Jan. 26, 2009

Kids, Podcasts and blogs are one cure for the wintertime blahs
. . .
Dear Friends:

During these frosty winter months, nothing warms my heart and hands more than interacting with busy students in classrooms throughout our district. With their help, one of the new communication tools we are introducing is a network of regular Podcasts hosted and produced by a talented corps of Barrington kids.

In our grade schools, the monthly Podcast “Elementary Insights” features children in third through fifth grades interviewing me about important issues from their youthful perspective. Follow the link at the right to hear the newest edition, where students at Hough Street School ask me how a sagging economy may affect our community. After listening to the brief, 10-minute conversation between the students and me, visit the attached blog and share your thoughts on this or other topics. Both the blog and the Podcast are new ways of using technology to better engage our community and host an interactive dialogue about issues and achievements in Barrington 220.

In the coming days, look for other installments in the Barrington 220 Podcast Network, including “The Midpoint,” a monthly discussion with members of our Board of Education hosted by middle school students, followed by regular news and editorial Podcasts produced by journalism students at Barrington High School.

I hope you will subscribe to the Barrington 220 Podcast Network and blog to stay informed of emerging issues, to share your opinions, and to ask your questions. The students and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Tom Leonard
tleonard@cusd220.org