Dr. Weeks Media Group Shares ‘Late Breaking News’ with School Community
“What buses are we waiting for?” a student asked from the news desk in the school library.“None! All buses are here,” teacher Jennifer Blansett answered.
It was two minutes to showtime, and the Dr. Weeks 5th graders sitting at the anchor desk were reviewing their scripts. At promptly 9:35 am, the camera in front of them would turn on, broadcasting their makeshift studio to the entire school on a live Microsoft Teams video.
“Good morning, Dr. Weeks! My name is Anoki.”
The two student news anchors led the students through the Pledge of Allegiance, the day’s lunch menu, an attendance reminder, interesting holidays (this particular day was National Chocolate Covered Pretzel Day), and the school affirmation. A classmate sat nearby off screen, keeping an eye on the Teams chat to jump in with any breaking news – forgotten birthdays, last minute events, and the like.
“I am optimistic that this experience will help encourage our students to attend school every day,” Ms. Blansett said. “Students who want to be broadcasters have to show that they are serious about school and have good attendance. I am hopeful that students will become better public speakers and improve their reading abilities.”
The students also work together to make decisions about who has what role behind the scenes; and the experienced members of the news crew work to “train” new students joining the team each week.
5th grader Safi Salehe started working with the media group last year when her best friend signed up. She enjoyed it so much that she has stayed an active participant this year.
“I like starting the day here and putting together the news for the day,” Safi shared. “My friends think it’s cool that I get to be on the screen every day!”
Philip Faraja was preparing for his first-ever role as news anchor.
“I wanted to be part of this group because I like to tell people about important stuff happening in our school and I want people to know me,” he explained. “My sisters and brothers will see me doing this and think it’s so cool. It makes me want to have good attendance so I can be part of the show!”
We’re proud of these students for being leaders in their building!
