Skyview’s Blue and Silver program highlights student stories through journalism

BILLINGS — At Skyview High School, a new class is allowing students to explore the world of journalism while discovering the untold stories that make their school unique.

Students learn to find stories in their everyday environments and share them with their peers through Blue and Silver, a student-produced weekly video news program. Course instructor Jehremy Felig, who is normally a chemistry teacher, took on the role of directing the program after volunteering his free time in the past to help students produce the program. Initially, it was just a few students who met him at lunch to film, while Felig wrote the scripts and edited the footage after hours.

“There was no class period. “It was a lot of individual work that happened outside of school, so I would take this video footage home and edit it until two or three in the morning,” Felig said.

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He wanted to start the class to give all students in the building an opportunity to be represented, especially those who are often overlooked, and build a strong foundation for future student journalists to find those stories. At a school with many talented athletes, scholars and artists, Felig saw an opportunity to bring these voices to the forefront and ensure they received the recognition they deserved.

“There are a lot of really phenomenally outstanding students from athletics, academia and the arts and I felt like a lot of those students weren’t in the spotlight, weren’t getting a lot of attention, and I saw it as an opportunity to bring those students the recognition they deserved,” said Felig.

The Blue and Silver classes are a mix of aspiring journalists, each bringing their own perspectives and interests. For the twelve students, this lesson has become more than just an educational experience, but an opportunity to explore the stories that matter most to the students.

“I think a lot of clubs and activities sometimes get missed and overlooked because of other sports, and I think everyone should have the opportunity to be there when they’re doing something important,” said student Andromeda Schenck.

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In her reports she focuses on Speech and Debate, and her peers can also choose the activities in which they are interested.

“The Blue and Silver class has so many people from different walks of life, so we split it up based on what we’re interested in, but we can still come together to get everything done,” Schenck said.

While some students, like Schenck, focus on more serious topics, others bring humor to the program. For example, Bradyn Chase draws inspiration from the comedic style of talk shows, such as “Between Two Ferns” with Zach Galifianakis.

“I always make those funny interviews. I want to try to make people laugh. If I get 10 kids who laugh, I feel good about myself,” Chase said. “Some kids hate it, but I’m good at making myself look uncomfortable, so I thought, ‘You know what? make a whole interview where I’m as awkward as I can be and hopefully I can make some people laugh there. ”

In a changing landscape, many schools across the country are discovering a new interest in journalism as a way to inform and highlight events, especially through video formats that are incredibly valuable in today’s media-driven world.

“It’s really great, and I think they’re very useful skills that everyone should have, especially with the large media presence we have these days,” said student Piper Millikan.

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For many in the course, it was their first experience picking up a camera, using the basics of video editing and interviewing others, something they now see as valuable to their future.

“I’ve never edited a video before. I’ve never recorded a video before. I’ve never reported to people before, and I’ve only been in this class for a few months now, and I feel like I know how to do it all,” Millikan said. “I like learning skills I didn’t think I had, and maybe I can do something like that in my future.”

The course not only helped students learn these technical skills, but also personal growth. Millikan, who was once nervous about speaking in front of a camera, has gained new confidence from the class.

“I’ve never really been able to speak in front of a camera before. It scares me. It’s just helped me grow in that and feel comfortable putting myself in the spotlight where my whole school sees it,” said Millikan.

As the Blue and Silver program continues to grow, the students involved are learning more than just how to report the news: they’re discovering how to find stories within their own communities.

“That’s really the point of it: to find all those really cool stories, those amazing things that students are doing, and turn them into something beautiful,” Felig says. “I hope it is something that influences the culture at Skyview and also in the community, where more and more individuals are students and parents and community members recognize all the great students who work at Skyview.”

Billings Skyview Official/YouTube

Felig plans to expand the program, both in terms of student involvement and the skills students learn. Currently, students are working on building a website and learning advanced editing techniques, but for now they are proud of the foundation they have laid.

“I think this is a great class because it’s the first one. So it’s like maybe we’re not the best ‘Blue and Silver’ that will ever go down in history, but we were the reason it was able to start,” Millikan said. .

At Skyview it is clear that every student has a story to tell. It is up to the young journalists of Blue and Silver to ensure that they are all heard.

“The more you do it and see the things you can put out there, you think, ‘Oh, maybe this isn’t so bad. Maybe I’m making a bit of a joke out of it.’ difference’, and that is always very nice to see,” says Schenck.

Click here to view Blue and Silver’s weekly reports.