Fast Approaching Deadlines--And Still More Professional Development Opportunities

If you are interested in participating in the 2012-2013 Museum & School Collaborative Grant Opportunity to Integrate Indian Education for All, you need to submit your letter of intent by April 23. The program, jointly sponsored by the Office of Public Instruction and the Montana Historical Society, will provide support for collaborative efforts between a local museum and school district to address a two-fold purpose: exploring ways to become co-educators in topics of Montana American Indian culture and history in a museum setting and the public school classroom, and  improving the  presentation of American Indian history, artifacts and related documents in museum collections. Six grants will be awarded for amounts of $7,000 - 10,000, with priority given to communities which have not participated in a prior IEFA museum – school grant. Find more information here.

If you would like to attend one of the workshops that the Montana Historical Society is offering this summer, but will need help covering your travel expenses, please note that the application for travel scholarship is due May 1.

The first workshop, "A Grand Union: Connecting Students to Place," will be held in Fort Benton, June 11-12, 2012.

• Explore Fort Benton, "the birthplace of Montana," and learn how its buildings reflect its rich history. Discover how you can use historic places and community studies to engage your students and meet the new Common Core standards. Acquire new resources for researching the history and architecture of your own community and learn how-and why-other teachers have incorporated local history research into their classrooms.

The second workshop, "Treasures for Teaching the Treasure State: Montana History Resources for Elementary Classrooms," will be held in Helena, June 18-19.

• Discover interactive lessons to introduce your students to Montana history. Learn how introducing grade school students to primary sources can excite them about history, teach them media literacy, hone their historical thinking skills, and help you meet the new Common Core standards. Discover other teachers’ best lessons and share your experience to improve the Montana Historical Society's hands-on history footlockers.

Find more information and links to registration and scholarship applications here.

The Society is also cosponsoring the David Thompson Kalispell Encampment in Thompson Falls, June 28-30. I just looked at the schedule and it looks as if it will be a completely amazing experience. Camas baking! Fish trap making! And much more, of course, but nothing else I can make rhyme on a Monday morning.

We don’t have scholarship money available for this one—but are offering both renewal units and continuing education credits. Schedule is here. Online registration is here.