Audio and video on school Facebook page. Portstewart Primary School recently took on the challenge of an all-day radio broadcast and the event proved to be a major success.
So we thought we'd let everyone, from pupils to the parents and teachers, tell you about it..........
P1 pupil Sophie said: "I loved writing a story to read on the radio show." While Kalela from the same year group picked "speaking through the microphone in the radio station" as her favourite part of the whole experience.
Obviously broadcasting can be quite nerve-wracking no matter what age you are, and Will in P2 said he's shy and had been worried about what people might think. But those concerns weren't necessary as the shows were great. "My best friend loved it," Will added.
Ellen, also in P2, thought it was a big success. "We did really well and my mum and dad would be proud," was her verdict.
As with any project, the planning stage was absolutely vital and weeks were spent coming up with ideas, making sure scripts were written and rewritten and recordings were completed in advance of the day.
This allowed the pupils to further develop many skills. "I did my best work when we were writing the show," Iggi from P3 pointed out. "I wanted people to like it and I hope they did."
Other comments from the pupils included: "It made me feel proud hearing myself on the radio!" and "My mummy thought it was awesome."
Parents and adults were encouraged to participate on the day and, clearly, they were impressed by the quality of the work produced.
One mum emailed to inform the staff that she had never seen her children so animated about a school project.
She detailed how her son is now convinced that he is only a step away from world class DJ status thanks to playing a part in the all-day broadcast.
"The children were involved and animated and it has opened up a whole host of different questions about jobs and career paths, which are so relevant in today's digital and media world," her correspondence read.
Working as a team was vital to the process.
"My kids haven't talked about anything else except for the radio for the last three or four weeks," said a mum with kids in both P4 and P7.
When some people hear about such a focus on media, they raise concerns that other subjects may be neglected. That is far from the case. If anything, the media work dovetails brilliantly with other elements of the curriculum and really enhances it.
"The thinking skills, managing information, problem-solving, decision making, being creative, setting goals, selecting appropriate methods, examining options - I could go on and on. All of those and so many more things are catered for by this media work," says Principal Mr Millar.
"It's all linked to curriculum and the demands of the curriculum. It's a way of teaching and learning that kids really enjoy and get a lot from. Learning should be fun and can be fun; and kids tell us this is fun.
"They all want to be involved, and I include kids who might be reticent about other things or shy. We see it really brings them out of themselves and instils confidence."
Those sentiments are echoed by literacy coordinator Mrs Simpson. "The all-day broadcast gave pupils the opportunity to write in many different genres," she points out.
There's also the fact that they are writing for an audience, rather than just themselves or their class. "That provided a great purpose for their writing and made literacy come alive," she added.
Learning new skills in areas of media and education are clearly parts of the project. Along the way the pupils also gained experiences that will benefit them for the rest of their lives even after they move on from primary and secondary school.
One of those is that you will sometimes have setbacks. That was the case for Mr Kennedy. With all of his class' shows recorded and ready to go, he accidentally wiped out the files.
"When we tried to play it back there was nothing there," he says with a smile. "This is a learning experience for us teachers too.
"Garageband software is completely new to me, so I was only getting used to it as we went along. We had to do it all again. That's a good lesson, if we make a mistake we don't give up. We try to fix it."
Mrs Smyth was heavily involved in the broadcast day.
The main organisers of the day were Vice Principal Mrs Sandra Smyth her partner teacher in P7, Mrs Debbie Baillie.
"We think it went brilliantly," Mrs Smyth says. "There was a lot of work involved; from the planning to the actual day itself but it was certainly worth it.
"The broadcast created a real buzz around the school. Everyone enjoyed it, particularly the kids and that's what it's all about."
