By Lily Ferrone ‘25, Evan Wilson ‘25, Alex Shiner ‘25, and Rylee McComsey ‘25
Just before last summer, Mr. Anthony Thomas, the video production teacher for CVHS, was given a $40,000 grant for the news studio through the Conestoga Valley Education Foundation. This is the first major upgrade for the WCVH studio since its implementation in 1999.
Since 1999, the TV studio has helped to bring announcements, assemblies and more to the students of CVHS. Ten years ago, as technology developed, the studio’s equipment became outdated, causing students to lose their ability to broadcast live. When the new middle school was built, the technology was more advanced than the high school. This spurred Mr. Thomas to ask for the grant so that middle school students coming into high school would not be taking a step back.
With the addition of the new equipment, CV underclassmen will be able to watch assemblies from their management teams while upperclassmen will go to the assembly. This makes timing for assemblies better, with fewer students moving through the halls.
With some help from middle school teacher Mr. Chris Miller, it took over three weeks for Mr. Thomas to set up a still-unfinished TV studio. “We’re hoping for everything to be delivered by October,” Thomas said. “This equipment will help film more efficiently.”
Although students haven’t fully mastered the new equipment, they’re still learning and improving upon their skills. Thomas said “The equipment is much more user friendly, but takes up more time as the crew isn’t quite familiar yet.” Currently it takes around 15-20 students in order to create announcements, but hopefully fewer with the new technology.
Senior Alison Miller, a part of the WCVH news group, said, “The new equipment is wonderful, and due to how modern it is, it’s much easier to understand and control.” She also added that it improves the quality of their videos, and makes it easier to record announcements. “Less technology issues!” Miller concluded.
Annie Miller (12), who also helps with video production, added,“The equipment in the TV studio makes recording announcements much quicker and user friendly. The new technology for adjusting camera angles lets anyone use it.”
Mr. Thomas also mentioned that the news studio is looking for more anchors to sign up. “If you see … the same kids every day, all school year, it gets really old and really boring.” Sign ups are in his classroom, and he needs 40-60 students for the rest of the year.
With the new and improved announcements students will be able to enjoy them more than ever. Senior Cullen Bossert described his attachment to the announcements, “I love watching the announcements, so the new equipment should make them even more enjoyable.”
