Monroe 6th-graders win category in Pansasonic Kid Witness News awards contest

Tippi Rasp Staff Writer, May 24, 2006

Monroe students have done it again.

About 45 Monroe Elementary School sixth- graders in the classes of Steve Peck and Lori Painter beat out submissions from a number of larger schools with older students to win one of the six categories in this year’s Panasonic Kid Witness News New Vision Awards Contest.

Their 10-minute video this year featured a creative submission on the life of a monarch butterfly.
Two students were nominated by their classmates and selected to attend the awards ceremony in New York City earlier this month. Painter traveled with the two students — Jordan Johnson and Tersena Roberts.
Painter said it was great fun watching the girls enjoy the opportunity to have an all-expense paid trip to the Big Apple. Students saw the Statue of Liberty, a Broadway show, met famous television personalities, an Olympic medalist and even appeared on national television.

But a few of the simplest treats, like riding an escalator and taking an airplane ride, were brand new to Roberts.
“It was weird at first,” Roberts said.

But both Roberts and Johnson said they would like to go again. But they wouldn’t want to live there.
“It’s too crammed together,” Roberts said.

Johnson agreed the streets, buildings and people were “too crowded” together.

The girls said they loved seeing the Statue of Liberty and “The Blue Man Group.” They posed for photos with the show’s characters and posed in Times Square. Their likeness even was displayed on the giant video screen.
Painter said the competition is tough because of technological advances and the age of the competition.
“It gets harder and harder,” she said. “It’s amazing for our kids to do what they do on the level they do it. They have some talent.”

Painter said competing against schools in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles is tough, especially considering money constraints. She said she hopes a partner or sponsor someday will come forward to help with production expenses.

Kid Witness News is a hands-on video education program created to encourage students to develop valuable cognitive, communication and organizational skills through the use of digital video technology, according to the Panasonic Web site. Panasonic developed the program in the United States in 1989 with a global expansion in 2003 reaching out to more than 70,000 children around the world.

Students produce a video with their teacher’s help. They write the copy, act, direct and edit the production.
KWN is supported by Panasonic in conjunction with the public school system in more than 200 participating schools in the U.S. and seventeen countries internationally, according to the Web site.