Sanfordville fourth graders explore video production at WVHS

Fourth grade students from Sanfordville Elementary (SES) have been visiting Warwick Valley High School this week. They are taking part in exciting hands-on learning experiences in Daniel Cecconie’s video production class. Each group that visits, gets to work with Mr. Cecconie and his high school students, learning different aspects of the production process, including script writing and audio/video production.

The creative crew from SES work with Danielle Cancel on writing their own scripts, and even film videos using a green screen in the SES library! Each group visiting the production classroom/studio at WVHS got to break out into small workgroups, to learn some other basics of pre-production and production, and even post-production touches like adding graphics and editing.

“This is nice because they’re able to come to the high school and see what the older students are working on,” said Ms. Cancel. “They gain that higher-level perspective.”

The high school students enjoyed their time with the fourth graders, and embraced the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills with them. The video production students fielded a number of eager questions from the fourth graders.

“I think this class is really fun and a good experience, because it prepares you for a career outside of school,” said Natalia Yacab, a sophomore in the video production class. “You learn so much at a young age; it can help you narrow down what you might want to be.”

Flora Gilley, another sophomore in the class, agrees that the class can help students get a clearer sense a what futures might be available to them in a field they are passionate about.

“You work in teams and you get to know the industry, [you learn] communication, which is a really important skill,” said Flora. “You get to know other forms of media, especially since technology is getting more and more advanced. It’s important for users to communicate through different media.”

The visits began on Tuesday and continue through Thursday. So far, the fourth graders report enjoying the experience of working in a bigger studio, getting to learn “on cool equipment” from the older students, and more than a few of them have already mentioned that they will “definitely be taking video production” as an elective when the time comes (circa 2023). 

A special thank you to Mr. Cecconie, his students, and Ms. Cancel for collaborating on this great, inter-grade-level opportunity for our students. There is a lot to be gain