Andalusia Star News


Andalusia Elementary students Marion Starnes (left at camera), Amanda Majors (at table) and Drew Seymore (far right) get ready to go on air Thursday morning. | Andrew Garner/Star-News

Andalusia Elementary fifth graders Drew Seymore and Amanda Majors get their cue and the broadcast begins.

Seymore and Majors are the lead anchors for the WAES Morning News, a broadcast TV station based in the elementary school.

For more than two months, talented and gifted (TAG) students in grades 3-5 have been delivering the news via closed circuit TV to students in grades K-5.

“The kids do it all,” AES fifth grade teacher and sponsor, Barbara Peek said. “I’m just a whip cracker.”

Peek, who has been playing the roles of director and producer for the small TV station, helps write the script for each day’s broadcast. Every afternoon, the on-camera personality goes through a rehearsal.

Majors and Seymore get right to work reading the script for Thursday morning’s airing. Peek chimes in with cues to either slow down their pace or when to pause for background music.

During yesterday’s news, WAES paid tribute — as it does often — to Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame because it was his birthday. The team also wishes happy birthdays to students and teachers in the school. Third grader Emmy Mixson told the school about Nimoy.

Peek said the station does it all — news, birthdays, weather and sports.

“The weather report is here because teachers asked for it,” she said. “We asked teachers what they’d like to see on WAES Morning News.”

Peek said some other suggestions included what’s on the menu for lunch, giving a famous quote and others.

In addition to the on-air talent, WAES has students working a mixer, soundboard, cameras and the teleprompter. A mixer changes the different cameras during the broadcast, a soundboard controls the background music and... READ MORE>

Andalusia Star News