20-hour geography and geocaching course offered at Porter’s summer camp for incoming 6^th grade students.

Celebrate student achievement! Everyone is invited to the C.S. Porter Spring Showcase on Tuesday, May 21, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The Showcase features student art, written work, songs, dance, video and much more! Support the Porter students and take part in a silent auction of theme baskets, art auction, and raffle. Free food and door prizes add to the festivities. For more information, please contact Eric Ramsey, ext. 4613 or via Outlook.

Sentinel High School’s Spartan and Symphony Bands will perform in the Margaret Johnson Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22. This is the final concert of the year, so don’t miss it!

Do you know anyone that would benefit from an asthma camp? This year’s YMCA Camp Huff N Puff will be held on July 14 – 19 at scenic Camp Child 23 miles west of Helena. This week long camp for kids age 7-14 provides fun-filled activities including hiking, swimming, archery canoeing and much more! Full medical staff is on site throughout the week. Cost is $100 per camper and scholarships are available. Click here for more information or to register. Questions? Please contact Kendra Procacci at Kendra.procacci@umontana.edu.

Are you retiring from teaching this year, but remain interested in the quality of education? Perhaps serving as a mentor for a future teacher might be just the role for you! The Office of Field Experiences at the University of Montana seeks educators who have the expertise to supervise teacher candidates as they progress through their student teaching practicum. The university supervisor is the liaison between the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences, the Office of Field Experiences, the Licensure Office, and the participating school. Supervisors set their own schedules to conduct formal observations/conferences as part of the teacher preparation program. If interested, please contact Nancy Marra, Director of Field Experiences at nancy.marra@umontana.edu.

Attention MCPS staff members! We are looking for parent referrals from you! Do you know a family in need? Jennifer Swartz, Adult and Family Literacy Coordinator for the Lifelong Learning Center, is available at Franklin, Hawthorne, Lowell, and C.M. Russell schools to assist parents. Topics include improving skills to help kids with homework, parenting and communication skills, preparing for the GED, enhancing job search skills, or exploring continuing education opportunities. Call (406)549-8765 for more information.

Important Towne Mailer information! Anyone sending out bulk mailings during these times, May 3-9 or May 24-28, must contact Towne Mailer prior to sending. Due to staff vacations during these times, Towne Mailer is requesting early notification. In addition, Towne Mailer will be unable to process bulk mailings requiring addressing during these times. All other outgoing mail will be processed as usual. For questions, please contact Suzan (406)541-6245.

The Print Shop now has the ability to accept printing requests electronically. Simply download the printing request form which can be found on the District’s website under the Staff Links tab. Email the completed form and the printing file to printshop@mcps.k12.mt.us. Please allow appropriate completion times as indicated and follow proper printing request guidelines. For questions, please call 1069 or 1033.

A reminder to MCPS employees–all volunteers working with students need to be registered with the Volunteer Resources office in the MCPS Administration Building. In addition, if the volunteer works with students while not in the presence of an MCPS employee (or other individual who has passed a criminal fingerprint check), then the volunteer will need to go through a criminal name-based background check before spending “unsupervised” time with students either during or after the school day. More than 1,400 volunteers were registered with the Volunteer Resources office last school year and more than half went through background checks. These volunteers do NOT have to re-register. If you are unsure if a volunteer is registered or has gone through a background check,the District has posted a searchable list of MCPS volunteers, which identifies the names of volunteers who are registered in the district and whether each volunteer is approved for supervised or unsupervised access to students, on its Volunteer Resource webpage.The data is only viewable to MCPS administrators and teachers who are logged into the district’s website.Administrators and teachers can log into the website by using their district-assigned username and password (i.e. what is used to log into a computer). The link to the data will then be viewable. Anyone who does not have access to the data and believes they should is asked to contact Lesli Brassfield, public affairs director, at ext. 1024 or lbrassfield@mcps.k12.mt.us.

Buy your raffle ticket now! The Building Futures Program, a partnership between the Flagship Program, Missoula Building Industry Association and Missoula College, has completed the construction of a student built home located at 4860 Jeff Drive, Missoula. There are approximately 400 raffle tickets still available for this 3 bedrooms 2 bathroom home for $100 per ticket. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

General News Briefs

On May 25 the Carousel for Missoula will be 18 years old and on May 21 Dragon Hollow will be 12! To celebrate, FREE rides will be offered to everyone at the Kid’s Day event on Saturday, May 25^th. In addition, sponsor Mismo Gymnastics will be on hand to provide their own brand of fun! Click here for more information.

The Dirty Dash is back! The Court Appointed Special Advocates of Missoula (CASA of Missoula), a non-profit organization that provides long-term advocacy for abused and neglected children, has partnered with Dirty Dash in a fun-filled muddy race to raise much-needed funds for the children of CASA. The event will be held on September 7 but registration ends May 29. Click here to register and enter CASA into the promo code to give 35% of your entry fee to CASA of Missoula. For questions, please call (406)542-1208 or email info@casamissoula.org.

The Missoula City Band has released its summer series concert schedule for 2013. Concerts are on Wednesday evening at the Bonner Park Band Shell at 8 p.m. beginning June 19 and running through August 7. Support the many talented musicians in the community! For a complete schedule visit www.missoulacityband.org or contact Gary Gillett, ext. 7041.

The Missoula Organization of REALTORS (MOR) is sponsoring the 4th Annual Community MOR for Kids Shout Out at Canyon River Golf Curse Tournament on Thursday, June 20. This community wide charitable event raises funds for the Missoula County elementary schools. Anyone interested in participating in the tournament or wanting to donate a raffle item, please contact Carol Craft at the MOR office at (406)728-0560.

Community Circles will offer another Circle process training seminar in Missoula, on June 8 and 9, 2013. The seminar will provide hands-on experience with the Circle process. The fee is $90 for the two-day seminar but group discounts are available. Space is limited to register now. For questions or to register, please call (406)549-1121 or email commquest@aol.com.

The MontanaPBS will be host a town hall discussion, Guns in the Big Sky: Keeping our Schools Safe. The discussion will be drawn primarily from the people who face a school crisis directly; parents, teachers, administrators, law enforcement and safety experts. Listen as they examine current safety practices and explore new options. The event will be held in the Montana Theater on the University of Montana campus on May 23 at 7 p.m. Anyone interested in joining the audience, should contact Executive Producer William Marcus (406)243-4154 or Producer Anna Rau (406)243-4250.

In The News

We have started this section in the employee newsletter to highlight the week’s media features on Missoula County Public School’s staff, students, and events.

In Appreciation

If you have a donor that deserves recognition, please forward the donor’s name, donation type and/or amount, and other details to Lesli Brassfield in the Supt’s Office (email preferred).

Lowell Elementary would like to thank the North Missoula Community Development Corporation (NMCDC), 1500 Burns Street. NMCDC paid for wood chips for the West Side park playground last fall and again, this spring for the Lowell garden. The total donation was $3,900 which included high quality wood chips that allows for wheelchair accessiblity and will last for several years. NMCDC orchestrated the community built “Project Playground” through grants and volunteer labor in 1997. They continue to be the stewads of the park and surrounding area. Their work benefits Lowell students and neighborhood residents alike. They also offer a kids program during the summer of neighborhood children, M-F, 2:30-5 p.m. The organization is an asset to the area and Missoula County Public Schools

Professional Development

Continuing education art classes are now available! Educators can earn 2 semester credits for each course being offered through the University of Montana-Western. Register now for Bulletin Board for Educators (EDU 491), a class designed to teach educators the use different art forms to create eye-catching educational displays. Tuition is $230 and an additional $15 materials fee to be paid directly to the instructor. Interested in watercolors? If so, register now for the Watercolor for the Educator’s Classroom (EDU 491) and learn the many painting techniques and colors. This course is $230 with an additional $10 materials fee to be paid directly to the instructor. Each course will be taught at Stevensville High School, Room 121. For more information, email instructor Mike Mickelson, mickelsonm@stevensville.k12.mt.us.

Teachers - would you like to learn how to effectively incorporate film into your courses? Check out The University of Montana Teaching With Film Institute! This summer we are offering five outstanding one-week film-related course that focus on Tarantino, Race and Class, Cultural Geography, Anthropology, and Video Production. All courses are three credits, and make be taken for graduate or undergraduate credit. For more information, contact Sean O'Brien at (406)243-5791 or email sean.o'brien@mso.umt.edu.

Now available the Art of Storytelling: Plains Indian Perspective workshop. The workshop is designed to support the implementation of the materials created by the Office of Public Instruction and the Montana Historical Society. Participants will experience some of the lessons and will receive the full packet including artwork, lesson plans, and supporting PowerPoints. The workshop will be held in Missoula on May 16 and is available FREE which was made possible by an IEFA Grant. For more information or to register call (406)752-3302 or visit www.cspd.net and reference course# 2928.

New Health Science teacher training available on-line! To be eligible for this program, teachers must be licensed in secondary science or be a PE/Health Enhancement teacher with a collegiate course in Anatomy & Physiology. Throughout this two week course participants will not be required to be online every day; however, participants will be asked to job shadow a medical facility to observe concepts discussed in the course. OPI renewal credits and certificate will be awarded upon completion and participants will be eligible for a CTE Class 4A Health Science Endorsement for a fee ($30 or less). A grant received from the Missoula College enables the first cohort of teachers to register and participate for free. The course is scheduled June 17 – June 28. For more information or to register, please email Renee Harris, Health Science Education Specialist, at Rharris3@mt.gov or call (406)994-6986.

The Friends fo Irish Studies and Traolach O'Riordain are pleased to present an Irish Immersion Course providing one-week credit and non-credit courses for beginners and advanced learners. The course will be held in Butte, MT on July 20-27. Tuition is $299 or $279 for members of the Friends of Irish Studies. Accommodations are available for $25 per night. More information can be found at www.friendsofirishstudies.com or friendsofirishstudies@gmail.com.

Looking for professional development opportunities? Click here and view all the latest offerings on the Western Montana CSPD website.

The Institute for Strategic Funding and Development will be hosting a Two-Day Strategic Grant Development Workshop on April 22 and 23. Workshop topic include Strategic Grant Research, Strategic Program Planning, Strategic Proposal Writing and Strategic Proposal Submittal Process. Tuition is $498 per person, with a $25 discount for early registration. Participants will receive an ISFD Certificate of Completion accredited by CFRE with 15 Continuation Education Units (CEU) or 15 Contact Hours. For more information call (877)414-8991.

The State of the Young Child Workshop will be held April 13, 8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. in the University of Montana Continuing Education Building. The workshop will feature facilitator Christine Roberts the founder of Nurturing Pathways. The workshop fee is $30 with the possibility of earning 6 hours professional development credits. To register visit www.cspd.net, course I.D. #2922.

Reminder: Please register on the MT Professional Development Portal prior to attending a PIR workshop so that the instructor can be prepared for the number of people attending. If you have registered for a workshop and find out that you will not be able to attend, please cancel your registration online so that others on the Wait List may attend the course.

Non-District PIR Request: Are you interested in requesting MCPS Flexible PIR for a professional development event that you attended outside of the contract day? If so, log onto the new CSPDMT Professional Developmentportal athttp://cspd.hrmplus.net/Home.aspx. Click on theMy Recordstab. Click on theNon-District PIRtab. Click on the green plus sign next toAdd Request for Non-District PIR. Fill in the info regarding your event. Be sure to click on theSavebutton at the bottom of the screen. Your supervisor will receive an email notifying him/her of your request. When your request has been approved/denied, you will receive an email notifying you of the decision. You’ll also need to provide your supervisor with documentation, including event title, dates, number of hours, etc. to verify your attendance.

Montana Professional Development Portal Tips & Tricks. All of the data from the old MCPS PIR website has been moved to the NEW Montana Professional Development Portal. MCPS staff who had information on the old site are encouraged to please check the following:

1. Log into the new Montana Professional Development Portal (link is on the MCPS website- under STAFF-->Professional Development

2. Click on MY RECORDS and then click on the PERSONAL INFO tab and make sure that all the required boxes are complete. Also click on the CONTACT INFO tab and make sure your data is correct there.

3. Click on MY COURSES and check to see if your courses are there... This is also where you can complete your evaluations for this year's courses.

If you see any issues on your account- please email Nancy Marks atadmin@wmcspd.org

Website classes are now being offered to MCPS educators who are interested in developing web pages on the district’s new platform (schoolwires)-PIR is available.Schools that are currently using the platform include Big Sky, Hellgate, Sentinel, Willard, Seeley-Swan, Meadow Hill, Chief Charlo and Paxson. The remaining school websites will be incorporated in spring 2013.ALL MCPS TEACHERS in all schools are eligible to develop webpages on the new platform, however. The last two-hour training this year is titled “MCPS District website training” and is scheduled from 4-6 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Sentinel High School (you only need to register for ONE two-hour class). Training will focus on using applications and developing web pages for the classroom. Register on the newMontana Professional Development portal. Register for course # 2539.

Mandt Trainings for Region 5 schoolsare now posted on theMontana Professional Development Portal. Click hereto find a training session scheduled near you!

Montana Professional Development Portal TIP: Having trouble logging into the newMontana Professional Development Portal? Some emails are being impacted by the District’s Lightspeed filter. Be sure to check your “junk mail” folder and spam filter if you are NOT receiving anticipated emails regarding registration information or password reminders from the professional development portal. If the email ends up in your junk mail folder, right click on the message, select JUNK and choose NEVER BLOCK SENDER.

Interested in getting information about upcomingWestern MT CSPD Professional Development Offerings? ClickJoin our Mailing Listand choose the type of information you would like to receive.

Professional Development: Directions for instructors about how to“Create a Course”request and offer workshops on the Montana Professional Development Portal can be found on the Professional Development page on the MCPS website,www.mcpsmt.org. In addition, the website provides the“Facilitator to Do List”which reviews the responsibilities of the instructor/facilitator.

Public Meetings

Agendas for these meetings are available online at www.mcpsmt.org.

Tuesday, May 21 – Budget Study Session, 6 p.m., Business Building, Board Roo9m