You can recycle your plastic bags! Sakai students are collecting, weighing and shipping plastic film to be recycled into TREX composite decking.

Listen here as 5th graders, Genna Albrecht, Rowan Meek, and Taylor Mass join Sakai Principal Jim Corsetti, Lead Teacher Elizabeth Vroom and Sakai PTO Enrichment Chair Kathy McGowan to tell us  how local businesses like Safeway and T&C are working with Sakai students to win the TREX challenge and reduce the amount of plastic that damages our environment.

You'll learn about types of plastic that can be recycled, about the successes and challenges involved in this exciting project, and about how you, too, can get involved.

Drop off your plastic film -- including bubble wrap, cereal bags, shopping bags, dry cleaning bags and more --  at Sakai between now and April 15. There are special bins marked TREX at the smaller entrance of the school to the left of the main school entrance.  Help Sakai School students win this challenge, and reduce the amount of plastic that goes into landfills and the ocean!

Credits: BCB host, Betsy Lydle Smith; audio editor and publisher, Diane Walker; social media, Jen St. Louis.

Maya Fletcher, Zack Huck, Daniel Muir, Cameron Albee and Kyle Schroer are all members of the island’s first LEGO Robotics Club. Their team, called “Mission Implausible," is one of many clubs around the country that teaches middle-school students about engineering through LEGO-based robots of their own design.

As part of their work, each team is required to do a community project. Our group of 6th graders decided to do this podcast on how to access water during an emergency.

Listen here to learn about their talks with city officials, what they've discovered about what happens to our local water supply when the power goes out, and how to make your own home-grown water filter. And, as an extra bonus, stay tuned at the end of the podcast to hear Daniel Muir's interview with Scott James, author of Prepared NeighborhoodsON-021.

All very helpful information indeed!  We want to thank our youth for doing their part to strengthen our community. For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit: www.bainbridgeprepares.org.

Credits: BCB host, Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher, Diane Walker

The Bainbridge Spartans took their team across the Puget Sound and to beautiful Memorial Stadium to play Lakeside, but they were not satisfied with the beautiful view. The Spartans wanted to start the Metro football season with a win and they did. The final score was 20-7.

Bainbridge's defense was on full display, shutting the Lakeside offense down in the red zone. Of the 4 times Lakeside reached the Bainbridge 20 yard line, no points were given up.

Eric Jung was the MVP of the game, scoring all three Bainbridge touchdowns. His first was in the second quarter, when he intercepted Lakeside QB A.J. Allen and returned it 20 yards for 6. His other two TDs were on an 28 yard pass completion from QB Gannon Winker, and an emphatic 63 yard rushing touchdown. 

The Spartans next face Bishop Blanchet in their second home game of the season.

The Bainbridge Spartans started their home slate with a hard-fought loss versus the Olympic High School Trojans 19-7.

A couple of large early game penalties and a second half strip sack stalled the Bainbridge offense for a majority of the game.

One offensive bright spot was the new wide receiver Lyle Terry. The 6'3" Senior, long a basketball team star, showed the home crowd his talent by catching the only touchdown for the Spartans and making two more receptions of more than 10 yards.

Gannon Winker replaced injured quarterback Riley Dunn and had a game to remember. He didn't throw an interception, one touchdown pass, and had a 70 yard touchdown run, only for it to called back.

Next week the Spartans head to Vancouver, Washington, looking for their first win against King's Way Christian (2-0).

In this heartwarming podcast, Finn Mander introduces Liam, Eimon, Eli, and Zachari who are all active participants in the programs offered by the Bainbridge Island Boys and Girls Club. In this eclectic podcast, they share their stories, favorite moments, and advice for other kids interested in joining the club. The underlying theme of the discussion is how important community really is.

BCB was introduced to the Boys and Girls Club in the spring of this past year when they hosted the club for a four week audio engineering course. Within those four weeks, the kids learned about podcast making, live sound recording, sound editing and mixing, working in a professional environment, and how to conduct interviews. At the end of the course, they tested their knowledge by taking part in the creation of this podcast with the help of their teacher, Finn Mander.

The Boys and Girls Club is currently working on a project called the “BGC Radio,” which is an online community radio station run by the kids of the Boys and Girls Club. It is an amazing opportunity for the kids to learn about how streaming works, how sound is edited and recorded, about music as a whole, and about being a part of a community project.

The Boys and Girls Club offers many different activities for the kids of Bainbridge Island to learn about different aspects of their community and society as a whole. Their ultimate goal is helping prepare students for high school graduation and college by exploring career paths, developing leadership skills, caring for their community, engaging in positive behaviors, expanding their creativity, and learning how to live a healthy lifestyle and make the right choices. Through taking part in these activities, the kids learn a large amount, have fun, and make friends. Outside of these activities, the kids also have time to work on homework, play with friends, and learn from staff at the facility in the Coppertop area of Bainbridge Island.

You can learn more about the Boys and Girls Club at: http://positiveplace.org/locations/bainbridgeisland

The BGC Radio can be listened to at:

http://tunein.com/radio/Boys--Girls-Clubs-Radio-s266762/

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and publisher: Finn Mander. Dogfish Bay Studios; music splash: Dave Bristow.

In the first round of the Metro League Playoffs, the Spartans got what they had been lacking over the past 2 months, a home win. Bainbridge won, 68-54, over the Nathan Hale Raiders.

The Spartans used stifling defense, and a 24-7 second quarter, to gain their third Metro League win of the season.

The Spartans were led in points by the triple threat of Brendan Burke, Marcus Clyde and Blake Bieber, all with double figures.

The Raiders had only one player in double digits, Sam Nasralla had 20, leading all scorers.

Credits: BCB-BHS host, editor and publisher: Shaemus Kreider.

On the last regular season home basketball game of the Bainbridge Spartans season, the Spartans started well, but were slowly outlasted by the Bishop Blanchet Braves, 67-52.

After starting 5 of the 6 seniors, Coach Haizlip got a good first quarter performance from his guys, though Blanchet still lead 16-14.

From that point on, the Braves were in control, consistently leading by about ten points throughout the game.

Bainbridge, without junior forward Lyle Terry due to injury, was led in points by Brendan Burke with 21, and Blake Bieber with 11.

Bishop Blanchet had 3 stars on the offensive end. Connor Bennett, Will Merriman, and Keegan Crosby chipped in for 16, 18, and 12, respectively.

Credits: BCB-BHS host, editor and publisher: Shaemus Kreider.

There’s a Swing Dance coming up this Friday, Feb 26th at 7pm at the Bainbridge High School Commons. And it’s a fun way to provide a fundraising benefit for the BHS band program.

In this podcast, BHS Radio Club member Finn Mander interviews Chris Thomas who is the Director of Bands at BHS.

As further described in this BCB podcast, there will be refreshments, two live jazz band performances (composed entirely of BHS students), and dance lessons provided by a professional, namely, popular local dance instructor Sheila Phillips.

Imagine going back to the 1920s to the “roaring twenties” and the “Swing Era.” They were jazz eras like no others. The Bainbridge High School band program is hosting this swing dance evening featuring music from those eras.

Swing dancing is a popular dance form that developed along with the jazz musical style of the same name between the 1920s and 1940s. The swing style is based on the focus of the off-beat, meaning that if there were four beats (1,2,3,4), it would focus on every second beat (1, TWO, 3, FOUR) rather than the first and third (ONE, 2, THREE, 4).

Instrumentally, the band is based on a strong low section including low brass such as Trombones, and rhythm sections such as Drums, Piano, and Auxiliary, and a featured melodic group made up of reed instruments such as Saxophones and Clarinets and high brass instruments such as Trumpets. Soloists almost always perform during these musical pieces and when they do, it is often improvised meaning that they are coming up with their solo as they are playing it, rather than reading off of music.

Swing music and big band music are incredibly fun to dance to, and if you’re not into dancing, it’s also fun to sit and listen to.

Tickets are available for $12.00 online at the BHS Band website, or at the door for $15.00. Students with ASB cards can purchase tickets for $8.00 online, or at the door for $10.00.

Credits: BCB host and audio editor: Finn Mander; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

The Bainbridge High School girls lacrosse season is about to get underway. Amy Willerford, Sonia Olson, Katie Usellis, and Robin Hilderman join BCB host Charlie Hanacek for an insightful view into the world of girls lacrosse on Bainbridge Island. Since 1993, BHS Girls Lacrosse has qualified for the State Championship 18 times, and has won the championship nine of those times. All four captains are seniors at BHS and are excited about the upcoming season. Each one of them has been playing lacrosse since they were in elementary school. Hear what keeps these girls motivated and compels them to work so hard on the lacrosse field.

Also, don't forget to come out and watch the first Girls Lacrosse game of the season on Wednesday, March 9th, at 6pm at Memorial Stadium right here on Bainbridge Island.

Registration for the 2016 season is still open for girls 3rd grade through high school. Please visit bainbridgegirlslax.com

Credits: Host and Editor: Charlie Hanacek, Publisher: Finn Mander

The Bainbridge Spartans fell once again in Metro Basketball action, this time to the West Seattle Wildcats, by a final of 57-49.

The Spartans were up after the first quarter, 12-3, but the cold Wildcats offense heated up for the rest of the game, outscoring Bainbridge, 54-37. Nate Pryor led the Wildcats with a game-high 24 points, and Lyle Terry led the Spartans with a strong 19.

The loss moved the Spartans to 5-8, with a Metro record of 1-6. Next up: Rainier Beach on January 22nd.

Credits: Host, editor and publisher: Shaemus Kreider