Te Kura O Mohaka students Aimee MacDonald and Fergus Morunga take their turn in front of the camera at the North Pole set at Ideaschool, EIT.

Te Kura O Mohaka students took the lead in an EIT North Pole news broadcast last week. (Thursday 8 November).

The 18 Year 4 to 8 students travelled to the Hawke’s Bay campus to view videos shot of them by EIT screen production students who had visited the school a few months ago.

As well as a tour of the facilities and screen equipment at EIT, the school children were filmed by first year NZ Diploma in Screen Production students on a set they had created as an end of year project. They also shared a pizza lunch together.

For the Mohaka School students it was a thrilling experience.

“We were excited to finish our learning experience by visiting EIT. Our students had the opportunity to use a higher skill level of digital tools and increase their understanding about script writing, news reporting and be in an actual studio setting,” says Di Barrett, Mohaka school principal.

It was two Mohaka School pupils who were the catalyst for the stardom experience.  On the off chance, Di Barrett had phoned EIT to see if a couple of screen students would be willing to talk with her students Aimee MacDonald and Fergus Morunga. The pair were keen to learn more about film and extend their skills.

When the question was put to the EIT students, all 11 of the first year students wanted to be involved. So a field trip was arranged.

“It was a great learning opportunity for our students,” says Tessa Tylee, EIT Screen Production programme coordinator and tutor. “They came up with the teaching plan and ran the sessions with the Mohaka students. They had to be sure they knew how the gear worked so they could teach the kids. It was a really good exercise.”

At Mohaka, the students talked on camera about their school ball and cross country events. The filming was then edited by the EIT students and screened during the school visit.

“We can’t say thanks enough to the EIT students and tutors for our education beyond the classroom experience,” says Di.

“Being able to learn within a context of what our students are passionate about in Pahauwera, extending their video making skills and having the EIT students as role models sharing their higher learning journeys has had a positive effect on our tamariki.

“We can sow the seed for future career choices.”