The Bethel School District Presents Podcast

Bethel School District (WA)

The flagship podcast for the Bethel School District in Washington state.

  1. 6d ago

    Episode 191: Making room for paper in a digital world

    This week, we look at how one school is making sure technology doesn't completely take over the classroom. We’ll talk with one 8th grader about why mixing in physical books, paper, and hands-on projects helps her focus better and actually enjoy what she’s doing in class. Our other guests, a teacher and principal, say they’re not anti-tech. They are pro-learning. They’re using screens when they make sense, and giving kids a break from them when they don't. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug, that's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, and we have a great show for you today—very interesting conversation about the deliberate use of technology in our classrooms. We're going to get to that in just a few minutes. But Conor, you know we gotta start with useless trivia, and I've got a pretty good one today. Conor: Well, don't be stingy with it. Let's hear it. Doug: I was reading an article about the Pope's recent lung surgery, and it just got me thinking about our lungs. So Conor, did you know that your lungs are the largest organs in your body, and the surface area of both lungs—and don't think about this too much—is roughly the same size as a tennis court? And if you took the total length of the airways running through them, it's about 1,500 miles. So that is the distance from Chicago to Las Vegas. Conor: So I don't like that. And I'm going to say don't do those anymore. And that's all I have to say about that. Doug: No more medical trivia? Well, the weirdest thing about this is you'd assume you have two lungs, you'd assume they'd be a matched pair, right? Symmetrical, balanced, exactly the same—not even close. Your right lung has three separate sections, they're properly called lobes, while your left lung only has two. Why do you think that is? Conor: I don't like to think about this stuff. I'm not joking. Doug: Opting out of the conversation! Well, it's all about real estate. Your heart sits slightly off-center to the left; it takes up about two-thirds of the available chest space, and the left lung literally had to forfeit an entire lobe just to make space for it. And while we're talking about it, the right lung doesn't have a lot of real estate either. The liver is pushing up from underneath the diaphragm on that side, so it makes the right lung shorter, though overall it's a lot larger and heavier than the left side. And that, sir, is my useless trivia. You can take your earplugs out now; my source was the American Lung Association. Conor: Okay, moving on. Doug: What do you got for us this week? Conor: Disturbing! Well, a little palette cleanser here for you. Uh, I was a huge Nintendo fan as a kid, as I'm sure you were too, Doug, right? Doug: It's-a me! Conor: That's what I figured. I, like you, couldn't get enough of Super Mario Bros., but Douglas, this is interesting. Did you know that Nintendo, the company, was actually founded before radios, vacuum cleaners, or paper clips? Doug: That—this cannot possibly be true. Conor: It's absolutely true. Nintendo began in 1889 as a Japanese playing card company, long, long before Mario, video games, obviously even television. Marconi's pioneering radio experiments began in 1895, a full six years after Nintendo opened up shop. My source on that one is the always trustworthy Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Doug: It is weird that your source is the Museum of American History when this is Japanese history, but I think I'll let it slide for this week, because you, sir, did a lot of work. You took all the recording equipment over to Elk Plain School of Choice and sat down with the principal and a couple of students to talk about how they're using technology in the classroom. It's not about playing Nintendo; it's deliberate, and it's not all the time. They use tech to make sure that students are growing and learning. And let's hear that conversation now. Conor: I am on location at Elk Plain School of Choice this week, and I am joined by a trio of Elk Plain rockstars. I've got 8th grade humanities teacher Ian Clogston, I've got superstar principal Ashley Swindahl, and then the real superstar of the show—and we'll explain a little bit why she's an actual superstar—is 8th grader Genesis. And so before we get into—we're talking tech today, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention we've got a legitimate TV star joining us. This is rare. Genesis, can you tell us why you were on TV? Genesis: I was on TV to bake with my brother; we auditioned for it. A TV show called, uh, Baking Championship: Next Gen, and we really were on the show just to, you know, just show off our, like, try to do our baking skills and try our best to win. Conor: And I'm sure you're an expert baker if you made it that far. What is your favorite thing in the world to bake? Genesis: I think my favorite thing in the world to bake is, like, probably German chocolate cake. It was, like, my Nana's favorite, and so that's one of my favorites to make. Conor: You don't have any on you right now, do you? That sounds—aw. Darn it. Next time. Well, that's awesome. Um, well, let's get right into it, though. Let's—we're here to talk about our amazing technology and when it's appropriate to use and maybe when it's not so appropriate to use. So Ashley, our voters have been incredibly supportive; they're putting iPads in every student's hands. They've been doing that for years and years as part of our technology levy, so thank you, voters. As a principal, how do you make sure those devices are being used deliberately rather than just passively? Ashley Swindahl: So here at Elk Plain, we took a really close look together as a staff because we want to do what we know is best for kids. And as you said, we're really lucky to be in a district where we have these one-to-one devices, where the community supports us teaching our kids with the best technology available. And we believe that here. We're definitely not anti-tech, but we are pro-learning. And so we took a look at that as a staff to see what does screen time look like here in our building. We've got kindergarten through 8th grade here. Does screen time look the same for kindergarten as it does in 8th grade? When are we using it? How are we using it? How are we using our budget responsibly to support it? And ultimately, how are we helping our students be proficient in a digital world, but also protect the kind of learning if there's another source that could help them learn better, um, exploring those options as well. Conor: Yeah, and what I like is it's not a hard-and-fast rule. You're not counting screen time minutes. It's not like, "Oh, we're 60 minutes in, everyone turn off your devices." Uh, you're asking a bigger question: what are screens replacing, and I guess, is that worth it? What was the spark behind taking a closer look at how the technology was being used here at Elk Plain? Ashley Swindahl: I'd say the spark genuinely came from our staff. You know, we've got a really high-caliber staff here at Elk Plain, um, across Bethel School District in general, and so when you have educators starting to come to you and take a look and say, "Hey, this technology's great, and it serves this purpose, but I'm wondering if I can explore this different modality." And we're also seeing the effect that, you know, it's no secret the effects that screen time, whether it's cell phones, TVs, um, how we're using tech in schools, is affecting students. We were encouraged by—multiple staff members came forward; one of them was Mr. Ian Clogston, so I'll let him speak more to that. Um, we actually took a look at the book The Digital Delusion and started to really take a hard look at the research. And it's undeniable that we need to be having these conversations about how we use tech responsibly. Again, not anti-tech, but making sure we're responsible and using it the best way to serve our students in the classroom. Conor: Sounds amazing, actually, I mean, like, it's something that we all, I think, uh, strive for, even adults, is to kind of lower our screen time or really examine why—is this a worthwhile use of our time? Uh, so Ian, walk us through what all this actually looks like during the school day in your classroom. What are some specific changes you've made around brain breaks, rewards, or choosing paper and pencil over iPads? Ian Clogston: We've noticed that spelling, handwriting, grammar, and, like, syntax usage among the students are improving since we've been more intentional about using tech. Kids are learning to slow down, and they're learning to read the directions more carefully and fully instead of just skimming through it. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the kids are more engaged and focused on their work when their iPads aren't the default option. And I feel like compared to previous years where I've used the iPad more frequently that their work is more thorough and more detailed, and I think they find the work more meaningful when it's in front of them in physical form versus on a screen. And we've noticed that their command of the content is also improving because they don't have immediate access to a Google search now to look it all up. They have to try and remember it, write it down. This is also enhancing their ability to think deeply and reason critically about what we're teaching them. But tech is still really useful. Like, without the iPads, I could not have the kids research stuff like we're going to do later on in this year, cause, like, when we were in sc

  2. Oct 14

    Episode 190: Mind the gap! Freshmen speak out on their transition to high school

    Making the transition from middle to high school can be a tricky one. This week, we dive into how our district is setting incoming ninth graders up for success from day one. Hear directly from students about overcoming distractions, mastering tough classes, and turning freshman year challenges into big wins. You’ll learn how building the right habits today opens the door to massive dreams tomorrow. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast  --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents Podcast. We have a great show for you today. We're going to be talking with some students who have made the move from middle to high school. That's right, freshmen, some ninth graders, will be joining us talking about that transition. It can be a difficult move for some kids, and we're going to see what Spanaway Lake High School is doing to help them make that transition. But before we do that, Conor, you know how we start the show. It's Useless Trivia Time! What have you got for our listeners this week? Conor: Well, Doug, I think I got a pretty decent one this week, actually. So, did you know that Finland has a national competition for carrying your wife? It's pretty serious stuff. The competition's officially called Eukonkanto, and it involves racing through a 250-meter obstacle course while carrying your better half. And the best part is the prize: the world champion traditionally receives the carried partner's weight in beer. Doug: Wow! First, let me congratulate you on that pronunciation. Well, well done. Conor: Thank you. I was really proud of myself. Doug: (Laughs) I heard you practicing! (Laughs) And second, that's wild! I had heard about competitions like this, where it's kind of these obscure races or tests of strength. I love this kind of stuff. Conor: Yeah, it's a great competition, very old school. And my source this week is a twofer: Euronews and, just so I can say it again, the official Eukonkanto website. Doug: Love it! Nicely done. Conor: What do you got, Doug? Doug: Well, I've got a good one, too, hopefully. You agree with me, we'll find out. Look on your face says you don't believe it's going to be a good one. So, way back in the day, this is back in the '90s, Conor. The World Wide Web is just getting started, so there had to be a first kind of every kind of website. Why don't you guess along with our listeners the very first website for a band or musical artist? Conor: That's actually fascinating, and unfortunately, I am old enough to remember all of this. I'm going to guess that was in the early-to-mid-'90s, '93-'94. I'm going to say Michael Jackson. Doug: That's actually a really good guess, and extra credit, you guessed 1994, that is the year. October 1994, Megadeth has the first-ever website for an artist or band. Conor: That is truly bizarre, but shoutout to Dave Mustaine and the boys for being trailblazers. Doug: Wrong band. Oh well, whatever. Conor: And what is your source on that? Doug: So, I was listening to the radio the other day, Jodi and Bender mentioned it. (Sound effect plays) Conor: Oh no! Our listeners know what that sound means. Your source has been challenged for lacking. Get back to work, Doug. Find me a better source. Doug: Okay, instead of Jodi and Bender, let's go with Billboard magazine, with a backup of American Songwriter. Conor: There we go, very respectable. We'll allow it. Doug: Well, thank you very much. So this week, you headed over to Spanaway Lake High School, and you sat down with some staff and students, in particular those involved in the Ninth Grade Success Program. One of the biggest transitions that we have as a school district is students moving from middle school to high school, also from elementary to middle school. Making that leap can be tough for some students, and the folks at Spanaway Lake are doing some pretty impressive things to make an easier transition for kids. Let's head over there now. Conor: I'm on location today at Spanaway Lake High School. I am speaking with ninth graders Zaea and Cailey, along with Whitney Parkin, she's a math teacher, and Jennifer Brock, she's a counselor. And what we're talking about today is the Ninth Grade Success Program. So, Jennifer, for people who have maybe never heard of this program, can you give us a little rundown on what it is and why it's important? Jennifer: Yeah. So, our Ninth Grade Success team really works with our incoming ninth graders, because we know that being on track to graduate as a ninth grader is one of the biggest factors in being on track to graduate long term. And so we have found that if our ninth graders have the skills that they need to start fresh and start well in ninth grade, it's much easier in the long term getting them through that graduation stage. Conor: Is this the first year of the program? Jennifer: So, in Bethel School District, this is the third year that this program has been in place. At Spanaway Lake, however, this is only our second year. And so ultimately, it is a partnership where we work with districts across the state of Washington and all come together and try to find ways to help our ninth graders stay on track. Conor: So, Whitney, as a math teacher, how do you fit into this? Is there a science component? Is there a humanities component? Or is it specifically math that we're focusing on for this success? Conor: Great. Whitney: So, we're not just focusing on math for the success. How I fit into it is that I'm the team lead for the work that we're doing here as the Ninth Grade Success team. And that team is made up of a lot of different roles. So we have counselors like Ms. Jennifer right here, we have social services support, yeah, we have admin support, we have equity support, we have other teachers from as many departments as we can find people who are interested in doing this work, and people who just across the board work with ninth graders. So we're trying to create a system of wrap-around supports. Every inch of the building, every area of the building that there's somebody that works with ninth grade students, we try to get one of them at least on the team, and so they work to help build all the supports and encouragements and just create a system that helps them to do the work that Jennifer was just talking about, helping them stay on track. That's what we do. Conor: Excellent. And how are we measuring success for this program? Whitney: Okay, so we have a Bethel School dashboard that helps collect the data from teachers' grade books across the building. And then what happens is that we compare it to the OSPI report card that we get just about at the end of the year, and that will tell us what percentage of our students are on track. And we keep a track of that over the past couple of years, especially like we've seen last year, which was our first year, we started off with about 43% students on track and we ended the year with 52% on track, so that's a 9% bump. Conor: Oh, that's a big jump! Whitney: Yes, it's a big jump. So we use that data dashboard that we have within our school district to keep track throughout the school year, but at the end, our goal is to make sure that our OSPI report card has a much better grade than we had last year. Conor: Yeah, keep it moving in the right direction. Whitney: Yes. Conor: So let's bring some student voice here. So, Zaea, you are a freshman here, you've been here now, what, a couple months? So, still I'm sure getting your feet under you. What's been the biggest issue you've faced transitioning from middle school to high school? Zaea: I have been making, um, some good grades. I have been, um, paying attention to all my classes, 'cause last year I haven't been paying attention, really, 'cause I've been distracted 'cause basically social media gets in the way of all my schoolwork and everything. So this year, I'm trying to focus on all my classes and make good grades, and have, um, lots of fours and threes on my schoolwork. So this year, I'm trying to, um, focus and know, put effort in my work and try to lessen the distractions and try to focus on everything I'm trying to do, you know? Like, I don't want to fail. That's one thing I'm trying to like not do, like I really want to succeed. Conor: Do you feel like that these, some of these things that we're talking about are helpful for you in, in keeping your grades up, in kind of making sure that you don't fall behind, or— Zaea: Yes, like, um, the success group is pretty much helping me because in my math class, it's pretty hard, 'cause I do get distracted easily a lot and I just don't focus like I'm supposed to be, sometimes. And then with the help I'm getting from success group, with them explaining like how to do this, how to do that, I'm actually like listening, and I'm writing down notes, and I'm like concentrating on everything, and— Conor: That's awesome! Uh, Cailey, what about you? What's, what's been a surprise since you've moved over here from middle school, or has it been about what you thought it'd be? Cailey: I think that the transition over has so far been as expected. Like, the confusion, just 'cause how the transition moves, 'cause I got, I got the grip, and then I lost the grip, and then I'm slowly trying to get it back. Conor: It's a process, you know, and, and there's a lot of things that go into school that are not scholastic, per se. I mean, like you were saying, you got social media, you've got friends situations, it's a lot to kind of wrap your head around. So, this is the second year of this, J

  3. Oct 7

    Episode 189: Words that hurt, words that heal

    This week, we explore the profound impact of language in our schools and how everyday words can either harm or heal a student's sense of belonging. Through candid conversations with students, we examine the critical difference between intent and impact, the guilt that comes with staying silent, and how bystanders hold the key to shifting a school's culture. It's a look at building safer, more respectful, and inclusive spaces for everyone. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast  --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Conor: Hey everybody. I'm Conor, that's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, and we have a really fantastic, interesting show for you today. It's all about the power of language, the power to hurt, the power to heal, and how that affects students in particular. So, I headed out to Cougar Mountain Middle School to hear from those students themselves and some staff members, and we'll get to all that in a moment. But first, we gotta start with useless trivia, which is always how we start our show. And given that we're getting closer and closer to Halloween, I wanted to do a kind of pumpkin-themed useless trivia. So I'll start us out this week, Doug. Did you know that the world's largest pumpkins can be the size and weight of a small car? Doug: That is a giant gourd. What kind of automobile are we talking about here? Conor: I think a compact, but still. And growers even hollow out some of their giant pumpkins and use them as boats in little pumpkin regattas. It's pretty cool. Doug: That sounds so made up. Really, looking for your source this week. Conor: The world's heaviest pumpkin weighed in at an official 2,819 pounds, grown by a couple of British blokes, twins Ian and Stuart Paton. That was last October, so I guess we'll see this year if someone can beat 'em. My source on that is the always-trustworthy Guinness Book of World Records. Doug: That is fantastic. Really, really good useless trivia there, and very timely for the season. I like that. Conor: Well, thank you, Doug. What do you have for us? Doug: Mine comes from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Conor, did you know that Cleopatra lived closer to TikTok than she did to the Great Pyramids' construction? Conor: That's incredible. That makes no sense to me. Explain. Doug: I will, let's unpack it here. The thing that's happening is called time compression, and as things get farther back in history, we kind of lump them all together. So when I was in school, I learned about Cleopatra, I learned about the Pyramids, you lump them together. Kind of probably happened at the same time. Well, that period of time is about 2,500 years in between the building of the Great Pyramid and when Cleopatra was alive. She lived from about 69 to 30 BC, which means when TikTok was founded in 2017, that is about 2,000 years after Cleopatra, and Cleopatra is 2,500 years from the building of the Great Pyramid. Conor: Okay, that does make sense now. And, you know what, I bet Cleopatra would have been the best influencer. Her TikToks would have been fantastic. Doug: I will take your word for it. Well Conor, like you said, you were out at one of our middle schools, Cougar Mountain Middle School, and you were talking with students and staff about the power of language, how it can harm, how it can heal. Tell us more about that. Conor: Yeah, it's a really fascinating topic because harmful language is something that every age group has to deal with, but especially in school settings. Because as everyone knows, the younger students don't always have those internal filters fully squared away yet, and sometimes they say things that are harmful, that are hurtful, without even meaning it. So it goes to show that harmful language isn't just about being mean for the sake of being mean or bullying because you're trying to bully. But you can hurt people's feelings even if you're not trying to. Doug: Absolutely. Well, I really love that you got out to the school and we're going to hear from some real students here. You worked with one of our equity specialists, Christney Kpodo, and she's kind of summed up our official stance on hurtful speech, where she broke down where our district draws the line on what is inappropriate. Let's hear from her. Christney Kpodo: Bethel School District is clear. Every student has the right to learn in a school that is safe, civil, respectful, and inclusive. That means harmful language has no place in our school community. Cursing or using strong language may not always be bullying, but when our words are used to threaten, intimidate, humiliate, target, or seriously disrupt someone's ability to learn, they can become a serious school concern. Conor: So I caught up with a student named Sam, he's an eighth grader, and he was talking about how hurtful words impact a person's mindset in class, which is a really interesting way of looking at it. He gave a really insightful look into how bad language can pull your focus away from learning and make you question if you even belong. Here's what he had to say. Sam: Words hurt people, like you should really think about what you say, 'cause your words can really impact people. It could affect them to make them think like they don't belong here. And instead of maybe like focusing in class, they could be thinking about like, "Do I fit in? Do I belong here?" Doug: I really love what Sam had to say, and it made me think of the work our equity specialists, like Christney Kpodo, are doing on a daily basis, really working to break down those barriers that are standing in front of students and their education. And that can be as much as someone gets their feelings hurt right before math class, and then they can't focus and they're going to lose a day of learning because they're just thinking about what was said to them. Words can even hit you harder when you're already carrying a heavy load. And Conor, you talked to another student named Karis about how a rude comment feels when you're already dealing with a tough situation at home. And her perspective really highlights why timing and empathy matter. Take a listen. Karis: I feel like it affects them a lot. Like if, like if you're having a hard time at home and you come to school and you have your friends, and then someone says something rude or out of pocket to you, then you're just like taken aback and like, kind of uncomfortable. Conor: I mentioned earlier that one of the things that complicates this entire issue is that harmful language is harmful whether you intended it to be or not. I chatted with Cougar Mountain Middle School Principal Brittany Corpuz about just that topic and how tricky it is to navigate that distinction sometimes. Brittany Corpuz: So with intent and impact, it feels, I don't want to say easier, but when people are doing something intentionally harmful, then addressing that seems like a cleaner path forward for the kids, for the adults, and they feel that that makes sense. It's the either unintentional harm or the unaware—that they truly don't understand the history behind the words that they're saying or what they've been told outside of school is supposed to be acceptable—then navigating those conversations are more challenging because we're not always supported in that, and it's not always clearly defined. When you have friends saying things to each other and they think that they're joking, I recognize that they didn't mean it or didn't intend harm, but somebody else was harmed by it. And then the intentional side of things, you give permission to those people when you hear that. You give permission to those kids to say, "Well, they're joking about it, that means I get to use it, and I'm going to use it, as I'm going to weaponize it." So those, those messages get real murky. So that's why we have a zero-tolerance policy here, because that's the part that, that just permeates throughout and can make people feel unsafe, unwelcome, not learning, all of that. Conor: One of the interesting things I took away from all these conversations is a lot of the students talked about the guilt and almost shame of hearing a student get bullied and not stepping up to do anything about it, and that has its own effect on the students. I talked with Steven, and he had a remarkably honest take on what it feels like to witness that kind of bullying and why peer pressure drives some students to chime in instead of helping. Let's hear his thoughts. Steven: It made me feel bad for the, for the kids that it was towards, too. Made me feel bad about myself for not standing up sometimes. Or other kids that don't stand up, you know, when they, or even kids that chime in to it, which is also a thing that happens a lot. Kids will chime in to like, to help the other person hurt one person just because they think it's funny, or they think they're trying to be cool, which is really not, like at all. I think it makes you less cool. Doug: Yeah, when you find yourself in a tough situation, speaking up isn't always easy, even when you know it's the right thing to do. Conor, you talked to Kaylee, and she really opened up about the fear that keeps so many students silent and the heavy guilt that comes with feeling like you couldn't step in. Kaylee: I felt really guilty because I'm too scared to stand up usually. So I feel guilty and like I can't help myself because I'm too scared to speak up, and I feel bad that they're going through that and I just don't have the guts to stand up for them. And like, I feel bad they're going through that. Doug: The last student we're going to hear from today is Yorgeli, and

  4. Sep 30

    Episode 188: The dirt on moving a middle school

    With Cedarcrest Middle now demolished and the new school starting to take shape, on this week’s podcast we sit down with Cedarcrest students to get their unfiltered thoughts on how things are going at their temporary home, the old Bethel High building. We also check in with new Cedarcrest principal Zach Womack to get the behind the scenes dirt on what it takes to move an entire school and still start the year strong. Along the way we’ll learn it’s not the building that makes a school what it is, it’s the people inside. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast  --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Conor: Hey everybody, I'm Conor. That's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast, the greatest podcast in the history of the universe. And as you expect from us, we have a fantastic show today. We're taking our show on the road, heading over to the new Cedarcrest Middle School, which happens to be the old Bethel High School. But before we do that, you know what we do, Doug. We do useless trivia. So, go ahead and get us started. Doug: Well, thank you kind sir. And I have been inspired by our students this week for my useless trivia. You actually posted a story on our Facebook page about some students that were learning about microbiomes and doing some real scientist kind of stuff. And these are middle school kids. I just, I thought that was amazing. And then we had a teacher this summer who joined the fight against cancer as a teacher-scientist. Both those stories available at bethelsd.org/news. Promo aside, it inspired me to do a little research of my own. And by that, Conor, I mean I sat in my chair with my phone out and Googled some things. So, did you know that baby kangaroos are born without back legs? Conor: One, no. But two, how did you get from biomes and cancer-fighting teachers to kangaroos without back legs? I want to know the thought process, the Google hole you went down to find that. Doug: That's called biology, Conor. It's one of the many medicinal sciences that are out there. And my source for my useless trivia is National Geographic. So when baby kangaroos are born, they are born without back legs. They're basically little nubs back there that are useless. But they do have really strong front legs with claws, and that's good because they're able to crawl into their mother's pouch. Now, Conor, this is where it gets even weirder. At this point, these little, I don't even know if you call them joeys, because they're more like jelly beans. They are literally an inch long, because they're born after 33 days. Conor: That's insane. How did I not know that? Doug: It's really, really weird. So then, the mother licks a path that then this tiny little jelly bean is able to crawl through the fur and into the pouch. And that's where it stays. At around four months, the joey can come out of the pouch for short trips and graze on grass by itself. At 10 months, joey is mature enough to leave the pouch for good. Conor: Crazy talk. Doug: It's as the legendary natureologist Sir David Attenborough said, "Nature be crazy." Conor: Nature be crazy, indeed. Doug: She do, Conor. Let's use some real language here, and let's hear about your useless trivia. Conor: Okay. Well, mine... As a little background, our wonderful audience should know that both Doug and I are apple connoisseurs. We can't get enough of them. Doug's more of a Cosmic Crisp guy. I'd say I'm more of a Honeycrisp. But, did you know, Douglas, that there are actually thousands of apple varieties? The handful you see at the supermarket represent just a tiny fraction of all the varieties grown around the world. And their names can be pretty bizarre. Some of them sound like insults or diseases, or maybe even like minor aristocrats. Some of my personal favorites are the Slack-Ma-Girdle, the Bloody Ploughman, the Brown Snout, the Sheep's Nose, and of course, the Knobbed Russet, and the Peasgood Nonsuch apple. Doug: These all sound like pub names from somewhere in the UK. Love it. What is your source today? Conor: My source is none other than applerankings.com. Doug: Oh, ladies and gentlemen, that sound that you are hearing indicates that our officials on the sidelines have flagged Conor's source as lacking. Conor, you're going to need to provide a better source, or you will get a yellow card for this episode. Conor: Oh, my goodness. I don't agree, but I will consent to finding a better source now. Let me just get my little phone here going. All right, let's see here... All right, how about this? I got two of them for you, Doug. I will go with Mental Floss, which I know we've used before, and as a secondary, foodandwine.com. Doug: Well, I don't hear the alarm. It seems like you have passed the test this week. Well done, sir. It's time for us to get on the road. We're going to pack our gear up and head on over to talk to some students. Conor: And we are on location today at old Bethel High School, which is almost new Cedarcrest, but you can't say that because there's technically a new Cedarcrest being built right now. Thank you, voters, who supported our 2019 school construction bond. But we're at the temporary new Cedarcrest Middle School. We're joined by Principal Zach Womack and two amazing students, Kaileina and Kayliana. Welcome all. Zach Womack: Thank you. Thank you. Conor: So, Zach, what's the transition been like coming over here to this new building? Zach Womack: The transition has been very smooth. Our staff and students have been great as far as directions and expectations. I'm going to be honest with you, the kids coming over from the old Cedarcrest, they all have to catch a bus, so we have to be really lockstep with our transportation and making sure we're communicating with them. Other than that, it's been a really nice, smooth transition. The staff love it because there's more space at this new building. As you know, the old Cedarcrest was super small and it was, let's just call it, it was outdated. And the space here has been great for our staff and students. They don't feel so snug. Now it just feels a little bit more, you know, they have room to, you know, move around and maneuver around the school. Doug: Absolutely, it's a huge transition to get everybody over here. For both of our students, you all each spent two years over at the old Cedarcrest, and now you're here at the quote-unquote "new Cedarcrest" for a year. What are the biggest differences that you're seeing in the hallways? We'll start with you, Kaileina. Kaileina: One of the big differences from moving to the old Cedarcrest to the new Cedarcrest is like the classroom space, it's way bigger. Now we have backpacks instead of string bags. Doug: That has got to be different. Kayliana, how about you? Kayliana: Yeah, I agree about the backpack situation, it's good. I also like how like, our old Cedarcrest used to be just one-way hallway, and now you kind of like can maneuver all around the school. Conor: Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot of extra space, which was much needed. Zach, you know, generally when you move to a new building, it's because you're breaking in a brand new school and it's full of all kinds of awesome tech. I'm thinking about the new Bethel High School. There's a reason this is the old Bethel High School, which is it needed to go. So, you're not taking the plastic off this school; it's got some problems. What's been the biggest challenge so far coming into an older building? Zach Womack: I think, again, the space. So, there's so much space. This was built for, you know, 2,000 kids. We have about 780 right now of kids here. So, we had to cut pretty much the school almost in half. We're not using the portables, and we cut down the old science wing in the Bethel High School wing, so we're not using any of those classrooms. So, we wanted to make sure that it was like a box, so just a bottom box, top box, where kids can maneuver, but not have to use all that space, because, as you know, there's a lot of hiding holes here. So, we wanted to make sure kids are also safe, but we wanted to make sure the space was used just for educational purposes and not running around the school and hiding. So, it's been great. We put up a makeshift wall in the back of the science building to make sure that we, you know, students have zero access to get to that science wing. Doug: Yeah, that takes a lot of planning. You're saying that those back doors that went out to the science wing before, that's now walled off? Zach Womack: Yep, that's all walled off now with just a lock to get in and out, if you know, for, we just use it for storage, basically, now. So, now it's just kind of like a graveyard for our utilities here. Doug: Yeah, and probably a good thing those portables are out of use. I saw some of those before. Zach Womack: Yes, absolutely. Doug: So, we're talking about the building. A school can be nice, a school can be not so nice, but Kaileina and Kayliana, you both know it's the teachers and the staff and the student body that really make a school what a school is. What teachers or staff members are really standing out to you this year? Kayliana: For me, obviously, our new principal, Mr. Womack. Zach Womack: Yeah, yeah! Kayliana: I also think most of our teachers are really good. I feel like all a lot of them stand out, like our new teacher, Miss Hawkins, she's been standing out. Stuff like that. Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of teachers who do really good at this school, and I think like it's not just one like teacher like, you know, like standing out. It's like everybody coming together to stand out,

  5. Sep 23

    Episode 187: From high school fields to the NFL ... and beyond

    What does it take to help student-athletes succeed both on and off the field? This week, we discuss how participation in school sports fosters essential growth, teaches work ethic, and builds lasting connections. You'll find out which hometown alumni are starring in college athletics and the NFL, showing how sports set students up for a lifetime of success. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast  --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Conor: Hey, everybody. I'm Conor. That's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents Podcast. We have another great show for you today. We're talking sports, we're talking student athletes, we're talking robots. Let's just say it's a big show. But before we get into any of that, you know what we do, Doug. We start our shows with useless trivia. Doug: Man, I hope we're talking about robot wrestling later on, because my useless trivia this week comes to you from the WWF. That's right, the World Wildlife Fund. So, did you know that 75% of the world's wild tiger population is in India? Conor: I did not know that. That's pretty fascinating, actually. Doug: Yeah, I thought it was pretty interesting, too. The remaining 25% is also located in Asia. They span nine other countries including China and Russia. Tigers never spread out like lions did. Lions evolved across both Africa and Eurasia; tigers, just in Asia, and 75% of them in India. So, there you go. That's my useless trivia. Conor, over to you. Conor: That was a good one, Doug. I'm going more sports to stay in line with the show. So, Doug, did you know that the longest game in professional baseball history took nearly two months to finish? The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings began their 33-inning game on April 18th, 1981. They played until the following morning and then had to suspend it, 'cause it just was too much darn baseball. They finally returned to the game on June 23rd, when Pawtucket took the lead, 3-2, and that score held up. Interestingly, there were two absolute baseball legends on the field that day: Wade Boggs was playing third base for Pawtucket, and Cal Ripken, Jr. was on Rochester. And my source on that is the Baseball Hall of Fame. Doug: That's fantastic. Makes me think of a book I read, it's called The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. It's about a game that lasted 2,614 innings, written by the same guy that wrote Shoeless Joe, which became the film Field of Dreams. Conor: Oh, what do you know? Doug: Bonus useless trivia. I just had to step on yours, but it was at least sports-related, and that's what we're here to talk about today. We have lots to talk about with our very special guest. Some people still call him coach; we call him first class here. It's Bryan Streleski. He's our Director of Athletics and Security. Bryan, welcome back to the show. Bryan Streleski: Thank you. Thank you, Doug and Conor. Conor: Yes, indeed, thanks for joining us, Bryan. And it's the fall, means football season. We know you're kind of the resident jock around here. So, tell us, you think the Seahawks have it in them to repeat, our defending Super Bowl champs? I know they lost their quarterback dang near the first play of the season. How's the season going to play out for them this year? Bryan Streleski: Oh, they looked really good in their first game. I mean, other than losing their quarterback, had a good win. Nice to win at home, beat the team you beat in the Super Bowl, so super fun to watch that. Did catch that second half, which is the only half that really mattered in that game, 'cause the first half didn't look very good. But I think that they've got a tough road ahead, 'cause the NFL's super competitive, but they looked really good. Doug: Yeah, I only watched the fourth quarter of that game, and that was the only quarter I needed to watch. It really bothers me when we waste time in the first three quarters of football games and everything happens at the end. Another cool thing that happened during the Seahawks' opener was a Graham-Kapowsin High School alumni, his name's Dakota Harris, class of '24. He got to hold the American flag during Mike McCready's playing of the national anthem. Dakota's stationed at Naval Hospital Bremerton, and we loved seeing him on the field. Love seeing what our students do after they graduate. Conor: And speaking of that, we've got some Bethel School District alum who are actually playing in the NFL this year, which is really awesome. And for whatever reason right now, they all happen to be on the O-line. But we got Vega Ioane—if you remember, he was the absolute stud Graham-Kapowsin offensive lineman on that state championship team—Foster Sarell, a few years older, he's playing for the 49ers this year, and Ezra Cleveland, another Bethel High grad, he's starting for the Jacksonville Jags. So, congrats to all three of those guys. And we have another generation coming up. We got a lot of kids who are playing collegiate football as well. Just at UW alone, we've got Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Ramak Froun, and Darrien Clemens, which is amazing to think from our district we've got three—I think they're all starting and they're all playing well. We also have Joshua Wood at Idaho, he's their starting quarterback; Jabez Woods, also from GK, he's at Montana State and he actually won a national championship last year and had a couple of really big catches in that; and Josiah Wagoner's at Cal from Spanaway Lake High School, Go Bears! So, that's another cool thing: we as a district are sending student athletes to the next level, which is awesome. So, talk to us a little bit about the importance of transitioning our student athletes, whether that's from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to the collegiate realm, the importance of that. Bryan Streleski: Yeah, I think it's exciting to have all these kids going on to play collegiate sports, but I think that the transition from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, is a significant jump for each student athlete, and our females struggle probably the most in that. And the national numbers will show that our girls struggle to come into our middle school programs after they leave elementary, and then from middle school to high school, but we're seeing a significant drop from high school to the collegiate level as well. And that's not just our Division I athletes, that's our NAIA athletes, our Division III athletes, and our community college athletes. And some of even our local programs at the college level are struggling to get our female athletes. And so, one of our pushes right now is to find ways to help encourage and keep our kids going and moving forward in their athletic endeavors as well as their academics. And so, it helps them learn life skills and continue to build. Not to mention, I tell a lot of our kids this as I get to talk to them around the district, is you're never going to regret going and traveling and going to play at a different college, go to a different state. While yes, you're paying for school, but your school's paying for you to live in a hotel room for a weekend to compete in a sport that you love. It's a great opportunity for our kids, and so we're trying to find ways to encourage our kids and help our kids develop those skills that want to push themselves to go on and continue to play at the collegiate level. Doug: Yeah, Bryan, there are a ton of benefits for our student athletes as they move through their K–12 education. Let's talk now about some of the significant roadblocks that are in our students' ways. Bryan Streleski: Yeah, for our sports that we don't have a venue for them to participate in, it creates a very interesting dynamic. Our swim in the fall right now for our girls, you know, they're spending their evenings at a pool at PLU or up in Eatonville. Their meets are all on the road. They're treated as home meets at a different school's venue as a home meet, so the other school's running the venue for us. And so, it's just an absolute challenge for them. So, you know, shoutout to all of our swimmers, and then in the winter, our bowlers, our golfers, any of those sports that don't have a venue. It's a significant issue for them to be able to get to and participate in these events. And so, they do a great job, our coaches are dedicated and want our kids to succeed, and you know, pushing them and teaching them all the life skills. And it's a huge time management piece for our student athletes and our coaches when they've got to, you know, work into the evenings, late evenings sometimes, to be able to do this. Doug: Yeah, you got to factor in transportation. You said bowling, man, if we need to build one, I offer my office space for it. Let's bring that alley right over here; I love bowling. Conor: And speaking of incentivizing our student athletes to kind of take that next step and move on to collegiate sports and just college in general for a lot of them, what I like about what all of our schools do is we have these big signing ceremonies. And we don't just have it—it's easy to have a signing ceremony for someone like Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who I think was like the number one football player in the state. Of course, we're going to do that, but I love that they'll have a signing ceremony for a student athlete who is going to maybe bowl for a community college, and they treat it exactly the same. So, it really gives them incentive to say like, "Hey, you know, I'm going to be celebrated if I do this." So... Doug: Yeah, it really builds that sense of belonging, and that's something you were talking about earli

  6. Sep 16

    Episode 186: Quick-thinking senior saves life using skills learned in class

    On this week's show, we share the dramatic story of a high school student whose quick response saved a life during a medical emergency. Applying hands-on techniques he learned and practiced in a sports medicine class, he delivered chest compressions and successfully used an AED before first responders reached the scene. Hear his dramatic firsthand account, plus a conversation with his teacher about her practical training methods and the citizen lifesaving award the student received for his remarkable bravery under pressure. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents podcast, and whether you're listening to us on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or Radio Tacoma 101.9, we are glad to have you here today, because we have an incredible story about a student who saved a life this summer. It's dramatic, it's inspiring, and you're going to want to hear it. But of course that's going to happen after useless trivia, which is how we start every show, Conor. Conor: It is indeed, Doug, and I figured, we're getting into the fall season here, so I'm going to do a fall themed one. And don't you just love it, speaking of fall, when those leaves start to turn color? Well, Douglas, did you know that the red ones are actually due to sugar being trapped inside the leaves? Doug: Sweet! Conor: Sweet indeed. So here's what's going on. As the days get shorter, the trees start building a tiny wall of cells at the base of every leaf stem to prep for winter. But on those warm, crisp fall afternoons, the leaf is still photosynthesizing, pumping out simple sugars, and they have nowhere to go. They get completely trapped inside the leaf, and when all that trapped sugar sits in the cool night air, the leaf undergoes a wild chemical reaction that produces a pigment called anthocyanin, which is actually the exact same stuff that makes blueberries blue and cherries red. Doug: This is fascinating one, and you are a fountain of big words this morning. What is your source? Conor: My source on that one is the National Institutes of Health. Doug: How about that? Doesn't get any smarter than those folks up there. Conor: No sir, they don't get any smarter than that. Let's see if you can match my genius level trivia here. Doug: Well, I will give it a shot, and I was thinking about our lifesaving student when I was preparing mine, and so I was looking into the history of CPR. I'm going to take you back to 1774. The Royal Humane Society, that's what they're called now, Conor. Back in 1774, this UK group was called the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned. Conor: Love that name! Doug: Very specific, it was formed by two doctors, and they had a couple of goals. One was to publish information on how to save people from drowning. This was a big deal back then; there weren't as many swimmers in London. And then two, they were going to pay people two guineas for anyone that attempted to rescue a drowning person, and four, if you actually brought the person back to life. Conor: I'm scared to know, but how much is a guinea? Doug: That's, I had to look that up. I was afraid it was some kind of guinea pig barter system, apparently. And this is according to the Royal Humane Society in the UK, one guinea is equal to one pound and five new pence. Today, it'd be about 140 bucks, so we're talking over $400 to rescue someone, $200 to try, and I'll give you one guess what happened. Conor: Well, they probably do what you do, Doug, and start scamming everybody. Doug: They 100% did that! So two people would get together, and they would, one would claim to have been drowning, and then the other one saved them, and they'd come and collect their money. So this didn't last very long; they eventually went from guineas to certificates of participation, which helped them out financially, uh, but still a worthwhile endeavor. Conor: Absolutely. And our guest this week needed no financial incentive to be a hero. Ethan, who's a senior at Spanaway Lake High School, was at a basketball game this summer at his school when something pretty scary happened. He's going to tell you about it. Ethan: It was about halftime. As they were cooling down, whistle blew, I just hear a thud. And I just start hearing screaming from Vincent, the victim. I heard it, and I turned around, and I saw what was happening. I see a, see a bunch of people crowding around him, kind of just trying to see if he's okay, trying to like tap him, stimulate his chest, but nothing seemed to be working. He just kept screaming. Uh, I see my auntie trying to call 911, and I think everyone was just in a panic state at that time. During that moment, I ran out to grab the AED near the front office. I put it beside him, just in case anything happened, and I think when I put it down, I think at that moment they picked him up and decided to go outside with him, right in the front of the lunchroom. That's when I just ran out. That's when I knew like, I knew CPR, and maybe I'm the only one that knows it. So I ran out, and right when I walked out those doors, I hear, um, "Does anyone know CPR?" And that's when I kind of just shoved everyone out the way and just kind of just got started, just giving compressions and trying to get everyone to stay back. And I did three rounds of compressions, 90 compressions, and I was really lucky to have my auntie there to help, and she just started counting, counting for me, cause I was losing my mind at the same time. I was kind of losing track of how many, like compressions I was going for. And I think after the third round, that's when I got up behind me and grabbed the AED and put it on him, and I told everyone to back up, and it shocked him. We gave him one shock. Doug: Wow, very, very dramatic. And walking up to a scene like that and having someone, "Does anybody know CPR?" and the high school student says, "Yeah, I know CPR." Where did you learn CPR? Ethan: Right here in this classroom, Ms. Dahl. I learned it two years straight, sophomore year and junior year. Ms. Dahl really helped me like, it just came muscle memory, cause I wasn't really thinking in my mind, it just became just muscle memory and staying on beat. And there's a lot of things to remember, but I think Ms. Dahl did a great job just getting it down in my, my muscle instead of my brain. Conor: And that is a great segue to our second guest here. We've got Kristyn Dahl. She's a Spanaway Lake High School sports medicine teacher. So, you just heard that very dramatic retelling of a very, very dramatic afternoon for one of your students. What does it mean to you to see that the work that you're doing in this classroom actually has practical applications? This isn't just theory; these are lifesaving techniques you're teaching. Kristyn: Well, first of all, I'm so proud. I've been teaching CPR for over a decade. I've been certified since I was 16 and worked in the medical field, and I have never had to give compressions. I've been the 911 caller, I've been on scene for many cardiac arrests, but like Ethan and I talk about, you, you tend to have somebody else that will jump in. And the fact that my 17-year-old student is the one that was like, "Okay, here we go," I'm super proud of that. So, that's first things first. So proud of you. And then second of all, being able to teach real-life skills is what we try to do in CTE, and making it fun while we're in the classroom, but then making it something that they can take out into their life. Because I tell them, it will be someone you love, unfortunately. That's typically when we use our skills, is on somebody that we love. And so being able to kind of take that emotion out of it is something that I do try to teach them when we're in here. It's huge that he was able to do that. Doug: Yeah, you mentioned CTE, Career and Technical Education classes, of which sports medicine is one of many that we offer here in the Bethel School District. I like that you said you try and take the emotion out of it, and Ethan, you said it was just muscle memory. Is that just part of CPR being a good trained CPR person, is just that repetition and you just get into the zone? Kristyn: It is. It's repetition, and I make them get out of their comfort zone. They do not like the first day or two that I do it, because they, you know, they're 16, 17 years old, they want to play around, they want to, "Mine's dead!" and, you know, they want to do that kind of thing. And so I just, I make them do it till they're fatigued. Um, I do do silly songs... Doug: I was going to ask about the songs, because when I learned CPR the first time it was "Staying Alive." Is that still the song? Kristyn: Or "Another One Bites the Dust"! No, it's actually, it's actually, uh, we use Kendrick, "Not Like Us." And so, and it's awful because it starts with, "Shh, I see dead people." And they all know, but that's actually American Heart Association. So it's not even, I will, I will say they did, but I will say I was doing it before they did. I'm just going to say that. I was an early adopter. Uh, Bad Bunny has a song that the American Heart Association is using now, too. Um, but it's the, we role-play the whole thing. Like, they have to run to find an AED, they have to go through all of it. Like I said, I push them out of their comfort zone, and it is, it's awkward. That first couple times when you're yelling, "Hey, doesn't have a pulse! Call 911! I need an AED!" They don't get to say it like that. They're screaming, they're yelling, they're awkward, an

  7. Sep 9

    Episode 185: How librarians are teaching kids to tell fact from online fiction

    In a world flooded with AI generated content and online clutter, helping kids figure out what’s real isn’t always easy. On this week’s show, we sit down with two of our district's teacher-librarians who share how their exclusive summer experience at the Library of Congress is giving local students the tools to navigate online information with confidence. From historical maps to hands-on programs like Battle of the Books, we’ll learn how primary sources and great reads are sparking curiosity and building critical thinking across our schools. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Conor: Hey, everybody! I'm Conor, that's Doug, and this is the Bethel School District Presents podcast, and today we are talking with two of our fantastic district librarians, both of whom went to Washington, D.C. over the summer to attend a very prestigious opportunity at the Library of Congress. In fact, they were the only two librarians in the entire state of Washington to do that. Doug: They sure were. The focus of the trip was learning about the importance of primary sources and clever ways to teach that to students. And what could be more important, Conor, in this day and age when misinformation is rampant and skepticism is at an all-time high? Conor: Right you are. And that's actually one reason we kick off each show with useless trivia. Our regular listeners will notice that we always ask each other to provide our sources. Doug: Just setting a good example for the kids out there. Conor: And when someone asks how you know something, FYI, Google is not an appropriate answer. Doug: No, and Facebook is definitely not an answer. Conor: Well, speaking of all this stuff, Doug, let's not delay our good listeners any longer. What do you got for us? What's your useless trivia this week? Doug: Well, we're talking about the Library of Congress today, so I was thinking about books, I was thinking about just all the different kind of resources they have there. And so, Conor, did you know that in 2025, there were 4.2 million books published, and my source on this is Bowker. They're the official ISBN agency for the United States. Conor: That is a lot of books. How many of those did you read? Doug: I've read... That's a... It's classified. I also looked up... So 4.2 million books. According to YouTube and Alphabet Investor Relations, there were 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute of 2025. That translates to 720,000 hours of footage a day and approximately 7.3 billion video uploads last year. Conor: Who's watching all this? Doug: I watched all of it. Conor: Okay. Glad it's not going to waste. Doug: But no books. Didn't read any books. Conor: Well, you and I were actually a little simpatico this week, because my useless trivia is actually book-related as well. So, Doug, you know when you go into a used bookstore or library, you get that wonderful old book smell? Doug: I love that smell. Conor: I also love that smell, but did you know that's actually the books decaying? Doug: That's horrific. Conor: I know, it's kind of a downer, but as paper ages, cellulose and lignin break down, and they release volatile organic compounds. Researchers have described some of the resulting aromas as resembling vanilla, almonds, grass, and chocolate, so not so bad. So that wonderful old library smell is technically the books dying. Doug: Fantastic fact. What's your source this week, Conor? Conor: My source is a 2017 peer-reviewed study in Heritage Science conducted by researchers at University College London. They chemically analyzed the volatile organic compounds emitted by an old book at the historic St. Paul's Cathedral. Doug: Man, I need scientists to get on bottling that odor, putting it into a candle so I can light that up around my house and just have that old book smell, the smell of dying literature. Conor: You know, you could just get books, Doug. Doug: Never, I'm too busy watching YouTube. Well, Conor, let's get on with our show today. Why don't you welcome our two guests to the show? Conor: Joining us today are two of our amazing teacher librarians. We've got Jerilyn Gerhardstein from Expedition Elementary and Amy Dalin from Kapowsin Elementary. The two of you recently got back from a pretty amazing experience in Washington, D.C. You were only two of about 90 teachers, librarians from all around the country that got to do this. Why don't you start off by telling us what you did? Amy Dalin: We got to attend the Library of Congress Teacher Institute. Our cohort was 26 people, and it just happened that Jerilyn and I had applied. We didn't tell each other, we just like applied randomly, and then we didn't know we were in each other's cohort until we were all in a group chat, and we were like, "Oh wait, we know each other." And so, we got to meet with 26 amazing educators from mostly the East Coast. We were the only two from the West Coast. We got to work with librarians and history teachers and English teachers, and the whole goal and premise of it was to talk all about primary sources. Jerilyn Gerhardstein: And they told us some really creative ways to teach about primary sources, looking closely at at a source, and then having the kids walk through it. So, to kind of build excitement and interest. And we would do lessons for each other, we did some mini-lessons, and they were all super excited to learn. So, it's really fun to be with lifelong learners. Conor: I bet. That's such a cool opportunity. Doug: And I love that you focused on primary sources. Those really force you to look at the original proof of something instead of taking somebody else, like two knucklehead podcasters', word for it. So, how do you use that concept in the library with kids and build solid media and social media literacy in in young students? Jerilyn Gerhardstein: Well, the Library of Congress has a lot of free-to-use pictures as well as audio clips and video, and so you can download those for free, and you can use them like I did when I presented in front of the librarians, and I will do this with my students where you show just a portion of it. And then kind of build interest, have the kids first just look, observe, see what they see, then what they think it might be about. So, they're reflecting, and then questioning with "I wonder" statements, and that just builds interest. And I I think it could be a a great way to start, like we talked about, the inventor lessons with CKLA for fourth grade. It's a great way to introduce biographies. It's a really great asset to use with our lessons. Amy Dalin: Yeah, we focus a lot in fourth and fifth grade on like research and building research skills, and primary sources is an incredible source for students to use that often times I think they will just like Google, like, you know, "Abraham Lincoln," and then you get a secondary source that's, "Abraham Lincoln was born on, blah, blah, blah." But then you have primary sources where it's like letters written by Abe Lincoln or about Abe Lincoln, or newspaper articles, or actual pictures of him. And I think that adds more context to them, and it kind of gets them more interested, I think, in the topic or the unit that you're talking about. Conor: The other great thing about primary sources, and especially in relations to younger kids, is with the rise of AI, it's so hard to know, especially if you're a younger learner, what's real, what's not real. And this is a really interesting way for them to actually see these things firsthand. And so, not only are they getting that interesting aspect of seeing the audio-visual element, but they're you're kind of showing them what they can trust, what they can't trust, and that's going to be so vitally important for the rest of their lives. Doug: The Library of Congress has millions of primary sources, original letters. One of you even mentioned they have the copyright for the "I Have a Dream" speech. That's That's a little piece of history that people don't always think about. What What's something that stuck out to both of you? Amy Dalin: We got to go to the rare books, and so we got to see like a 1200 copy of Aesop's Fables written in Latin, which was incredible, and like I was like, "Can I breathe this close to it?" They also had a 1940s copy of Aesop's Fables, which was written in English, but it was really cool to see how like the pictures were very similar because they're the same stories, but they've been like passed down from generation to generation. So, even in Latin versus in English, you have the same pictures, and so it's kind of beautiful in a way that you can be like, "Wow, these pictures are the same, and the stories have maintained the same kind of lessons behind them." Jerilyn Gerhardstein: And I really liked the maps section. So, you can, and I looked at Puyallup. I went online to look up, "What did Puyallup look like in the 1800s, and what does it look like today?" And having and centering a lesson around that to kind of, maybe at the beginning of the school year, "This is your hometown, and look at how it's changed over time." And because students don't really necessarily look at maps anymore either, and so it's really fun to see and layer the maps on top of each other so they can see and look for the differences. And so that it's close reading, and then maybe you could do a lesson on mapping, so... Conor: It It really is like insane how much just like American artifacts are in the Library of Congress. When Doug and I were doing our little bit of research prior to the show, we got kind of hung up on just th

  8. Sep 2

    Episode 184: From Netflix to next door

    What actually determines how long, and how well we live? This week we dive into the fascinating world of the Blue Zones and explore how the Parkland/Spanaway community is actively turning the tide on low life expectancy through movement, simple nutrition, and strong social connections. From free neighborhood fitness classes and pop-up cooking demos to walking school buses and community garden projects, discover how everyday, micro-level changes are creating a healthier, happier future for everyone. New episodes drop on Wednesdays wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also hear us on 101.9 Radio Tacoma, Saturdays at 2 p.m. Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share with a friend! bethelsd.org/podcast  --TRANSCRIPT-- This transcript was automatically generated by Gemini from the original audio file. While it aims for high accuracy, it may contain minor discrepancies from the original audio. Doug: Hey everybody, I'm Doug. That's Conor, and you're listening to the Bethel School District Presents podcast. And as our name implies, we have a very educational show for you today. In fact, one of the preeminent pontificators of Pierce County is joining us today. She is an expert in all things health, including diet, movement, connection, and purpose. That's right, we are talking Blue Zones today with Queena Tupou, and she's going to join us in just a few minutes after Useless Trivia. And Conor, that's where I'm going to kick it over to you.   Conor: Well, thank you there, Doug. And in honor of today's show, my Useless Trivia is all about longevity and health. And so, Douglas, did you know that the oldest person alive at this very moment is Ethel Caterham of the United Kingdom? Ethel was born August 21st, 1909, which means she just turned 117 years old. Congrats on that, Ethel, if you're listening, which I'm sure you are. That's old, but she's not close to the all-time record. That record, the oldest verified person ever, remains France's Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years, 164 days. Source on both of those: Guinness Book of World Records. Doug: Amazing, Ethel. Wish you were from Bethel. Congratulations, happy birthday. That's a fantastic piece of Useless Trivia, Conor. Conor: And what do you got? Doug: Nothing as tied to the show as that, unfortunately, but I have a fun fact. Did you know that every original James Bond book written by Ian Fleming was written in Jamaica? Conor: I actually did know that, but only because you told me. Doug: I guess we talk too much out of the show, I probably spoiled that one. But after discovering Jamaica during a naval mission in World War II, Ian Fleming bought a plot of land there, built a simple house, and he retreated there from January to March each year, getting away from those London winters. And during those three months in Jamaica, he would write a new James Bond book. He started with Casino Royale, and over 12 years, he wrote 14 Bond titles—that's 12 novels and two short story collections—entirely from Jamaica. Conor: That's fascinating, and I too would like to work from Jamaica. Can we make that happen, Doug? Doug: Let's call the superintendent right after this show. Joining us today now to get us back on track is Queena Tupou. She's the Executive Director for the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway. Queena, thanks so much for joining us. Queena Tupou: Thanks for having me. Doug: I'm really excited for our listeners to get to know you and the work that you and your team are doing. But first, let's talk about Blue Zones. A lot of our listeners watched the Netflix docuseries a few years ago called Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, and we all saw remote places like Sardinia and Okinawa featured. These were places where people are amazingly healthy and living long, long lives. So for those that didn't see the show, what are the folks in the Blue Zones doing that the rest of us aren't? Queena Tupou: Yeah, so a little bit of background about the Blue Zones. Blue Zones are areas of the world that have the most centenarians, so the most people that live over 100. And our founder, Dan Buettner, went out and researched these areas. He's who you'll see on the Netflix docuseries. And what he learned about these areas was that actually most of the people that live there live below the poverty level of those areas. Doug: Interesting. Queena Tupou: But they did four basic things, which we implement in the work that we lead here in Parkland-Spanaway. They encouraged folks to move more, eat wisely, connect, and have purpose. And those small changes that each of the communities implemented added on to longevity of their lives. Conor: It's a really interesting concept and a really interesting thing to study, and kind of discover what are these things that may be driving this longevity. We're very curious, living here, what made Parkland-Spanaway a good candidate to bring this program? Queena Tupou: I have to give a shout-out first and foremost to the sponsors, and it's the reason why we can do this work in Parkland-Spanaway. It's Pierce County, MultiCare, and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. They're the ones who are contributing into making this project possible. When Blue Zones came into the area and did a discovery of Pierce County, it was discovered that Parkland and Spanaway had the lowest life expectancy than anywhere else in the county. Conor: Wow. Queena Tupou: And so, from there, that was how Parkland and Spanaway was selected as the community. It wasn't that they were like top scorers or anything. It was noticing that there was a need here, and also looking that it's an unincorporated area. There's not a lot of resources that are coming out here, that we really, as a collective with the sponsors and community partners, could make an effort to do more work in Parkland-Spanaway. And so that's initially why it was selected. Doug: Yeah, that's a sobering fact for our listeners to hear about life expectancy here. The core Blue Zones philosophy—and you can correct me if I'm wrong on this—but it's that health isn't about willpower. It's about making the healthy choice an easy choice. What does that look like in practice for our folks here? Queena Tupou: So, what that looks like in practice in Parkland-Spanaway, we take the four core values, which eating wisely, moving, connecting, and purpose, and we apply that into the community through three pillars: people, places, and policy. And so what we do to encourage that is we have currently a healthy pledge campaign that folks can go online to bzp-parklandspanaway.com and pledge to live a healthier life. Two, we have health and well-being events throughout the community. We have movement classes that are available at no cost, and we try to make our movement classes available to all ages and families because we don't want there to be a barrier for them. Those movement classes can look like yoga, Mat Pilates—we added in July, in partnership with Day 1 Fitness, hip-hop step, which is a fun movement activity. Zumba, of course, is a fun one that's held at Brenda's Fit. Burrito's Boxing is every first Friday of the month. So there's just multiple ways that folks can get involved. And even thinking of all ages, shapes, and sizes, Qigong at Trinity Lutheran Church is really meant for our elderly population. The other piece, we noticed there's no pools in this area, so we partnered with PLU Pool, and that's open every Tuesday of the summer. Our goal is hopefully to have more opportunities, but we know the school year's starting. But just recognizing there's not enough spaces for people to come out and gather. We're also putting on healthy cooking demonstrations, and so teaching people how you can cook with foods that you might find at a food pantry, or even just providing low-cost meals that you can make for your family, and we have amazing cooking instructors for that. Conor: It's fascinating because it does really sound like you have this roadmap of these pillars and things that I'm sure are proven to work. But I'm curious because the original Blue Zones were obviously places where there was a high percentage of 100-year-olds and people living these healthy lives. We obviously don't have 100 years right now to figure out, "Okay, is this working or not?" So how does your team judge success as we go along in this project? Queena Tupou: Yes. So, since we work under the Blue Zones national brand, the current assessment that Blue Zones is using is the Gallup Well-Being Index. That will be conducted again mid-September, and will last about a month in community. It's randomized. The last time we did it was 2025, and we have seen measurable changes here in Parkland-Spanaway community. And so, that assessment has to be done in order for us to become a certified community. So I should kind of take a step back and say all of this work is for us to lead to become a Blue Zones Certified Community by January 31st when our project ends. And that has been the ultimate goal, and we have to show that through meeting all of our individual goals that was set locally with our partners and with Blue Zones national. We will be successful because that's just how my team works. We will get the certification for Parkland-Spanaway, and we'll be the first Blue Zones of Pierce County, and actually of the west side. Walla Walla is the first Blue Zones Project in Washington State. Doug: That's amazing. Wow, just incredible work that your team is doing and really setting up the community to continue it forward even after we get the blue checkmark, which is great. Tell me about how Bethel School District fits into all of this. We heard you speak at an all-staff meeting recently where you talked about the work and the connection with Blue Zones and Bethel School District. Tell us about that. Queena Tupou: We're working with schools, worksites, grocery stores, and restaurants through a list of items to move them forward i

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