Impact: An MUHSD Podcast: Recent Episodes
Merced Union HSD
In this podcast, you will hear from the students and staff at Merced Union High School District who are making an impact at our schools, around the district and in the community.
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and we are very fortunate to have the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, join us to talk about the severity of the issue amongst teenagers and the toll that the pandemic took on student mental health. He also talks about the important role that schools play in addressing the matter and ways that the State of California and his office are assisting in this endeavor.
We also get to know Supt Thurmond a little more as he responds to some student submitted questions at the end.
Thanks for listening!
In this episode, we talk to MUSHD's Director of Education Technology and Online Programs Sheryl Garman about Digital Citizenship, which is a topic of discussion that becomes increasingly important as our connection to the Internet and technology grows.
In this episode, we are joined by the Director of the district’s Instruction, Intervention and Innovation department Torrin Johnson and the CEO of Restorative Justice League Andre Griggs to talk about the district’s efforts to find alternative discipline strategies that keep students in school.
In this episode we wanted to kick off the new year with a status update on where we are as a district, so we brought back our District Superintendent, Mr. Peterson. We talk about the latest guidance from the health department for the near future, and if there are going to be any changes. We also discuss the toll that this latest COVID surge has taken on athletics and the importance of continuing to follow health protocols to try and minimize the impact.
Then we get into the Superintendent’s outlook on the new year and what areas he sees the district focusing on as we continue to work our way out of the pandemic.
Please enjoy the first episode of Impact for 2022 and, as always, thanks for listening!
In this episode of Impact, we want to bring you the audio from the NAACP Education town hall that was held on Wednesday November 17th and hosted by the Merced County NAACP. The event took place via Zoom and the public was invited to join and interact.
Among the panelists were Merced County District Attorney Kimberly Helms Lewis, Merced County Probation Chief Kalisa Rochester, Merced Police Chief Tom Cavallero and MUHSD Superintendent Alan Peterson. Several other MUHSD administrators also contributed to the conversation.
Among the topics covered were school safety, how to combat the school to prison pipeline, truancy, SRO’s and bullying. The town hall lasted 2 hours long, and there was so much good information shared that we wanted to provide the entire thing for those who were unable to attend.
In this episode of "Impact" we talk to Howard Glasser, the creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA). Mr. Glasser recently paid a visit to MUHSD after hearing about the success the district was having utilizing NHA. During the interview, he talks about what he saw during that visit as well as what inspired him to create NHA in the first place. Enjoy!
In this mini-episode, we are sharing the interview Superintendent Peterson did with the local show on KYOS-AM called "Community Conversations". During the interview, Mr. Peterson talks about why MUHSD opposes a vaccine mandate and how the district is able to keep schools safe while continuing to provide students and staff choice.
This episode of Impact contains the audio from the Board Study Session that took place on Saturday, October 23rd. The meeting was a discussion regarding the possibility of a vaccine mandate coming from the state level and what that would mean for students, families and district operations.
In this episode, we get the very latest regarding COVID-19 protocols from MUHSD Director of Student Services Cristi Johnson, who has led our district's COVID response efforts since the pandemic began. She also answers your questions which were submitted via social media.
To register for our student and staff Rapid Antigen Testing, visit https://my.primary.health/l/merced-union-high-school-district
During the break, the parent/staff Nurtured Heart Approach workshops are mentioned. To view the dates for upcoming workshops and to register, visit https://www.muhsd.org/departments/intervention-innovnation-instruction/nuture-heart-approach
Madilyn "Bubba" Nickles is our guest for the Season 3 premiere of "Impact". Bubba is a former Merced High softball star who was also a member of Team USA which won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She talks about what it was like to play on the world's biggest stage, the subsequent media tour and how her experience playing at Merced High prepared her for the next level.
On this episode, we air the audio from the Facebook Live interview with our district Superintendent, Mr. Peterson, where he provided A LOT of great information. First we get into the latest updates in terms of senior activity such as prom and graduation. We also talked about student options for improving their grades and making up for any learning loss that may have occurred over the past year. Finally we talked about next year and what that looks like at this point.
In this episode, we talk to MUHSD Assistant Superintendent of Education Services Dr. Constantino Aguilar about several topics including the upcoming LCAP community forum, Summer School and the new MAAP partnership with UC Merced.
To register for the LCAP Community Forum on April 20th, go to https://tinyurl.com/3e3z4a4b
Things are looking up and Superintendent Peterson returns for another update as well as a look at the remainder of the school year and next year.
In this episode, we share the audio from the episode of "MUHSD Live!" that was broadcast on 1-26-21 that features an interview with Superintendent Peterson. During the show, Mr. Peterson talks about when students will return to in-person learning, as well as the plan for athletics and how the district plans to address the learning loss that has occurred due to the pandemic.
"MUHSD Live!" airs live on our Facebook page and YouTube channel every Tuesday at 3pm.
In the last episode of 2020, Superintendent Peterson reflects on the year that was and looks forward to brighter pastures in the new year.
We want to thank you for listening and we look forward to more episodes in the new year, hopefully in person!
This is the audio from the Facebook Live Session held on Wednesday, October 28th and features Superintendent Peterson, Deputy Superintendent Mr. Calderon, Assistant Superintendent of Ed Services Dr. Aguilar and Director of Student Services Mrs. Johnson all answering questions regarding the return of students to campuses.
In this episode, we talk to Director of the I-3 Department (Intervention, Instruction and Innovation) Torrin Johnson and UDA Program Counselor Darren Leonardo about MUHSD's Understanding Drugs and Alcohol Program (UDA). We learn about what students who end up in UDA go through and what the program looks like during Distance Learning.
In this episode, we talk to consultant and Certified Nurtured Heart Approach Trainer Viviana Barajas about the Nurtured Heart Approach, her success utilizing it at Yosemite High and MUHSD's efforts to implement the Nurtured Heart Approach district-wide.
MUHSD's after school program, ASSETS, starts up again Tuesday September 8th! If you've ever wondered what ASSETS has to offer our students, this is the episode for you. We talk to site liaison Xavier Gomez about all things ASSETS including how the program will look in a virtual setting.
Don't forget to subscribe to "Impact" to make sure you don't miss an episode!
In the Season 2 premiere episode of "Impact", we talk to Dr. Sima Asadi, a long-time local pediatrician who is very concerned about the effects that school closures are having on kids. During the interview, Dr. Asadi shares some of the issues her patients are dealing with and talks about what she believes needs to happen in order to get students back into the classroom.
For anyone who would like to reach out to Dr. Asadi, her email address is sima@zymex.com.
In this week's "Coffee with the Supt.", Mr. Peterson is joined by Principal Rogers from Yosemite High and Principal Hobbs from Merced Adult School who go over their plans for Distance Learning. Mr. Peterson also provides the latest district updates and answers questions sent in.
On this week's "Coffee with the Supt.", Asst. Supt of Ed Services Dr. Constantino Aguilar and Director of Student Services Cristi Johnson joined Superintendent Peterson to provide the latest district updates and answer your questions regarding the start of the school year.
Weekly update with Superintendent Peterson. To listen and interact live, check out our Facebook Live sessions at Facebook.com/MercedUHSD every Friday morning at 9am.
Every Friday morning, Supt. Peterson will be holding Facebook Live coffee talks where he will provide updates and answer questions that roll in. These sessions have had such great information that we decided to put them out as bonus podcast episodes as well.
Every Friday morning, Supt. Peterson will be holding Facebook Live coffee talks where he will provide updates and answer questions that roll in. These sessions have had such great information that we decided to put them out as bonus podcast episodes as well.
In this episode, Superintendent Peterson answers your questions about the reopening of schools for the 2020-21 school year as well as the budget that was just passed.
This will be the Season 1 finale of Impact. We hope you've enjoyed listening and look forward to Season 2 beginning in August!
In this episode, we are joined by Superintendent Alan Peterson and Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Dr. Scott Weimer to discuss the budget outlook as well as plans to reopen school in the fall.
If you attended the special board meeting on Wednesday, you heard that the forecast is not great in terms of the budget and we hope that by involving students, staff and the public early on in the process, everyone is able to see how and why certain decisions are made down the road.
You will also get an update on where we are in regards to returning back to school come August and what that may look like.
In the latest episode of "Impact", we welcome Katelyn Mayo, the Student Support Manager at Golden Valley High, and have an in-depth conversation about mental health, the services offered to students by MUHSD and strategies to help cope. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the district recognizes the importance of having good mental health in order for students to learn.
In this episode we talked to two members of the MUHSD family about their charitable actions during this time of uncertainty. First up is Mackenzie Paschall, an ag student at Buhach Colony High who, in light of the cancellation of the Merced County Fair, is donating her SAE project, a hog, to a foster care facility rather than selling it on her own. The hog still has some growing to so, and anyone interested in supporting Mackenzie can reach her via email at mackenziepaschall@gmail.com or text 209-635-8373.
After that, we talk to AHS grad/local business owner David Souza who has donated hand sanitizer to MUHSD for our essential workers as well as hospitals and care facilities. David's company, Corbin Cash Distillery, has recently started selling hand sanitizer to the public and more information about purchasing can be found at 209-358-2966 or info@corbincash.com.
In this episode we talk to Rishi Vanga, a junior at Buhach Colony High who took it upon himself to help out the less-fortunate during the ongoing pandemic. Find out how he came up with the idea to distribute Coronavirus protection kits to homeless in the community and how you can help out his cause by sponsoring a "Kare Package".
To keep up with Rishi and his mission, visit karepackages.com and follow Kare Packages on social media: @KarePackagefamily on Facebook, @kare_package of Twitter, @karepackage_ on Instagram
In this episode, we talk to Atwater High's Athletics Director Scott Wine via Zoom about how the ongoing pandemic and school closures have affected sports programs across the district, and how he and other athletic directors and coaches are keeping student-athletes motivated to stay in shape on the chance that they get to play again this year.
Superintendent Peterson joins us to recap the Regular Board Meeting that took place on Wednesday, April 8th. It was the district's first board meeting since the school closures and it was held via Zoom. Among the topics discussed were graduation, distance learning, grades, Internet access for all students as well as some personnel changes.
We will be posting a new episode of "Impact" with updates regarding the school closure after the School Board meeting later this week, but here's a bonus episode to tide you over until then.
This episode was recorded prior to the school closures and features an interview with Merced High Seniors David Chen and Cal Slatten who produce their own podcasts on campus under the "We The Students" umbrella. Take a listen and enjoy a brief return to the days before social distancing. As always, thanks for listening!
Superintendent Alan Peterson and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Constantino Aguilar join us to talk about MUHSD's efforts to implement distance learning and the challenges the district faces in doing so in the name of equity for all. They also answer your questions regarding senior activities, grades, state and AP testing, the LCAP, student wellness and more.
Executive Assistant to the Supt. Leslie Rohrback is mentioned as a resource and can be reached at lrohrback@muhsd.org.
In this episode, we wanted to hear from the students and staff at school sites about the school closures due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 and the uncertainty going around concerning when we will return. This is a raw, unfiltered glimpse into the last day of classes on March 18th, 2020.
In our first episode, Superintendent Alan Peterson takes time out of his busy schedule to fill everyone in on where we are in regards to the upcoming temporary school closures due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 and what the next steps are. He also answers your questions from social media.