The WSMW news crew of St. Mary Catholic Community School of Crown Point, IN recently took a field trip to WGN news studios. WSMW is St. Mary’s very own in-house student-run TV news program that is viewed by the entire school every morning. Their tour guide for the event was Lourdes Duarte. Lourdes Duarte is an television journalist for WGN-TV, where she is an investigative reporter and co-host of the WGN News Evening News at 4pm. She took time out of her schedule to not only show the students the studio, but also to give students a normal a day in the life of a news report/host. “It was really inspirational and informative.” said 8th grader Daisy Cain, current News anchor for the schools WSMW. “Listening to Lourdes talk about how she uses the news to help bring positive change into people's lives made us realize how powerful the news can be to our community”.
The trip showed the many pieces that come together to make a news programs work. “It was really awesome to see the editing and control rooms. As an film editor for our broadcasts it was great to see the similarities of our editing program and the studio’s. They just built a new control room at the studio and it was amazing to see all the new technology and equipment needed for a professional news broadcast” said 8th Grader Josh Schultz.
The trip helped unveil some behind the scenes TV production techniques. 5th grade reporter Mary Mumaugh said, “ I liked the green screen because it gave us an idea of how they make all the neat backgrounds you see on TV. I also liked the part where we got to read an actual news script and use a real teleprompter.”
Finally the Highlight of the trip for the group was the opportunity for the students to sit in and watch the recording of 2 segments of their midday broadcast and get the opportunity to take a picture with WGN’s Steve Sanders at the news desk. “This trip really is great for our WSMW group. It helps students see the similarities in how we run and film our daily broadcasts. It also is pushing our students to try and add new elements and features. The trip is truly a priceless opportunity that we have that helps the quality and creativity of the school’s news program.” said Club Moderator Anthony Pagorek. “Hopefully our students and parents will get to see the impact of this field trip in our upcoming episodes.”
St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point was opened in 1872. The school offers grade levels Junior Pre-Kindergarten (for three year olds) through eight and is the largest school in the Diocese of Gary. St. Mary’s faculty teaches a rich curriculum supported by leading-edge technology. All students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities such as Academic Team, Chess Club, Craft Club, Math Bowl, Spanish Club, Science Olympiad, Scouts, Environmental Club, athletics and more. To learn more about St. Mary’s School’s upcoming Open House or schedule a personal tour, visit stmarycp.org/school.