Plains School Board discusses opportunities

by Shannon Brown

The Plains school board met on Monday to discuss events that occurred during the past month with reports from Superintendent Walsh and the principals. Dr. Walsh started by commenting on the trunk or treat on Halloween at the school parking lot. “It was a huge success. Children who live out of town and don’t always get to come in for trick-or-treating got to participate. There was great energy with all the decorated trunks and ambulance and the sheriff. The staff did an amazing job. It helped bring the community together.”

Dr. Walsh also remarked about the Veterans Day celebration. Lunch was served to 20 veterans, the band played and speeches were given. “It was a very nice day of honoring our veterans.” A new report regarding an updated copy machine to save money and make jobs easier for staff. Likewise, Dr Walsh stated that there will be a change in the time card system next year to benefit staff and save costs. A $17,800 check from the Forest Service during the River Road East fire will help with custodial services, Walsh said.

Elementary Principal Kevin Merideth said there were 115 students on the honor roll for the first quarter and nearly 100% participation in the parent/teacher conferences. Coming up, there will be training available as the teachers upgrade their Journey Reading program. This extensive program is extremely large with a lot of training available, Meredith said.

Principal Noland had a list of events that occurred in the high school. “It was a very busy month with volleyball tournaments, the athletics banquet with coaches speaking to the athletes giving high accolades, workshops with Shakespeare players, first Drama Club presentation and the visit to the Jocko Fish Hatchery. Winter basketball is gearing up with 28 girls and 23 boys signed up.”

There wasn’t much to report from the Exploratory Soccer Committee. The committee met Monday afternoon but according to committee leader Ellen Childress there haven’t been any new developments. “We are still in the early stages of planning. We need to identify the major concerns before moving forward. The two major concerns are funding and maintaining steady participants. We will have a more coherent form when we get further along with Thompson Falls,” Childress said.

Kyle Mitchell, the school shop teacher, reported on the Advanced Opportunities Grant that he has researched. This grant allows students to gain advanced educational classes in a variety of subjects and training. According to Mitchell, Governor Gianforte has a four million dollar allotment set aside for these grants to be awarded to Montana schools. These grants would help to streamline kids into the workforce, Mitchell said. They are available for many other sources as well including remote learning and A.P. classes through Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell. Mitchell asked the board to approve strategic plans to apply for this grant. The board approved the request.

Before the meeting adjourned, the board approved the enlisting of assistant volunteer basketball coaches for the upcoming season. Kasey Craft will assist the boy’s coach. Charity Jermyn will be the girl’s assistant coach and Anna Sanford will be available for extra training fundamentals for the girls.