Hedgesville Middle School news team receives grant – Journal News | News, sports, jobs, community information for Martinsburg – The Journal
This allowed the school to purchase a new MacBook computer, lighting, microphones, an audio mixer and an iPad, which is used as the news team’s teleprompter.
Sandy Stamets, music teacher at Hedgesville Middle School, said she has been helping to oversee the school’s news team since returning to the school three years ago, but the school has been producing morning news for over 20 years.
“What they can produce now is far beyond what they were able to before,” Stamets said.
School counselor Beth Roberts, said the school’s news equipment was completely outdated and it had been borrowing equipment for over a year. Roberts wrote the grant request.
Sam Lussier, a watchdog volunteer and owner of five:am productions of Hedgesville, was lending the news team equipment from his business in order to help out.
At one point the team was using a makeshift teleprompter Lussier and the team had made themselves.
“We took an Amazon box, a black T-shirt, an IKEA picture frame glass and gaff tape and stuck it all together and made our own teleprompter and used that for almost a year, but all of the sudden they were able to look into the eyes of the viewer just by doing that,” Lussier said.
Lussier said the team used that until his business acquired a teleprompter, but ever since that point the news team improved, and the grant was a way to get even better.
Eighth-grader Emily Neely said because the quality has improved the other students have become more engaged.
“I think now that we have the new equipment it draws attention to it more than it used to because kids are starting to like to watch it, instead of being like, ‘oh, it’s the news again, we have to watch it,’ they are actually looking forward to it in the morning to see what we have going on,” Neely said.
The newscast is completely student-run and every week each team member rotates roles in order for everyone to experience all aspects of production. The members of the team are: Cady Potter, Dilyn Ruest, Emily Neely, Sydney Izes, Ashton Kewk, Billy Weigle, Ericka Link and Connor Cook.
The positions the students hold are camera operator, news assistant, audio director, lighting, graphics, teleprompter operator, news anchors and playback.
Lussier said that not only does this give the students an opportunity to learn new technology, understand how a newscast is produced, but it can motivate them to be the best version of themselves.
“You have to let people know who you are and let them see the best you,” Lussier said.
“And so hopefully, mixed in with some integrity, we can give the students the tools and have them think about that kind of stuff, that whatever it is that they believe in, they can craft it, edit out all the junk and leave that on the floor.
