BG CAST: Recent Episodes
David Lindner, Denny Waters
The Battle Ground Community And Schools Together Podcast is a podcast produced by the community in cooperation with the Battle Ground School District. The goal of this podcast is to give the community a voice in the school district, while at the same time bringing the true voice of the school district to the people. We will have weekly conversations with Denny Waters, the District Superintendent as well as other school and community leaders. Building on the rich history of Battle Ground, we're ready to start telling a new story for a new generation.
In this episode, we talk with Colleen O'Neal about the Battle Ground Education Foundation, its history of supporting the schools, and some things ways that people can get involved. We also have a chat with Bev Jones who was names the Person of the Year by the Reflector.
In this episode, we talk with Cheryl O'Dell and Tom Bulkley, co-presidents of the Battle Ground Public Schools chapter of the Public School Employees Union. We also shine the spotlight: Tracey Viall, school psychologist, Chief Umtuch Middle School and Summit View High School.
In this episode, Denny & I sit down with Charb Gourde, principal, Battle Ground High School, and Susannah Woehr, principal, Prairie High School to get a picture of what life is like behind the eyes of a high school principal. We also have a little fun digging into what life was like when they were in high school.
You've probably seen this guy's face all over the place in the last week, because he was selected to be the Grand Marshall for the Grand Floral Parade at the Rose Festival. (If you're wondering why we don't mention it in the conversation, it's because it hadn't happened yet!) Well, before that had happened, we recorded an interview with him to talk about his 40 years of teaching and especially about his journey with the Band program at Battle Ground High School. I hope you enjoy hearing this short history of Greg McKelvey!
In this episode we talk with art teachers Tatiana Stevens (PHS) and Tamra Galles (BGHS) to discuss visual arts and recent Ceramics Showdown. We shine the spotlight on the district art show, talking about its history with Allison Tuchardt. The show was briefly mentioned in episode 8. This year will be the 65th annual art show, which was co-founded by Allison's father.
As we are in the midst of teacher appreciation week, we thought it would be fitting to share with you the recording of a teacher panel that was presented as a part of a recent Citizen's Advisory Committee meeting. The panel was made up of teachers from all over the district and spread out among different age groups. We invite you to listen in to just a few of the great teachers in the Battle Ground Public School District.
A couple of years ago, Battle Ground citizens passed a levy which included fund to bring back middle school sports. In this episode, we talk with a couple of middle school sports coaches, Rachel Sautter (Laurin) and Joshua McArthur (Pleasant Valley Middle). We also shine the spotlight on one of our middle school student-athletes, Addison.
In this episode, we take a deeper look at the social and emotional learning centers that have been set up in schools in the district with paraeducators Vanessa Toland (Tukes Valley Middle) and Emily Enquist (Pleasant Valley Primary). We also shine the spotlight on River HomeLink student Brynn Boldemann.
In this episode, we are joined by Cindy Arnold, the BGPS director of Career and technical education (CTE). We talk about her journey to this position, what CTE is, and how successful the program has been. We also shine the Spotlight on the Industry Fair with Kevin Doyle.
In this episode, Shelly Whitten sits down with Denny and me as we dig into the nuts and bolts of the capital levy that is on the ballot for February 13th. If you've had questions, definitely check this out! We shine the spotlight on Don Wilson, the construction teacher at Battle Ground High School.
On today's episode, we talk with Simeon Redberg and Rob Pollock, who are the Esports coaches at Prairie and Battle Ground High School. If you're not sure what Esports is, this is your chance!
We also shine the spotlight on Hollie Amundson, a CAM volunteer who is BGPS's real Hero for the year (along with Greg McKelvey). The Real Hero Awards recognize staff and volunteers from schools and districts across SW WA.
In this episode, Denny and I talk with Lynnell Tsugawa-Murray and Stephanie Welniak to discuss the multilingual program which serves over 1,000 students in the district and their families who are learning English. We also shine the spotlight on Ryan Cowl, principal at CAM academy. We discussed his time there as well as the opening of the new facility.
Interview with Britt Pedlar and Gene Fritz, culinary arts teachers at Prairie and Battle Ground. We talk about their amazing programs and how they go to where they are today. We shine the spotlight with Parent Outreach Liaisons Maria Carbajal and Gleb Velikanov.
In this episode, we talk with Kris Neal and Debbie Smith who head up the Work-based learning program for the Battle Ground School District. It won't take you long to be amazed at the amount of work these two get done and how much of an impact this program is having on students in our area. We also shine the spotlight on Nick Massey from Rotschy, Inc.
In this episode, Denny and I dig into the budget for the Battle Ground Public School District. We get the big picture of how it all works and get an understanding of where the money goes! Our spotlight is on Blake Bowers, adviser of Tukes Valley Middle School's a new DREAM Team.
In this episode, we uncover a couple of superheroes for the Battle Ground Public Schools: Scott McDaniel (Director of Technology) and Cassondra Smith (Educational Technology Coordinator). Scott and Cassondra pretty much do it all! They run and maintain all the infrastructure for the entire district as well as making sure teachers, students, and families have the tools they need and know how to use them! Our spotlight is on Vanessa Munson, the current Miss Washington, and Prairie High School Alum.
In this episode of the podcast, we talk with Andy Woodrow who teaches the AFJROTC program at Battle Ground High School. Along with Andy we talk to Rheanne Harpe, one of the students in the program. We also get to hear from Violet Kohlenberger, a 3rd grader at Tukes Valley Primary School, who shares with us some of her culinary creations.
In today's episode, we get to have a conversation with Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard, the Co-CEO's of Slumberkins and alums of Prairie High School. We'll hear about their journey as educators, parents, and how Slumberkins came to be. We'll shine the spotlight on Rosemary Galanter, one of our grad coaches in the district. And we get started with the game, "What country did this weird sport originate from?"
When we talk about special services and all the special needs that a school district is responsible to provide for, our minds tend to go to one group. But the special services department is responsible for meeting needs of hundreds of students across the district. We also shine the spotlight on Christian, who is one of the students in the futures program. As usual we get started off with a little fun!
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a middle school principal? In this episode, we get a look behind the eyes of a Middle School principal in our conversation with Heather Ichimura and Ben Zieglar to get a taste of what they deal with daily. We also get to hear about the life and responsibilities of a school secretary in our spotlight with Natasha Udy.
Our interview this episode is with BGHS drama teacher Cash Henry. Battle Ground High School's theatre department has produced many great shows, including "A Christmas Carol", written by Cash that looks at Scrooge's backstory. Our spotlight is on Derek Anderson, a CAM student who rallied his classmates to create paper cranes for his uncle battling cancer. And we get started with a game called "In your opinion."
We have a special treat for you in this episode. At the March Citizens Advisory Committee, we were blessed to have a student panel of students from the different secondary schools in the district who made up a forum to answer questions that the CAC had submitted. It's a bit longer, and the audio isn't perfect, but I think you'll enjoy this episode.
In this episode, we are talking with teacher Gracelyn Crum and Director of Instructional Leadership Mike Michaud about some new steps our district is taking to teach pre-k kids in our community. Our spotlight is on Kara Martin, to talk about some of what she does as an early childhood special education teacher at Prairie. As usual, we get started with a game called short stories.
In this episode we are talking with Tamra Scheetz, district director of instructional interventions, and Tamra Vanegas, a counselor on special assignment, talking about everything our district is doing to support the social and emotional well-being of our students. Our spotlight is on Ryan Wilson, to talk about some of what he does as a counselor at Pleasant Valley Primary School. As usual, we get started with some fun, random trivia.
In this episode, we are talking with Andrea Sperry, the principal at Maple Grove, and Angela Knight, the principal at Captain Strong. We will be talking about professional learning communities and why they're important. Our spotlight is on Mandy Waugh to talk about her efforts to create a community of kindness and Prairie High School's "Inspire Week." As usual, we get started with some fun, random trivia.
In this episode we are talking with Erin Thompson, an Assistant principal at Prairie High School and Taylin who is serving as the current ASB president. We will be talking about Prairie's work to build connections between the school and community. Our spotlight is on Danaka Ross, the ASB adviser and as usual, we have a little fun to get started with a game called "get to know you."
In this episode, we take some time to talk with Dave Cresap and Amy Fredericks, who work in the Curriculum adoptions department for the district, about the process for adopting a new curriculum. Our spotlight is on Jean Markuson, who is volunteering on one of the curriculum adoption teams. But to get us started we play a game called "Top Three."
In this episode, we take some time to get to know Mark Watrin, president of the school board. We are shining the spotlight on Sora, the newest student representative for the School board. As usual, we get things started with a fun round of "This or That?"
In this episode, we're talking about what the district is doing to keep our students safe. We take some time to get to know Police Chief Mike Fort and Tom Adams, director of Student Services for BGPS. We are shining the spotlight on Phil Anderson, the School Resource Officer for Battleground High School, and Mike Kesler, the district security supervisor, and we get things started with a game called "Riff Off."
Welcome to the BG CAST, a podcast seeking to bring the battleground community and schools together. In this episode, we take some time to get to know Matt Stanfill and Mike Woodward from Battleground High School Athletics, we are shining the spotlight on Noah, a student-athlete at Battleground High School, and we get things started with a game called "Banana For Scale."
This week we will be talking with Josh and Ivie who are members of the CAC, aka the Citizens Advisory Committee. We'll be talking about the purpose of this committee and some of our insights from the first year.
Our spotlight will be on two seniors, Evan and Kaeyln who just graduated.
And as usual, we kick things off with the top ten quotes about dads.
One of the characteristics of being a smaller community is the fact that many people have lived in the area for generations. You'll hear that today as we talk with Allison Tuchardt & Dave Cresap about their roots in the Battleground community.
Our spotlight will be on a couple of teachers who are also alumni of the Battleground Public Schools, and who were inspired to become teachers because of the teachers they had.
As usual, we get things started off with the top ten signs your cat may be trying to kill you.
This week Denny and I are joined by Curtis Miller who helped start a coalition called connect BG which was trying to increase the size of the caring adult network and to create a more connected community. Our spotlight for this week is on the Battleground Education Foundation. We play a little game called Fantasy Sandwich Draft. As usual, we kick things off with the Top ten signs your Teacher is ready for summer break.
Denny and I will be talking with the Mayor of Battleground, Philip Johnson. We discuss the role schools play in the community, as well as some of the changes that have been and will be happening in the Battleground community.
Our Spotlight will be with Bethany Emerson and Grant Kainu talking about PTO & PTA organizations in the schools.
We'll be playing the game, "Which country did this weird sport originate from", and as usual we get started off with the top ten ways you can be a bad neighbor.
Denny and I will be talking about the importance of Social-Emotional Learning in the district with Deputy Superintendent Shelly Whitten, and Mike Michaud the director of Instructional Leadership.
Our Spotlight will be with Marcy Sprecher, the Executive Director of Rock Solid Teen Center.
We'll be playing a round of Family feud for our game, and as usual we get started off with the "Top Ten Ways You Can Be A Bad Neighbor."
This week, Denny and I are joined by Antonio Lopez, the principal at Glenwood Heights Primary School to talk about Deep Kindness. Our spotlight will feature Lydia Sanders of the Family Community Resource Center, and we'll be playing the game "This or That"
If you've been in a meeting where Denny has been talking about the schools, you've likely heard him use the word "coherence." What does it mean and how is it affecting the district, the schools, the students, and employees? Our Spotlight for this episode will feature Sydney and Ricardo, the student representatives on the school board. We'll also be having a little fun with Denny playing a game called "Gift or curse."
Welcome to the BG CAST a podcast seeking to bring the Battle Ground community and schools together. Our goal is to bring the voice of the schools to the community and the voice of the community to the schools.
We'll be talking about the many things that make BGPS such a great district, hearing stories from students and staff, and shining a spotlight on some of the hidden treasures you may not know about.
We'll also be covering some of the challenging and controversial topics that bubble to the surface around the Battle Ground community.
In this episode, we take some time to get to know Denny, some of his upbringing, and his journey to the District Superintendent position.
Our spotlight will feature Rita Sanders, the District Communications Officer to get a bird's-eye view of the makeup of our schools.
And we'll be playing a short game called a game called High or Low. But first, to get us started we're going to poke a little fun at Denny with "The top ten signs your district superintendent is nuts.
In this episode, we'll be talking about the potential that lies within the Battle Ground school district. Our spotlight will feature Austin Brothers, assistant principal at Chief Umtuch Middle School. And we'll be playing a short game called Denny's choice.
But to get us started, we're kicking things off with this week's top ten list.
Welcome to the BG CAST a podcast seeking to bring the Battle Ground community and schools together. My name is David and I'll be your host for this journey and I'll be joined each week by Denny Waters the District Superintendent of the Battle Ground Public Schools. Our goal is to bring the voice of the schools to the community and the voice of the community to the schools.
We believe that the community thrives when the schools thrive. The schools are educating and equipping the next generation of citizens for our communities.
At the same time, the schools thrive when the community thrives. When the community is invested in the schools of that community, the schools thrive.
As a member of the community, not a public school employee, I will be sitting down with Denny each week to talk about a lot of different topics. We'll be talking about the many things that make BGPS such a great district, hearing stories from students and staff, and shining a spotlight on some of the hidden treasures you may not know about.
We'll also be covering some of the challenging and controversial topics that bubble to the surface around the Battle Ground community. We'll be looking for opportunities to bring voices of the community in the the civil discourse we hope to create on this podcast.
There's a term you may not have heard in a while: civil discourse. But that's one thing we're committed to. We believe it is possible to care deeply about an issue but still have a civil discussion about it. Not only are we committed to talking about challenging topics as they arise, but doing so in a way that is civil and respectful to people on both sides of the issue.
And in case you're worried, it's not going to be all serious. We're also committed to having fun and creating room for laughter in the discussion as well.
So, we hope you'll join us for this journey. Because we believe the future is bright for the Battle Ground Public School Districts and the communities that it represents.