Brian and Melissa Smith sat with us to discuss parenting with technology, their love of music, and what family time looks like as educators. In addition, you will want to hear how Brian involved Melissa's JH Choir students to ask for her hand in marriage.
Brian and Melissa Smith sat with us to discuss parenting with technology, their love of music, and what family time looks like as educators. In addition, you will want to hear how Brian involved Melissa's JH Choir students to ask for her hand in marriage.
Speaker 1 Like highlighting music educators and having conversations about education. But because that's where all of my my professional years, I still have I'm still connected to that community. Unknown And I know some people used to do. Speaker 3 Like to highlight that a little bit. And all our friends are so excited. We had like these plans to get together and just sit around a table just like this. And yes, do you know, just talk. Choir nerd stuff is going to be great. And we had these we had like a schedule of subjects planned out and all of that. Speaker 3 And then we realized that somebody was doing exactly the same thing. We were doing. Like they had the idea that right before us. Speaker 1 Yeah. I mean, somebody with more resources was coming up with the vision, and I hadn't really figured out like and the first time we recorded it really just kind of became everybody was talking about the challenges and I thought, you know. Speaker 3 This is. Speaker 1 Good. I don't know. I don't know that everybody knows the challenges is like, okay, this needs a little bit more of a sharpened vision for it to be listenable. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 4 And then I wouldn't even let that stop you, though. I mean, there are a lot of you can have a Home Depot and you have a Lowes, you have a and you have you ever noticed, you know, they like put the Lowe's right across the street from the Home Depot just to kind of don't let it stop you if you think there's already one out there. Speaker 4 I mean, that's true because there's a ton of crime podcasts out there. Speaker 1 Their own personality. Speaker 3 Yes, exactly. And I'm sure that Brian has podcasts. There's I think I don't know, I'm just guessing here. But I would guess that he's got like 50 podcasts that he listens to on the regular. And probably 45 of them have been that way. Speaker 1 One of those people that listens to them at like twice speeds like, Listen, Oh, I cannot do that. Speaker 3 No, no, I did that well. And I think he really likes to do. Speaker 4 One and a half. Speaker 3 Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, I do. One and a half at least I do regular well, and I think that's why he loves being in the car because it's just like podcast. And he's like, he's like, I'll go, Oh, we need to go. You know what? A gallon of milk I'll go. Like, you must have a really good podcast cued up. Speaker 3 I can't blame him. Speaker 4 So welcome to season two, episode 12 of Nephi Estes, the podcast. I said 12 last time, by the way, but I noticed that you had that it was 11. So we're correcting that today. That's the 12th one, the podcast where Chelcee goals and Dana Owen that's me, have the pleasure of interviewing interesting people and discussing anything and everything feisty today we have one of eight married couples that we have in our school district, and I'm sure this is someone eight days. Speaker 3 I looked at that list and I'm like, There's only one set of raws on that list. Speaker 4 Is it because, well, the other Tina doesn't work in the school. Speaker 3 She does. Speaker 4 No, no, no. So but I'm sure I'm missing someone, so let me. Sorry, I didn't say your names. Brian and Melissa. Speaker 3 Smith. Hey. Glad you're. Speaker 4 Here. Brian Smith is the lead technician. Network administrators. Set your title. Speaker 3 That is my. Speaker 4 Two different things. Okay. Yeah. Speaker 1 My title's always been an interesting issue because it doesn't usually describe the things that I do. Speaker 3 Really is a tip of the iceberg because everything and I'm an all around cool dude. Yeah. Speaker 4 I must say. Right. And Melissa was the head choir director, which I did not realize at the junior high was the. Speaker 3 Sole choir director at St Helens. So, I mean, technically head. Yes, but I was alone for ten years. Yeah. Oh, wow. Speaker 4 Wow. This is what junior high. Speaker 3 And yeah, that. Well, and that's a lot of the reason why I jumped out of the creek. Right, A little bit. But then got home as fast as I could. Speaker 4 Yeah, that's exactly right. Then came back here. How long? How many years have you been? The assistant. Speaker 3 So this is my sixth year at the high school. Six years. My 20th year in education overall. Yeah. And the first ten years I was alone at. At the junior high. I taught all kinds of things. When I started, Rebecca Hillenburg actually hired me. I was like 22 years old. I mean, I was a baby, but she took a chance on me and I was teaching guitar a lot with choir and that was fun. Speaker 3 And I sort of, you know, I rotated a couple of subjects here and there. We did some fun stuff with with like little musical reviews, you know, because the community really loves musicals. So we did some stuff like that. And then eventually the my program grew, particularly when we got to the new junior high and had sixth graders as well. Speaker 3 So now I'm teaching three grades of choir all by myself. There's not any other subject that does that right. And I had 250 kids or 60 kids in 2012, 2013, and my numbers are projected to be at 325 the following year. Speaker 5 Oh my gosh. Speaker 3 And I was not going to be getting an assistant like I was not going be getting any help. So and it was nobody's fault. Like, everybody wanted me there. They were trying to help me. Speaker 4 You know, you could blame someone. That's a. Speaker 3 Thing. I don't know if. Speaker 4 You blame someone, who would you. Speaker 3 Blame? I could be the one that's probably there probably long since not in the district more. But it just it, you know, they tried so hard. Speaker 4 Is there still only. Speaker 3 Oh, that's funny. Okay, So. Okay, so my my right hand gal, my human beat, my person is Laura Akita. She's a genius. And I like she makes me want to be a better person. Everything about her, she has taught me the power of the positive reframe. She has shown me energy for days and I'm like, How? How do you have energy for days? Speaker 3 But she stepped into my position when I went over to Krieg and after it, like very soon before the school year started, they were able to put an assistant with her and you know, it was kind of like, Wait, what? But, but it was it because I knew. I knew. Speaker 1 Yeah, I think you had, you had an opportunity that was just hard to resist. Speaker 3 Right. Speaker 1 That it when creek came to you. Speaker 3 Well it was, it was like that. Speaker 1 Was really we have doesn't want to leave. Speaker 3 There's a big successful choir program right next door Same numbers, same successes, same calendars, years with a co director. And I was like, I wish. Speaker 1 The position was open. So you got to be involved. Speaker 3 And I had to pack my coat early and it was just like, You can't. Speaker 4 Know. Speaker 3 I was dying, you know? So I went over there. It was great. I built a lot of relationships with families and people, and it's a much bigger choral community in Clear Creek is it's just a bigger district. But then, you know, grass is not greener. I wanted to be where my husband and children were. So when Jan, when retired, it just made so much sense. Speaker 3 And Mike stepped into her shoes and I stepped into his. Mm. Speaker 4 What a team. Yeah. Speaker 5 Yes. Speaker 3 And Christie Adams is with Laura Mikita right now that, you know, like us they're so wonderful. Speaker 4 The three get together and do and kind of plan out some you do. Speaker 3 Yeah I mean vertical alignment is important to us and just kind of funneling the whole organized mission up from where they are at the junior high up to the high school. And I mean, I'll put my plug in for fine arts. It's so sad seeing that even sixth graders, we have a sixth grader at the junior high and her peers are saying, Oh, well, I'm not going to take Clara anymore because I'm not going to be a choir director when I grow up. Speaker 3 So I take choir and it's like, what baby girl? Oh. Speaker 4 You're 11. Speaker 3 Yeah, Yeah. And it's so much, I just wish I could shout from the rooftops that your years in junior high and high school, that's your opportunity to belong to something that fills your bucket. That, yes, you know, that warms, you know, warms your heart, makes your day something worth going to. So like these poor junior high kids walking around doing nothing. Speaker 4 But it has seen a few years. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 4 I can't imagine just being, you know, being hard core academic, you know, from start to finish all day long, all night, like there's nothing fun. And I mean. Speaker 3 Some kids thrive that way, and that's wonderful. Some kids, their thing is calculus. Go get it, babe. You know, But for kids that need a place to be long. Speaker 1 Now, because that's where they build those relationships. Speaker 3 Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1 From year to year. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 5 Yeah. And it makes you more well-rounded. Yeah. Yeah. Like if athletes had that mindset too, of I'm not going to well, I'm not going to play sports because I know I'm not going to be the next day. Imagine, yeah, we would never have any teams. We wouldn't have to be able. Yeah. So yeah, I don't think that's the best approach. Speaker 3 Yeah. I just, I wish the kids could, you know, remember that they need to belong to something once they get to high school. Speaker 4 Yes. And I would even argue even that calculus person that loves calculus, it's still important to have a hobby, something in your life that you can let off. Speaker 1 Oh, they know there's other kids that are also calculus nerds, too. Yeah. And like those those they find the things in common. Speaker 3 They're. Yeah, and I love that. And you know, I told was I was, I was with the chamber choir because it was early so I was at the junior high, it was clinic ing them and we were talking about, you know, what they were taking next year and it's like y'all, for the last couple of years we have had the valedictorian in our choir. Speaker 3 She was our choir president. We we have top ten kids in choir all the time. Our kids are going to be, you know, doctors and lawyers. You know, they're not going to be choir directors all right. You know, they're going on to do everything, choirs for everyone. Speaker 4 One of the best ads that I saw at the junior high hanging up on their walls, I don't know, maybe you were responsible for this. I don't know how long ago it was, but I loved They were trying to bring in kids into the choir, and they had celebrities on the poster and said, I don't know, come up with a celebrity. Speaker 5 John Travolta. John. Speaker 3 Okay. I thought I thought you were. I was like, oh, that was so quick. TRAVOLTA You see, John Travolta took choir. Speaker 4 In junior high. Yeah. Or maybe Katy Perry, Katy, Katy Perry to inquire. Speaker 3 And when I when I was at the junior high and I was still trying to recruit, we did this thing. It was a scavenger hunt. And yeah, I had like 40 celebrities and it was people you would not imagine. Troy Aikman, Barack Obama. I mean, just people that, you know, you don't associate with. This is a professional musician. Speaker 3 Yes. Yeah, there's a gazillion of them. And of course, they were all they were all in middle school choir. And I looked to see if it was middle school. Seventh grade. Speaker 5 Right? Yeah. Speaker 3 I love. And I plastered it all over the sixth grade wing. And I said, Any one of you who finds all 40 celebrities, first I will write a song about you and I will sing it to everyone at lunch. I will. I will take a song like your favorite song. I will rewrite it to be about you. And I will sing it to everybody at lunch. Speaker 3 And by golly, I did. And it was fine. Oh, my God. Yeah, that is awesome. I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself. Do you have a do you have a. Speaker 4 Song that you've written that you would like to sing right now? I would like to share with the universe. Speaker 3 I mean, now that you've said it, there was this great song about Miss Brice. Remember? Joe Grace? I love that she's still there. I said. Speaker 1 I retired. Speaker 3 Oh, I love her. So I was, quote unquote, active monitoring during during a day when every kid was done with the test and we're sitting obediently, we're sitting obediently in all of our desks and I'm sitting in front of the classroom and we're in Miss Grace's classroom and I'm looking around and the kids are so quiet. And I just right up on the board, this. Speaker 3 Grace. Miss Grace. Miss Grace. ALL Hail to the Miss Grace. She's witty and she's nice. Oh, how we love Miss Grace. And then we came up with, like, five different verses about how great is Grace is. I mean, that is awesome. I mean. Speaker 1 You had to put, like, a reference to strawberry in there. Speaker 3 Strawberry? Speaker 4 Yeah. Is that the way she. Speaker 3 Was. Speaker 1 Looking for all the strawberry. Get her to say that. Get it. Speaker 5 Straight. Gary isn't. Speaker 3 Like that was. Speaker 1 Lyrics. Speaker 3 Every verse was about how she would say no. I mean that's great. The things you can do while acting if you. Speaker 1 Don't know Jo Grace. She was. Speaker 3 She's British and she's wonderful. Speaker 4 I'm someone that would dress up. No, no. Speaker 3 That's John McCarthy. Speaker 4 Oh, that's right. That's right. Speaker 5 That's right. Yes. Speaker 3 And she you know, she's my people. She is not afraid of she okay. They would do like a Civil War unit. And she would come dressed as a civil war like a Confederate soldiers fighting all the time for everything. It was. Speaker 4 Fabulous. Speaker 3 She had like the muck, she. Speaker 1 She would cosplay. Yeah. Speaker 3 Oh, and I would think she would they would be the one year, one day that she would not wear in her hair and a tight little button she would let it go and then she would get a beard on her face, like with the glue like, oh God no. She committed. It was all in. So she was. Speaker 4 Always so great because she was all in. And the kids, just like we. Speaker 1 Always had this theory that to to survive and thrive in junior high, you have to kind of embrace the craziness. Speaker 3 You really do. Yes. And you would think in middle school that all the kids would ridicule. Yes. Oh, no, they loved her. Speaker 4 You're exactly right. It was great. They love that. Speaker 1 No Double down on Extra and they will love it. Speaker 3 Yes. Oh, in the quote, my quote recently and my kids know this is when someone tells me to take it down a notch, I'm immediately taking it up like five notches, like, do not try me. Speaker 1 This is why I did not thrive in junior high. And I said, You're not a teacher. No, I am. I'm a shy person who pretends to be an extrovert. Speaker 3 Yeah, and our marriage worked so well. Yeah. Speaker 1 You'll notice that she'll do most of the talking today. Speaker 3 Sorry. So I don't. Speaker 4 Know where I saw this. Maybe Melissa, you had it written somewhere. But, Brian, you were a former choir teacher. Yeah. Speaker 3 No, Director. It's how. Speaker 1 We met. Yes, that's how we met. We were both undergraduates at the University of Houston. Go to music majors, and I was on the same path as Melissa is becoming a choir director. And did you see each other? Speaker 3 I saw him, yeah, in voice. He was a folk. He was the first boy I met on the first day of school. We were sitting in voice studio and our teacher was not ready for us and he was floundering and he said, Turn to your neighbor and tell them your favorite food. And this beautiful boy with deep brown eyes turns to me and says, I like Italian food. Speaker 3 And I was like, I'm going to marry you. Speaker 1 And then you did. Speaker 3 Isaiah Eventually, we were best friends for years. Oh. Speaker 1 Yeah, we've been we've been friends since we were both 17 or 18. Speaker 5 Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Speaker 1 You were 17. I was 18. Speaker 3 I'm 42 now. That's a that's a minute. 25 years. Oh, the 25 years of our friendship. Speaker 5 And I know you wrote about this in a chicken soup story, but do you want us all to like, about how Brian proposed? Speaker 4 Oh, my gosh, I want to hear. Speaker 3 So it's like, super long. I'll give the short version because I will ramble. I love. I will tell the story to anyone. But long story short, I knew it was coming and I was waiting for a long time and it was driving me crazy. And my students. It was my first year as a junior. My students knew it was driving me crazy and they love giving me grief about it. Speaker 3 And he would visit because he was student teaching as a choral educator and he would visit and observe and all of that. And whenever he would come in, they would look at me like, Where's that rain? And, you know, no pressure, right? So one day we were just having an afterschool practice and we were we were doing an a cappella piece because we're preparing for some little contest or whatever. Speaker 3 And he was coming to give his own comments, which I valued greatly. And the kids were just really on edge. And I'm like, What's wrong with them there? And they were all kind of giddy and giggly, and I'm like, What's happening? And so I lean over and I'm like, I don't know. They're not going to give their best today. Speaker 3 Maybe this is a bad idea and he's like, They're just excited, you know? And so I raised my hands to give them the first downbeat. They start singing, going to the chapel, and I saw it. They were roasting me for a minute because I'm like, All right, this has gone far enough for children. But I look over to my left and he's on one knee with a ring. Speaker 3 He got my kids involved. It was great. Speaker 1 Yeah, the rumor that happened is on this campus. Speaker 3 It's on this campus in the snack bar building. Speaker 5 Oh, my gosh. Yes. Speaker 3 I get chills like he had been planning with my choir president for months. Speaker 4 How in the world did your kids keep that high? Speaker 3 It I have no idea. Wow. They were great. You remember. I don't know if anybody remembers playing Shout out to Louie Anderson. She was my president that year. And she did it. Speaker 1 Yeah, she and I schemed. It was. Speaker 3 Great. Speaker 4 That's impressive. Yeah, that's impressive. Yeah. Now. So kids today, like, they have this whole. It's a whole thing. Like when they get engaged, they have a photographer hiding in the. Oh, yeah. You know, you didn't catch that on the show. Speaker 3 No, we were thinking, But this is hilarious because my my sister and her sweet boyfriend are getting engaged soon, and there's no secrets about it at all. Like, there's going to be a day and like, she knows it's come in and it's going to be this big deal. And, you know, it's not it wasn't like that then, you know, right now. Speaker 3 I mean, I'm sure they'll be some sort of photographer and a party afterwards. I mean, but yeah, yeah. This is. Speaker 1 About three or four years before YouTube really took. Speaker 3 Off. Yeah, it was in 2004. And then we just went to Carrabba's Italian food at Lincoln Circle. Yeah. So there's a lot of Eagle. She recently got me a Carrabba's, a gift card because she knows that we don't know. Speaker 1 We're just talking human. The crab is in forever. And during musical she was like, I want to get some from us. And I was like, You know, we were just talking about Carrabba's for hours. Speaker 5 Oh, my. Speaker 3 Goodness. Speaker 1 They're not being paid for this. Speaker 3 Right? We're we're not being we're not being paid by you like heroes. Speaker 4 So you sing together in the Houston Symphony? Speaker 3 Yeah. It's been a couple of seasons. Yes, we've. Speaker 1 Done that's something we've done in the past. So the Houston Symphony has a volunteer chorus. It is not professional, but it is very competitive to get into it. So you do have to audition to get into it and you know of it for a little while. A lot of U of H. Alums were kind of getting really interested in it because all the rehearsals were being hosted there and one of our former professors was was preparing the chorus. Speaker 1 She was the director, and then she handed it off to the symphony orchestra conductor for the concert. And that was a lot of fun. We had a lot of good time being on stage together. We had been on stage together together in years. But, you know, life and COVID kind of made us part of that for a little while. Speaker 3 And children, I mean. Speaker 4 Yeah, so what music are we talking okay. Speaker 3 Now are your I mean, Brian is he's so smart. He's like a choir nerd and he loves, you know, the masterworks and all of that. And he'll probably share some of those with you. But man, I super loved video games. Live Star Wars in concert, Harry Potter, It's a Wonderful Life. I'm a sucker for pop culture. So. But Brian, you can. Speaker 1 Oh, yeah. The symphony does a great job of you know, you've got your your classical masterworks that are during during the regular season in their pops programs especially in the summertime. They will do things that will appeal to a much broader audience. And like one of the trends they've been doing over the years is soundtracks from from famous movies as well as soundtracks to video games, which like believe it or not, are very legit music. Speaker 1 It's incredible and it's amazing. Like it's kind of started even when we were back in college. We had there are a few people who are. Speaker 3 Orchestrating The Legend of. Speaker 1 Zelda. They were really into the video game music that like it, and the Nintendo franchises and the Final Fantasy franchises and. Speaker 3 Without lyrics. Speaker 1 And all those people now have have disposable income. Speaker 3 So yeah, some of them do have a really and some lyrics. Yeah, they're not in English. Speaker 1 So yeah. Speaker 3 That's insane language. Speaker 1 During the summer, that was when the symphony would do those concerts and that was your best availability. Speaker 3 To Oh man was so great. I loved that. Speaker 1 But, but the availability for to do those things is when it's the week of a concert. I would be in downtown Houston at Jones Hall every evening till about about ten or 11 p.m.. So it got to the point where it was just hard to do that. Speaker 3 Well, and Masaya sees it as rough because that the International Month of December. Speaker 1 Was something that I did every year when I was with them, and I enjoy performing that piece. Speaker 3 Yeah, but like the Houston Symphony Chorus, busy schedule lines up with a high school choir's busy schedule, you know. So it was it was tough. And as our kids were little, I mean, we have we have relatives nearby, but they're, you know, getting up in age and, you know, our son is energetic. Speaker 4 Yeah. Let's talk about your kids. AUBREY Zoe BENNETT Yes. So tell me their ages. Speaker 3 So Aubrey is a junior. She's 16. And Zoe, who now goes by Elaine at school. If you know Elaine Smith, we're talking about Zoe. She's 11 and she's in the sixth grade in choir. And then. Speaker 1 Yeah, she decided her first name was not professional. Speaker 3 So professional enough. Elaine is very. She's an old soul. She we the joke around our house is that she's everyone's mom, even mine. And yeah, there has been more evidence of her old suppleness lately with her taste in music. Wow. We've been driving around, jamming to, like, Journey and Fleetwood Mac and. Speaker 4 I. Speaker 3 Loves big band music, and she found it on her own. It's. It's pretty cool. She is an old soul. And then, of course, Bennett, our kindergartner who is autistic, is at Westwood. And shout out Sarah Musky. Oh, my gosh, that woman is a saint. She has these four sweet little guys all day long, and they're just learning how to classroom. Speaker 4 And he was just honored. Yes. For his artwork. Speaker 3 For his work. Yes. Speaker 4 It was the blue bonnets, Right? Hey, you're so sweet. Speaker 5 I was about to say that was like my favorite part of the whole board meeting was him cheering every time someone's name was called. It was the sweetest thing in the world. Speaker 1 Yeah, He lives for the applause. Speaker 3 Yeah, he does. Lady Gaga. Yeah, he does. And sounds. I mean, being. Having sensory issues, big sounds can be either startling or, you know, upsetting or can, you know, So he's kind of like, if you can't beat them, join them. So if someone's cheering, he going cheer louder. I love it. I love. Yeah. Speaker 4 So what is there more of in your house? Is there more laughter or singing. Speaker 3 Yeah. Yes. Speaker 4 I can only imagine how just. Speaker 1 I mean, sound singing music is a common language between us, but we all kind of have our own little pocket of what we like and what we do. Speaker 3 And it I'd say for, for, for me and the girls singing happens in the car the most. And it is never good. It is always intentionally horrible. We love, we love singing along with like see or Ariana Grande Day or like we are not nerdy at all about it. Something comes on and we're just like, it's all good to see the facial expressions. Speaker 3 Wow, I wish I had. I was going to ask you, I need to get one of those little things that you mount your phone in your car so I can just capture one of these sessions one day of me and the girls just. Speaker 4 Oh, hey, love it. Are you kidding? That's what you should be doing. Speaker 3 I mean, we we honestly should, because it's our. Speaker 1 Own version of, like. Speaker 3 The carpool karaoke. Carpool Karaoke? Yes. Yeah. Speaker 1 Okay. That could be the next phase of your your viral illness. And. Speaker 3 Thanks, babe. There's a technology thing that I need a link. Hey, babe. Speaker 4 Because. Okay, so let's go into that for a second. So I started listening to you. You're the ballerina hippo, or what's your. Speaker 3 Oh, my handle on Instagram is Valerie the hippo on TikTok. I'm almost miserable. I use social media for for good and not evil. Most of everything on my own social media is going to be about my children or about choir. Right. And I know that there's lots of kids out there that are going to follow my social media. Speaker 3 Things like you can't really I mean, unless you super lock it down and there's no way to keep people from following you. I don't believe in following the kids back. You know, I'll follow adults, but follow kids. Yeah. And so, yeah, everything I put out there is for the kids. And during COVID, I had had a series called Coffee Talk with Missal. Speaker 4 I thought it was coffee talk, but now I remember this Missal. Yeah, Yeah, right. Speaker 3 Yeah. Coffee's like gospel. And sometimes eight things. I still do that every once in a while. If there's an event coming up, I'll do like a little series. I was just the one of the section leaders for the All Statements choir, which was a tremendous honor. And before the convention I had a couple of weeks to, you know, make sure I was reminding them you need to be making sure that you're up on your music and that you're, you know, packing this in your suitcase and daughter. Speaker 3 And these guys are from all over the state, you know, from like Amarillo, Brownsville. And so I had to remind that, you know, the state vocal chair, you know, opened up for us. And I just did like a one minute coffee talk, Christmas delivery day. It was like, okay, are you listening to your music? Because you should Because there's one piece by Rollo Dilworth is a gem, you know, and just things like that. Speaker 3 And I would put little Easter eggs in them and little, little trivia questions. And I gave prizes at convention to the guys who were actually watching coffee talks and catching all of the information. And it's just a fun way to get information out. Speaker 5 Oh yeah. Now I remember seeing those and then you you sent a video and it was to the whole song. We did that like piecing together when we were all locked down to You Can't Stop the Feeling. Justin Timberlake. Yeah, and yours was my ears was so animated and you did the whole thing. And I was like, This is awesome. Speaker 5 But you kind of pulled some of that. Smigel I think. Benji Right? Yeah, I. Speaker 3 Watched. I walked through my house. Yeah, like I do like I did for a coffee talks. And, you know, I pulled my kids into the frame and my cat, and I don't. Speaker 4 Think I ever saw Brian. Speaker 3 He every once in a while I would be in them, but. Yeah, but, like, I'll find your one. Okay. I'll try again. One. I'm shy Brian you did the. Speaker 5 The must seeing club end of year video a couple of years ago whenever you were I picked her up. Speaker 3 That's right. Oh, that's right. Yes. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Well he's he is he's shy and, you know, I'm the extrovert and I don't I don't pestering to ask. Okay, so when you're a singer, your families are like, Oh, my God, I sing something right now all the time. Every family event, everything they would get. Our sis, my sisters and I get together and sing. Speaker 3 Danny Boy, that was just like a thing of like again. So when people, when people are like, Oh, Brian, sing something, I immediately get on the defensive and I'm like, All right, where's the money? Cough it up. You're an interior designer. Make me a curtain. You know, because it it's sometimes it's not it doesn't feel good to be put on the spot. Speaker 3 You know, if that's not your thing. Brian's thing is like rehearsing good music with a good group of people who, you know, And a lot of my kids are that way, too. A lot of my students are that way. Like, we're in choir. You must love singing. Sing something. It's like, not like that. Yeah, you know, So you have to be. Speaker 1 Sensitive behind the camera kind of person up in front of the camera. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 4 I love how with couples so often that opposites attract and how you know, and that's. That's what makes things work, is that you enjoy that sort of thing. And you like being, you know, kind of behind the scenes and yeah, that's fun. And it's so. Speaker 3 Much more than just like introvert, extrovert. He, you know, I'm, I'm kind of an anxious person and he can make a room calmer just by walking into it. Everybody in the district can attest to that. Like, I've. Speaker 5 Always that's how I like. First word that comes to mind is this very level. Yeah, always. Speaker 3 Even sad has said When I hear this guy's keys coming down the hall, I instantly feel better. Yeah. What an affirmation. Yes, that's nice. But he, he does he he can make everything call or he grants the best perspective ever I get so tunnel vision sometimes and it's like, why are you so tunnel vision about this you know And he'll but he can he can man he can talk me off the ledge And that's, that's the kind of opposites that really make everything really peaceful and wonderful in our household. Speaker 1 That's my next podcast, Peaceful Thoughts, with Brian. Speaker 5 It starts with the sound of the keys rattling. Yeah. Speaker 3 The kids know, Maestro. They're my students. They hear the keys and they're like, Your favorite person is coming. Speaker 1 Those people can tell I'm coming because I walk very fast. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 1 Oh, that's the sound of Brian. Speaker 3 Well, he's got that. Yeah. There's the only one person that walks like that. Yeah. Speaker 4 Do you, do you feel the energy of the kids to do the kids bring you naturally give you energy or do they in general. I know the answer to this question, but some people feel like they zapped energy, like you're exhausted at the end of the day. And some people feel fed by the energy of students. Speaker 3 Because they're I mean, some weeks are harder than others. And at the end of the week, I've been pouring and pouring and pouring, particularly if there is a particularly like emotional week or, you know, it was during COVID season or I just I can remember this week in particular were just really hard. Things were happening. You know, one child had a death in their family and one child, you know, was about to lose their home. Speaker 3 It was just like big, heavy things. And you pour and you pour and you pour of yourself to keep everybody afloat. And that can drain you by the end of the week and you need to be poured back into. But when it's bad, when it's a good time is a good time. And I love I love visiting the junior high and clinic ing those kids because they're they're fantastic. Speaker 3 And yeah, good days contest days, concert days. You leave feeling on top of the world like wanting to celebrate. Be a. Speaker 4 Tastic. Melissa That's a good point. You know when in my mind I visualize you with students I think of just you kind of your alter ego having fun, being healthy. But I do forget how you know, it's hard working with kids. And, you know, when you love on kids and your family, you also take on their, you know, trials and things that they're struggling with. Speaker 4 So that's a good point. That's a good reminder that all those teachers out there, you know, things just aren't always fun and enjoyable. You really go through some hard, you know, times with each other and you do need to be difficult. Speaker 3 It's funny because I think I was talking with a student about this recently and it was like when how do you pour out when you're empty? Like, what do you do? And it's like, well, I'm you know, I do have to have a measure of self-care for myself. I got to make sure I'm put it back into on the weekends. Speaker 3 I love hanging out with friends and playing board games. That's what pours back into me. And you know, for some people it's quiet time on the couch. For some people it's getting out and being around people and being with people pours back into me. And it was like teachers have friends. Yes, yes, yes. Teachers, teachers can have friends, too. Speaker 3 That is true, Bryan. Speaker 4 What seeds you sow in your job, you know, think about teaching and being with students. And what is it for you in the technology world that you're in? I mean, I ran into a couple of weeks ago on a campus at Kline handing out the Prometheus. How do you say that. Speaker 1 Promethean. Speaker 4 Promethean boards you were delivering to all those teachers? What is it in your role that kind of keeps you going in that feed you? Speaker 1 There's something new to learn every day. In my job, there is never one day. That's exactly like the day before. That is something that I have really, really cherished in my me being in this position for almost two decades now. It's been about like I've been in the district for. Speaker 3 17 years. Speaker 1 Now. There's something new every day. There's something if you're if you didn't learn something new, you weren't really looking at hard. And then just being close to to what's happening, I love being able to like when you call it Hey, who's who, So and so I'm like, Oh, I know that person. I've worked with them before, like just building those relationships. Speaker 1 And I bridge a lot of relationships between different areas. Speaker 4 And are you on campuses every how often are you on? Speaker 1 I am. I'm away from my desk probably about at least 50% of my day because I am I I'm kind of I kind of value myself as that as the chief problem solver. Yeah. And a lot of times just getting out there and getting into it and figuring out finding solutions is something that it's just natural for me to do. Speaker 1 I don't yeah, it's, it's not natural for me to delegate. It's something I've been working on. Speaker 3 Yeah, Well, and he takes very seriously making education happen, Right. So if someone is in crisis, he is known to drop everything and go put out that fire, which is good and bad, because then, you know, everybody wants him to drop. Yeah. Speaker 1 And I think I'm an educator first and a technology a second. Yeah. Like the technology is just, you know, I think. Speaker 3 Yeah. But it's, it's rewarding that he can go and, you know, get someone back up and running. Oh, that education can happen. He's done that in. Speaker 5 Our office several times. We were just talking about this I think last week of just how impressive it is, what you all do and that whole thing of you're constantly having to learn new things because it's it's just ever changing. Speaker 1 That is part of it. Yeah. I said you discover new things. It is. It does rapidly change and it's hard sometimes to tell when something is going to be a fad and when something is going to be a thing that is going to it's not going to go away. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 1 And we either have to embrace it or figure out how to get around it. Speaker 4 So what's the one thing that comes to mind, what you just said? Is there something that. Speaker 1 Everybody is freaking out about chat right now? Let's talk about. Speaker 3 That. This so great and so and. Speaker 4 Have you played with it with music or anything like that? Speaker 1 Have I? I have not indulged in chat, but I've been listening to a lot of conversations about and I fundamentally understand what it is. It it is a reflection of all of our collective data. Speaker 3 Right? Speaker 1 So it is not it's not intelligence. It is it is just something that can quickly spout back something that already exists out there. Right. In my mind, it's not it's probably not going to go away. Has been kind of forming for a little while. And if we don't think of it as a timesaver, then it's going to be something that it's going it's just going to get cast as the thing that we should avoid. Speaker 1 It's going to be like facilitating plagiarism or letting letting kids get off easy. It's like, no, it's it's a timesaver. So what are we going to do at that time that it creates for us? Are we going to expand the things that we can do in the classroom? Are we going to expand the time that we actually get to have a personal connections? Speaker 1 That's kind of what I see it as a direction it could go. It, of course, all all things that are technology that are created that can do good, can do bad, and that's just society. I mean, that's there's nothing new about that. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 5 Yeah. I just I don't know if you all she's like, I guess very famous, this gymnast at LSU and I just saw something about she promoted I don't know if it was that specifically, but some sort of like auto generating essay writer because she gets like sponsorships all the time. And I guess LSU is threatening to like, kick her out of school. Speaker 5 She didn't take the ad down while so. Speaker 4 It was on her personal social media account. Speaker 5 I think so. But I think this girl has like millions and millions of followers I've seen, I've don't follow her, but I've seen her name over and over. But that was interesting. I just saw that like two days ago, they were. Speaker 1 Talking to. We're going to have to figure that out because, you know, anything that that challenges are thinking on intellectual property and our and copyright ownership are things that always are slower to catch up to technology. And that's something I like to think about all the time. Being someone from an arts background who cares about the things that creators create versus technology which can either monetize or do monetize that instant. Speaker 3 Yeah, he's a genius with this stuff and he he's always looking also at like all of that ethical and moral things around it too. It's amazing listening to him philosophically. Speaker 1 I'm a classic overthinker. Speaker 3 Guy, but I love it. It makes for the most intelligent conversations and he just if. Speaker 1 I come to you a decision, you know, that I've got like two or three backup plans in the back of my mind because of overthinking, I am overthinking it. Speaker 3 I'm always so impressed by that. Speaker 4 Well, that's a big one. I feel like moving into technology. I don't know a ton about it. I know that I've tried to log on here in the district and it won't let me. Right. So that's something that he's left. Speaker 3 Yeah. He's been going over there. Speaker 1 Yes. This is something that's being talked about at the leadership level right now. And as far as like what? Make sure that we know what we're getting into before we start putting it out there. Yeah, there's definitely request to the district for us to make it available to staff. And I think it's just it's just so new. We need to understand it and make sure that everybody knows the ethical rules of it. Speaker 4 So what is one piece of technology that if Brian could give every kid one piece of technology, you with your magic wand would say, Everybody needs this. Speaker 1 I thought about this for a long time this morning because as a parent of kids who are technology natives and seeing tech and seeing different pieces of technology deployed and then used and pulled back, the most effective thing I could think of from a society point of view right now is I wish we could give every kid an e-reader. Speaker 3 Whether it's. Speaker 4 That like a so. Speaker 1 Like a Kindle, like, yeah, something that is not as smart, that is not a fully smart tablet. I wish that we could like check out every single kid when they learn to read an e-reader and then give them a virtual library card and then just facilitate that reading. Because I think as if there's a lot of things now that can take the place of reading. Speaker 1 And I think it's a skill that we've got to read Double Down on. Speaker 4 Yeah, what I love about an e-reader is I read my books on an iPad and I don't know if you can do this on all electronic readers or not, but you can click on a word, you can touch the word, and up would come the dictionary of what the word mean. Absolutely. Like that just in itself is brilliant. Speaker 4 You can click on a word and it would say it out loud for you. You can hit a a button and it would start reading for you. Or you can hear someone, read and follow along like, absolutely. It's a beautiful thing. Speaker 1 Yeah, I think e-books are a good bridge to getting to if if reading text on the page is something is intimidating, it's intimidating to me. I've always had issues with not being able to read fast enough and that compared to my peers and it just being a book is intimidating to me. I am talking to myself right now. Speaker 1 I wish I could read more e-books and make more time. I probably need to buy shelves and podcast and do that. Speaker 4 Yeah, I'm the same way, am I? My reading has taken a hit when it comes to Tick Tock and podcasts. Love Tick tock. Oh my. Speaker 3 Gosh. I can't remember. Yeah, I can't remember the last time I picked up a book. Oh, such a bad teacher. I, I read a lot of music, though, so. Speaker 5 There you go. Okay. Speaker 4 So you do read. Yeah. So is it to me? Is it t the technology conference to Austin? I used to love that. Speaker 1 So Tami is a Texas music educators. Speaker 4 Okay, so not that one. Speaker 3 That's not the one. I was so close. Speaker 1 So the Texas Computer Educators Association, yes, it actually considers itself a sister organization. The TME because it patterned a lot of its the way that it was structured and the way they do business from TME, which has been around a lot longer. Speaker 4 Gotcha. Anything new that you learned? Did you go this year? Speaker 1 I did go this year. It wasn't San Antonio. This year, whenever it's in San Antonio, I try to go because I'd much rather do a convention in that city than Austin. Speaker 4 San Antonio. Yes. Speaker 1 No, no shit on Austin. It's just, you know, it's River Walk and all that. Speaker 3 Yeah. Let's see. San Antonio is one of our families. Speaker 1 So cybersecurity is the buzzword right now. In any session that I try to go to as a technology leader, that was about cybersecurity just instantly got packed. It is the it is exciting that everybody's chewing on right now as a technology leader in the world, whether it's education or not, cyber attacks, phishing attacks, ransomware, different things like that. Speaker 1 Our our neighbor districts are dealing with that presently. Yeah. And it's something that us as a leadership group and the technology department spend a lot of time thinking about how things would go. We we just went through a phishing attack, this attack this week and I'd like to say publicly our district went through that with flying colors. Everybody responded like everybody's training, definitely made them suspicious of it. Speaker 1 And everybody who actually did click the link in the email had had plausible reasons to think that the email was legit. Yeah, it was. It was a very sophisticated attack and the numbers of people who actually clicked on it were very, very, very low. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 1 So we did a great job as a district and I think that's because we have we keep, we encourage an open conversation about cybersecurity. I mean, everybody in the district has a carte blanche invitation to email the technology director directly. Tony Meadows If they see an email as suspicious, you get to skip the chain of command process because we want to respond to that. Speaker 1 There's no shame in questioning an email right there. That's really our weakest link. Is that what's in our inbox and email? Speaker 3 Mm hmm. Speaker 4 And in your even training, I mean, you'll do training on that and you keep us up to date. You know, on new training. Speaker 1 We figure out what the trends are. We, we, we stare at our own infrastructure a lot. But one of the things we're actually talking about doing and it's something that other departments in the district can participate in, is tabletop drills. And that's where you're throwing a scenario like, you know, a disaster like your disaster groups who manage disasters is just like that. Speaker 1 It's like we throw a scenario out there and we talk through the tangible steps it would take to go through one of those things, whether it be something like like the phishing attack that we got or a ransomware attack, which is what we have a lot of anxiety about, which can shut down your entire infrastructure in an instant. Speaker 1 And then we would be back to the nineties for a week at least, maybe two before everything got back online. Speaker 4 Yeah, it's so important. I mean, we do that with crisis communication, you know, we tabletop ideas and talk about what would we do, where would we go, who are you working with, Who am I going to work with? So, I mean, it's, you know, you have to plan it like we have. Speaker 1 We have the knowledge to respond to it. But it's, you know, you got to kind of go through it in your head. Yep. That way. Your response is timely. Speaker 3 Mm hmm. Speaker 4 Definitely. So, speaking of your parents of three kids, we're talking technology. What are your roles at home for technology and what advice would you give, you know, other parents that are kind of struggling with what to do? Speaker 3 So I'd say we're I mean, we're we're like you said, our kids are technology natives where we don't see technology as a threat, but we make it. We make sure that our kids understand the dark, seedy underbelly of what could happen. So really, it's like full disclosure with the kids and and, you know, our eldest has Instagram, She follows lots of art accounts and all of that. Speaker 3 She is very open with her phone, us. We follow her, she follows us. You know, we can kind of see what she's doing. Our sixth grader does have a phone. Speaker 1 Yeah, we figured out sixth grade seemed to be the right age for our family, for them to get the phone for safety reasons. Speaker 3 And with there there were, you know, every family goes through that that wake up moment. And we've had that with both of our kids where it's like, oh, see, this is what can happen when X, Y, the you know, and our kids, they're a delight to raise. Like, I don't know how he got so lucky. They I mean, every kid has their problems. Speaker 3 We have anxiety running in our household. But our children are lovely and they trust us and they talk to us. And, you know, that's not to say that there's not things that they keep from us, I'm sure you know, because they're kids and, you know, we can't possibly know everything, but they confide in us. They ask us things we're pretty open about a lot of, you know, cultural stuff that they want to know about. Speaker 3 And we you know, we're just we're there represent our eyes are open. And, you know, that's kind of us as far as rules. I mean, we we can put like time limits on their phones and. Right. You know, that kind of thing. Speaker 4 Use the technology that's available out there, too, like parental controls and things. Speaker 1 That would be, you know, thinking as far as if a parent came to me and said, how how would you think about technology in your household? Learn the parental controls, and then you need to decide what age your child is, mature enough to handle technology that is not completely guided by your by your expertise that let them learn on technology. Speaker 1 That's a different age for every single kid. Now, I mean, there there are guidelines as far as social media goes, as far as how old they are. And, you know, people kind of skirt that line all the time. But the district enforces the kind of the 13 is the age that the industry considers somebody mature enough to be, to have a piece of technology on their own without it being super controlled. Speaker 3 Mm hmm. Well, and it's funny that 13 are like there's an arbitrary number because kids are they do not mature the same. Right. Like, my eldest will tell you at 13, she should never have had an Instagram, but my 11 year old at 13 will be totally ready. You know? I mean, it's like every kid is different. Speaker 1 Well, I mean, you know, when I when I first started working for the district, removing technology from the access from the student was a was a consequence of misuse. That's no longer an option. Right. Tech now now the curriculum is online. They have to be able to access canvas. So it's been a challenge trying to figure out what in a in a in a system where removing the is a consequence. Speaker 1 How do you how can you do that and stop the learning as I like and continue then continue learning. Speaker 3 And not let it get in the way of education. Speaker 1 It's impossible. We've been trying to find that solution and I can probably say that we're not there yet. Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 4 Yeah. It's a hard one. You know, when you. Speaker 3 Grew up. Speaker 4 With, we didn't have all the technology that our kids have. Well, I'm speaking for myself. I didn't have all the technology that my kids, you know, were exposed to. And it's you, you know, for old school people, it's like, well, you're just not going to have it anymore. Well, that like you said, it's not an option to really take away technology. Speaker 4 I mean, for some sometimes and for some ages that it is. But unfortunately, like you said, or fortunately, it's just a part of who they are. And it's it's a part of their education today. Speaker 1 And I think something else that's not spoken out loud a lot, but I think is something that some parents have to admit, which I have to admit myself, is you have to model what you want your kids to do on technology. Yeah. If you're if I'm on my phone for 4 hours after I get home from work, I should not be surprised if my kids start acting the same way. Speaker 1 So if you really want your if you're really want your kids to to treat technology a certain way, you have to start square one with modeling. Speaker 3 You know, And the you know, we're talking about the complete removal of technology. Like kids will find a way, not like a cynical kids or dishonest view. But, you know, there's all kinds of assistance with their you know, they've got friends, they've got devices, school, they've got all kinds of stuff. And it's just not really hard to log on on a Web client of Instagram or whatever. Speaker 3 And it's just it's not taken away. You think it's taken away. It's it's really not. And it's I mean, it's our philosophy instead of like blacking it out completely to allow it in reasonable doses so that our kids stay open with us about it and they stay down in the den with it. And they stay you know, they know they know parameters. Speaker 3 They they've seen you know, they've seen trolls on the Internet. They've seen creeps on the Internet, like they know how bad it can get and why it's important to be open with us. Speaker 1 Yeah, I think the main thing that we have been trying to establish with them is that when when something when they feel something's not right, we want we don't want them to be afraid to come to us. Speaker 3 Now, there's no shame in it. If you see something that makes you, you're instantly like all your alarm bells go off. You're not in trouble, right? Come show us what you're seeing. Speaker 4 So, Brian, thinking about the new Klein Elementary and moving breaking down the old clean, moving into the new clean. And then things start to happen. Once that happens, then things start to happen at the high school to move over to the old Klein. I mean, that is a huge you know. Speaker 1 It's a. Speaker 4 Lot for you. It's a lot. Speaker 1 And we don't we don't do facilities changes that much in this district. Like other our sister districts near us, there's a new school built every other year. So this is something it kind of comes routine to them. For those of us who've especially who've worked here for a while, this is something that we don't have that muscle memory for. Speaker 1 So we're having to kind of really think ahead try to be two steps ahead. And a lot of it is we don't know when these buildings are going to be exactly finished. So it's like you can you can plan it to the T and then all of a sudden there's no work for two weeks because there's a there's a hurricane in the summer. Speaker 1 And then so you've got to you got to adjust. You got to be flexible. Right. And I think something that me as a leader tries to to to show people who I work with is that, you know, you just got to be flexible when you can't control the circumstances and, Don't let it. I mean, you can you can be emotional about it, but don't let it affect your professional ity. Speaker 3 Mm hmm. Speaker 4 That will be a big a big really, for overall the entire district just breaking down and setting back up and, you know, with not seemingly enough time. Speaker 3 To do that. Speaker 1 So there's a lot of movement and there's there's, there's people like me who really like to look at the nitty gritty details. And there's this I consider one of my talents being a process engineer. And I really look at the this piece of tech, this this needs to go here. What are the numbers? How many students are going to wind song, How many students, how many teacher units are moving? Speaker 1 Things like that? Like soon as I get those numbers, I've already probably thought about how to go on my head. Are the do as plugged in number one. Speaker 4 Yeah it'll be very interesting. Yes it'll be a lot going on this summer for sure. Speaker 1 Be different summer. Speaker 4 Yes, it will be a very busy summer. Melissa let's talk pop show. Speaker 3 Yeah. So our pop show theme this year is songs your mom likes. I love it. We're pretty excited. Speaker 1 I've been trying to get them to do this theme for years. Oh, it's so exciting. Speaker 3 Well, and it's like every other year we try to go with a theme that's pretty broad because we we take trips on every other year. So when we go to New York, we're doing a show that's kind of seen for New York. When we go to Disney, we do a show that's kind of themed that way. It may not be Disney on the nose. Speaker 3 In fact, we're thinking that next year at Disney Year, we're thinking instead it's going to be just like a childhood nostalgia show. So it could be songs from video games or songs from, you know, Disney movies or. Speaker 1 Well, they're pulling out the Baby Einstein. Oh, well, they're definitely. Speaker 3 Pulling out the VeggieTales let's talk about this. Right? But like, there's going to be all kinds of fun stuff. Nothing is off the table, though, in these broad themed years. So songs your mom likes your mom can like just about anything out there. But we did. We sent home a little survey and we were like, All right, spend some time with your mom, sit down, talk about what her jam is right now. Speaker 3 Talk about what her jam was when she was your age, when she was a senior in high school. What song is like the theme song of her of her led the playback to her, her story, and we got such good responses. So we're doing oh, we're doing a lot. We're doing some Michael Jackson. Yes, we're doing some Madonna. Speaker 3 We're doing some Britney. We're doing some. We're doing Footloose. There's going to be a there's going to be a lot of eras, some Taylor Swift. You know, we're doing there's a lot of eras. We've got a we've got a whole boy band medley planned out all the way from New Kids to One Direction. So looking forward to that lot. Speaker 3 Of course, there's always a gazillion soloists that are so talented. Oh my gosh. That's why we have two nights, because there's no possible way we can feature every single. I mean, they're incredible. There's so much. Speaker 4 More different shows. Speaker 3 New. So the group numbers are all the same, but we flip soloists. Okay, Yeah. So like, you can come both nights and you'll see the same group numbers, but you'll see all different soloists and it is just amazing. And as soon as cash, as soon as pop show is over, we have to scramble and pack up the choir room and move it to the cafeteria. Speaker 3 Because as soon as graduation is over, here comes the wrecking ball. Speaker 5 Now, did you say when when the. Speaker 3 Show is made to, oh my gosh, May 12th and 13th. Okay. And yeah, and of course we have choir banquet and graduation. So like, stuff happens, right? Right. But the last few weeks of school, we're going to be packing pretty furiously. That's like right now we're doing all of our end of year stuff like officer elections and we're picking out our music for next year already because we're about to box up our entire library and not see it for, you know, however long. Speaker 3 But it's going to be I'm kind of excited. They're they're going to put up a partition and in the new side of the high school cafeteria and we're going have a big space that's like the choir room. And we were afraid when they told us we'd be in the cafeteria next year during construction. We were afraid that we would have like a little corner, right? Speaker 3 And when lunch happened, we would have to fold up and get out. But no, they're they're making sure that there's a dedicated space for us that no one is going to mess with. Oh, and it just happens to be a chunk of the cafeteria that they're not really using much anymore. There's one food line that isn't used much anymore. Speaker 3 So there's like a there, yeah, we're going to have a decent amount of space where you're going to bring our grand piano, I think over to the cafeteria and our risers and everything. Just replicate our current situation in the cafeteria. Speaker 4 And you're saying as soon as school's out, you're packing up and you're moving soon, acquiring. Speaker 3 Show is over. Like, yeah, it's going to be like, okay, today, kids, the lesson is how to pack up for library, you know? And we really we got to we have a lot to do and then we got to get out of there. Like the room has to be empty on the last day of school. Speaker 4 Yeah, next year is going to be kind of crazy when you think about all the different spaces that will be. Speaker 3 Yeah, we're in. Speaker 1 The second week of May is when a lot of the up and get out activity is going to start on campus. As far as her room and all the rooms they're going to get demoed in the summer. Speaker 3 And the other town. Speaker 1 And the instructors know that stuff's going to start being removed from your room or you've got to start kind of in the background getting your things ready. Because as soon as as soon as the school year is done, I mean that that campus is shut down. Speaker 3 Construction begins, the power turns off, everybody's. Speaker 1 Kicked out. Speaker 3 It's yeah. Speaker 4 What is the projected completion date of the performing Arts Center? Speaker 3 So the pack we're hoping is going to be open in September. And what that means is that theater will not be displaced for very long and they'll get to move in pretty soon, we hope. Fingers crossed. But band and choir will be displaced until we think, January. That semester back is going to be in a gym and same deal like there's hardly any storage. Speaker 3 So we're really having to figure out very creatively. We've had moving crews walk through our rooms a lot like we have so much stuff, right in order to operate our programs, where are we going to put it? You know, so that's a big question. Speaker 4 And where are you being moved to ultimately? Ultimately? Speaker 3 Oh, I love this. Okay. So in the in the fine arts, Holly, of the high school, you know, the band is kind of back towards those those back glass doors right then is choir then is the auditorium. Right. So what they're doing, imagine that they're just kind of scraping that whole hallway from those glass doors through the auditorium. Speaker 3 That half of the footprint of the auditorium will go to CTE. There's going to be a makerspace where you can watch through the windows and see what they're working on. The other half of the auditorium, plus the current footprint of the choir room that is all now dedicated to the band hall. And it is going to be gorgeous and like, there's going to be ensemble rooms and it's going to be all divvied up the way that they need it, and it's going to be fantastic. Speaker 3 The current footprint of the band Hall is going to be the new choir, okay? And it is going to be divvied up the way we need it. We are in desperate need of ensemble rooms, practice rooms with soundproof doors. Right now. It's funny because we hosted a contest recently and the executive secretary walked in, went, Wow, this is a really lovely space. Speaker 3 And I'm like, Well, it's going to be demoed. And three months. But if you it it looks beautiful, but if you live in it for a little bit, you realize there are only two electrical outlets in this room. Speaker 4 Oh, are you kidding? Speaker 3 Not kidding. I'm not kidding. Not kidding. And then, like, that entire humongous room, too. And then in our office, the my walls are my walls are actually made of, gosh, I would say drywall, but it's almost more like paper. I can't. I can't explain it. You don't know it until you're in there. The walls are in the paper. Speaker 3 And that's the tech theater. The like theater shop is shares a wall with us. So Any hammering, any banging, any anything. I all the stuff on my wall shakes one time they they actually they have punched a hole through my wall like above my desk like I can look in and see tech theater and and it rains on to my desk from the beginning. Speaker 3 You don't know these things until you've looked back. It looks lovely. We have made a home out of it. We're like, you know what? We're good. You know, we can live. But when people are like, Oh, but it's so new, why would you change something? You know, it's only, what, like 20 years old? And they're right. But you live in it. Speaker 3 Yeah. Speaker 4 Yeah. Oh, that'll be exciting. Speaker 3 That's really kind of. The electrical outlet. I cannot. Speaker 4 Wait. I think every six feet you should have an electrical outlet. Speaker 5 So I'm shocked. Yeah. I'm like, we've said it before. We will say it again. Thank you, voters. Yes, thank you. Voters passing this me this so bad. Yeah. So that we don't have to have holes punched in the wall and stuff falling off the shore. Paper wall on this. Yeah. Speaker 3 Promise we needed it. I promise. Well. Speaker 4 We are to the point of random questions, so I'm going to throw out a question and then you can decide, looking across the room into each other's eyes at each other. He will answer first. But tell us, what is one item on your bucket list? Speaker 3 It could be like the Newlywed Game, where I guess years and you guess my bucket list. I have a bucket list. I have never been on a cruise. Oh, and I have friends that go on cruises all the time. And it's easier when you go on cruises all the time because they get like less expensive every time you go, I guess. Speaker 3 But that first cruise is like, ouch, It really takes a chunk out of your budget and we just don't have the budget for it. Speaker 4 Now, where would you want to go if you could go anywhere? Speaker 3 I don't care. I don't care. I want to get on a boat where all the food, I can just walk up and eat all the food and I don't have to make it. And I can. Yeah. Enjoy all of the shows that I didn't have to plan or produce and. I can do the. Speaker 1 Oscars in person. You're a boat. Speaker 3 Person. I'm a boat person. People are like, Oh, nature rock climbing. No, I want a comedy show and I just want to laugh for a whole evening and I don't Yeah, I want it all right. They're all inclusive, and I just wanna relax. I want someone else to be the cruise director of my life. For once, because Mom is the cruise director of all things. Speaker 4 Well, you're in a great location since it leaves right out of Galveston, you know? Speaker 3 Yeah, it could be really great. What's your bucket list, babe? Speaker 1 I mean, the right answer is I want to travel more, but really, the answer is I want to be able to park my car in the garage. Oh, no. And my my entire adult life, I've never been able to park my car in the garage. Speaker 3 Right. Speaker 1 It's just where stuff is because, you know, it's hard to find houses anymore that have any decent storage. I mean, like, unless you bought your house. Unless your house was built in like the sixties or seventies, I mean, like you got maybe one one little closet and then that's it. Speaker 3 Yeah. We've got some incredible built ins in the garage. The previous owners left, but no. So the garage can be storage. Not so that it can be a place where your cars. Speaker 1 So for me, it's like simple things. It's like, you know, getting two steps ahead. Speaker 3 Yeah, man, that feels that. That feels good. And spring break is coming. Everyone's like, What are you doing for spring break? And I'm like, Closets. I'm so excited. I'm going to rearrange one of my kid's bedrooms. I got a I got a bed for one of my, like a bigger bed. This kid has slept on a twin mattress for 17 years and now she's got a Oh, wow. Speaker 3 Oh, yeah. I'm pretty excited about for some reason we're going to paint one wall. My my kids are incredibly artistic and they're growing me. My thought father growing up was like, all the walls need to be white. You can't do anything creative. So my house, there are walls with like, there's mountains on one wall. There's like, I mean, you'll see all kinds of stuff. Speaker 3 So we're going to create a mural on one wall over spring break, and it's going to be so fun. Speaker 4 Oh, that's awesome. That's great. So if you found yourself completely out of your element, would you say, Oh, I'm out of my element, or would you fake it? Speaker 3 Both. Speaker 1 I, I must say it kind of person. Speaker 3 I am a make everyone laugh so that no one is uncomfortable that we are out of our element to. Speaker 1 Do what we call tap dance. You can tap dance. Speaker 3 Better and tap dance, but I will also I will probably make it known that the reason I'm tap dancing is because I don't really this is not my thing. So let's make the most of it. Speaker 4 Okay. Good to know. Would you rather be 11 feet tall or nine inches tall? Speaker 3 Nine inches. I love being short. Speaker 1 I'm probably the opposite. I probably would rather be that tall. Speaker 4 That's nine feet tall. Speaker 3 Opposites attract. I don't know. Tiny things are cute. Like pick me up and put me in a little basket. Speaker 4 What is your favorite subject to talk about? You could talk about it for hours. Other than use. Speaker 3 It. I know his. Speaker 1 Oh, I don't know how to narrow it down. Yeah, I'm a social like social science nerd. I don't talk about stuff that's going on in social science stuff. Speaker 4 Give me an example of social. Speaker 1 You know how government works in general, like staying out of the politics kind of stuff, how government works in general, and that the the civics of it. I can talk about copyright. This is kind of music related, but I'm I am kind of a copyright geek because I think it's such a fascinating subject that really paints you into a conundrum quarter really quickly as far as like, like what can you own as an idea so that I probably gives you enough to go on there as what I am but I can geek out about? Speaker 3 I don't know. I think for me it's like creative things, Oh, we're going to remodel and I'm going to move this here or move that there and then paint this color here and just brainstorming ideas. My my 11 year old, our old soul, Elaine loves talk about her future apartment. She's already got it all planned out. She knows what color her Keurig is going to be. Speaker 3 Wow. This child is not like, I don't know how to explain it, but she's if she could launch right now, she would do it and she would do a great job. Mm. Yeah, just planning things, creative projects. And I love that stuff. And playing board games. That's my jam. Awesome. Speaker 4 Okay, so every podcast we end, if you would complete the sentence one thing I know for sure is. Speaker 1 One thing I know for sure is. Speaker 3 You know, thanks for the save, Kelsey. Say, what do I know for sure? It's funny because so often I feel like a noob. One thing I know for sure is that everyone needs their bucket filled. Fill a bucket. Speaker 1 One thing I know for sure is keep learning. Yeah. If you stop learning, then you stop living. Speaker 4 I love it. That's a good way. Speaker 3 He's so smart. You. Speaker 5 I love that you like you've given so many affirmations throughout this. I'm like, That is just this sweetest, constant, like, admiration for your husband. I love. Speaker 3 Early affirmations. A big deal. Yeah. And I'm a big proponent of if you admire something, if you love something, if you find something to be just wonderful, say it out loud. Why not? Yeah. Speaker 1 About a year and a half away from being 20 years married. Speaker 3 Wow. We should take a cruise. I was about what you could do for your life, right? Yeah. I promise I'll clean the garage and you can park the car, and then we'll take a cruise. I love it. Speaker 4 Well, we've been talking about having you two on for a long time, so I'm so glad we finally got around to having one. Thank you for coming and being with us today. Speaker 3 For us, that was so fun. Speaker 4 Excuse everybody. Have a good day. Speaker 3 My.