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Jennifer CourtneyPrincipalEmail: jccourtney@mcpsmt.org@bigskyprincipal-Instagram
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Weekly Updates 3.10.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 3/10/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
We want to tell our Lady Eagles Basketball team we are very proud of your run at state, we know it was some challenging games, but you showed your Eagle Spirit through and through! We are so proud of you. Don’t forget spring sports (Tennis, Softball and Track & Field) start tomorrow, Monday 3/11/24. All paperwork must be turned in to Becca in the Attendance office before you can participate.
- Spring Break-no school 3/18-3/22, remember to stop by the Family Resource Center if you need any food/snacks to take home for the long break.
- ACT Registration for 11th graders will be during Advisory on 3/14-parents/guardians you will receive an for more information on the ACT test soon.
- April 9th will be a remote day for 9th, 10th and 12th graders due to the ACT test.
- Senior-please take this survey to help your class officers with some graduation speaker ideas! Graduation Speaker Survey
- Monday, during lunch any & all students please join me in talking with Student Government about the parking lot situation with the garbage, we will meet in the Theater.
I hope you all have a restful and safe spring break, please reach out if you need anything during that time. Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 3.3.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 3/3/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
Shout out to the hard work and efforts of our Boys & Girls Basketball teams at Divisional this weekend. They have both had a hard fought season and we will be there to cheer on the Girls at State this upcoming weekend.
Congratulations to Hadley Keintz for taking 4th place at the state level Poetry Out Loud competition. Hadley beat out hundreds of high school students across the state and not only was she our region's 1st place winner, she was the only 9th grader to place in the finals and the first Big Sky student to make it to the finals!
Don’t forget the Spring Sports meeting is Monday at 6pm in the Big Sky Theater, this is for any student interested in playing Softball, Tennis or Track & Field. During this event we are also asking for families to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to our Big Sky Family Resource Center. This food drive is put on by our Culinary Arts and Catering students who are learning about community hunger and how people play a role to help solve it. Thank you in advance!
- Honor Roll certificates went out last week, if you did not receive one please email Debi Turner in the main office, dturner@mcpsmt.org
- Pep assembly & Class Photos, Thursday during Advisory! We want to celebrate lots of students in athletics, activities and academics during this time, as well as take your class photo, so we will be asking your 2nd period teachers to bring you to the main gym.
- Caps & Gowns delivered at lunch Thursday for seniors. If you have already ordered they should be available for pick up, if you are borrowing a gown from Big Sky, those will be in, in May.
- Student Government will be having a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, March 14th during advisory in the Theater. Please fill out the survey if you would like to attend and voice a concern, celebration or comment to your Student Government to address. Anyone is welcome to come!" Here is the form for Town Hall Submissions
- Student BI Survey-Below is a survey for a Biomedical Innovation student for their Health Science Academy class. The purpose of this is to gather data about substance abuse in Big Sky High School in order to support and find a solution for this issue. The survey below is completely anonymous (no names or emails are taken) and will only be used to gather data. Thank you for your time and devotion to this project. BI Student Survey
- March Mammal Madness! If you are interested in participating, take a look at the fun opportunity taking place! March Mammal Madness Directions
- The National Honor Society is hosting a community Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, March 30th from 10:30-11am at Big Sky, for children younger than 6 years old or young adults for which this would be appropriate developmentally. Show up to support your community and bring your family!
- Hank Green to be Honored at UM; Student Tickets Available! The University of Montana’s College of the Arts and Media invites you to a tribute honoring Hank Green, popular vlogger, videographer, author, musician, and internet producer. The event is Odyssey of Our Stars on Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the UM Montana Theatre (near the Adams Center). Hank will speak and be celebrated by his former classmates and employees, and there will be performances by current UM students. Hank Green is the New York Times best-selling author of “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.” He is a science video creator well-known for his Crash Course and SciShow. Hank is also founder of Complexly, Subbable, and VidCon. Student tickets are only $20 with a student I.D. (General tickets are $35).
Thanks for reading to the end! Lots happening this week! Take care and reach out if you need anything, GO EAGLES!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 2.25.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 2/25/2024Big Sky Students & Families-
What an outstanding week last week for International Week! A huge shoutout to all of our IB Diploma Candidates and the many other students who helped organize and facilitate all of the activities that took place. We are so lucky to have your dedication to diversity and opening dialogue and develop experiences for students & staff to think critically.
Additionally a shout out to our Thespians! Our school was awarded one of the top three awards at the festival. They earned Best Ensemble for our show 100 Love Letters I Never Sent, and won an Outstanding Troupe Award.
Big Sky had 5 students earn scholarships for their outstanding performances and our very own Theater teacher Sarah Degrandpre was awarded MT Theater Teacher of the Year!
Last week was also National FFA week, a big thank you to all of our FFA members and their amazing advisors for their dedication to agriculture!
Hopefully you had a chance to attend the Dessert Show Saturday evening put on by our Choir students, what a special event and amazing desserts. We are so proud of our performers!
- Don’t forget to check Infinite Campus, the grade update was last Thursday, while still only in February, we are planning Summer Programming right now for students that need to recover credits required to graduate…while we love to see our students in the summer, if you don’t want to plan to spend 5 weeks at Big Sky, now's the time to get those assignments done!
- Pep Assembly & Class photos coming up March 7th! Plan to attend advisory so you don’t miss out on both of these events.
Have a great week Big Sky, please be in touch if you have any questions. Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 2.18.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 2/18/2024Big Sky Students & Families-
The parking lot looks so much better this week! Thank you everyone for your efforts, we still have work to do, because while better, there was still a bit of garbage, but thank you for paying attention to it, and helping with the issue.
Don’t forget there is no school tomorrow, Monday 2/19. Thursday is a missing work deadline, so make sure you are getting any missing assignments completed and turned in. Remember, you cannot turn missing work in after this date.
- New announcement space at Big Sky! Please note the areas at the end of the 60’s hallway will be our consistent announcement space! Huge thank you to Becca, our Activities Secretary for working on transforming that space as the hub for all information related to activities, upcoming events and announcements.
- FFA Kiss the Pig Event! Missoula FFA is running a kiss the pig fundraiser, if you’d like to see your favorite teacher kiss a pig, place your vote by the front office by placing any amount of money (pennies to dollars) in the corresponding bucket. You can vote for the following staff to kiss the pig at the halftime of the upcoming basketball game:
- Coach Murphy
- Mrs. Zilkey
- Mrs.Dunfee
- Mr. Ellenbecker
- Mrs. Fillmore
- Mr. Honzel
- Mr. Subuth
- Mrs. Helmer
- Mr. Callaghan
***Whichever teacher has the most money in their box will kiss the pig at the boys basketball game on Thursday the 22nd at halftime!
- International Week at Big Sky is next week (2/20-2/23)!
- A group of IB Diploma 12th graders have been working for the past few months to put together a project called International Week. During the week of February 20th-23rd there will be film screenings from the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Q&As with film directors, culinary expositions, presentations and more.
- Over the course of the week the goal is to promote wider cultural awareness and give students the ability to participate in conversations and experiences from across the globe, without having to leave Big Sky.
Have a great week Big Sky! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 2.11.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 2/11/2024Big Sky Students & Families-
What an amazing weekend for Big Sky! Congratulations to our Swimmers, Wrestlers and Speech & Debate team for their successes at State this weekend along with the incredible success of the Blue Note Café Saturday night by our Jazz Band! What an amazing community of students we have.
Don’t forget there is no school tomorrow, Monday 2/12 (this is a teacher professional development day) and Monday 2/19 for President’s Day. Our next grade update is Thursday 2/22, so plan accordingly to get any missing work turned in!
- International Week at Big Sky is next week (2/20-2/23)!
- A group of IB Diploma 12th graders have been working for the past few months to put together a project called International Week. During the week of February 20th-23rd there will be film screenings from the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Q&As with film directors, culinary expositions, presentations and more.
- Over the course of the week the goal is to promote wider cultural awareness and give students the ability to participate in conversations and experiences from across the globe, without having to leave Big Sky.
Watch for more info on events and signing up in the next week!
Have a great week Big Sky, see you all on Tuesday!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 2.4.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 2/4/2024Big Sky Students & Families-
Don’t forget to look over the course registration information that has been sent out and is also in your counselors Google Classroom!
This week is Counselor Appreciation Week! Give your counselor a shout out, send them an appreciation email or note as they all work hard on behalf of our Big Sky community!
Here are additional updates for this week:
- The Creative Writing Club has started! Mr. Johnson, English and Creative Writing teacher, will advise the club and be present at every meeting. It will be a safe, fun community for students to write, share, and develop their craft. Weekly meetings will be held on Mondays in Room 43 during lunch.
- The Big Sky Band’s Annual fundraiser Blue Note Café is just around the corner. Blue Note Café is a concert and fundraiser to be held on February 10, 2024, at Big Sky’s Auditorium. That evening, our student jazz band and other small groups of musicians will perform for ticketed guests. Guests will enjoy live music while being served dessert and beverages by other band students. There will be a raffle and silent auction to raise money for the band program. On-line bidding is LIVE and will continue now thru – Feb 9. Bidding will resume in-person at the event on Feb 10, 2024 @ 6pm. Check it out! https://bigskybands.betterworld.org/auctions/BigSkyBlueNoteCafe2024
ALL Band Students are selling tickets for $15. If you can’t find a student and want a ticket, please let me know ASAP. I’ll send one to you! Tickets will also be available at the door for $20.
Last - for anyone willing to help – we still need a bit of adult help. And - if you work a shift – you’ll have free entry to the event! Volunteers can sign up at: https://signup.com/go/thzbuVo
Adults needed:
- Raffle Ticket Sales: 5:15pm-8:30pm (STILL NEED 2 adults)
- 50/50 Ticket Sales: 5:30pm-8:30pm (STILL NEED 4 adults)
- AUCTION ASSISTANT (PARENT): End of the auction helper (still need 3 people)
This is a super event, with lots of amazing prizes, treats and best of all the music is incredible!
Have a great week Big Sky! Please reach out if you have any questions-Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 1.28.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 1/28/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
This is your reminder to make sure you have completed the course request form that was passed out in your English Class. You will start requesting classes the week of February 5th in Infinite Campus.
Also don’t forget if you drop a class this week, you cannot add a new class, you will have to go into a study hall, the following week if you drop, you will receive an F on your transcript.
Registration Process:
- Students will view the presentation below explaining graduation requirements and considerations for course selection. They will then have time to think about the classes they would like to take for the 2024/25 school year before counselors come into English classrooms. Throughout the month of February counselors will be in English classes to answer questions, finalize course requests, and input courses into Infinite Campus.
- Registration Presentation explaining graduation requirements and considerations for course selection.
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- It will be helpful for students and families to review and complete the Registration Planning Form and Planning Checklist before counselors come into English classrooms in February. Students are invited to write in their course selections for next year, think about their future goals after high school, and make sure they are on track to graduate. This will help students and parents have input and a draft of what they want to take for their counselors to review.
Helpful tip: review the registration presentation, your student’s transcript in Infinite Campus, discuss goals after high school, graduation requirements - see our website link below, and use the Course Offerings sheet to see what courses are offered next year.
Student Forms to Complete:
Resources to Help Students:
- Registration Presentation
- Counseling Department Website - Registration link
- 2024/25 Course Offerings
Have a great week Big Sky, please let me know if you have any questions! Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 1.21.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 1/21/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
We made it to semester 2! Hard to believe that we are already halfway through this school year. I’ll be starting to meet with the senior leaders to discuss graduation, so things are starting to feel real for the Class of 2024! Don’t forget there is no school tomorrow, Monday 1/22, this is a teacher work day.
Don’t forget to check your schedule for any class changes this week.
- 2nd Semester Classes-
- If you would like to Add or Drop a yearlong class within the first 4 days of the second semester, you will need to complete an Add/Drop form.
- If you want to drop within the second week of the semester), you can drop without failing, but your only option will be to go into a study hall if seats are available.
- If you drop after that (the third week of the semester or later), you will get an F and not be able to get into another class.
- Class Registration-it’s time to start choosing classes for next school year! Please look closely at the information below and click on the links to make sure you are aware of the process and forms. In English this week, your teachers will also go over this information.
Registration Process:
- Students will view the presentation below explaining graduation requirements and considerations for course selection. They will then have time to think about the classes they would like to take for the 2024/25 school year before counselors come into English classrooms. Throughout the month of February counselors will be in English classes to answer questions, finalize course requests, and input courses into Infinite Campus.
- Registration Presentation explaining graduation requirements and considerations for course selection.
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- It will be helpful for students and families to review and complete the Registration Planning Form and Planning Checklist before counselors come into English classrooms in February. Students are invited to write in their course selections for next year, think about their future goals after high school, and make sure they are on track to graduate. This will help students and parents have input and a draft of what they want to take for their counselors to review.
Helpful tip: review the registration presentation, your student’s transcript in Infinite Campus, discuss goals after high school, graduation requirements - see our website link below, and use the Course Offerings sheet to see what courses are offered next year.
Student Forms to Complete:
Resources to Help Students:
- Registration Presentation
- Counseling Department Website - Registration link
- 2024/25 Course Offerings
- FAFSA Night (Financial Aid for graduating seniors), Tuesday 1/23/24 5:30-7:30pm, Library computer lab. In order to be ready make sure you have your FSA ID already made and your previous years tax documents. There are changes to the process, so even if you have gone through this process before we would still encourage you to attend. Please review the FAFSA Checklist below:
To submit your application you need:
- *DOB (Date of Birth)
- * Social security number or equivalent document
- Student (DOB, SSN, Email, Mobile Phone)
- Parents (DOB, SSN, Email, Mobile Phone)
- Spouse/Other Parent (Includes Stepparent) (DOB, SSN, Email, Phone)
- Asset Information
- Balances of Checking, Savings, and Real Estate (Does not include your primary residence)
- Net worth of investments (Mutual funds, trust accounts, stocks, bonds)
- Net worth of any Business/Farm
- Market value of land, buildings, machinery, inventory, etc. (minus any outstanding debts)
List of any federal benefits received (does not impact eligibility for FSA). List of any outside/unreported scholarships.
Have a great week Big Sky, please be in touch if you need anything to kick off semester 2!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 1.14.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 1/14/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
Finals week is here! I’m so proud of each of you for the academic journey you are all on. For some students this week is filled with stress, exhaustion and anxiety over that final grade. For others you are just ready to be done and looking forward to changing classes. And for all of you somewhere in the middle, I hope you know this is just one part of your journey in life and your ability to grow from your high school experience is the true lesson learned.
Here are a few updates for the week:
- Reminder, Friday is a wrap up day. If your child is done with finals, does not need to turn any additional work in, or has not been asked by their teacher to attend, they do not need to be at school. However you do need to call them in to excuse them.
- Buses will run this day, and breakfast and lunch will be served.
- Lifeskills program will run a regular day, with buses running at their regular time.
- There will be no AG or Auto shuttle buses for the 19th.
- No school Monday 1/22, 2nd semester starts Tuesday 1/23.
- 2nd Semester Classes-
- If you would like to Add or Drop a yearlong class within the first 4 days of the second semester, you will need to complete an Add/Drop form.
- If you want to drop within the second week of the semester), you can drop without failing, but your only option will be to go into a study hall if seats are available.
- If you drop after that (the third week of the semester or later), you will get an F and not be able to get into another class.
- Honor Roll-
- Finals grades will be posted by 4pm, Thursday 1/25 for semester 1. For any student earning a 3.5 or above, you will receive your Honor Roll recognition in the mail during the month of February.
Please note there are now 2 large dumpsters in the student parking lot. I’m not sure how we got to a place where our parking lot is filled with garbage but we all (myself included) need to do better. Hopefully having those 2 large spots to dump will encourage you to walk your garbage to that space and throw it away properly. Do not place garbage on the ground around the already full cans.
January marks the time we send out our annual Title One parent information. Big Sky is the only high school in Missoula that qualifies for Title One funding, so it’s imperative for parents to understand what that means and why. This short video walks you through this information. If you have questions please reach out. Annual Title One Parent Engagement
Have a great week Big Sky, thank you for being the best school community! Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org
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Weekly Updates 1.7.24
Posted by Jennifer Courtney on 1/7/2024Big Sky Students & Parents-
Shout out to all of our athletes that participated this weekend, there were lots of events happening! Crosstown basketball, wrestling in Bozeman and swimming in Butte, so congrats to our athletes and their hard work and dedication to being a Big Sky Eagle!
Here are updates for this week:
- Announcements-starting tomorrow, all announcements will be played over the intercom the last 5 mins. of the period right before lunch. This means we will not allow any additional announcements during any other time-so if you are a student leader that has made announcements in the past, please plan accordinging.
- Finals Week-1/16-1/19
- No school Monday, 1/15
- Tuesday, periods: 1-7 regular schedule
- Wednesday, Finals 1,3,5 & 7
- Thursday, Finals 2, (Advisory), 4 & 6
- Friday, Semester Wrap Up Day
- This day is for students that did not finish their finals, or have arrangements made to work with teachers to wrap up Semester 1.
- If your student does not need to attend, you must call/email them in to excuse them.
- Lifeskills program will run a typical day for students
- Monday 1/22-No school (Finals grading for teachers & prep for new semester)
- Tuesday 1/23-Start of Semester 2
- Failing Core Classes-
- If you are failing a core class required for graduation, if you haven’t already heard from your counselor or Assistant Principal, you should hear from them soon. There are various plans to get students started on credit recovery. ***Please note, the semester wrap up day, Friday 1/19 is again only for semester wrap up and finishing finals, not to address semester failing grades.
- 2nd Semester Classes-
- If you would like to Add or Drop a yearlong class within the first 4 days of the second semester, you will need to complete an Add/Drop form.
- If you want to drop within the second week of the semester), you can drop without failing, but your only option will be to go into a study hall if seats are available.
- If you drop after that (the third week of the semester or later), you will get an F and not be able to get into another class.
- Honor Roll-
- Finals grades will be posted by 4pm, Thursday 1/25 for semester 1. For any student earning a 3.5 or above, you will receive your Honor Roll recognition in the mail during the month of February.
Have a great week Big Sky! Please reach out if you have any questions or need help in anyway. Go Eagles!
Jennifer Courtney
Principal, jccourtney@mcpsmt.org