Schools

from page 11

have a free press that is able to provide the facts even if some of our legislators refuse to believe them for political gain. Sadly, Montana has two of these fact deniers, Steve Daines and Matt Rosendale. Their political agendas seem to trump our state, national and global needs.

Craig McClure Polson

Lies

Editor,

Ryan Zinke is at it again. He’s trying to erase his debacle as Interior Secretary, in which he erased national monuments, reduced hunter access to public lands and handed the keys to our best hunting and fishing to the oil industry.

Zinke blames President Biden for gas prices, but that’s happening around the globe. In truth, oil is a global commodity, and Big Oil cut production to drive up prices – and of course their profits. In fact, the Biden administration has approved more new wells in its first year than Trump did, something Lyin’ Ryan conveniently forgets. Biden also actually is taking a look at where we should drill, not just throwing out permits whilly nilly everywhere, with no oversight, as Zinke did.

Why would Zinke lie? It likely has to do with the fact that he immediately became a high-paid lobbyist for Big Oil as soon as he was fired by Trump. What a disgrace.

Zinke failed in running our public lands and will fail in Congress.

Suz Rittenhouse Polson

schools PHS musician accepted into prestigious choir

By Taylor Davison / Valley Journal

POLSON — Senior Joe Martinez has become, according to his teachers, the first student from Polson High School to be accepted into the All Northwest Jazz Choir.

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) holds auditions for All Northwest every year for choir and every other year for band and orchestra. Students from Montana, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming all audition to see if they have the skill to play in these esteemed ensembles. The Jazz Choir, made up of only about 24 people, is one of the most difficult to get into. His position, Tenor 2, will have only one other person singing the part with him.

“The audition process is pretty crazy, but vocally, this one it wasn’t as crazy for me. I think I had the upper hand because I started singing with jazz,” Martinez said.

Growing up, his parents exposed him to a lot of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, as well as jazz singers with big voices. He never took a private lesson for singing, but rather taught himself by listening and copying what he heard.

Martinez has a passion for music. From trumpet to drums to guitar, he’s excelled musically throughout his school years. Rich Sawyer, the Polson High band teacher who had Martinez in his class for trumpet back in the sixth grade, has seen him progress.

“He dedicated himself to mastering the arts and got really good because he put in the time,” Sawyer said. “(All Northwest) is pretty rigorous to get into.”

Martinez was also accepted into All Northwest in his freshman year for band. Sawyer, who accompanied him to the event in Portland, says he thinks Martinez is the only trumpet student he’s had be accepted.

“(Going to All Northwest band) was pretty crazy. I think it changed a lot for me in how I felt towards music,” Martinez recalled. “To experience all the passionate musicians around me, and what it really sounded like to be performing in that way… It just felt really nice, and I think it changed how I perceived music as a future. Ever since I’ve gotten back from that trip from All Northwest I was a lot more dedicated to practicing and trying to get into the other honor groups. It really gave me the drive I needed to have.”

Since that time, Martinez has found numerous opportunities to play music. He said he performed on the street of nearly every Polson Farmer’s Market in the summer, performed at the Cherry Festival, performed at church alongside his brother, and even got involved with a musician’s co-op that got him his very first gig at the Ronan Cooperative Brewery.

“I’m always practicing something,” Martinez explained. “I’ll just come home, sit down with my guitar for the rest of the night after school and be playing my guitar or singing, writing songs. Recently I’ve been practicing every day, hours, for All Northwest. I’m pretty much always rehearsing.”

The Martinez family, which saw the musical success of Joe’s older brother Austin in school as well, credits Polson schools’ music programs – particularly Rich Sawyer and PHS choir teacher Kaylee Schubert – for helping the boys excel musically. Several students each year, from each music program in the high school, get accepted into honor ensembles such as All State and All Northwest. Sawyer, who is a PHS alum and teacher of 17 years, said the high school and middle school music programs have created a good tandem team to help develop young musicians.

“I’m pretty proud of the program,” Sawyer stated.

As he graduates from high school, Martinez intends to continue pursuing music in his education. He said he hopes to attend Concordia College in the fall for music composition. During a recent visit to the college, he auditioned for both vocal and trumpet scholarships and was offered both.

ROB ZOLMAN / VALLEY JOURNAL Joe Martinez already enjoys songwriting and intends to pursue music composition in college.

Code Girls United receives coding grant

News from Code Girls United

KALISPELL — Code Girls United, based out of Kalispell and operating after school programs throughout Montana in person and online, was awarded a $50,000 state contract for a Tribal Computer Coding Pilot Project.

The grant award was the result of legislation signed by Governor Gianforte and introduced by Jonathan Windy Boy in House Bill No. 219. The purpose of the program is to provide training and incentives to students in tribal communities for computer coding and computer programming courses that will prepare them for the workforce.

Code Girls United is working in coordination with the Office of Public Instruction to implement the pilot program in one Reservation High School with a future goal to replicate the program throughout Reservation High Schools across the state.

Students will be learning Computer Science concepts, coding, app making, and business skills as they progress to creating their own apps and participating in a competition. Code Girls United endeavors to create a program that not only teaches real world skills, but also builds self-confidence and provides a path to future technology learning opportunities. The program will be tailored to include culturally relevant content based on feedback from Native Youth organizations. Additionally, Code Girls United’s Native Ambassador, alumni, and volunteer, Kelsea Bemis, will provide an additional bridge and encouragement for the program.

Code Girls United is very excited to be included in the growth of Montana’s next generation of technology workers who are able to work and stay in Montana.

Code Girls United programs run year-long throughout Montana. If you would like to learn how to bring the Code Girls United program to your area, school, or organization, please contact Marianne Smith at m.smith@ codegirlsunited.org.

COURTESY PHOTO Code Girls United offers programs in person and online to students throughout Montana.

Spelling Bee winner announced

News from Lake County Superintendent of Schools

LAKE COUNTY — It is our pleasure to be able to congratulate Deja-Nay Little-Marry as the Lake County 2021-22 Spelling Bee winner. This qualified Deja-Nay, an eighth grader from Arlee Public Schools, to represent Lake County schools and students at the in-person State Spelling Bee in Bozeman at Montana State University on March 12.

As our Lake County winner, she will receive the 1st place Trophy to be presented to her at the school.

The 2nd Place trophy goes to Lyla Wanberg, a seventh grader from St. Ignatius schools.

Lake County’s 3rd place trophy goes to Tasker Brown, an eighth grade student from Charlo schools.

We look forward to congratulating all three of these students for their extra work to qualify and participate in the Lake County Spelling Bee.

STATEWIDE ADVERTISING

Montana’s statewide advertising network REACH 400,000+ readers each week 60 Newspapers 1 low cost

2X2 $406 | 2x3 $650 | 2X4 $1,100 | 2X5 $1,500

REACH THE E 406

2 X 2 ad measures 3.7” horizontal by 2” vertical FOR

$406

Meet. . . Knightly

This is Knightly. He is 6 months old. He is a very energetic boy who has tons of love to give. He is housetrained and loves everyone.

Pet of the week

contact Mission Valley Animal Shelter call 883-5312

or visit our Facebook page!

Knightly

Sponsored by Bishop Insurance

Polson: 302 1st St. W. Ste. 102 • 883-5372 Ronan: 209 Main Street SW • 676-5300 bishopinsurance.com

Ronan High School choir performs on PBS

By Taylor Davison Valley Journal

RONAN — Last week, the Ronan High School Choir had their performance aired on Montana PBS.

An opportunity presented to Ronan students in years past, Celebrate America is a national program designed to give “life-enhancing” opportunity to the country’s youth by showcasing their choirs on public television. Founder Tim Janis was the one who reached out to ask if the students would like to sing on air once again. RHS choir teacher Brenna Hyvonen presented the offer to her students, and they began their months-long preparation to sing on TV.

In order to be copywrite-conscious for their airtime, the group had to select a song that was either in the public domain or had the approval of the composer. They ended up selecting “Prayer of the Children” by Kurt Bestor, who had given his approval for public use of the song before.

“It was a difficult song, so I knew we had to take it in small chunks here and there for a few months,” Hyvonen said. “It was a joy to learn.”

“At first, honestly, I didn’t care for it,” RHS choir soloist Jesse Richey commented. “But the more and more we worked with it and the more we got the pitches and the rhythms down… it’s a beautiful song.”

“I fell in love with it over time,” choir class senior Aly Mock agreed. “It was a very emotional song.”

All grades and levels of the Ronan High School choir combined to make the song possible, and ultimately 14 students were able to make the trip. Hyvonen mentioned that the last couple of years have been challenging for the choir, between illnesses and students moving. The small group that was able to attend pulled off a powerful sound.

Once the group arrived in Bozeman for their performance, Hyvonen said it was an adrenaline-fueled experience. The students stopped at MSU for a workshop with the choral department for feedback and advice from the professors. Then they were off to the PBS recording studio. They got dressed, entered the green room, warmed up and were prepped by stagehands. The studio recorded two takes of their song and chose the best one to air. Now, a month later, students have finally been able to see themselves sing on screen.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking to start out with, but once we got into it, they really made it easier to do. They were just happy that we were there, and it felt awesome,” Richey stated. “I think there should definitely be more programs and opportunities like this for the kids in our community.”

“The people there were so nice, and they made you feel more confident when going to perform on TV. Just being there with the choir itself felt amazing. It felt like one big family doing something together,” Mock said.

The RHS choir received a lot of community support for their broadcast. The school awarded funds through an “I-Graduate” grant to cover transportation, meals and hotel rooms. Hyvonen said a beader in the community, Kimberly Barber, upgraded the students’ stoles for their performance with beautiful orange, black, and white beadwork.

“I work at the Boys and Girls Club in Ronan, and I even had some of the kids come up to me and say, ‘We saw you on TV!’ They just thought it was amazing. Even parents were saying it was great and they loved our performance and the song that we chose,” Mock recalled.

“A lot more people watched than I thought would have,” Richey commented. “It’s definitely good. I was not expecting that part of the community to be that big and it definitely blew me out of the water.”

“I’m really happy with their performance, and I’ve been getting tons of good feedback from the community and all over the state from people who watched it,” Hyvonen commented. “I don’t think people realize how busy these kids are. I’m just beyond proud of my students. They continually astound me with their hard work and talent.”

The students began practicing for their performance back in November, balancing it with their Christmas concert and other festivals. Since COVID restrictions have let up, the RHS choirs have performed in numerous festivals throughout the state, all on top of their regularly scheduled concerts for the school year.

The RHS choir will perform at the District Music Festival in Kalispell in early April with a variety of solos, duets, and small and large ensembles. They will be holding a concert to prepare on March 24.

“They’ve learned so much new music this year,” Hyvonen said. “These kids do all sorts of activities, not just choir, and I’m proud of them for juggling all their extra curriculars and doing such a great job at all of them.”

PHOTOS BY AARON PRUITT / KUSM-MONTANA PBS The RHS choir practiced for their TV performance between preparations for other concerts and festivals taking place around the same time.