Swan River School students return to the classroom

Students are settling into their classrooms at Swan River School today after starting school Wednesday and may have already noticed several new additions this year.

Expense is usually the challenge with seeking new technology at schools, but Swan River School found a way to complete some upgrades this summer, Principal Peter Loyda said.

"We're always trying to upgrade our technology," Loyda said.

Computers teacher Bud Gaiser worked with the Montana Office of Public Instruction's warehouse to be able to upgrade all of the hard drives in the SRS labs and for the teachers' computers in the classrooms. These come from computers donated to OPI that are available on a first come, first served basis. The school was also able to switch out many of its remaining bigger monitors for flat screens in almost all classrooms. Some computers for the students in classrooms still need to be replaced.

TEACHING STAFF

Two commonly seen staff members at SRS are absent this year. Second-grade teacher Susan Gibson-Veyna and third-grade teacher Kathy Greytak both retired after last school year. Gibson-Veyna taught for 31 years with the majority of that time at Swan River School. Greytak, whose announcement of her retirement came this summer, gave 22 years of service to the school.

"To have that kind of commitment and retention for any teacher is just phenomenal," Loyda said.

The third-grade position was filled internally. Kate Butts, who used to share the fifth grade position with Shelley Emslie, moved to third and Emslie will be full-time in fifth.

Sherry Bradstreet, who is new to the district, will be the second-grade teacher.

The school will also be sharing a band/general music teacher with the Bigfork School District. Randi Tunnel was hired to fill the position. At Swan River School, she'll teach two periods of band three days a week and then general music to kindergarten through fifth grade twice a week.

Students and parents may notice a few other faces missing at the school this year. Two aide positions were eliminated in budget cuts. The district lost its half-time library aide, Terri Moses, who had been with the school for 30 years. It also eliminated a one-on-one special education aide, Kay Morton, based on the fact that it did not have the student need for the position any more.

The loss of Moses will affect library hours, but students will still have access so long as a teacher is present, Loyda said. The school still has a half-time librarian who will keep it open for some of the hours.

"It's going to be left unmanned, unwomanned," Loyda said of the position. "Students can still use it if teachers are with them. We don't want the library closed."

ENROLLMENT

For a small school like Swan River, even the addition of a few students is noticeable. Loyda said he was nervous going into this year about Swan River School's enrollment. That has been an ongoing problem over the past few years since the recession hit. The school's enrollment used to sit in the 160s and 170s, but dipped to the 140s recently.

In a surprise increase, the school is anticipating to be up at least 10 students this year, though that's subject to change within the first few days of school. Loyda attributes this to new people moving in to the district, fewer people moving out and the addition of full-day kindergarten.

"The 160s is a nice comfortable number," he said. "This increase is nice for the budget of the school."

FACILITIES

A few changes won't be noticed right a way because they are still in the works for this fall. Two facilities projects are still in progress. That includes upgrades and improvements to the roof over the kitchen, which is currently experiencing leaking. It's the only section of the building with a flat roof, Loyda said.

The school is also looking to upgrade its exterior lighting, as there are places around the school, including parking lots, that are dark when teachers are trying to come to school. Those lights will utilize dark sky lighting technology to minimize impact of the light from the road, Loyda said.

For more information about SRS, visit www.swanriverschool.com or call 837-4528.