Kylie Christensen
Granite Park Junior High Community School Director
Granite Park Junior High’s Announcement Staff (A-Staff) have a big job! They film, edit, and produce Granite Park’s daily announcements.
The idea was born in 2010 by Dr. Chun, the principal at the time. He wanted students to share a little bit about their country and their culture during announcements. Students would spotlight their country or culture over the school intercom for 10 minutes during the advisory period. However, the combination of the PA system and the students’ accents made it difficult to understand.
Mr. Will Pettit, a GPJH CTE teacher, suggested transitioning the announcements to video instead of using the PA system every morning. In 2011 A-Staff as we know it was organized, and Mr. Pettit became the advisor. Currently there are seven A-Staff members, but we anticipate having a total of 12 members by October.
To be on A-Staff, students must have a 3.5 GPA or higher, an interest and skill in videography, editing, or acting, have taken Mr. Pettit’s Prestaff class or video class, and be voted in by the existing A-Staff members. A-Staffers put in a lot of time and effort into their work, often staying after school to create storyboards, conduct interviews, act, film, sync sound, shoot the green screen, and edit footage. A three minute daily announcement video requires five or six hours of work.
Announcements start with the pledge of allegiance then A-Staffers recap various GPJH rules and upcoming events through creative video shorts. Special A-Staff announcements highlight certain countries or cultures represented in the school.
It is a great way to support student’s interests and help educate the entire school about the countries and cultures of their classmates!
**Granite Park Junior High is a United Way of Salt Lake Community School**
