Elementary students go on-air with Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting

On April 5, several students from the News Tech Club at the Old Mill Road School in North Merrick visited the Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting program with their advisor, Deborah Walsh.

The field trip, organized by Walsh and Mepham English Chairperson Mary Donnelly, gave the students an opportunity to tour the Broadcasting studio at Wellington C. Mepham High School where Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting teacher Stuart Stein and technology assistant Matt Russell offered students an interactive preview of an in-studio news broadcast.

Club members took turns operating the controls and the cameras, serving as anchors, camera operators and directors. The students, who use an iPad and iMovie to create their own news packages for the News Tech Club, learned how to use industry-standard equipment, including BMB’s TriCaster, to produce a live broadcast. Stein and Donnelly answered questions about the Broadcasting program and invited the students to apply for enrollment in 2019 or 2020.

“Wearing headsets, operating cameras, communicating on walkie talkies, directing videographers ... it was the experience of a lifetime for these future news reporters,” said Walsh. "’This is a dream come true,’ ‘It's like a real-life talkshow,’ and ‘Whoah’ were only a few excited reactions to this special day.”

“With the help of Mr. Stein and Mr. Russell, the students learned about directing, filming, and reporting while working with the high tech, top of the line broadcasting equipment housed at Mepham High School,” Walsh added. “Special thanks to the teachers, Mr. Harrington, Ms. Netto, Ms. Donnelly and Ms. Einbinder for this amazing hands-on experience.”

The Bellmore-Merrick Broadcasting Program is available to students throughout the district. Students are able to work with high-tech professional equipment in the district’s brand new top-of-the-line broadcasting studio. Program participants enroll in a number of course offerings that focus on experiential learning.