A Look Back with Mr. Meta: Recent Episodes
Mr. Meta
Mr. Meta takes time to reconnect with old students that have passed through his classroom at one or many times throughout their education.
Today, over the Thanksgiving Break, Hunter Hart, an Eagle News alumni came back to his 8th grade roots to spend some time in the classroom and in the EaglesBeak podcast studio with me! This was a lot of fun! We also did an on air video for our Eagle News broadcast!
Enjoy!
Mr. Chuck Benesh
| | | Mr. Benesh (left) with Mr. Nicolosi on the first day of school in 2018! |
Today's podcast is another special one, Mr. Chuck Benesh came over to the house to record today's show as I continued to deal with a back issue! I am posting this on August 1, 2019 and today I came home from the hospital after successful back surgery yesterday. Mr. Benesh was the first one to text me to see how I was doing!Today's podcast covers some school stuff but then we jumped into some, ha ha, kidding, a lot of sports talk! We talked Browns/Steelers, Mr. Nicolosi, Bluejackets/Pens and a lot more. This was a lot of fun, because Mr. Benesh and I have a lot in common except for our love of team. We love our sports, but I love my Pittsburgh and he loves him some Ohio and especially Cleveland!Enjoy the show...
Hannah Carver and Josh Wright
Thanks for coming back to another episode of "A Look Back with Mr. Meta." Today's show features Josh Wright and Hannah Carver, recent graduates of Liberty High School and I met up with them at Panera Bread to "look back" at our times together!
Hannah will be starting her college career at OSU and Josh is starting his career at Ohio University with the intention of moving to Ohio State after 1st semester.
Enjoy the show! I did and it was a blast to hang out with these wonderful young people last week!
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Christopher OsborneToday's show involves was a blast to record. Today I met with Chris at the Panera Bread where we sat down and talked for about 2 hours on and off the podcast! He is a sophomore at George Washington University and he shared many stories and advice for high school and college decisions. We also talked about movies and some other fun stuff. Enjoy!!Download the Podcast
Rileigh Halhober
This is a special episode for I sat down at Bob Evans with Rileigh as we were able to catch up on her life, looking back and talking about her approach to high school and high school classes, Eagle News and relationships! This was a good one.
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Emma and Maci
So for this week's show, I hung out with a couple of my old Eagle News kiddos, Maci and Emma. They are both moving into their junior years at Liberty High School in August. It was an absolute blast for me to hang out with these young ladies. Emma is a big basketball junkie and Maci is big in to cross country and Disney!I loved listening to their stories of our times in eagle news as well as what's going on now and a look into their future!Enjoy this, because I did!Download the show
Angelisa CreaToday, I met one of my all timers from 3rd grade, Angelisa Crea. Angelisa is a performer at Princess Cruise Lines and was home in Powell for a while because she broke her ankle while performing. So she is home and I knew that I needed to get together with her so that she can share her experiences around the world!
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As we kick off Season 4 of the podcast, I started listening to the shows that no longer showed up in the Podcasts app. I was overwhelmed by the quality of this conversation with Kyle Desze back in 2017.
There was one thing that he said in this conversation that stuck out to him from his time at Hyatts. It was the "relationships" that he had with his teachers. Amazing stuff.
So for the summer of 2019 as we do more and more podcasts/shows, I will repost some of the interviews I had with kids back 3 seasons ago. This is some good stuff.
Download the Episode -- again!
I am hoping to post some other stuff too as we move through this summer, stuff like movie reviews, reflections of life/school/stuff and share it with all of you here on the podcast.
To say that keeping up with my students is difficult, well, trying to line up these podcasts are just as difficult. But they are all so very satisfying. Today, as I start Season 4 of the show, I sat down with Lauren Bine and Sonya Patel, sophomores at Ohio University and The Ohio State University, respectively, and they made it easy for me to line up the show. They called me and asked to be a part of the podcast.
We met up at the Hyatts Library and spent an hour looking back at their time in college, high school and back in 8th grade at Hyatts.
| | | Lauren and Sonya with Mr. Meta |
Enjoy!!
Hey all,
I was so pumped to do this podcast because Kate contacted me! She's a freshman at the University of Tennessee. She want to work in Occupational Therapy and our time together in Eagle News was extra special to me. She was one of those kiddos that I will always remember my last conversation with her as her Eagle News teacher. Thanks for visiting Kate, it was nice to hang today!
I wanted to post a podcast of my blog entry about EmmeClaire's stay in the hospital. I thought that I did ok with the blog and it's reflection of my stay. So I read it here for the podcast. I also had EmmeClaire in my office for this recording so that was fun too!So if you want to listen up and if you want to read it, it's at JimMetasWorld, my blog about my life.Download the Podcast!
Ok, so again, I am trying something new....I am going to try to find purposeful moments in my life to share and not just things that I love.
So no more steelers opinions, unless it's huge and more AHA moments.
This week, I share a "Movie of the Week" and a blog moment. I also was moved by a student in my class singing, so I asked her to sing on the show for me! She's good.
Then I will also have one or two interviews, this week, one, Mr. Aaron Nicolosi, whom has been my roommate for our DC trip for 5-7 years. We share a famous story of us going shirtless at the Rocky Statue in Philly!
Enjoy the Show!
I am back for another episode of the new podcast. This week, my parents came to visit, so with the top ten topics in my world, I also interviewed my mom, Susie in the kitchen!Some things I covered:* Polar Vortex that hit the midwest * My son breaking his glasses again * Internet Radio and my love of KDKA in college * Returning the Favor in Pgh * Starbucks - Misto and Latte * UD Arena (The University of Dayton) * Blogging * Movie of the week, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" * Interview with my mom!
As always, go to Apple Podcast and give me a good rating and let me know how to get better!See yinz next week!
I am back and trying something different. Although I want to continue to have sit down interviews with my former colleagues and students, I am trying something new which is go over the my top ten thoughts that have something to do with the world around me.
It could be anything...today:
- My daughter came home from surgery
- Roma is actually good.
- The Steelers should or should not keep Antonio Brown
- My students are making music videos
- The Film Festival is coming
and.....* I got new glasses! I am hoping to clean it up a bit, but I know I will get better!
Randy WrightThis is a special one! About a month ago, I put out a notice for anyone who wanted to be a guest on the show and Mr. Wright, the Assistant Superintendent of Olentangy Local Schools said he would do it. My initial thought was, "should I take him up on his offer?" He's never been my boss, but I felt like I knew him enough to come up with a good interview..."Boy, I am glad that I did. It was such a good conversation! We came into the district at the same time, 1999, and I found out that we have a lot in common and share a lot of the same feelings in education. I am honored that he leads in the district where I work!We spent an hour in his office as EmmeClaire played on her tablet. We talked about meeting each other, singing in Lip Dubs, what an assistant superintendent does and a lot more! Mr. Wright, thank you for your time and I am thrilled to share our conversation on my show!If you work in Olentangy, listen to this, because in my opinion, we have a solid leadership team leading our schools!Download the Podcast!
Madi H., Madeline R. and Lily A.Today's Look Back podcast is with some brand new Eagle News alumni! Madeline, Madi and Lily just wrapped up their time at Hyatts in 8th grade and their time in Eagle News. All of our memories are very fresh and new as they have only been gone from 8th grade for one month.This was such a fun conversation and brought back so many nice, new, fresh moments for my 21 year in education! All three ladies were a gigantic part of my school year! From getting to know Lily on the bus as we went to DC in October to getting to know Madeline and Madi during all the lunches and study halls!This podcast is long, it's about 90 minutes, but it has sparked a way for me to take additional "Look Backs" by myself. Because of this conversation, I started to make a list on my phone to talk about and share with the audience that follows this or at least for me to have when I retire!To Lily, Madeline and Madi, thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate your time! This was a lot of fun!Download the Podcast
Kristen KoehrsenKristen and I met at Panera Bread on a Thursday morning! This was a perfect conversation to continue the podcast this summer! Kristen was a student at Hyatts and a big part of the Eagle News program when she was here. She is starting her 2nd year at Ohio University in fall and using her summer to relax, work and make money and be with her family! I love to hear what our students remember about Hyatts. I am sure that most kids think the same way, but it is amazing what my students remember about their middle school! Hyatts is a special place where Kristen reflects that she loves how she comes back and not only do I, but so many of the teachers here remember her and her time in their class. That says alot!We, of course, talked about her time in Eagle News, her work in the lip dub and her little gaffe during a part of the recording, the Film Festival and she remembers me crying over the only year that I didn't go to Washington D.C.Enjoy this podcast!Jim
Jonathan CottrillSo I was so very excited to get a hold of Jonathan before he headed back to California to work over the summer and make some cash in preparation for his sophomore year at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.I was so excited to hear about all the hard work that Jonathan had been working on as well as all of the ups and downs he experienced as a first year college student all the way across the country. Enjoy our conversation!Download the Podcast
Thomas Garverick
| | | Thomas, back in 2012, singing in the Hyatts Lip Dub. |
A couple of weeks ago, Thomas and I connected back as he moved back from his sophomore year at Ohio University. He moved back and started right away with an internship down at NBC 4 in Columbus. He is an ambitious kid who has a lot going for him. He is as hard working a kid as I've ever seen.
I was Thomas' third grade teacher at Scioto Ridge and then his middle school technology teacher at Hyatts where Thomas spent most of his Unified Arts time in Eagle News. Please spend some time listening to our conversation. It was a fun one, with my kids sitting there and with Bob Evans happening around us! Download the Podcast
Allissa Thornton
| | | Allissa at the Hyatts Film Festival in 2014. |
Welcome back to the "Look Back" Podcast and today's show is a special one! Allissa Thornton came by school today to spend an hour with me looking back at our time at Hyatts in Eagle News! She also tells me about her career in cheerleading and how it's leading her to Ohio State. She talks a lot about doing her thing, making the most of family time and a lot about her friends!
My favorite part of the show is when she talks about Hyatts. She talks about how all the teachers made her feel happy to be at school, her time in Eagle News and her work in the lipdub and a little bit about the Hyatts Film Festival. We also talk about being on the news production and take a quick look back at her DC trip in 8th grade.
Enjoy this conversation, I sure did and I thank Allissa for stopping by and contributing to the show! I will now always have this as a part of my "Mr. Holland's Opus."
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Over the weekend, I finally set up a podcast interview with one of the first 8th grade students that I taught at Hyatts and his name is Cole Alverson. Cole was one of the Eagle News stars, before I even thought about handing out awards for the work kids did in class.
How this came about started with me finding a hard drive that had not worked in a couple of years in my school closet. On a whim, I used a different cord to see if it would work....and it did!!! So I started immediately copying every file that was on the drive. Towards the end of the copying, one file stood apart from the rest. It was called "Hyatts PDA." As soon as I saw it, I knew it was Cole, tiny Cole talking with the wireless mic, with two very tall girls flanking him as he introduced Public Displays of Affection at Hyatts.
I was right and from there, I recorded some of the video on my phone and sent it to Cole via Facebook Messenger. He responded and we set up this interview. It's not the best quality, but the stories are very much of quality.
Enjoy this interview....I did and I look forward to treating Cole to some lunch if and when he comes back to central Ohio to visit his grandmother.
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Sarah, Taylor and Taylor
Today's show includes three of my all time favorite students from 6 years ago. Taylor, Taylor and Sarah are roommates at the THE Ohio State University and today I was able to hang out with them and get them to be a part of the podcast.
Taylor M and Sarah tell their story of being at Bowling Green and then coming back home to central Ohio and eventually Ohio State and Taylor H. talks about her experience at San Diego State and how great her year was there and why she came home.
We them traveled back to Hyatts and Liberty and talked about what they all remembered back during those years where work on a video project they did, called, "American Idol" dominated the discussion.
Enjoy this discussion because this was a lot of fun!
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Chad Pickelheimer
Today's "Look Back" was a special one because it was the first one that I did using FaceTime. I am not sure how the volume will be, so be patient because if you can hear our conversation, it was a good one.
Chad Pickelheimer reminded me that he was the first student awarded with "Best In Front of Camera" award. He remembered me giving that speech in front of all the 8th grade parents. That was the first year that I gave out Eagle News awards.
Chad is doing well. Catching up with him brought me back to a different time in Middle School. 9 years makes a big difference and I realize how different things are now.
Thank you Chad for a great conversation! Enjoy this one!
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Delaney and MeganConference Night with Delaney and Megan!
So I am at conference night at Hyatts today and as I am talking to a couple of teachers in the hallway, I see Delaney walk into the school. She was headed to my classroom today to ask for some help and ideas for a video project that she is starting with for school.
As we were talking about her project, her text sounded and it was her work saying that she didn't have to work. She called Megan to tell her the good news and then demanded her to come over to Hyatts to do a podcast.
Ten minutes later, Megan shows up and the following 1 hour and 20 minutes happened. What great memories we talked about, from Washington DC, to the Lip Dub, to the friends in Eagle News to lots of other amazing topics.
Thank you Delaney and Megan! This was an amazing conversation and I am so honored to have this memorable conversation forever!
Mr. Meta
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Lee Ann Perorazio
| | | Lee Ann and I enjoy some Bob Evans! |
Tonight, I was able to finally line up a show with an old student of mine from Scioto Ridge in 3rd grade and then in 8th grade in Middle School. She has been a student that moved into town when I was teaching 3rd grade. I remember that some of her family was from East Liverpool and that started a connection to her and her family that has continued to this day!I was so honored to shake her hand at graduation, an honor that means the world to a teacher and is held so very special to me. Our plan to record this podcast was a couple months in the making and when we finally set it up, we had to make some changes tonight and I kept texting her trying to find the right place to meet. I had finally said to her, "Can you tell that I am a little excited to talk?"When we finally started the show, she talked about her studying abroad experience for about the first 35 minutes of the show. It is an amazing story. It made me think of my times abroad to bring my kids home.What also is funny about this time with Lee Ann, is that the stuff that connects us, 3rd and 8th grade was hard to remember, but as we talked about it, some memories started to come back to both of us. This was a good time, good conversation and a little bit of food from Bob Evans!Lee Ann, thank you for your time! You and your family will ALWAYS have a part of my heart! Enjoy!Download the Podcast