The Blue Valley Schools Podcast
This podcast is your window into the work happening behind the scenes of Blue Valley Schools. Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan, along with our amazing district leaders, will host a variety of guests to talk about a variety of subjects. It's a conversation about what we're doing here at Blue Valley Schools and how we're striving to make every day a #BVBestDay for our students, staff and community.
Episodes
51 episodes
BV Unmuted: Why Attendance Matters
Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school attendance. Blue Valley Superintendent Dr. Tonya Merrigan is joined by principals Leah Vomhof, Stacey Sperry and Dr. Cory Cox to discuss the why attendance matters.#BVTogether
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20:19
BV Unmuted: Understanding Threats and Their Consequences
Our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on school safety, understanding threats and their consequences. Dr. Katie Collier, deputy superintendent for learning, is joined by Interim Chief Simon Happer (Overland Park Police Department) and Da...
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22:51
BV Unmuted: On Elementary Plan & Collaboration Time (Part II)
Join Blue Valley Chief Communications Officer Kristi McNerlin and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Katie Collier as we follow up on an earlier discussion about plan and collaboration time in our elementary schools.#BVTogether
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21:22
BV Unmuted: Community Mental Health
Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on mental health support across our district and community. 🧠🩺💙Dr. Merrigan is joined by Dr. Mindy Wells (Student Support Services), Tim Deweese (Johnson County Mental Health C...
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16:49
BV Unmuted: Elementary Plan & Collaboration Time
Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on plan and collaboration time at the elementary school level. February Host & GuestsAmy Farthing (Executive Director of School A...
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19:00
BV Unmuted: Updated Graduation Requirements
Our #BVUnmuted podcast series continues with a focus on updated graduation requirements across the district! 🎧🎓📚 Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan along with guests Scott Roberts (Exec. Director of School Admin) and Dr. Anne Kastelic (As...
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11:52
BVUnmuted: Academic Success in Blue Valley
Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan as our #BVUnmuted series continues with a focus on academic success in Blue Valley!Guests Kelly Ott and Adam Wade from Academic Services discuss what success looks like in classrooms at the elementary, middl...
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24:51
BV Unmuted: The Kindergarten Experience
Join host Amy Farthing as we discuss the kindergarten experience for students, teachers and families in Blue Valley!Guests:Christy Taylor, Indian Valley Elementary teacher with close to 40 years experience teaching ki...
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18:40
BV Unmuted: Blue Valley Educational Foundation
Join host Dr. Tonya Merrigan as she talks with Susan Tideman (Executive Director) and Lisa Austin (Communications Manager) from the Blue Valley Educational Foundation.Hear about some of BVEF's upcoming events, exciting fundraisers and l...
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11:58
BV unmuted - Snow Days: Behind the Scenes
"One of the things that I hope people are hearing is how much planning and thought goes in to decisions around inclement weather... safety is really what we're looking at. We know it's an inconvenience if we have to cancel school, but if it's n...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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8:12
Bond 2023 - Teaching with Technology
"It's amazing the number of cyber attacks that come in from outside. We've weathered those very well and it's because we have great systems and up-to-date equipment... Bond funds allow us to refresh this technology, ensure a high level of acces...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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14:10
Bond 2023 - Student and Staff Safety
"We try to make all our security measures work together - put them together like a puzzle - so they offer the best protection for our students and staff." - Dan Carney, Director of Safety and Security There is no single safet...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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21:19
Bond 2023 - Building a Better Blue Valley
"I think most people are surprised when they hear that the average age of Blue Valley buildings is 29 years... If you have owned a home, you've probably had to replace a roof or an air conditioner... This bond helps us do that." Jake Slobodnik,...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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16:24
BV unmuted - Building Culture and Community
"When you walk in to Leawood Elementary, you're going to see so many familiar faces because it's our parents who have stepped up and are in here helping us day after day." - Jenny Hayes, principal at Leawood ElementaryIt's one thing to ...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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13:27
BV unmuted - Moving On Up
"I'm looking forward to meeting my new teachers and classmates... and I'm also looking forward to my elective classes and joining clubs in middle school." - Amber Gao, 5th grade student For many students, the end of the school year...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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9:27
BV unmuted - More Than A Game
"I think the lifeblood of our school system is the athletics and activities side of things... it's an important aspect of the development of our kids. It's learning how to work with others and have big wins or big defeats because that's life. W...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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16:48
BV unmuted - TLC Performing Arts
"I get to see my fifth graders every single day... and that means they retain what we do really well. I had a fifth grader tell me 'I just want you to know that I look forward to this class all day!' and I replied 'Well, that's really cool, bec...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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27:19
BV unmuted - TLC Digital Citizenship
"We need to be careful to be consumers of technology, but not let technology consume us." - Heather Jones, Blue Valley parentThe internet is a wonderful place for learning and entertainment, but like the world around us, it can pose...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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24:23
BV unmuted - The Learning Connection (TLC)
The Learning Connection will be a resource for all families, from those with children entering early learning to those with graduating seniors. The resource allows Blue Valley to engage with the community on a regular basis and serve as an addi...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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18:17
BV unmuted - The Heart Of The Arts
"I think with all of the arts, it's learning to perform and to handle performance anxiety, which is a natural anxiety to have... that's normal. So normalizing that anxiety and having a professional who knows how to help you with that and coach ...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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13:50
BV unmuted - Accelerated Learning: Slowing Down To Catch Up
"This is a year, if you will, of recovery. There may be times that our curriculum calls for certain skills to be taught. But we may realize... that our students aren't quite ready for that content. We're trying to communicate the need to slow d...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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14:45
BV unmuted - #ZeroReasonsWhy In Blue Valley And Beyond
"Quite frankly, I've worked in this community for 30 years and I've never seen anything like it - people coming together, for a common cause, led by students." - Tim DeWeese, Director of Johnson County Mental Health Center. Our 2021-22 ...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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14:07
BV unmuted - Ready For Normal: Students Reflect On A School Year Like No Other
"I'm excited to get everybody back for sporting events and all that stuff. I'm really excited to get back to the normalcy of school. I feel like everyone deserves to have that high school experience." - Gage Roach, junior at Blue Valley West. <...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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17:17
On Call with Doc J - COVID-19 vs Flu
"With COVID-19, you get exposed and may not have symptoms for up to 14 days. You can spend 14 days potentially exposing everyone wherever you go. With the flu, often times it's only 2 days from when you get exposed to when you show symptoms and...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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29:40
On Call with Doc J - COVID-19 Q&A
"We've had a lot of great questions from our parents, students and staff regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and these questions are important... We wanted to hit them head-on and share the results with you." - Dr. Chris Jenson, Blue Valley Medical...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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22:43
