HHRS Students Win 1st Place in Broadcast News Production Competition at NJ SkillsUSA Championships

HIGHLANDS, NJ, May 13, 2015 - SkillsUSA Championships is the state-level competition that encompasses over 50 skills categories - ranging from architectural drafting to culinary arts to welding - and is for high school and post-secondary students who are enrolled in career and technical education training programs within the state. On May 2nd, Henry Hudson Regional School students Savannah Coppola (12th grade), Ganessa Hans (11th grade), Julia D’Aguanno (10th grade) and Paige Huff (10th grade) competed against 5 teams in the Broadcast News Production category to take 1st Place. These students will represent the state of New Jersey at the National SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, where over 5,600 students compete in 94 occupational and leadership skill areas during the week of June 22-27, 2015.

In order to prepare and qualify for the competition, the students garnered the TV and broadcasting skills needed by attending Digital Video class and practicing with their teacher, Mr. James Gregg. Mr. Gregg stated, “This will be a great experience for them. These students, even though only one of them is a senior, took this competition very seriously and worked very hard. Most have only been in my class a couple of years and they went from not placing at all [last year] to winning 1st place this year! That’s quite an accomplishment and I’m exceedingly proud of them.” Over the past 4 years, HHRS has won 3rd place twice with this being their first 1st place win.

Mrs. Wendy Glester, the teacher-advisor for the team, added, “These students are all very dedicated; so much so that Savannah (Coppola) will be missing her graduation to attend the Nationals. It’s an important message to other students; she is showing a great deal of commitment and leadership and I hope it encourages others to participate in the SkillsUSA programs going forward.”

The Broadcast News Production contest was comprised of four student members. Two students served as the news anchor team, one student served as the team’s director/technical director and one student served as the floor director/teleprompter operator. Teams used their own scripts to produce and complete a three-minute newscast as if it were live. Each team wrote and produced this three-minute script before the assigned contest time. Teams were evaluated on their broadcast writing ability, voice quality, diction, timing and pacing, interaction, appearance, and performance techniques. Students had time to practice the script and learn how to operate the equipment on the day of the contest.

Dr. Susan Compton, Superintendent of Schools emphasized that “this first place win is an outstanding example of the great academic success that is happening at Henry Hudson Regional School. Truly, it shows that focusing on STEM, Advanced Placement Classes, dual enrollment, and other academic programs at Henry Hudson make it one of the best schools to attend, not only in Monmouth County, but in the state of New Jersey. We are very proud of our students, staff, and administration, and this first place team is leaving a legacy for HHRS.”

About Henry Hudson Regional School

Henry Hudson Regional School, a middle school and high school, serves the towns of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands from grades seven through twelve. It is located adjacent to Twin Lights State Park in Highlands, New Jersey, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook. Henry Hudson Regional School provides a personalized learning experience that enables students to meet and exceed all content area learning standards by maintaining small class size, securing low student-to-teacher ratio, utilizing highly engaging curriculum that fosters academic achievement in a changing global, technological society, and embracing a strong partnership with its community. Henry Hudson equips students with the skills needed to develop self-esteem and character, to communicate effectively, to think critically to solve problems, to learn respect for cultural differences and to work cooperatively with others. www.henryhudsonreg.k12.nj.us

Ms. Nancy Shaffery has been teaching Digital Arts at HHRS for 11 years and previously taught at Rutgers University, Monmouth University and Stockton College.

Mr James Gregg has been teaching TV/Video at HHRS for 4 years. Mrs Wendy Glester has been teaching for over 23 years with 11 of them at HHRS; she has been involved with SkillsUSA for 21 years.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA’s mission is to help its members become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA is an applied method of instruction for preparing America’s high performance workers in public career and technical programs. It provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. It builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. It emphasizes total quality at work—high ethical standards, superior work skills, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work. SkillsUSA also promotes understanding of the free-enterprise system and involvement in community service.

SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations including health occupations and for further education. More than 300,000 students and advisors join SkillsUSA annually, organized into more than 17,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations. SkillsUSA has served more than 10.5 million members since its founding in 1965. www.nj-skillsusa.org