8 minute read
5TH-8TH GRADE VIDEO BLOGGERS
by Rachel Jones 5th-8th Graders learn how to become Video Producers in News Blog Course
Intermediate and Middle School News Blog gives students in grades 5-8 the opportunity to investigate and share their passions and interests through digital storytelling. In just two trimesters, news bloggers have produced more than 75 multimedia projects on a wide range of topics from Dungeons and Dragons to what it means to have an Episcopal Identity. The opportunities are endless!
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Instructor and former journalist Rachel Jones pushes her students to consider what matters to both the storyteller and the audience, furthering their ability to empathize and recognize their power to be a voice for others.
Students research, storyboard, perform interviews, shoot video, write scripts, record voice overs, and edit video. The videos are posted on the school’s Wordpress blog asesnewsblog.wordpress.com and shared across the school’s social media platforms. Beyond the process of producing a multimedia story, students cultivate a healthy curiosity, build social skills with both their peers and mentors, explore their creativity, and practice using technology that they otherwise would not see in an ordinary classroom. Perhaps most importantly, students are encouraged to consider the power of storytelling.
Jones aims to inspire her news bloggers to understand that they can be real change-makers in their school and community. There is a reverence instilled for the role of storyteller for both its responsibility and privilege.
Blessing of the Animals
All Saints recently celebrated the Blessing of the Animals, a tradition in which Christians worldwide recognize the Feast of Saint Francis. At All Saints, students celebrate Blessing of the Animals by bringing their pets to school to receive a blessing from our school chaplain, Father Kevin Wittmayer. Trustee Rev. John Carr and parent Rev. Mitch Tollett also helped to bless the animals.
This year if students didn’t have a pet they brought a stuffed animal to be blessed! For many people, pets are considered a member of the family, so blessing these furry friends was a nice way to show them love.
“Blessing of the Animals was a meaningful event for my family,” says parent Gretchen Mercer. “Our dog Maya passed away a few months after the Blessing took place, and all three of my girls felt better knowing that Maya had recently been blessed, and passed on to ‘dog heaven’.”
Funding Teacher Grants
This year our Parent Association funded nine different teacher grants totaling over $5,000. Each year teachers are offered the chance to share some ideas they have for new or innovative learning tools that would have impact on learning. This past year we had eighteen proposals submitted to the PA across all divisions. Some of the new items include Early Learning sensory items, digital microscopes, VEX robotics, digital drawing tablets, and items for digital broadcast. We are thankful for our PA and the support they share in so many ways.
The Preschool teachers are thrilled about the funds that were donated from the PA for the sensory pathway. They are in the designing phase of this right now. A sensory path is a colorful, creative, and playful way for kids to build connections in the brain that are responsible for sight, touch, sound, etc. which enable kids to complete complex, multi-stage tasks Early Learning and Lower School Grants
Each Kindergarten teacher was able to purchase a light panel and two sets each of manipulatives to enhance this as a third teacher in the classroom. There are so many different materials designed specifically to be used on a light table, It is an exciting addition to the classroom and it keeps learning fresh when you can change items out every few weeks.
Intermediate and Middle School Grants In the Intermediate and Middle School Broadcast students have added to their creativity and professionalism with the additions of a gimbal, Padcaster, and subscription to Rundown Creator. Mrs. Jones reports on the new items:
Gimbal (Stabilizer): This purchase has provided new, creative production opportunities allowing students to leave the tripod behind and actually be a part of the action. Students now see the difference in video using tripod, handheld, drone, and stabilizer. I have seen students take more risks and flex their creative muscles to try new things with each option.
Padcaster: This device has given students the opportunity to focus more on the delivery of their information rather than the technical obstacles. In the past, we were limited to assembling a makeshift teleprompter from a side table, old computer monitor, and HDMI cable. This led to difficulty looking at the scripts and the camera at the same time. It also added to set up time. With the padcaster, any student can create and access scripts in or outside of the Digi studio.
SCAN THIS QR CODE and watch a THANK YOU VIDEO from the students:
Rundown Creator: This is one of the most helpful tools we have when creating a showcase. We had used a free trial in the past, but now that we have the subscription, we can actually begin producing our show at the beginning of the semester and continue adding to it as we finish projects. The program keeps everything organized! We can time our show, make assignments, write scripts, and even use the teleprompter feature.
Upper School Grants Mrs. Sharon Birtcher loves the addition of Collisions in her classroom. “Collisions is a system of immersive digital games, grounded in the rules of chemistry, that I’ve used to introduce, teach, and review concepts,” says Mrs Birthcer. “The All Saints PA provided my sophomore Chemistry classes with a year-long subscription.”
Ms. Gale Lassiter, Upper School Art Teacher, is thrilled to have 8 drawing tablets for her art students. During the fall semester, AP and Advanced art students had the opportunity to explore digital imagery. During the Spring Semester, all 2-D art students will be able to incorporate digital designs into their pieces.
The Completion of a Transformative Campaign
All Saints Episcopal School has been transformed thanks to the completion of the Honor Our Past, Imagine Our Future Capital Campaign. Over four years each phase of the project provided many vital enhancements to our campus, making it safer for our students, and building learning spaces that themselves serve as a “3rd teacher” for our students.
The $6 million campaign was completed in Summer 2019 with King Early Learning and Lower School and Mewbourne Science Explorium. The innovative new learning spaces allow our students to engage in authentic learning experiences starting in the youngest grades, all the way to our Upper School students. We would like to thank all the donors who made this campaign possible.
Projects completed during the Honor Our Past Imagine Our Future Capital Campaign:
• King Early Learning and Lower School renovation • Lower School Collaboratory • Thomas Learning Farm • Mewbourne Science Explorium • Outdoor Learning Pavilions • Thomas Outdoor Learning Center • Lower School porté cochere, carpool area and landscaping • Security Center • Intermediate and Middle School STEM Lab • Center for Innovation including the Fab Lab, Idea Lab, E-Cafe, Design Studio, Digi Studio and VR Lab
OCTOBER 10, 2019
This fall we honored our donors with the dedication of the newly renovated King Early Learning and Lower School and the new Mewbourne Science Explorium. Guests, parents, teachers and students attended the ribbon cutting that included brand new classrooms, learning spaces, and a new one-of-a-kind domed science building.
