In 1924-25, the world surrounding the North Clackamas School District looked very different. In fact, NCSD itself wouldn’t exist for nearly another 50 years. Homes didn’t have microwaves, refrigerators, or even bathrooms. But that same year, a brand-new school opened in Milwaukie, becoming a cornerstone of local education that still welcomes smiling students and staff members (in a beautiful new building) every day! This year marks the 100th birthday of our own Ardenwald Elementary, and this episode takes a unique approach to celebrating this historic milestone as current students take over hosting duties and interview former Ardenwald alumni from the 2000s…all the way back to the 1960s!

Ask anyone who works in the wonderful world of kindergarten, and it’s no secret that teaching reading and vocabulary to a lively group of feisty five- and six-year-olds is certainly rewarding, but never easy! Especially with varied learning levels in classroom, how do teachers make sure ALL students understand new words and how to incorporate them into conversations? The answer: a structured and scheduled part of every NCSD kindergarten day called “Language For All (LFA),” which includes kids playing pretend roles in scenarios as they use new vocabulary. In this episode, meet NCSD kindergarten teachers Kristin Blaine (Oregon Trail), Kapo Chan (Cannady), and Summer Smith (Sunnyside), along with Sunnyside ELD teacher Katie Lynn and district consultant Erin Moulton, who explain why kids’ favorite part of the day includes “Play During LFA.”

Admittedly, sometimes NCSD students spend more time talking in class than working on assignments. But what about those students who have all the words in their head, but can’t quite get them to sound correctly? That’s where our amazing NCSD Speech & Language Pathologists come in! in this episode, we hear the voices of five NCSD SLPs: Stephanie Gaslin (Milwaukie High), Ambyr Henderson (Spring Mountain), Katie Lee (Linwood, Sojourner), Malory Manderfield (Oak Grove), and Heather Tomsky (Cannady), who share about their unique profession and why they love to teach…all about speech. 

There’s quite a buzz happening each week in our Sabin-Schellenberg’s Cosmetology program, and it’s not just the electric clippers snipping the final touches on a perfect haircut. Fridays in February are Client Days, when NCSD community members make appointments with Cosmetology students getting hands-on training in haircuts to highlights and perms to pedicures. In this episode, we make an appointment with Cosmetology’s lead instructor Jeri Davis, who says 20+ years of helping students pursue their passions post high school never goes out of style.

Forget pressure-packed athletic events or attending first prom dances, many NCSD students say their stomachs start to churn most when facing their first-ever job interview. But thanks to unique College & Career courses required for 9th and 11th graders, NCSD students are more confident than ever answering tough interview questions and planning for careers after high school. In this episode, we dust off our resume and visit with NCSD College & Career teacher Aaron Hazel, along with Kim Amador and Brittanie Strutz- two Teachers-On-Special-Assignment who have helped develop this hands-on curriculum that has students researching college and potential career paths, perfecting resumes, and of course, mastering the job interview.

If you know any young readers, you’ll want to keep sliding your tray along into this week’s episode! Our story begins once upon a time in the Oak Grove Elementary library, where staff can’t seem to keep up with orders for Lunch Lady, a set of popular graphic novels in which the school Lunch Lady solves captivating cafeteria capers. That’s until NCSD Nutrition Services managers Kris DeHut and Raimi Kaan said “Hold Your Horseradish!” to the Oak Grove book shortage—donating an entire set of books to the school and providing a cooking demonstration for students dressed as the Lunch Lady herself! Pass the condiments, as you’ll relish the chance to find out more behind-the-scenes information about NCSD’s Nutrition Services Department!

You may hear music in a mall or snow projections in a weather report, but the first true signs of winter in NCSD are heard in all of our high school gyms, in pools, and on the wrestling mats. December means the tip-off of the Winter athletic season! Ever wondered who hires all the coaches, arranges the busses, and schedules all the practice and game times? It’s our four high school Athletic Directors! In this episode, we whistle Tom Moore (MHS/MAA), Tricia Halonen (RPHS), John Arntson (CHS), and Dana Cappelucci (ANHS) into the studio to share the joys and challenges of their unique job, how they build relationships with their student athletes and coaches, and perhaps most importantly, what’s it’s like to see their students using skills learned in athletics…way beyond high school.

Sure, you might see them outside the front doors in the morning greeting families…or roaming the hallways throughout the day checking in with students…but have you ever wondered what a day in the life of an NCSD principal really looks and sounds like? In this episode, host Curtis Long keeps the microphones rolling as he spends an entire Friday as the substitute principal at Spring Mountain Elementary School. Can he calm the crabby kindergartner visiting his office? How about settle a squabble on the playground between frustrated fourth graders? And what happens when he’s suddenly put in charge of leading a schoolwide assembly first thing in the morning?

If your family has a student older than second grade, you likely know about the annual Oregon State Assessments administered to students across the state each spring in English/Language Arts and Math. Although results are down statewide, NCSD’s Rowe Middle School is one of the only middle schools in Oregon where students showed growth in both English/Language Arts and Math at all three grade levels for three straight years.  In this episode, we give a special Shamrock shoutout to the Rowe students and staff, and learn from Principal Emily Moore, Instructional Coach Jen Martin, and 8th grade Language Arts teacher Coco Vernon how a dedicated staff…plus resilient students…equals sustained success that has a whole school community believing that anything is achievable!

Since Oregon state policy says students need to be five years old before entering public kindergarten, none of our schools in North Clackamas enroll students younger than that, right?  Well, not exactly…did you know that in one NCSD elementary school, you’ll find one colorful classroom where thriving three- and four-year-olds playfully paint, sing, and even snooze as they learn to be a part of a classroom community?  In this episode, we sit down (in tiny chairs) with “Ms. Melinda” at Oak Grove Elementary, who teaches NCSD’s only preschool classroom. You’ll hear both the silly…and the serious sounds of preschool…and why Melinda Hayward says she wouldn’t want to teach anywhere else!