Happy New Year to all. I hope Christmas break recharged everyone and that each of you feels fresh and full of excitement and ideas for the months to come.

In the last few weeks, I have been excited to put together a relevant book study applicable to a wide range of teachers, paraprofessionals, and administration, who are interested in increasing student engagement and learning through the use of AI in lesson planning. Starting Tuesday, March 3rd, we will start an 8-week book study that will allow you to learn, reflect, collaborate, and practice using AI to develop more dynamic lessons for your classroom. Each week, you will be asked to read, answer discussion questions, and take part in the weekly discussion groups for one hour each Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 PM. We will be reading, Elevating Educational Design with AI: Making Learning Accessible, Inclusive, and Equitable, by Catlin R. Tucker and Katie Novak. We would love for you to join the Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative spring book study to improve your knowledge and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for training on how to prompt AI to design meaningful and accessible lessons using the GTCC standards and curriculum.

In addition to this exciting chapter book chat, I would like to announce our GTCC featured keynote speaker will be Katie Novak for our Montana school in-service. Save the date for August 10, 2026– we will meet from 9-4 at the Heritage Inn Conference room for a day that will help you all school year! Novak Education has a team devoted to helping teachers and schools understand and utilize Universal Design for Learning to help develop units and lesson planning that is accessible, inclusive, and equitable for all the learners in our classroom. Registration will open soon on the GTCC website and on our Facebook page.

The GTCC science teachers worked hard to complete the GTCC science standards and curriculum revisions at the end of the year, and we plan to post the updated standards and curriculum by January 19th. Thank you to all the teachers who dedicated their time and content expertise to helping all of our elementary and science teachers have standards and updated resources. Currently, the Space Public Outreach Team (Spot), which is operated by the Montana Space Grant Consortium, is providing FREE presentations about current NASA missions and research to Montana schools, youth programs, and community groups. This year's presentation is called “Black Holes: Monsters of the Universe” and it is connected to NGSS/GTCC Science Standards. If you would like to request a presentation contact SPOT: spot.montana@gmail.com.

Another important opportunity I would like to highlight is the ALICE Active Shooter Response Training that will be hosted at Highwood Schools June 9-10th. This 2-Day Instructor training course is designed to teach participants the skills and strategies to increase survivability during the gap between the time a violent event occurs, and law enforcement arrives. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be a Certified ALICE Instructor and will have the knowledge and resources to train others in your community. Here is the link if you would like to register for this event: Highwood ALICE Active Shooter Training.

I hope everyone has a wonderful January, and as always please contact me and/or Brianna if there is anything we can help you with!

Warm regards,

Kristi

Check out the GTCC website to RSVP to the following upcoming events:

JANUARY

GTCC 101 – Deer Lodge Public Schools
Librarians’ Professional Learning Community
New Teacher Professional Learning Community
International Teachers’ Professional Learning Community

FEBRUARY

MARCH

Kristi Calvery
Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative Director
1010 Oilfield Avenue
Shelby, MT 59474
Office (406) 424-8901 ext. 2104
Mobile (406) 450-1805
kristi@gtccmt.org