MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – River Oaks Elementary is showcasing their student-operated ‘Morning Show’ to apply for a national grant with the book distributor, Follett.
The school started the program where students write, report, record and edit their own newscasts around three years ago.
Helena Butwin, a third grader at River Oaks helps anchor for the show. She says participating in the school’s program has been fun, but it has also helped her learn.
“I’ve gotten better at writing, and sometimes I might be scared of speaking and (the show) kind of encouraged me,” Butwin said.
The library and media specialist at River Oaks, Wendy Sovoca says that is the program’s main goal.
They fill out an application just like a job to be a part of the morning show, and they’re learning skills. They’re learning computer skills that I’m teaching them to edit. They’re learning speaking skills, and they’re learning reading and writing skills,” Sovoca said.
River Oaks Elementary is showcasing their morning news show in hopes of winning one of 13 of Follett’s national grants. The school would use the grant money to purchase more resources for the students.
“It’s to benefit the kids. The money is going back to them, so we could use it in our library we could use it in our morning show we could use it to get better technology, so it could really benefit the whole school,” Sovoca said.
If selected, River Oaks could win as much as $60,000 dollars.
“There are a lot of schools in South Carolina, and we’re the only school that applied, so I thought it would be wonderful if all the students and teachers in South Carolina could rally together and vote for us, even just one vote today would make a difference and would make a difference for our school,” Sovoca said.
Most of the grant winners will be determined by the number of votes a school receives. To vote for River Oaks Elementary, click here.
Voting closes Friday, Jan. 25 at midnight. Finalists will be announced on Feb. 27, and the winners will be announced on Apr. 24.
