Varina Elemenatry started a reading incentive program to encourage students to read 40 books or more. Today we recorded a rap video that will be shown to the whole school, explaining the program. Mr. Jones, the PE teacher, and Ms. Jackson, the art teacher demonstrated their rapping skills with raps they wrote themselves! Students also choreographed their own dance routine to accompany the video. My job was to add the green screen effects. Since we didn’t have a green screen, I just hung up some green bulletin board paper. I also hung up some orange bulletin board paper for students who were wearing green (you can use any color, as long as the performers aren’t wearing that color). Then I recorded them using the DoInk Green Screen app on an iPad. Within the app, you can choose the color you want to be transparent and add a background to replace it. I used some generic music video backgrounds that I downloaded. The last step was to add the song files. We shared the finished video on Google drive so all the students could see it. You can watch it here.

Students at Laburnum Elementary have been working hard on a video for the annual Michael & Son Jingle Contest. Michael and Son is a plumbing/remodeling company that offers cash prizes to area schools that create a video featuring their jingle, “If you can’t we can, Michael and Son.” Ms. Allison, the music teacher at Laburnum, has been working with students after school on a drum line performance of the jingle. Today I filmed them and helped Ms. Alison with the submission process. The students did a great job performing, and they even dressed up in uniforms. You can watch their video here. The contest ends soon, so be sure to vote for Laburnum using the link above. I hope you win, Laburnum and Ms. Allison!

Students at Varina Elementary, with the help of their tireless guidance counselor, Dina Thibodeau, have been working to create an anti-bullying video set to the tune of “Stand Up” by Sugarland. Each class planned a special part of the video where they used hand motions and signs to convey a message, like “Bullying isn’t cool,” “Diversity Rules,” and “Include Everyone.” The students made their own signs and collaborated on the best way to present their message in a meaningful way. Today I went around to film them, and it was obvious that they had been working hard on this project. Many classes did their part in just one take! I edited them together, added the soundtrack, and this is the result. You might want to show this video to your students and discuss the importance of not bullying. Another resource you could use is this video I created with Alfonso about Internet safety and cyber bullying.