Malta School Board: Oxarart named Athletic Director, Enrollment numbers revealed

The Malta School Board was informed of the current enrollment for each class at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 8.

This year the Kindergarten class is the largest with 52 members in it. The smallest class is a tie between the seventh grade and sophomore class with 30. The total enrollment for this year is slightly higher than last year. Each class totals are as follows: K-52, First-35, Second-43, Third-33, Fourth-42, Fifth-40, Sixth-35, Seventh-30, Eighth-43, Freshmen-44, Sophomore-30, Junior-36, and Senior-38. 245 elementary students, 108 middle school students, and 148 high school students for a grand total of 501.

Elementary Principal Shiloh Seymour told the board that the open house held before the first day of school went great. At least ¾ of the students in each classroom showed up with their parents. A couple of teachers had a 100% turnout in their classrooms.

An assembly was held on the first day of school. All the faculty introduced themselves to all of the students.

Picture day was held on September 1.

There will be a fire drill in the coming week, and vision and hearing tests are on September 8.

The only major change that had been made is that the buses have been moved back to the east side of the school for drop-off and pick-up instead of the south side.

Middle School Principal Kelly Cederberg informed the board of upcoming events for the middle school sports teams.

She said that they are in the middle of the transition from the Colts to Mustangs. The student council and Mrs. Clausen are designing new character flags for the hallways. Once they arrive, an assembly will be held to promote the words/character traits in the students. The eight traits are: perseverance, acceptance, kindness, excellence, patience, knowledge, accountable, and bully-free.

High School Principal Shawn Bleth informed the board of upcoming events for the high school. He told them that there are currently 34 students in middle school and high school that are taking 40 different courses through Edgenuity. Some of the courses include Animation, Career Planning and Development, Digital Photography, Game Design, HS German, Latin, and Spanish, Intro to Business, Medical Terminology, and Sports and Entertainment Marketing among others.

Bleth said, “I really like to see the variety of courses that they’re taking. I’m actually jealous of some of the courses that are offered. I’d have loved to take some of them when I was in high school.”

Bleth also told the board that there are currently seven students enrolled in Dual Credit courses through MSU-Billings and Montana Tech. Those courses include Intro to Native American Studies, Intro to Sociology, Intro to Psychology, Intro to Statistical Concepts, Human Geography, Medical Terminology, and American History.

“I’m pleased to see them taking some of these classes. They are some classes that they can get out of the way to get a jump start on college, or that correlate with the jobs they’re looking into after school.”

Bleth added that the Malta High School was able to secure six internships for students in areas ranging from Education, Childcare, Physical Therapy, Business/Accounting, and Machine/Mechanics.

The board approved the appointment of Nick Oxarart as the new Athletic Director. Oxarart will be splitting this year with Mr. Genger, and taking it over fully for the 2022-23 school year.

The board also approved the purchase of a plasma cutter for the school shop. There is grant money called REAP money(Rural Education Achievement Program). This is grant money that is very specific as to what it can be used for, and also has a date that it must be used by.

The next school board meeting will be on Wednesday, October 13, at 7:00 p.m.