Stand by in the Studio
Adapted from Hubbard Woods Item, January 30, 2002

If you haven't already heard, Hubbard Woods School has its own TV station. WGST debuted its first LIVE broadcast to every classroom on Monday January 14, 2003, via closed circuit television. Each broadcast includes: daily announcements, Pledge of Allegiance, news, and weather reports. It is student run under the direction of trained faculty volunteers. A weekly rotating 8-person grade 4 team is in front of and behind the camera. They serve as anchors, weathermen, cameramen, lighting, and sound technicians. Just like real broadcasters, students choose and write their own news stories. Being on television strengthens the students' writing and performing skills. Producing the broadcast also teaches the importance of teamwork.

How did Hubbard Woods School obtain this production facility? It was all made possible through a Teacher Initiative Grant from the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation. These grants fund teachers' desires to research topics or pursue new approaches to their curriculum. It is this very "outside the box" thinking which prompted Mr. Mazza and Mr. Wartik's idea for WGST. They took childrens' inherent fascination with television and harnessed it as a learning tool! The students are now applying skills and having fun doing it.

The entire school community benefits from the daily broadcast, whether they are producing it or simply watching it. Fortunately, the Foundation provided most of the funding making their special dream a reality. Finally, our own Hubbard Woods PTA Ways and Means Committee, generously contributed with a grant to the WGST project. Stop in some morning and check it out!