We Can Do EPIC Things

BONUS! We couldn’t end the year without doing a final catch up with the cousins! Hear them share their most influential person, highlight senior events, and what they are most excited/nervous for in the fall on their next adventure. We sure are going to miss them and wish them the best of luck on their new journeys!

In our final episode of season 3, we spend some time debriefing our conversation with Grace Dearborn and talking classroom strategies that are easy to implement. We will be back in August with a new season! Have a great summer☀️

Grace Dearborn is on the pod! This is a MUST listen. We had the best time talking with Grace about her teaching career, systems and structures in the classrooms, and her new book coming out April 30th called The Rules of Engagement (you need this book). Whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned educator, this conversation will challenge your thinking and hopefully leave you thinking about how you can grow as an educator!

Hot Air for Hope is coming up May 15-17! In this episode, we talk with Amanda Johnson about all things Hot Air for Hope and she gives us insight on how it all came to be and details of the event. It is such a great event and if you’re free the weekend of the 15th, please attend!

Did you know our district has a drone team?! In this episode, we talk about with Joe Sherych and one of his cadets about the drone team at DHS. We learn about how they acquired the drones, practicing, and what competition looks like. You’ll be shocked at how the competitions are structured. Spoiler: Our team dominated the competition!

ATTENTION: Pau-Wa-Lu is hosting a Parent Expo on April 7th from 5:00-7:30pm for anyone interested in learning more about pre-teens and teenagers. This special evening is designed to support families as they navigate the unique challenges of parenting adolescents in today’s world. Listen to learn more about the Parent Expo on the 7th and we hope to see you there!

This episode rocks! In this episode , we talk with Roger Cramer about all things rocks. You will learn so many fun facts about rocks and how to join the Great Basin Gem and Mineral Club. 🪨

Can you believe we have recorded 100 episodes?! We had so much fun recording this episode with our new hires. In this episode, we asked our new hires for their two truths and a lie and just like every other episode, we very rarely guess correctly! Listen as you get to know our new hires a little bit better!

Did you know that C.C. Meneley has a weekly news show produced by students? In this episode, we talk with Kelly McCue, the news crew advisor, and the students who run the show and learn about all the inner workings!

The cousins are back! In this episode, we do a mid-year check in with the cousins on highlights from the first semester and plans for next year. You won’t want to miss the part where we ask them about things from our childhood such as the yellow pages, pagers, and collect calls.

We are back from our break with the science of hope. In this episode we revisit what it means to have hope and give you some good strategies to implement in your classroom.

This is a short and sweet episode to let you know we are taking a break. We will return at the end of February with our regularly scheduled shows. Thank you for your understanding.

Have you been hearing people talk about the PTR process? Are you curious about what it is, who does it, and why it is used? This episode answers all of those questions! We talk with the Office of Inclusive Ed about the ins and outs of PTR and take a deeper dive into their spring in-service class. A very informative episode!

Happy New Year! ✨To kick off the new year, we are sharing our Spotify wrapped and taking a dive into the spring in service classes being offered by the Professional Development Center. Stay tuned for the email with links to register!

Melissa Bays, CLS Teacher at PWLMS, has been nominated for a very prestigious award! She has been nominated for the National Life Group Life Changer of the Year award and it is very well deserved. We talk with her about the nomination, her classroom, and we even talk with one of her students, Faith McDuffee. You won’t want to miss Faith’s holiday tip! You can support Melissa by visiting the link below and adding a comment. https://app.lifechangeroftheyear.com/nomination_detail.cfm?NominationID=24453&NominationYear=2025

For the first time in Nevada history, the Capitol’s Christmas tree was chosen from right here in Northern Nevada. In this episode you’ll learn everything you need to know about Silver Belle (the name of the tree) from two local celebrities! If you’re interested, a PBS special about Silver Belle will be released on December 19th. We hope you have a wonderful holiday! 🎄

We are back with students to bring some holiday cheer! In this episode we hear from kindergarten students in Colleen Kings class about how they would make the grinch smile. We hope this episode makes you smile!

Our first grade friends are back! In this episode, Minden Elementary students in Stacia Almeida and Jenny Hemsath’s class share with us what they are thankful for. This episode is a must listen and will warm your heart! ❤️ We hope you all have a restful Thanksgiving break and thanks for listening.

This week we are highlighting Lyndsey’s recent journey of running a 100 mile ultramarathon. We talk about everything from training, fueling for 22 hours, hallucinations, and why anyone would ever choose to run this far! Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just here for the story, this episode will leave you in awe of what’s possible when humans test their limits and do epic things. 🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️

In this episode, we sit down with the owners of DST Coffee, Jake and Amanda, who share their journey from growing up in Douglas County to their success as small business owners. We chat about their favorite drinks, their inspiration for opening up their shop, and how their school experiences helped shaped them. Go grab a a hot drink from DST and enjoy this episode!

We are live from The Carson Valley Swim Center! In this episode we talk with Shannon Harris, Director of the Carson Valley Swim Center and learn about all the epic things at the swim center. The swim center has an incredible partnership with our school district and so many other businesses in the Carson Valley. Learn about all the upcoming events and projects along with a little history of how the swim center came to be! Happy listening and go check out the swim center if you’ve never been. 🏊‍♀️🌊

Our first kid episode of season 3! In this episode, we talk with Alicia Hill’s 5th grade students at CCMES about their egg drop science project. They share how they worked together, had to understand velocity and gravity, and the outcome of dropping their egg drop different heights. Happy listening!

Great news- all your burning questions about the MOU and contingency days are answered! In this episode, we talk with Superintendent Frankie Alvarado and DCPEA President Karen Lamb about the Flexible Work Days Memorandum of Understanding. We highly recommend giving this one a listen!

We had to pause our regularly scheduled programming to bring you an episode dedicated to Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl! As you know, we are Swifties and we couldn’t possibly talk all things T.S. without the biggest Swiftie in Douglas County, Emma Archbold (kindergarten teacher at PHES). We discuss the movie premier, song titles, and what’s next for Taylor! ✨💃🏼

Hailey Sebahar is back! In this episode, we catch up with Hailey on all things family and parent engagement in our district such as ParentSquare and upcoming DPAC meetings. We also chat with her about Foothill Market, a new market that her and husband, Casey, opened in Genoa. Make sure check it out- it’s so cute!

MES is 30 years old! 🥳 In this episode, Lauren Spires helps me cohost as we talk with former and current principals, teachers, and student about all the wonderful things at MES. Enjoy!

Our district theme for the 25-26 school year is inspiring hope. We brought back some returning guests from Ed Services to share more about the district vision, goals for the year and what it means to have hope. Listen as we catch up with Shannon Brown and Leslie Peters, learn new fun facts about them, and hear what they are nexting!

Can you believe we’ve made 80 episodes?! We loved revisiting the 80’s and talking about how different schools were back then. We really appreciate you all tuning in for 3 seasons and stay tuned for more fun episodes ☺️

Let’s just start by saying that Carly and Lyndsey have rizz. If you’re not sure what this means, stay tuned because we have all the secrets from high school students on the latest terms! In this episode we talk with 4 DHS seniors about their favorite memories, plans for post graduation, and a fun new segment called “what does it mean?”. We had so much fun recording this episode and get a glimpse into the lives of seniors.

We don’t know what it is, but there’s something about this pod and Taylor Swift making announcements! In this episode, we give a brief overview of all our in service classes offered for recent or salary credit. Listen to get a quick preview before signs ups come out on Thursday.

We. Are. Back. We had a few technical difficulties, but the tech department (Carly and Lyndsey) were able to get season 3 up and running! In this episode we do a summer recap and chat with the new members of PDC. This would have been the number one podcast last Wednesday if we could have aired it! Happy listening ✨

Our first grade friends are back! In this feel good episode, students from Stacia Almeida’s class read books they wrote for their Young Authors project with a Melinda Neilander. Enjoy!

Tara Auld’s CVMS students are back with another project. This time we learn so many fun facts about ancient China… who knew The Great Wall of China was so long!

We are back with the long awaited part 2 from the Modern Learning Conference. In this episode we catch up with the nominees and learn about the great things happening at their schools and in their classrooms.

Introducing the newest member of PDC… April Crandall! In this episode, we learn about April’s journey to teaching and other interesting facts about her life. Happy listening!

Live from New York, it’s Katie Martin! 🗽While in New York City at The Learning and the Brain Conference, we had the pleasure of talking to author, educator, and Chief Impact Officer at Learner-Centered Collaborative, Katie Martin. Listen as we talk about modern high schools, personalized learning, AI, and how her book inspired one of the most popular in service classes to date; The Learning Project. Huge thanks to Katie for spending time with us after a big day of being the keynote speaker as well as hosting an afternoon session. Happy listening!

This week we have the legend herself, Shari Chappell! Shari is an avid listener and since we have heard so much about the Hot Dog of the Week, we had to learn more about it! She explains how it started and how the tradition is still going strong. 🌭

In this episode, we talk about the new GPA and how it is a more robust predictor of student success! We talk about the science of hope and what it looks like in the classroom. ✨

This is a good one! In this episode, teachers new to our district (Teacher Academy) share advice and what they have learned in their first year in Douglas County Schools. They offer great reminders to all of us about making connections, giving ourselves grace, and always making sure you have a plan. Happy listening!

In this episode, we talk with Amanda Simon (inclusive education teacher at DHS) about her EPIC classroom. Listen as Amanda explains her pathway to teaching and how she creates an EPIC learning environment for her students. We are so glad she committed to our school district!

Fawn Nguyen is here! She is a leader in the math education and you won’t believe her opening story (she should write a book). Listen as we talk all things math including a number talk in live time!

We are back! In this episode, we talk with Pam Ertel, 3rd grade teacher at Minden Elementary, and her students about the different projects they have done this year. We loved hearing students explain their projects and how much they love making their school a better place!

In this episode, we recap the Modern Learning Conference that took place on February 24-25th in Reno. Our district had that pleasuring of co-hosting the conference with Churchill County and in this part one episode, we share highlights as well as talking with EPIc coaches and award nominees.

….at least one rumor is true. Carly, Susan and Jason are retiring at the end of the school year. There are currently two job postings for Professional Learning Specialists and if you’re curious about the work, you’ll want to listen! Please reach out to anyone in our office (Carly, Lyndsey, Susan, Jason) if you have any other questions about the jobs.

Aspire Academy High School Students are at your service! In this episode, we talk with students at AAHS about their service projects in the community and learn about their personal connections to the projects. Happy listening!

We are back at Carson Valley Middle School with Tara Auld’s 7th grade students who talk to us about their sustainability projects. Listen as they explain this project and share their solutions for how to make a more sustainable future!

You know we love a good acronym in education! In this episode, we talk with Jen Mortensen about MTSS (Multi-tiered Systems of Support) and what it looks like in our district. Listen and learn more about the tiers and structure of MTSS and as always, we end with a riveting would you rather. Happy listening!

The Professional Development Center is back for the new year! We try out a new segment called Word Sneak and we had the best time recording. We share our philosophies on New Year’s resolutions and Ins and Outs for 2025. Hopefully this episode gives you a good laugh!

Happy New Year! This week we have Miki Trujillo back on the pod. Listen as she discusses key takeaways from her latest book, Teaching and Learning in the Face of Adversity, that she co-wrote with Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. This is a great book to start a new year and reinvigorate your teaching. It has short chapters with checklists and plenty of space to journal your thoughts. Happy listening! ✨

Listen as we chat with students in Allison Meyers’s ceramics class about their pinch pot project with Kelly McCues’s kindergarten students. Happy listening and have a relaxing holiday break!