A Look Back with Mr. Meta

Over the weekend, I finally set up a podcast interview with one of the first 8th grade students that I taught at Hyatts and his name is Cole Alverson.  Cole was one of the Eagle News stars, before I even thought about handing out awards for the work kids did in class.

How this came about started with me finding a hard drive that had not worked in a couple of years in my school closet.  On a whim, I used a different cord to see if it would work....and it did!!!  So I started immediately copying every file that was on the drive.  Towards the end of the copying, one file stood apart from the rest.  It was called "Hyatts PDA."  As soon as I saw it, I knew it was Cole, tiny Cole talking with the wireless mic, with two very tall girls flanking him as he introduced Public Displays of Affection at Hyatts.

I was right and from there, I recorded some of the video on my phone and sent it to Cole via Facebook Messenger.  He responded and we set up this interview.  It's not the best quality, but the stories are very much of quality.

Enjoy this interview....I did and I look forward to treating Cole to some lunch if and when he comes back to central Ohio to visit his grandmother.

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Sarah, Taylor and Taylor

Today's show includes three of my all time favorite students from 6 years ago.  Taylor, Taylor and Sarah are roommates at the THE Ohio State University and today I was able to hang out with them and get them to be a part of the podcast.

Taylor M and Sarah tell their story of being at Bowling Green and then coming back home to central Ohio and eventually Ohio State and Taylor H. talks about her experience at San Diego State and how great her year was there and why she came home.

We them traveled back to Hyatts and Liberty and talked about what they all remembered back during those years where work on a video project they did, called, "American Idol" dominated the discussion.

Enjoy this discussion because this was a lot of fun!

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Chad Pickelheimer

Today's "Look Back" was a special one because it was the first one that I did using FaceTime.  I am not sure how the volume will be, so be patient because if you can hear our conversation, it was a good one.

Chad Pickelheimer reminded me that he was the first student awarded with "Best In Front of Camera" award.  He remembered me giving that speech in front of all the 8th grade parents.  That was the first year that I gave out Eagle News awards.

Chad is doing well.  Catching up with him brought me back to a different time in Middle School. 9 years makes a big difference and I realize how different things are now.

Thank you Chad for a great conversation! Enjoy this one!

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Delaney and Megan

Conference Night with Delaney and Megan!

So I am at conference night at Hyatts today and as I am talking to a couple of teachers in the hallway, I see Delaney walk into the school.  She was headed to my classroom today to ask for some help and ideas for a video project that she is starting with for school.

As we were talking about her project, her text sounded and it was her work saying that she didn't have to work.  She called Megan to tell her the good news and then demanded her to come over to Hyatts to do a podcast.

Ten minutes later, Megan shows up and the following 1 hour and 20 minutes happened.  What great memories we talked about, from Washington DC, to the Lip Dub, to the friends in Eagle News to lots of other amazing topics.

Thank you Delaney and Megan!  This was an amazing conversation and I am so honored to have this memorable conversation forever!

Mr. Meta

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Lee Ann Perorazio

Lee Ann and I enjoy some Bob Evans!

Tonight, I was able to finally line up a show with an old student of mine from Scioto Ridge in 3rd grade and then in 8th grade in Middle School.  She has been a student that moved into town when I was teaching 3rd grade.  I remember that some of her family was from East Liverpool and that started a connection to her and her family that has continued to this day!

I was so honored to shake her hand at graduation, an honor that means the world to a teacher and is held so very special to me.  Our plan to record this podcast was a couple months in the making and when we finally set it up, we had to make some changes tonight and I kept texting her trying to find the right place to meet.  I had finally said to her, "Can you tell that I am a little excited to talk?"

When we finally started the show, she talked about her studying abroad experience for about the first 35 minutes of the show.  It is an amazing story.  It made me think of my times abroad to bring my kids home.

What also is funny about this time with Lee Ann, is that the stuff that connects us, 3rd and 8th grade was hard to remember, but as we talked about it, some memories started to come back to both of us.  This was a good time, good conversation and a little bit of food from Bob Evans!

Lee Ann, thank you for your time!  You and your family will ALWAYS have a part of my heart! Enjoy!

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Kaitlyn S.On a whim, I emailed Kaitlyn after she posted her senior pictures and homecoming on Facebook last week.  I had mentioned earlier on Facebook, that I was so proud to see so many students posting their homecoming pictures and it was an honor being their teacher.  This is especially true with Kaitlyn.   Kaitlyn and I after our interview.What I remember is her time in Eagle News was so valuable to me as a teacher, because she was so passionate about the work we did in class.  She was so real and cared so deeply about turning in quality work.  She was proud to be in Eagle News. Kaitlyn has kept in touch with me throughout her high school career.  She has had reasons to come back to Hyatts, her sister, Julia, currently a ninth grade student, was here, so she was always popping in for some reason and always said, "Hi" to me.   Enjoy this "Look Back."  We recorded it on one of my conferences nights.  I was happy to not eat dinner with the other teachers while I recorded this podcast! In today's episode, we did talk about a music video that Kaitlyn made in Eagle News.  It was called "Human" and can viewed here! Download the Episode.

Mr. Nicolosi Aaron and I after all the cars from Olentangy Liberty's Graduation ended back in 2012. This is a special show!  I have always said that I do this podcast so that when I retire, I will have these wonderful conversations and wonderful recordings to listen to and "Look Back" on.  Today's show was recorded after I conducted a teacher chaperone meeting for our upcoming Washington D.C. trip for Hyatts.  Mr. Aaron Nicolosi, a superb teacher that still works with me at Hyatts, sat down with me for an hour, yes, an hour, after that meeting to talk. Mr. Nicolosi coaching 7th Grade girls basketball. We talked about our "better halves", life, advice, Netflix, Eagle News, and especially Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.  It is a fun conversation, especially for those of you that have had both of us as a teacher, colleague, acquaintance or friend. I thank Aaron for his time, his friendship, his passion for education, his work with Eagle News and his wonderful work at Hyatts! Please listen!  It was fun! Download the Podcast