Each morning this year, as students flock to their homerooms, they probably have noticed  a broadcast chattering away in the background. This is Rostrum TV, West Haven High School’s very own news show.

These daily videos, which can be found on whhsnews.com, feature occasionally quirky editing and give viewers insight into what’s going on around the school, including club information, important announcements, and interviews with teachers and students alike.

Students in Jennifer Cummings’ Advanced Digital Media and Journalism classes grind their time away to produce the daily show. They also hone their writing skills by producing this newsletter you’re reading. We asked Ms. Cummings to share information on how her team gets things on the air and to let parents know how their child can get involved.

Tell us about Rostrum TV.

Rostrum TV is our school’s new daily morning show. Each day our class gathers news about school clubs, sports, college visits and more and puts all that together for our morning broadcast. Our show also features fun montages of students and interviews with interesting people in our school community.

How can a student get involved in Rostrum TV?

The first step is to sign up for our school’s Digital Media and Journalism class. Students who do well in that full-year class will be invited to sign up for our Advanced Digital Media and Journalism class, which produces the news show. But students who are very eager to start right away can join our school news club (Google Classroom code yl7iuzp). We also accept some student-created content done outside of class. Students can email whhsrostrum@gmail.com to submit photos, announcements or videos to our show.

What is it like in your classroom?

Our class operates as a fully functioning newsroom. We usually start class by meeting to figure out what we need to accomplish that day. From there students will be anchoring the news, operating the camera and audio equipment, setting up interviews, writing stories and so much more. We are just a few weeks in and already my students have such a strong team mentality, it’s been so fun to watch. 

Is there anything else you want people to know?

I like to tell my students I don’t want to push them out of their comfort zones, I want to broaden their comfort zones. At the beginning of this year I had a few students who didn’t want to go on camera, now they’re anchoring the news. This is a great class for people who want to improve their communication skills and get more confidence in all kinds of social settings.