Students at Toronto Adventist School are meeting the outcomes of the Australian Curriculum in a creative and innovative way. Every student in Kindy to Year 6 is involved in producing the school news program, entitled Toronto Campus News (TCN), that airs on the  website, at the local Toronto Campus Church, at our school, and now on our own dedicated website!

 

Each student has several responsibilities, which contribute to the production of the TCN news. These responsibilities range from script-writer, reporter, news anchor, communications director, stage manager, camera operator, wardrobe, teleprompter, sound technician, and movie editing using Final Cut Pro.  Students must first apply for their choice of job in writing. When applying for the job, they must include a phone number for a referee and students are encouraged to compile a resume for the occasion. 

 

Collaboration is a key element in the TCN news program. The students are an integral part of a team. They nominate news stories for the next edition of the news and give reasons why the story they suggest should be included. As a group, they select which stories to include, and in which order they will appear in the program. Once news stories are assigned, students write their scripts after liaising with the teacher. They then type their script up on their iPads. iPads are used both for typing news scripts, and behind the camera as part of the teleprompter.  

 

Under the direction of the Stage Manager, students use a green screen to create a virtual newsroom. The lighting team manage four soft box lights, caring for safety of loose cords as part of their responsibilities. The sound engineer records the sound for each segment, which gives a clearer sound than the camera alone, something the team identified as a need to improve as part of their evaluations.

 

Once an edition of the news is released, the students evaluate their work and make suggestions for the next edition. As part of this evaluation process, students desired to be paid for their jobs. As a result, a whole new area of learning has been developed, to include TCN dollars. Students are only paid if they have worked for the week (sick pay is available), and they must pay tax at the rate of 20%, rent on their office space, and giving to charity (tithe) at the rate of 10% is encouraged.

 

Excitement is often buzzing in the newsroom as students rehearse their lines, waiting for their interviewee to arrive. The Communications Director, makes the necessary phone calls to line up the various guest speakers. With clipboard and sticky notes in hand, he liaises with the teacher and guest speaker, to negotiate a suitable appointment time for the interview. 

 

One of the advantages of a small school is that all students are actively involved. Everyone is a vital part of the team. Even Kindy students are expected to step up to the line, and they do. It is also rewarding to see the older students mentoring their younger classmates.

 

And while all this hard, creative, fun work is being done, it serves another valuable purpose – informing the school and wider community of the wonderful things taking place at our school.