It does take them a few weeks to get comfortable in front of a camera.
“At the very beginning of the year it’s very awkward for them because I only had two returning students from last year,” Barton said. “They’re very nervous to start. The first three weeks we did exercises and I had them write their own scripts. I had them practice on camera by themselves so they could get more comfortable with it. By the time we started recording they were good with it.”
The show features students presenting the weather forecast for the week, jokes and skits follow, as well as school and celebrity birthdays, and of course, an update on all the sports going on at the school.
Sometimes the students need a little nudge to get creative thoughts flowing during show prep.
“Once I start assigning skits they’ll be like ‘I don’t know what to do,’ so I tell them to brainstorm with their group and get it going, figure something out,” Barton said. “I think most of the time they’re spot-on with what most of the kids around here are into.”
Barton sends a link to the show to teachers on Sunday night so they can play it whenever they have time in their classes at the beginning of the week.
“If we miss a week or take a week off when we’re doing other stuff in the class people will ask about it. I think they enjoy it.”
Is it possible the next big sports or news anchor will come out of Rolesville?
“I feel like a lot of them have gotten comfortable with it that they may want to pursue this as a career,” Barton said. “It’s interesting to see where their brains are going with it.”
Check out a school near you!
About Rolesville Charter Academy
Rolesville Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Rolesville, North Carolina, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
Visit Rolesville Charter Academy's blog to read more stories like this.