Swan River eighth graders love learning

Thirteen eighth graders graduated from Swan River School on Monday.

Though the class is slightly smaller than average, principal Marc Bunker said the group is very impressive, both academically and in the quality of their character.

Swan River competed in MathCounts, a nationwide math competition, for the first time this year and received recognition as the top rural school in the competition.

“I think that’s indicative of where they’re at academically,” he said. And while the class was on their eighth grade history trip touring the state, Bunker received compliments from tour guides about how wonderful the kids were to work with.

“I think that illustrates the kind of character they possess,” he said. “They’re just a really impressive group. I expect great things from them.”

Tucker Nadeau

Tucker Nadeau ended his eighth grade year on a high note, placing first in the novice slalom at the Bigfork Whitewater Festival.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I hadn’t done slalom before, but it was a blast.”

He began kayaking with his dad and hopes to compete in the upper slalom, along the Wild Mile next year.

Kayaking isn’t the only sport Nadeau enjoys. He’s passionate about wrestling and said the highlight of the year for him was competing in a national wrestling meet in Iowa. As part of the Montana team he travelled to the meet for three days, and made the All-American team. He’s been wrestling for nearly 10 years and hopes to make the varsity wrestling team at Flathead High School.

While wrestling is his favorite sport, he also has played basketball and football and participated in track.

But athletics aren’t his only forte; Nadeau was on the MathCounts team, which placed fourth, just missing out on the state competition. But Nadeau qualified for state as an individual, the only one from the team to do so.

He won the Flathead County Spelling Bee with the word Wagnerian. He has held a high grade point average at Swan River and hopes to make it through high school with a 4.0 every semester, and take advantage of Flathead’s International Baccalaureate program at Flathead High School, which is designed to prepare students for college.

“I love learning,” he said. Nadeau hopes to become a teacher in either English, his favorite subject, or social studies.

Melissa Maitland

Melissa Maitland loves math.

“Math is one of my favorite subjects,” she said. “I like the numbers. I like to be mentally challenged.”

She was the only girl on the MathCounts team, and enjoyed the experience.

“It was kind of like a nerd convention, but it was really fun,” she said.

Besides competing in math Maitland is very involved in 4-H, showing sheep, and competing in horsemanship and quilting.

“You get to meet a lot of people,” she said of 4-H. “It’s a great community.”

For her, the highlight of the school year was the eighth grade history trip. She talked about visiting Helena, Yellowstone, Virginia City, Hot Springs and Deer Lodge. While she enjoyed the experiences and learning the history of the state, Maitland’s favorite part was being able to bond with her classmates.

“I think the funnest part of the whole trip was probably the bus rides,” she said. “You really get to know each other on the bus rides.”

To fundraise for the trip the class held a spaghetti dinner, which Maitland volunteered to emcee.

“You don’t think you’re going to be nervous until you get up there,” she said. Despite the nerves she finds public speaking rewarding. She enjoys getting the pre-speech jitters and likes making herself heard and affecting people with words.

Maitland will attend Bigfork High School, and while she’s excited to leave grade school, she’s nervous about being at a larger school and starting back at the bottom of the totem pole.

She plays French horn and is looking forward to joining the high school band. She plans to go out for basketball, soccer and tennis and join the Running Start program so she can leave high school with college credits.

Maitland said she wants achieve a 4.0 grade point average and attend the University of Washington with the intent of becoming an internal surgeon. She knows the road into the medical field involves a lot of schooling, but for her that is a pro.

“I like school,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I’m out of school.”

Maitland has been at Swan River School since kindergarten and said she is going to miss the atmosphere and supportive teachers she’s been with. But she’s ready to move on.

“I’m so excited to be leaving grade school,” she said. “I’m excited to go meet more people.”