This week, we stepped into the creative world of Ms. Claire Drews's Dual Credit Contemporary Broadcast Media I class at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, which is part of our Career Pathways program designed to give students hands-on experience in potential future professions.

In this class, students are beginning to work on pre-production for their final short film projects. Ms. Drews kicked off the lesson by walking students through a review of the essential roles involved in producing a film - Director, Camera Operator/Director of Photography, Script Writer, and Editor - emphasizing how each role plays a critical part in bringing a story to life on screen.

The students' next task was to determine which of the four roles they would fulfil on their teams for the final short film projects. From there, it was time for an activity to train in these roles. Students met with their counterparts and were given a phrase or theme to create a short 15-20 second video or dialogue for. The Directors and Camera Operators had to use three props to tell a visual story. The Editors and Script writers had to write at least 10 lines of dialogue to fit the theme, edit down to 7 lines, and record a voiceover of the script. At the end of class, groups shared their creations with the rest of the class, who tried to guess the original prompt. This activity gave students a chance to explore different production roles in a collaborative setting, helping them discover which roles best matched their strengths and interests. 

Next, students will use what they learned about these roles to work together to complete their short film projects for their final. The students have the option of producing a Documentary or Narrative short film, which they will see through from pre-production, to production (filming), and finally post-production. This final project is the culmination of all they have learned throughout the semester: camera shot composition, storyboarding, script writing, editing, pacing, storytelling, and more. Students will also have the opportunity to share these final projects at the first ever Wheaton Warrenville South Student Film Festival on Wednesday, May 21 (open to the public).

On Wednesday April 30, CUSD 200 students from the Business INCubator classes at both high schools presented their final pitches for their start-up ideas in a shark tank-style competition for a chance to receive up to $2,500.

The INCubator program provides young entrepreneurs an opportunity to create and fully develop their own product or service. Business experts from the community served as coaches and mentors guiding the teams throughout the process.

During the event, eight teams presented their pitches. Due to the high level of competition, the sharks were unable to select just one team for first, second or third place. As a result, the sharks selected two first place teams, and two second place teams.

The following teams earned funding for their start-up ideas:

• First Place ($2,500) - Mains du Temps: Luxury custom-made watches (Wheaton North) & Mother Putter: A "breakable" putter that can be put back together, for when you miss those close shots (Wheaton Warrenville South)

• Second Place ($1,000) - Hoodie Hero: Stylish hoodie "string stoppers"  (Wheaton North), & Turf Taker: Frictionless tape for healing turf burns. (Wheaton Warrenville South)

Recently, CUSD 200 hosted the second annual Future Educator Signing Day at Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools.

The signing day honored seniors who took the Intro to Teaching class and have made the commitment to study education in college. In addition, the students will be guaranteed an interview with CUSD 200 after they earn their teaching license.

We look forward to supporting these students as they pursue a degree in education and become future educators.

The first graders at Longfellow Elementary School participated in the Bass in the Class program with the DuPage Forest Preserve. The children cared for five native fish and were responsible for feeding them and helping to maintain the aquarium. This hands-on program allowed them to observe the fish closely and explore what aquatic animals need to survive. In addition to the fish, the students studied freshwater mussels and learned about their importance in our waterways - mussels work as living filters to keep lakes streams and rivers clear and remove pollutants that could harm aquatic organisms.

A virtual visit from an environmental interpreter helped answer students' questions during the project. A loan box from the forest preserve gave the children additional hands-on experiences learning about mussels.

The project culminated with a field trip where Longfellow first graders brought the bluegills they raised to the Urban Stream Research Center at Blackwell Forest Preserve. They explored a pond, stream and river and toured the research lab to learn how the fish they raised will be used to propagate mussels.

On April 22 and April 29, students from the Wheaton North Essentials Program built their own pizzas at Billy Bricks Wood Fired Pizza restaurant in Wheaton. Students in this program go out in the community twice a week to practice life skills such as reading comprehension of the menu, decision making practice, communication in various environments, and sequencing tasks in the correct order. 

Billy Bricks is generously hosting a fundraiser on Monday, May 12, from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.where 20% of the proceeds will go to future Community-based Instructional opportunities for Wheaton North's Essentials Special Education Program on dine in or carry out orders. Additionally, Billy Bricks will have three specialty pizza creations made by students in the Wheaton North Essentials program available for purchase. These student-created pizzas include:

• The Lilly Special - cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and red onions 

• The Classic Twist - mushroom, spinach, cheese, pepperoni 

• The Chick-a-licious - chicken, cheese, spinach, and pesto 

Please save the date to support our Wheaton North Essentials Special Education Program!