The Pondo Pod

In this episode Mr. Miley and Mr. Ross discuss technology and screen time as it pertains to our students in and out of the classroom. Although screen time is definitely frowned upon the question remains… How do we restructure screen time to be of benefit for our students? Or, and perhaps more aptly stated… How do we reprogram our students' brains to turn on in front of a screen instead of turn off?

In the first episode back from a two week hiatus Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley discuss things and trends that they remember during their own K-12 careers. It is crazy to think how much the quriks of kids has changed over the years and this episode is proof of just that! We truly do hope you enjoy this more light-hearted episode of The Pondo Pod.

In this weeks episode Mrs. Tancredi joins Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley on the podcast to talk about testing season. She brings up the potential stress surrounding ISAT season and discusses reframing that potential "stress" into something positive. Timestamps below:Testing Season Discussion (00:14)Going-ons: (9:31)

In this interveiw episode Mr. Miley interviews two of the owner/operators of the Three Mountains Bracelet Company! 4th grader April McCray from Mrs. Owens' class and 2nd grader Holly McCray from Ms. Keane's own their own bracelet company and they donate a portion of their funds to charity. Learn a little bit more about them and their company on the Pondo Pod. If you would like to buy a bracelet to support them and their cause you can email them at happymiddler11@icloud.com.

In this week's episode Mr. Ross talks to Mrs. Diaz our school counselor. They briefly discuss what she does here at Ponderosa as a school counselor. Being an elementary school counselor requires a rediculously large emotional bandwidth and an exceptional ability to connect with children. Mrs. Diaz has both those things and then some! Because of this fact, what she has done for many if not all of our students is truly invaluable!

In this episode of the Pondo Pod we take a break from our student interviews and bring on Christie Vranich, a parent here at Ponderosa, to talk about our Book Fair Family Night. This is our first "big" after hours family event since 2019 and we are all super excited. Tune in to learn a little bit more about this exciting event! Timestamps Below:Going Ons (00:14)How Family Fun Night Came About (5:50)Activities of Family Fun Night (8:45)

In this Interview episode Mr. Miley interviews Cooper Malmstadt, a 3rd grader who has taken the dive into content creation on Youtube headfirst! He has a video game based channel on Youtube titled "CDMgameboy". A lot of kids say they want to be Youtubers but few actually take steps to achieve that goal. However, this amazing young man has taken those steps and then some! We are proud of Cooper here at Ponderosa for following through with his passions.

In this final student council interview episode Mr. Miley interviews Aunna Martinez. She is our student council secretary here at Ponderosa. She is soft spoken but has a heart of gold! The level of profoundness and associated kindness she showed during this interview is a testament to how amazing she is as a person. It was an honor to interview her!

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they recap the first assembly since the pandemic hit. The assembly itself was all about recognizing our students for what they have accomplished so far this year. We at Ponderosa are so proud of our students and the Panther PRIDE Assembly was a great opportunity to recognize their achievements. Timestamps Below:Going-Ons (00:14)PRIDE Assembly Recap (02:15)

 In this interview episode Mr. Miley interviews Nathan Anello, our Student Body Treasurer.   He is quite the social leader here at Ponderosa and it shows during the interview.  Nathan has the admirable quality of bringing happiness to those around him. He does this with his high level of enthusiasm for Ponderosa Elementary and life in general. It was a pleasure and a priviledge to interview this kind and interesting young man!

In this interview episode Mr. Miley interviews Bella Permenter. She is our Student Council Vice President here at Ponderosa Elementary. This young lady consistently exhibits a level of heartfelt poise and class that proves her position in the student council is well deserved. It was an honor to hear her thoughts!

In this interview episode Mr. Ross interviews Landon Harbour, our Student Council President here at Ponderosa Elementary.  This young man is truly an exemplary student that cares about the student body and state of Ponderosa Elementary as a whole.  If this interview shows you anything, it is that Landon has clearly made the decision to lead by example during his Presidency.  It was a pleasure and a privilege to be in the room with him during this interview!

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they acknowledge and give shoutouts to those who have received the #pondoperseveres award!  These students have consistently shown perseverance and deserve the recognition that comes with that fact!  This will be the first of many episodes where we recognize students who have earned this prestigious award!  Timestamps below:(00:14) Going-Ons(02:57) #pondoperseveres recognition  

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley in this gamified/light-hearted episode of The Pondo Pod where Mr. Ross tries to match a given New Year's resolution with the correct staff member. Timestamps below.Going-Ons (00:14)New Years Resolutions of Staff Members (09:49)

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss community involvement here at Ponderosa. having our students engage with the community and having the community engage with our students is one of the sub-goals of the Pondo Crew. The conversation about community involvement is then promptly followed by a conversation about Mr. Ross's and Mr. Miley's personal new years resolutions. Timestamps Below: Going-Ons (00:14)Community Involvement (11:35)New Years Resolutions (16:00)

In this interview episode Mr. Ross interviews Mrs. Butler. Mrs. Butler is one of the most consistently positive people here at Ponderosa, and this interview is nothing if not proof of that fact.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss student leadership here at Ponderosa.  The Pondo Crew is only two meetings deep and we have already brainstormed some amazing ideas.  In today's episode some of the student leadership ideas that were brainstormed are discussed and clarified.  Timestamps Below:Going-Ons (00:14)Student Leadership Discussion (08:34)Mr. Ross and his Xylophone (27:27)

In this interview episode of The Pondo Pod Mr. Ross interviews Jake Dawson the newly elected board member. His interveiw gave us a brief but impactful look into who he is as a person and some of his beliefs.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they talk about the winter experience here at Ponderosa Elementary in this more humorous episode of the Pondo Pod. Timestamps Below:Going-Ons (00:14)Discussion of the winter experience at Ponderosa (00:17)

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss the newly formed Pondo Crew. The Pondo Crew have embarked on the mission to create a better school experience through community, student leadership, and connection.  Timestamps below: Going-Ons (00:14)Introducing the Pondo Crew (07:03)Three Domains of the Pondo Crew/Possy (08:40)Community (09:05)Student Leadership (16:43)Connection (22:31)

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley in this shorter episode as they comment on the constant observation our children and students engage in. Even when we as the adults in the room think otherwise. Timestamps below:Conversation Starts (00:15)Topic introduction (01:55)

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they take a step back and just give some thanks in this episode of the Pondo Pod.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss where to start when facilitating perseverence in our students.  It starts with recognition in hopes that the recognition helps make "perseverence feel good".Going-Ons (00:48)Ted Talk Clip About Perseverence (03:55)Recognition Of A Ponderosa Student (10:49)Perseverence As Common Language (23:52)Vocabulary Component of #pondoperseveres (25:05)Call To Action / In Summation (26:45)

In this interveiw episode of The Pondo Pod Mr. Ross interviews Mr. Smulkowski. His interview was suprisingly heartfelt, and this interview truly gives clarity to the origins of his holistic teaching style.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss the ethos of how our Ponderosa community will move forward to facilitate the meaningful steps towards a brighter and stronger post COVID Ponderosa Community. Timestamps Below:Going-Ons (0:59)We know it has been tough (3:32)Our students need us to move forward (9:32) Mr. Ross's poignant anecdote (10:44)The pandemic and learning loss (13:32)Call to action (17:25)

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss the Leadership of the Post Falls School District. The conversation is framed within the context of the following three points; Leadership, partnership, and relationship. Thank you to our parents for helping formulate the conversation on this episode! It helped greatly! Please reference the timestamps below if a particular segment interests you.(0:44) Going Ons(4:03) Leadership Discussion(12:54) Partnership Discussion(21:21) Relationship Discussion

In this interview episode of The Pondo Pod Mr. Ross interviews Mrs. Reed! She is Ponderosa's most recognizable teachers due to not only her tenure, but the energy and atmosphere she facilitates here at Ponderosa Elementary.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss Ponderosa Elementary and how education has changed. On this episode Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley address the expectations of what a parent believes a teacher should be in today's world. New to this episode, they spring board off parental responses to the following question "What do you as a parent value in your child's teacher?" Going-ons (1:04)School Board Election (4:12)Picture Day (5:18)Parental Expectations (6:46)Question at Hand (8:10)1st Parental Response (9:50)2nd Parental Response (16:14)3rd Parental Response (22:01)

In this interview episode of The Pondo Pod Mr. Miley interviews Ms. Martin! She is our school librarian and a fantastic one at that! This is her second year here and Ponderosa, and as our youngest staff member she brings an interesting and thought provoking perspective to our extended school community.

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss what what makes Ponderosa Elementary special. From staff to students Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley decide to talk about what makes Ponderosa Elementary great, and as they stressed in this episode, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Please reference timestamps below if a particular segment interests you.(1:12) Mr. Todd Shoutout(1:44) Going ons(7:13) Intro to today's topic(9:47) What is great about Ponderosa staff(21:00) What is great about Ponderosa students

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss Pondersa Elementary and how education has changed. This will be a multi-part series, but on this episode the change addressed is technology usage in education. Going-ons (00:40)Idaho Reading Indicator (3:43) Parental Q&A Fundraiser (7:26)How Technology Has Changed (10:30)

In this interview episode of The Pondo Pod Mr. Ross interviews Mrs. Hewitt! Mrs. Hewitt is new to Ponderosa Elementary this year and she is an amazing addition to our team!

Join Mr. Ross and Mr. Miley as they discuss Ponderosa Elementary, expand upon our school culture and the going-ons, disect a quote from Mr. Rogers himself, and explain the reasoning behind the newly installed gates. Why a Podcast (3:00)Going-ons (4:50)What is Small Group Time? (6:50) The Gates in Question (8:34)Attitude is Caught Not Taught (14:11)Feedback and Contact Info (22:55)