PODCAST · education
#SMWay Podcast
by Daniel Bader
We can all learn something, right? The #SMWay podcast addresses current issues in Education, celebrates students and staff in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and addresses what challenges are in front of us as educators and as a community and how we can address them. Who should listen to this show? South Milwaukee residents, for sure, but also anyone who takes an interest in education - whether they live in Wisconsin or anywhere in the United States.
Episodes
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Brain Health and Project-Based Learning
A South Milwaukee health teacher, Kimberly Jaeger, is growing and learning in her career by incorporating project-based learning in her classroom. Her work and research may pave the way for similar types of learning across Wisconsin.
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One Art - SM's Artistic Disciplines Combine to Create Something Unique
In May, the Music Department will present something entirely new—the debut of a piece composed specifically for South Milwaukee. That by itself would be interesting, but the two free shows will also incorporate visual art in the form of a gallery presentation and digital art played as an…
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CHICAGO, March Madness, and NASA Team is on Track
In this episode, we visit the Orchestra Pit for the musical Chicago (spoiler, they're not in a pit), we see the Tournament of Books at Blakewood Elementary School, and we check in on our NASA TechRise student engineers and their progress on their project destined for a NASA weather balloon.
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Middle School STEM in Space
Our middle school engineers are going to space... sort of. Their project is, for sure. In May, an instrument the students are working on to study the atmosphere will be launched on a NASA weather balloon. We're only one of 60 schools nationwide -- and the only one in Wisconsin -- to earn the…
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Giving Back to SDSM
Giving back to something gives you a sense of ownership and helps build community. Here's how to give back in at least three ways.
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SICK DAY - Modern School Nursing and When to Keep Your Kid Home from School
We meet District Nurse Sarah Barrett and about all of the worries and responsibilities modern school nursing programs face. Also, since it’s peak season for respiratory viruses, we’re going to review when to keep your child home from school and when to send them in.
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Applying to and Paying for College
Today on the podcast we’re going to college in three interviews: First we’ll hear from two students and where they are on their college journey, then we’ll hear from a college official about the process of applying and a rough timeline for students and parents to follow, and finally I talk to a...
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The ACT
The ACT is a standardized test that colleges use for a range of decisions, and as we’ll hear, scholarship-granting organizations help determine who they want to award those scholarships to. We’re talking about the ACT because it’s coming up in the spring and South Milwaukee High School has a new...
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Student Voices: Red Ribbon Week
Recently, 8th grade health students explored and celebrated Red Ribbon Week - a time of year dedicated to learning about drugs and drug addiction. Some students made awareness posters, some tied ribbons around trees and poles outside the school, others made podcasts. This episode is the first in…
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Making it All Add Up - Math Life Skills
Math is math, right? Yes. However, how we teach it and understand how students learn it is constantly in flux. In this episode, we hear what the day-to-day math class looks like at each level, what the K-12 goals for math education are, and what parents can do, particularly at the elementary…
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What do you want to be when you grow up?
Eighth graders are choosing their courses for freshman year very soon. We're asking them to sketch out all four years of their high school career now - knowing that it will change - so we can think about the end goal and life after high school. Hear about how that's done, what a parent or...
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20 Years of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center
Professional lights, a full size stage and orchestra pit, theater seating - a generation of students have benefited from having a professional performing arts center located in their building. We meet PAC Executive Director Rachel Abraham at center stage to talk about the history, the work, and…
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Of High School Students and Literature
On this episode we meet two high school English teachers and discuss what a modern English Department looks like.
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Literacy for All - Roundtable Discussion about New Reading Curriculum
Wisconsin's newest reading law, Act 20, led to an examination of South Milwaukee's curriculum and practices - many of which were already part of the practice of SDSM. In this episode, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Christie Gajewski discusses new literacy practices this year with…
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K5 STEM
Today we’re talking about the district’s new STEM program for elementary students. But in a bigger sense we’re talking about engaging curiosity in a hands-on way to look at something and learn how it works and why – or better yet, to build something and figure out how to make it work. I’m excited...
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New Top Rocket: Meet Principal Mike Arendt
In this episode, we meet Mike Arendt, the newly appointed high school principal. We talk about the role of a principal, how he sees students in their path to adulthood, and what plans he has for South Milwaukee High School. Mike comes to South Milwaukee after the departure of former principal…
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En Espanol - Modern Spanish Language Education
The annual Wisconsin State Spanish Pronunciation Contest Championships is becoming a tradition in South Milwaukee. For those not familiar, it’s a contest where students study a bit of text, this year and last year it was a fragment of a poem, and practice pronouncing it exactly correctly. Today…
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Sending Care - Learning Kindness
An annual tradition is about to happen at Rawson Elementary School, and that’s why third-grade teacher Bill Gaynor has student art collected from the entire year in every corner of his classroom. Soon that artwork will be gently placed into a box, wrapped with care by students, police officers,...
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Water, Water
With the financial assistance of a grant, and its connections to high learning, the two South Milwaukee High School teachers and their students are teaming up to do real research on microplastics in water.
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Scholars and Servants: Community Service at the High School
Today we’re talking about the National Honor Society at the high school and the real commitment that society has to community service. I think maybe we don’t celebrate enough the community service our students do. Just last week the Lakeview Elementary Student Council donated dozens of toys to an...
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The Science of Reading - ACT 20 in South Milwaukee
Welcome to the SMWay Podcast, I’m your host, Daniel Bader. Today we’re touching on a hot-button topic in Wisconsin, reading legislation. Specifically, ACT 20, a law passed last summer states that all Wisconsin schools are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both...
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Instrumental Music Education
How do public schools teach students to play music? It's a process that starts as early as Kindergarten, but by high school can mean deep involvement in a world of musical opportunities. In this episode, we speak to instructors from elementary, middle, and high school about the process of…
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Building Legally Blonde
A staple of schools across the nation is the spring high school musical. Our High School is performing the award-winning show Legally Blonde – a musical based on a book and a 2001 movie by the same name. There are three components to a musical, the actors, the orchestra, and the stage crew.…
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What About.... Your Referendum FAQs
For several weeks now School Board members and District representatives have been out in the community with tables, like at the Bucyrus Club and various sporting events talking to residents about the 2 million dollar non-recurring operational referendum that’s on the ballot on April 2nd. We had a...
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STEAM NIGHT: See Yourself as and Inventor
Today’s episode is going to be a little different in that it deviates from our regular format. STEAM night – a celebration of all the work in our schools through the lens of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math – is one of the biggest events during the year and certainly the...
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Building a Team Brick by Brick
Today we’re talking about one of the newest student activities in South Milwaukee – First LegoLeague. If you’re not aware of what it is, it’s more than bricks and Lego figures, though those are certainly part of it. At the suggestion of a parent who wanted his daughter to be involved in some sort...
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Giving Back to Belong
Welcome to the SMWay Podcast and the first episode of 2024. I’m your host, Daniel Bader. In our last episode, we heard about music students giving back to the community by using their talents to carol out in South Milwaukee. Today we’ll hear a little bit about South Milwaukee Middle School’s Cold...
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Spreading Cheer With Music Education
Apollo Jazz - an extra-curricular choral group - spent a day recently out in the community caroling. In this episode, we’ll hear from students why they joined the Apollo Jazz Choir, what it is, and hear some of their music. We’ll hear from the teacher-leader of the group, Aimiee Swanson, a little...
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To Go or Not to Go... to Referendum
Today on the podcast we’re talking to members of the school board about some serious topics. In one way or another, since the spring, the idea of a referendum has been mentioned as a way to close the gap between the district’s revenue and its expenses. But it’s one thing to mention going to a...
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The New Elementary Report Cards
Today, we’re talking about student report cards – specifically Elementary school report cards, because they’re changing. How and why would a report card change? Good question. We associate report cards, as a rule, with letter grades - A, A minus, B etcetera. Get an A or B, and you’re doing well.…
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Report Cards for Schools
Report cards are as a part of school as pencils and chalkboards. The goal of the report card is to give parents an idea of where their students are in their studies and an early warning sign that they might be struggling in a subject and need some help. Schools and school districts have report...
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The Fall Play
There’s no mystery in the benefit of having a theater program, and South Milwaukee has a pretty killer one. Hear about the energy and commitment that is poured into the theater program that makes it the high-quality educational experience that it is.
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Bullying
In this episode we’re learning about a new system to address bullying in South Milwaukee schools. Instances of student bullying and conflict have been managed from building to building. This year schools have access to new Department of Public Instruction resources to implement a District-wide...
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Absent
Today we’re talking about attendance and why it matters. For some time, South Milwaukee has had an attendance problem, and over the last two years the District has worked to improve those rates – after all, you can’t improve reading or math skills, prepare for high school or pass a class to get...
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4K Education - a Jump start for kids, a bargain for parents
The benefits of early childhood education are real and measurable. All Day 4K has been available at each of our elementary schools since 2018. In addition to the benefits to children, there’s a benefit to their families, too. According to census data, the average income for a family in South...
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Welcome to my Class!
It’s a new school year and an exciting time for our students and teachers. For a group of teachers in South Milwaukee, it’s REALLY a New Year, because it’s their first year. For some it's their first year as a teacher, for others, it's the first in our little city on the lake. Today we’ll hear…
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Ready for the First Day of School
The first day of school is a cherished and honored ritual across our entire country. It’s unique in that it’s not a holiday like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July, it doesn’t surround a food item or drink like the Shamrock shake or Girl Scout Cookies. But it is one that is unique to our culture...
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Hello My Name Is... Deidre Roemer, new superintendent
Today we’re introducing South Milwaukee’s new superintendent, Deidre Roemer. We’ll hear a little bit about her family, her career, where she’s been and what led to South Milwaukee. I’ll ask her about first impressions of the District and the city, about what we should celebrate, and what we need…
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The State Budget - Bonus Episode
There has been some remarkably fast movement on the school funding front at the state level – action that we expected to happen in July or later, and the news for South Milwaukee, and many other financially strapped districts is not good. While it was always a long shot to sway legislatures to...
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Tiny Office Concert - Until I Find You - Afnan Al Shargabi, Logan Grell and Shelby Brooks
The last Tiny Office Concert was not recording in a tiny office, but in the birthplace of the SMWay Podcast - a tiny practice room in the music wing of the high school. The students crammed a piano and four people into the room!
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Gian Arica and Shelby Brooks - Cover: Fillmore County by Vansire
Tiny Office Concert 3 - Gian Arica and Shelby Brooks cover Fillmore County by Vansire.
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A Few Laps Around the Track
In this episode, we meet track coaches Stan Druckrey and Mark Hoffman. Between the two of them, they have 80 years of experience with this city and its children.Coach Druckrey started here in the 1970s, and Hoffman in the late 1980s. These two are being honored with the planned dedication of our...
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Tiny Office Concert - This School is Your School - Aimee and Gloria Swanson
Music teacher Aimee Swanson and her fifth grader, Gloria, recreate the student-written song sung during the Speak Up for Public Schools events on April 19. Students created the lyrics to the tune of Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land. Gloria plays guitar and harmonizes to her mom, Aimee.…
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That One Teacher
The story of how one Blakewood teacher, the late Judy Canfora, and her love of nature, made a lifelong impact on two of her colleagues, Colleen Bartlein, the middle school administrative secretary, and Chris Bosetti a middle school science teacher (both of whom are retiring themselves this year)...
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Spanish Language Education
Today we’re celebrating excellence here on the podcast - specifically in our language education program. Recently three of our students did exceptionally well at the 2023 Wisconsin Spanish State Pronunciation Contest. For the second year in a row two students earned a first-place award, and this...
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Launching a Legacy in South Milwaukee
Mason Cooley, an American thinker and writer, once said What lies behind “appearance is usually another appearance.” That can be taken a number of ways, but when I think of it from the perspective of the District’s efforts to rejuvenate our athletic fields, I think of the depth and breadth of…
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Tiny Office Concert - Shelby Brooks and Gian Arica
Our music students not only work pieces for school, but they also have their own interests and passion for the art. What I have for you today is what I'm calling – until NPR tells me not to – a Tiny Office Concert. It’s a performance, really, not a concert, of a song or piece of music that a...
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Learning in the Spotlight - Musical Theater as a Whole School Effort
We tend to put ourselves in boxes - sports kids, art kids, theater kids. In this episode, we throw that notion out as we explore all the aspects of what goes into a big production like a spring musical. At least at South Milwaukee, the spring musical is a near-total community effort. Career and...
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Music Education
Music teachers are exceptionally hard-working, talented, and energetic people in schools full of dedicated hard-working, and talented teachers. Today on the podcast I’m excited to share some rehearsal music from our schools and introduce just two of South Milwaukee’s own seriously talented music...
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Career and Tech Ed: Learning a Living
History in our country is a pendulum, swinging back and forth, directing where we pour our energy. The 1990s and early 2000s saw a push toward a college education and attendance for all of our students because a high school diploma was no longer adequate for the job market. That pendulum has…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
We can all learn something, right? The #SMWay podcast addresses current issues in Education, celebrates students and staff in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and addresses what challenges are in front of us as educators and as a community and how we can address them.
Who should listen to this show? South Milwaukee residents, for sure, but also anyone who takes an interest in education - whether they live in Wisconsin or anywhere in the United States.
HOSTED BY
Daniel Bader
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does #SMWay Podcast have?
#SMWay Podcast currently has 56 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is #SMWay Podcast about?
We can all learn something, right? The #SMWay podcast addresses current issues in Education, celebrates students and staff in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and addresses what challenges are in front of us as educators and as a community and how we can address them. Who should listen to this show?...
How often does #SMWay Podcast release new episodes?
#SMWay Podcast has 56 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to #SMWay Podcast?
You can listen to #SMWay Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts #SMWay Podcast?
#SMWay Podcast is created and hosted by Daniel Bader.
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