Petey Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Elyria Schools Chef Mark Blaszak and Aramark Foodservice Director Lauryn Palgut joined us over the summer in the Petey Podcast studio to talk school food. What are students seeing on the food lines this year? What's new and exciting in the central kitchen? And what the heck is an impinger? Get the scoop here! The Scientific Definition of Impinge: to strike or dash especially...

Send us Fan Mail Happy 10th anniversary to Elyria High School's Link Crew program, a student-led plan for welcoming incoming freshmen  and new students to Elyria High School. Elyria High Teacher Amanda Belcher is the Link Crew advisor but says the Link Crew leaders, who are upper classmen at Elyria High School, are the real leaders. "They serve as role models for our freshmen students an...

Send us Fan Mail Tim DelVecchio has worked in the business of criminal justice for 50 years.  More than half this time was spent as a high ranking officer with the Ohio State Patrol, retiring as Commander of the Cleveland Metro Office in 2000.  There was no time for grass to grow under Tim's feet before his security know-how was again put into action, this time at an international level. Tim...

Send us Fan Mail You know a new school year is near when band camp arrives! On this episode of Petey Podcast we're joined by Director Aaron Putka and Assistant Director Pat Kostalnick of the Elyria High School Pioneer Marching Band. This awesome twosome takes us through the excitement of a new season and band camp, and preps us for the fun and FUNdraising to come this season!  (Fundraising li...

Send us Fan Mail If you come across something as magical as unicorn bark (a brightly colored white chocolate) and you’re in the business of ice cream…you make a sundae out of it!  Novice  ice cream makers might just toss the two ingredients together in a bowl and call it done. But if you’re Heather Baker, co-owner of Twist and Shake ice cream shop in Elyria, you know it takes more than a few delic...

Send us Fan Mail We’re joined by Elyria High School 2021 graduate and class leader, Parker Skutt . Parker chats with us about her high school experience—the opportunities and challenges—and how it prepared her for college life and helped reaffirm her areas of study: government and social policy. She gave this advice to current students of Elyria High School. "Take advantage of every opportuni...

Send us Fan Mail School's out for summer but luckily we have an "in" with a couple of students--sisters, in fact-- from Elyria Schools. Ella and Lilah are Pioneers and have attended Elyria Schools since the age of three. The sisters are students of former McKinley Elementary School and daughters of Petey Podcast host, Amy Higgins. The Foucher sisters joined us for a bit of gab on th...

Send us Fan Mail Elyria Athletic Director Heather Beck joins us on this episode of Petey Podcast to talk sports and how students can get involved.  "Show up--day one--with a current physical and you're good to go!" Beck encourages students to be active and try a sport that interests them. Don't be intimidated to try something new, she said. "If your child is hesitant about...

Send us Fan Mail Ethan Trampush graduated with high honors from Elyria High School on  June 9, 2021.  Less than three weeks later,  Ethan stepped onto the esteemed grounds of the United States Military Academy West Point to begin his career with the U.S. Army. Ethan was a guest on Petey Podcast just five days before he was due to begin basic training at the prestigious college of West Point. He sp...

Send us Fan Mail Todd Church and Rebecca Hamilton are "half-full" kind of people. The two middle school teachers from Elyria Schools have embraced the new skills and technology know-how they acquired during the pandemic with virtual learning. Church teaches at Westwood Middle School and Hamilton, at Northwood Middle School. The two collaborated on a pilot virtual class about leadership d...

Send us Fan Mail Thirty-eight year veteran teacher, Gregory Hull, will retire at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Greg has taught nearly his entire career at historic McKinley Elementary School. Most of it has been spent in fourth grade.  "Fourth grade was in my blood," he said. "It was the right age group for me. I found my niche." In this special episode of Petey Podcast...

Send us Fan Mail Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime! It's the best time of year for getting out and enjoying nature and the world around you, especially after the confinement of the pandemic.  "The theme of this summer should be connecting," said Marissa Pelsozy. "Give yourself permission to do things that you feel are safe." One thing to consider is creating a s...

Send us Fan Mail Do you want to build a mini space vessel and shoot it into the air? Pilot a drone through the halls of your school? Or design a new product and develop the prototype right in your classroom? Or how about teaming up with classmates to conceptualize a product that could revolutionize a cause or an industry. They are doing all these things and more in Elyria High School's "...

Send us Fan Mail We're hearing from the masters in this episode on robotics. Elyria High School 10th grade students, Kloe Koepp and Ethan Boyes, and Robotics Coach, Mike West, take us through the intricacies of competitive robotics at the middle and high school levels. The Elyria Robotics teams are young in years of existence but ageless in their expertise. The students involved can speak to...

Send us Fan Mail "To see the smiles on the athletes' faces, the accomplishment of "I did it," that's rewarding in itself...just seeing the happiness on their faces."  This quote from Elyria Schools Special Olympics Coordinator Andy Menner and Assistant Coordinator Sam Boneta sums up the joy, excitement and true spirit of the game at the Special Olympics. The Special O...

Send us Fan Mail Brianna Harris is a paraprofessional in the Elyria Schools. So is her father, Tommie. Her mother, Tara, is a school building support associate. Her brother, DaVonte, coached in the district. They are a family in name and in education. But they also unite in the vocation of ministry, and they share the gift of musicality. Brianna just released her first gospel album under her music...

Send us Fan Mail In 2020 COVID-19 forced the delay or cancellation of so many memorable school moments.  As a result, the incoming class of kindergarten students missed out on one of the rites of passage to turning five years old: Safety Town! Safety Town teaches five year olds important lessons about personal and community safety. To ensure these young students received these critical lessons the...

Send us Fan Mail Need a little inspiration in your life? You'll find it in this episode of Petey Podcast! Elyria High School Senior Dereck Lopez Guzman came to Elyria, Ohio from Puerto Rico just two years ago. He spoke no English, and he and his family arrived just before the pandemic, making it that much harder for him to learn the language. For a teenager entering an American high school fo...

Send us Fan Mail Kiyasia Hudson graduated from Elyria High School in 2017. Since, she's been working hard at the University of Akron on her degrees in Food and Environmental Nutrition and Psychology. She's an active person, to the say the least, but her plate's about to get even fuller. In July, Kiyasia will compete in the Miss Universe program for the title of Miss Ohio USA. If she...

Send us Fan Mail Take time to stop and smell the flowers.  And that's easy to do with a neighbor like Pandy's Garden Center! On this episode of Petey Podcast, we welcome Stacy Pandy.  Stacey joined the Pandy business 27 years ago. Gardening runs deep in the Pandy family but so does pride in the Elyria Schools. As a youngster, Stacey attended elementary and middle school in Elyria and gra...

Send us Fan Mail "Live quality, happy lives and never give up." That's the message Elyria Wrestling Head Coach Erik Burnett conveys on the mat and in life at Elyria High School. Burnett is well-known in Elyria, Ohio and across the nation for dominating in the high school wrestling world. But he's also a force in the school district as an attendance expert and mentor to students...

Send us Fan Mail We're having fun in third grade science! A grant through the Ohio State University (OSU) Extension has made it possible for all students in third grade to act as "mama hens," hatching baby chicks right in the classroom! The project, called Chickquest, was brought to us by OSU's Sally Hennessy, who coordinates this and many other 4H/OSU Extension projects in Ely...

Send us Fan Mail Stop reusing passwords! Simple steps like this will help cut your risk of falling victim to online hackers and identity thieves.  Internet security expert Jim Kennedy of Binary Defense joins us on this episode of Petey Podcast with tips for safeguarding your personal and professional self.  Binary Defense provides internet security services to the Elyria Schools and Kennedy is an...

Send us Fan Mail It might surprise you to know the story of Chef Mark Blaszak, the meal master of Elyria Schools. He grew up in Elyria and found a love of cooking at an early age, leading him to the world of  culinary arts where he was classically trained and worked under one of the best in the business:  Cleveland native and food business giant , Michael Symon. From there, Chef Mark's career...

Send us Fan Mail Co-workers "in the trenches" together often form friendships and connections that can endure for many years, even a lifetime. But it's important to establish boundaries and set common goals that best serve the individuals and the organization. In this episode of Petey Podcast, Social Workers and Therapists, Chantille Jackson and Marissa Pelsozy, chat with us about i...