Mr. Black's Bmile Podcasts

Our inaugural BmileCast podcast for the 2011-12 school year begins with a book report from Rachel and Grace on Roald Dahl's novel entitled "Danny, Champion of the World." We then get a sports update from Connor and Spencer, followed by some excellent narrative writing pieces from Natalie, Parker, Avery, and Griffin. Next up, we hear from Joleigh, with a very informative report on four Native American Indian tribes we studied earlier this fall. We then close out our podcast with additional narrative pieces from Rachel, Nate, and Ana. We hope you enjoy our show!

Our first BmileCast of 2011 will include a number of special treats from our fifth graders in Room 6. First, Zack will bring us an eyewitness report of the recent BCS College Football Championship game between the University of Oregon Ducks and the Auburn Tigers. After that, Kamala and Sam share some unique memories from their holidays this past year and other related family traditions. Griffin and Brian present some challenging math story problems, and Samantha and Olivia finish our podcast off with a dramatic rendition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem from 1860, "Paul Revere's Ride." So fasten your stirrups onto your boots and saddle up; I think you'll really enjoy our premier BmileCast for the 2010-11 school year!

BmileCast hits the road as we go on our Willamette Jetboat field trip. Mr. Black interviews a few students on the bus ride to and from the dock near OMSI. Even though it was an overcast and cool day in Portland, we all had a great time! Next, Peyton reads President Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, Belle and Zach interview Ms. Ghattas (our principal at Bridlemile), and we hear a composition from Chloe, who has been recovering from surgery since December 2009 to remove a tumor from her brainstem. Brianna and Zoie read Chloe's composition on her behalf.

After a long hiatus from podcasting, Mr. Black's BmileCast is "back in business" with the fifth graders sharing some creative color poems and discussing their general impressions of Bridlemile Elementary School during an impromptu interview on the playground. Enjoy our show!

Zoe serves as our charming host this time, with Elizabeth starting things off with a review of the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th, 2009. Zach then provides us with an exciting summary of Super Bowl XLIII. Mr. Black interviews Richard, one of our classmates with a Russian background in his family, then Zanna reviews one of her favorite online game sites: Miniclip.com. Emma concludes our show by breaking down the historical origin of Valentine's Day for us, and Spencer and Julia read two color poems ("Red" and "Pink") from Mary O'Neill's "Hailstones and Halibut Bones."

Mr. Black serves as host this week as we are introduced to constellation myths inspired by Ursa Major. Isaac, Max, Claire, Perry, and Mason share their creative talents with their "spacey" compositions. Jackson then provides us with an update on the "wide world of sports." Following that, Noah, Taylor, and Chris read autumn-inspired color poems from the classic book of poetry by Mary O'Neill, "Hailstones and Halibut Bones." Finally, Evin continues her journey through our solar system with a pit stop at the "third rock from the Sun" and our good old lunar friend, the Moon.

Our debut BmileCast for the 2008-09 school year features Isaac as our host. We bravely tread the waters of the current presidential campaign scene with reviews of the recent VP debate--brought to us by Elizabeth--and the second debate between Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama, summarized by Zanna. Toby and Emma interview our student teacher, Mrs. Niedermeyer, then Evin wraps it all up with an exciting tour of the Sun and the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars). She'll continue next time with info on the Earth and Moon, and eventually conclude things with an outer planet guided excursion. Enjoy!

BmileCast is finally back in gear with Nicole as our host. This time, we hear a follow-up to Jonah's probability problem solvers from the last show. Nickey provides a review for the new Super Mario Brothers Brawl game, then Grant and Luke share a play-by-play summary of the Final Four's last college championship basketball game between Memphis and Kansas. Allen, Rachel, Kayla, Katrina, and Drew wrap up our show with their fantastic persuasive essays!

We head into spring with Grant as our host. His guests include Jonah, with answers to Matt's challenging math problems and some new ones of his own. Also, Conor fills us in on a simmering political crisis in Kenya. We get a huge education on the path to the White House, thanks to Ben, Lauren, and Sara. And the gloves really come off when Julia, Isabel, and Conor read their persuasive political pieces on the three candidates still standing in the presidential race. Arielle concludes our show with a little history on St. Patrick's Day and a poem on the color green.

This week's BmileCast features our very own Carmenrose as host. She gets us off to a great start by sharing about her guide dog experience with Denali. Then we hear from Matt with some challenging math story problems and from Alex and Brent with sentences they've created with our Wordly Wise 3000 vocabulary words. Ally and Dylan teach us about life in the American colonies, we hear another creative commercial from Nicole and Ally, and Julia and Luke wrap things up with an interview with two of our second grade Peace Pals.

You're in store for an "extended version" of BmileCast this week, with Nickey serving as host. Sara and Rachel share a book review, Ben and Grant tell us about child labor issues in India, Drew reports on the 50th anniversary of Legos and his recent involvement with a Lego Robotics competition, and Mr. Black interviews Michelle, Allen, Kayla, and Conor as we learn about the various countries and cultures their families are from. Next, we learn about the history of Valentine's Day from Isabel and hear some great love poems from Morgan. We learn about President's Day from Arielle, and Albert shares some words of wisdom from George Washington. Conor shares the Gettysburg Address from our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. Lillian and Katrina interview Ms. Bradway about her upcoming retirement, and Nickey brings it home with a rousing rendition of Henry the Fifth's "band of brothers" speech from the ol' Bard of Avon himself. What a show!!!

Ally serves as host this week, introducing the concept of "personification," and we hear from Dylan, Matt, Carmen, and Julia as they share their writing. We are treated to a humorous and creative commercial (Nicole and Ally performing), and conclude with Luke's excellent play-by-play summary of last Sunday's Super Bowl in Arizona.