by Christianna Tran ‘20

Warrior Wake Up Live is a large part of Sherwood’s culture as it is a source of not only information, but also entertainment for students around the school. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, English teacher Samantha Ager will be taking over the TV Production class which is in charge of developing and creating the morning announcements.

Ager envisions new changes to the curriculum and instruction of the TV Production class as it is making a transition from a tech credit to an english elective. She plans to continue working with Media Services Technician John Williams, who has been a part of Warrior Wake Up Live for many years so that he can help assist the transition smoothly. They planned to meet at the end of the school year to discuss what topics will stay relevant within the class and which topics will be no longer taught. Over the summer she plans to continue working on the curriculum for the upcoming class as well as communicating with other English teachers in the area who teach successful TV Production classes.

“I have real world experience; I’ve worked outside of the teaching profession and I know what employers want … it’s important for me to translate that into lessons because I know what kids will see when they’re out there and I want them to be prepared for that,” explained Ager.

The class next year will have two sections which will take place during second and third periods. Second period will be a live production and third period will be focused on creating packages or clips to be included in the show. New ideas for a more inclusive and entertaining show are also being looked into.  The Pledge of Allegiance will be said in multiple languages and will allow more of the student body to be included in the show instead of only those who take the TV Production class. Ager also will draw inspiration from productions such as the “Today Show” and even “Saturday Night Live.”

“The show is about making the announcements but it’s also about catching the kids’ attention and a lot of times,” she explained. “When watching the show, they’re not really watching the show … I’m really competing with what is on their phone … I want to try and make sure the show stays relevant, interesting, and engaging.”