SNOW DAY MAKE UP

As you know, our district has had to cancel school twice due to weather conditions. The first day because of boiler malfunctions (-27 degree temperatures) and the second day because of weather conditions and travel advisories. The state provides one permissive day, but we must make up the second. Fortunately, our calendar has a snow day built in on March 31, 2014; therefore, we will be having school on March 31, 2014 to make up for the snow day taken on Monday, February 24, 2014.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: School will be in session on Monday, March 31 2014.

2014-2015 CALENDAR MEETING

by Superintendent Robert "Bob" Lewandowski 

I would like to invite all of our constituents and stakeholders to the 2014-2015 Calendar Meeting on Thursday, March 6 at 5:30 PM in the Multipurpose Room (cafeteria).  If you are not able to attend the first meeting, please review the schedule below for the 2014-2015 School Calendar adoption.

• March 6, 2014 (5:30 PM in the Multipurpose Room) - Initial Meeting

• March 20, 2014 (5:30 PM in the Multipurpose Room) - Finalize Options

• April 4, 2014 - Survey Parents, Students, Faculty, Staff (mail, Survey Monkey, web collector)

• April 10, 2014 (5:30 PM in the Multipurpose Room) - Review Survey Results

• April 15, 2014 (7:00 PM at the April Board Meeting) - Present Recommendations

See you there,

Bob Lewandowski

SCHOOL CANCELLATION - NO SCHOOL

Do to weather conditions and forecasts calling for wind and additional snow, as well as travel advisories, school will be cancelled today, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014.

BOILERS BACK UP - SCHEDULES RESUME

School boilers back up and running.

This morning the boiler system shut down due to the condensation and then freezing of the moisture that is in propane. This played havoc in the fuel regulators, thus dropping the fuel pressure and shutting down the boilers. Mother Nature's -27 degree temperatures kept the boilers from starting back up. At this time, the boilers are back up and running.

We anticipate hosting tonight's varsity basketball games as scheduled. Middle school girls basketball in Ronan will also take place as scheduled. Buses will run and school will be in session tomorrow at the regularly scheduled times.

KECI has the story: (click on the link below) 

Heating malfunction shuts down St. Ignatius Schools

The sun trying to warm -27 degree temperatures.

SCHOOL CANCELLED THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2014

School is cancelled due to boiler failure. I received a call at 6:45 AM notifying me that the boilers went down due to a frozen propane line. We are uncertain as to when this problem will be solved. More information will be available as the day continues. Thank you for your cooperation.

Community Breakfast Presentation

Learn more about our school district and join us on the first Monday of every month (September through May) for a free breakfast. Breakfast is served at 7:30 AM until 8:30 AM. Its a great way to get involved with our community and your school. Play the video to find out more.

Superintendent Robert "Bob" Lewandowski  

BUILDING FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

 by Superintendent Robert "Bob" Lewandowski 

At the January 31, 2014 *PIR Day, Ken Williams from Solution Tree brought in a moral imperative and echoed the district's need to adopt, implement, and practice the Five Essential Elements of Learning (FEEL). FEEL, as we call it,  is the framework he presented for assuring student success. His presentation stems from professional development that the administrative team received in Seattle, WA last August 2013. It also aligns with Learning by Doing (a handbook for professional learning communities at work) by DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Many that was purchased and distributed to each faculty member at the first faculty inservice in August. Ken provided an essential follow up to the professional development and direction set by the district at the beginning of the school year.

Ken William (MISSION POSSIBLE)

THE FIVE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS of LEARNING
1. Focus on Learning
2. Collaborative Culture
3. Clearly Define What Every Student Needs To Learn
4. Constantly Measure Our Effectiveness
5. Systematically Respond When Students Don't/Do Learn

These FIVE essential elements of learning will become a staple in our educational delivery here at Mission. It is the administrative team's goal to make these five elements a common understanding with all stakeholders (teachers, parents, students, staff and community). We will learn them, we will develop them and we will practice them.

At the PIR, our staff focused on our current reality (where we are now) and began to identify their desired reality (where we want to be) in relationship to the FIVE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LEARNING.

For example, our staff examined five different types of schools:

• "A" School - Where learning is based upon student ability.
• "B" School - Where learning takes place only if the student takes advantage of the opportunities to learn within the school.
• "C" School - Where all students can learn something, and we will create a warm pleasant environment to learn.
• "D" School - Where all students can learn and we will do whatever it takes to help students learn and achieve the agreed upon curriculum/standards.

After examining these 4 types of schools, each staff member was asked to anonymously identify schools in the following scenarios:

1. Most of the instructional staff said they attended schools like "A" and "B."

2. The staff identified our current reality (the school we have now) as a school that is most like "B", "C", and "D" (There was an equal distribution of votes between these three schools).

3. The staff said the they most wanted to work in a "D" type of school (where we want to be).

4. Most importantly, our staff said that they would most want their own children to attend a "D" type of school (where we should be).

This staff development opportunity confirmed district direction and provided additional stability in our foundations of learning.   

NOTES: *A pupil instruction-related day (PIR) is a day of teacher activities devoted to improving the quality of instruction. Districts may receive funding for up to a total of 7 PIR days or a maximum of 42 hours. A minimum of 3 days of professional development (6 hours of contact time per day in no less than 2-hour increments for a total of 18 hours)must be scheduled for all professional staff. PIR time must NOT include any time also counted as pupil instruction time. Professional development is defined in the Mo ntana School Accreditation Standards (ARM 10.55.714 and ARM10.65.101).