The school as a TV studio
While most kids cannot get out of school fast enough after a long day of learning, students at Falcon Primary School couldn’t wait to get back to school at night-time.
On April 22, Falcon Primary students of all ages had the important job of assisting Seven News Perth weather presenter Angela Tsun (who also anchors the network's 4.30pm news bulletin) while she did a live weather cross from the school for the news.
“I think the kids learnt a lot from having a TV crew there,” Angela said. “Most kids watch television but don’t see how it all works, so it was good to have a glimpse behind the scenes at what we do on the news each night.”
“The school has a beautiful Japanese garden where the kids all assembled and they all spoke Japanese at the top of the weather cross and at the end. They nailed it.”
For a lot of the students the most exciting part of the live weather cross was meeting Angela, seeing themselves on TV and showing off the Japanese culture that makes the school a little different.
“It was really cool to be on TV and meet Angela Tsun. All my family saw me and it made me feel famous,” Caelan Vittiglia, Year 5, said.
Other students were excited to see how the cameras and all the complicated-looking equipment worked.
“It was my first time on TV,” Harry Tatterson, Year 2, said. “There were so many people there and the bright lights were shining in my eyes. I saw the camera had words on the back and Angela had to read the words out.”
Pre-primary student Bradley Mutepfa loved the television experience.
“It was so fun when I was on TV,” Bradley said. “I thought it was so nice to be on Channel 7's news and weather. My mum showed me on her phone. I liked Angela's eyes; they are my favourite colour. I couldn't believe how fast Angela can write (when she was signing the autographs).”
So how did the live weather cross actually work?
It takes a lot of time, expensive equipment and technology- checking for a live weather cross to go ahead.
A few days before the live weather cross took place at Falcon Primary, Channel 7 technicians drove the Satellite News Gathering (SNG) truck to the school to check a signal would get back to the studio.
The trucks have about $250,000 worth of equipment in them. The satellite dish on the SNG is able to beam photos and broadcasts up into the sky and back into the studio at Channel 7. With the satellite dish, the SNG truck can send broadcasts from anywhere.
There are a few things that make a live weather cross different from a normal studio weather report for Angela.
“When I’m on location I don’t have the clicker that changes the graphics, so that’s all done from the control room. But I still have an autocue, which is the same in the studio,” Angela explained.
“In our new studio we don’t have a cameraman or anyone on the floor so that’s different when we do a live cross because there is someone standing behind the camera who sets up the shot and lights.”
The students at Falcon Primary were very excited the school was selected to be on TV and they could not wait to show off the features that makes their school community a little different from the rest. In addition to their garden, the school’s Japanese focus includes learning about the language, customs, food and culture.
Isabella Tatterson, Year 6, said she likes learning about Japanese culture at her school.
“I love trying out Japanese sports and reading Japanese books and practising speaking in Japanese. The Japanese garden is also really cool,” she said.
To show off some of Falcon Primary’s Japanese influence, the live weather cross with Angela was filmed in the Japanese garden and some students dressed in traditional Japanese clothes.
Learning about Japan has become a great community project for Falcon Primary. It is a feature that could help the school win in the Department of Education’s Our School’s A Star program, which encourages government schools to engage in exciting community projects that make the school stand out, and offers prizes including $10,000 cash.
Visit ourschoolsastar.com
