Speaker Series I

Set Up

  1. We had to reserve the auditorium for the dates we wanted and give a heads up to the teachers that we would be having assembly schedules those days.  Teachers are planners, and they need time to adjust their schedules.  
  2. The student committee identified several teachers that they respected and wanted to hear stories from.  We then sent emails to those teachers and asked them if they would be willing to speak about their why's.
  3. Luckily, 8 brave teachers were willing to speak.  We sent them back some specifications. Their speeches needed to be 8-10 minutes and must be about how they found their "WHY." They could be as personal as they wanted.  We also asked for outlines of their speeches so we could make sure their subjects weren't too similar. 
  4. We decided on two assemblies, each with 4 speakers and video montages of various students saying their "why" in between.
  5. We got to work videotaping students from all parts of the student body stating their why.  We used a DSLR on video mode and in monochrome.  Editing of the footage was done in iMovie.  We even put together a blooper reel of students for the end. 
  6. Our Assistant Principal made a seating chart so that students had to sit with their classes. We were concerned that if it was general seating it would talk to long to get seated, and they might be distracted by their friends. 
  7. The morning of each assembly we did a run through with all four of that day's speakers.  They were hooked up to mic pacs and we practiced where they walked, the lighting and the video transitions. 
  8. Lights, Camera, Action! We had a student videographer ready with a videocamera.  He was tapped into the auditorium's soundsystem so that he could capture the sound accurately. Thanks Nick! 
  9. SHOWTIME
  10. Students were released back to their classes where their teachers had a lesson waiting to help lead students reflection and discussion