How Cubs Become Bears: Inside SJSH's Innovative Podcast
Published 8 days ago • 5 min read
How Cubs Become Bears: Inside SJSH's Innovative Podcast
Echo Podcast Roundup
How a Student Podcast Was Born at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall CSS
What happens when you hand high school students the mic? You get the SJSH Bears Den Pawcast — a bold, creative, and completely student-driven show from St. Joseph-Scollard Hall CSS.
In this episode, we sit down with teacher/producer Nicole Dopko and seasoned host Annie Martel to talk about how the show began, how it’s grown, and how it can change the way students can elevate in school spirit.
Trapped by Trees, Roads Washed Out – Inside Bonfield’s Emergency Downburst Response
In this episode of Echo Essentials, we sit down with Mayor Narry Paquette and Deputy Mayor Jason Corbett just days after the disaster. They walk Chris and Dave through how emergency response was mobilized in the middle of the night, and why small-town collaboration might be the secret to resilience.
This week journalist and author Peter Annin joins Bill and Ben to explore the geopolitics, climate threats, and cross-border tensions surrounding the Great Lakes Water Basin. Annin also explains why the region could become a global flashpoint — and what’s being done to protect it.
This week's Echo Sportscast covers local minor baseball, girls softball, Bulldogs football, an upcoming kickboxing event and the rodeo held at Memorial Gardens last week. The weekly Spotlight feature interview is with Bruce Downey, a life coach who works with university athletes.
Paramedics across the region as expected to be absent from work for 1,400 hours this year. Those hours work out to be more than 116 12-hour shifts within a one-year period.
District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board heard employee burnout and declining mental health are significant and growing concerns, reflecting broader trends in emergency response, healthcare, and social services sectors.
“Employees in these fields are routinely exposed to traumatic events, high emotional demands, and ethically challenging situations, which can result in cumulative stress, compassion fatigue, and moral injury,” according to an organizational review by KPMG.
The report also states absenteeism within DNSSAB is high and has grown between 2024 and 2025.
Paramedic Services is projected to experience a significant jump in absenteeism in 2025 to approximately 1,400 hours and will become the department with the largest share of total absent hours, according to the report presented at last month’s DNSSAB meeting.
The KPMG report stated client needs have grown increasingly complex and political and community expectations remain high. Staff are being asked to do more with less, further intensifying feelings of powerlessness and emotional strain. These pressures not only affect individual well-being but also contribute to team dysfunction, higher absenteeism, and reduced service quality.
“I can certainly understand that because of the work that they do,” said DNSSAB chair Coun. Mark King.
“It’s a big issue. You just can’t close your eyes to it. From a board perspective, we have to deal with it.”
The results of an employee survey highlighted this issue explicitly within paramedic services, where staff reported experiencing particularly high levels of moral distress — underscoring the urgent need for a dedicated organizational focus on employee health and wellbeing, according to the organizational review.
According to François Nadeau, head cheesemaker and proprietor of Kapuskasing’s Fromagerie Kapuskoise cheese factory, Northern Ontario is the key ingredient of his delectable artisanal cheeses.
Quite literally, the cheese’s distinctive flavour is garnered from the unique qualities of the region from which it hails. In cheesemaking terms, these qualities are collectively called the terroir.
The North’s particular terroir is the result of its cold climate, rich soil, and pure water, which creates high-protein grasses that enhance milk production in the sheep, goats, and cows that live here.
“We wanted to keep the identity of the area within the milk itself,” Nadeau told Northern Ontario Business, shortly before receiving the morning rush of customers at the Fromagerie’s shop.
“You can have wonderful milk from elsewhere, but it will not reflect the area. I wanted to have a sense of the area. A taste of the area.”
Each cheese is composed of dairy from a single farmstead, some of which exclusively produce milk for his Fromagerie. The cow dairy comes from a farmstead in Matheson, the sheep dairy from Val-Gagné, and the goat dairy from Iroquois Falls.
The dairy operations he purchases from are small, organic, and the animals are typically pasture-raised — conditions that would be much more difficult to secure at larger farms down south.
Lesley Hampton, a member of Temagami First Nation, is seeing her work featured at Holt Renfrew in Mississauga as part of a three-week pop-up celebrating Indigenous History Month.
The Anishinaabe artist and designer, whose inclusive and mental health-focused fashion has gained international attention, reflects on her journey from a young sewing enthusiast to a celebrated name in the industry.
Despite her early passion for fashion -- sparked by runway shows on TV -- Hampton didn’t see herself reflected in the industry.
“Even at that young age, I only saw one skin type, one body type, and being a curvy Indigenous kid, I really didn’t see myself in that space,” she said.
She launched her eponymous line in 2016 at just 22 years old. Her designs quickly gained recognition, appearing at Fashion Art Toronto and Vancouver Fashion Week – with images from the latter featured in Vogue Magazine.
Her current showcase at Holt Renfrew underscores her mission to make Indigenous fashion accessible.
“It’s so important for customers and clients in the luxury space to understand that Indigenous fashion can be worn by everyone,” she said. “People need to know they can celebrate our stories through fashion by wearing our designs and helping push our narratives forward.”
Hampton’s collection will remain at Holt Renfrew until July 4.
An initiative is underway to help you enjoy the flavours of North Bay surrounded by some of the city’s scenic views.
It’s called the Pop Up Picnic and involves specially curated picnic meals from six local food partners.
They include:
Amritsari Bites (1260 Algonquin Ave)
Blendz Smoothie & Juice Bar (319 Algonquin Ave)
Cecil’s Brewhouse + Kitchen (300 Wyld St)
Green Fox Kitchen (17 Mapleridge Dr)
Opera Bakery + Café (164 Main St W)
Tahini’s (1720 Algonquin Ave)
“The Pop Up Picnic series is part of our new ‘Taste The Bay’ initiative, developed to showcase and grow North Bay’s diverse culinary scene,” says Tanya Bédard, Executive Director of Tourism North Bay. “These picnics perfectly blend our culinary creativity with our stunning natural landscapes, offering both locals and visitors a unique way to experience what makes our region special.”
Fail, Paint, Repeat: How Vander Dussen Found Success by Letting Go of Perfection Echo Podcast Roundup Turning Passion for Painting into a Thriving Business Marianne Vander Dussen is a painter, teacher, and creative entrepreneur who turned trial and error into a thriving international art business. In this episode, she opens up about her start in drama and real estate, the magic moment she picked up a paintbrush, and why failing on purpose can be the best thing for your art. Watch Now From...
What started as one student’s idea has become one of North Bay’s most powerful grassroot fundraisers! Echo Podcast Roundup How a Student Parade Became a North Bay Cancer-Fighting Tradition In this episode, Lisa sits down with West Ferris teacher Mark Robertson, grade 9 student Mallory and North Bay Regional Health Center Foundation CEO Tammy Morison to talk about how the Parade for Cancer started, what it funds and why it brings out the best in the community. Watch Now North Bay’s Housing...
Kindness Takes Over - How One Brave Hotel Worker Saved A Life Echo Podcast Roundup What a 10-Year-Old Can Teach Us About Being Good Humans Graham Shaver may only be 10 years old, but he’s already mastered something many adults still struggle with: kindness. As North Bay’s Kindness Ambassador, Graham has made it his mission to turn Kindness Week into Kindness Infinity. Watch Now Kindness Isn’t Soft — It’s Science! What if kindness wasn’t just a feel-good gesture—but a psychological superpower?...