On Friday, May 6th, students from St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point traveled to Chicago to visit the WGN Television Studio. Students were given a personal tour by early morning news anchor Lourdes Duarte. The eight students run St. Mary's School news broadcast, WSMW, on a daily basis. They all have interest in television broadcasting and were excited about the opportunity to visit WGN.
The students visited the assignment desk, saw news editing in action, visited the control room, and then got to sit in on a live broadcast of the WGN Midday News hosted by Steve Sanders and Dina Bair. Walter Cook said, “Being in the studio and watching a live broadcast was awesome!" Mea Sanders enjoyed the control room saying, “It was fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes.”
St. Mary’s daily news program is organized by technology teacher, Miss Heather Clarkson. “We’re blessed to have a teacher like Miss Clarkson who helps our students produce our TV news program for the entire school to enjoy each morning. The students involved learn a great deal from their experience on WSMW,” said St. Mary principal, Tom Ruiz.
St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point has been educating children in the Roman Catholic tradition since 1872. The school offers grade levels Pre-Kindergarten through eight. St. Mary’s faculty teaches a rich curriculum supported by cutting-edge technology and numerous extra-curricular opportunities like the WSMW morning news program. The school is a recipient of the state of Indiana’s highest accolades, including Four Star status.