Treated to a private Acting and Presenting Master Class, thirty Year 9 drama and Year 11 photography students met with TV personality and former host of Australia’s Funniest Home Videos, Toni Pearen; and current presenter for the ABC Television show Play School, Luke Carroll.
The Master Class was arranged as part of the school’s involvement in the Panasonic Kid Witness News (KWN) short film program.
“Stephen Goodley, Principal at Warrawong High School said, “When I first heard that Toni Pearen and Luke Carroll were planning on coming to our school I was astonished and extremely grateful. Surprises like this don’t come along too often in Warrawong, and I’m honored that the KWN team has acknowledged our school and travelled out of their way to pass on some valuable skills in film-making to our students.”
Warrawong High School has been involved in KWN since the program first launched in Australia back in 2004. The school has been one of the most-awarded in the history of the program, having won the NSW Secondary School Award four times. In 2004 they won the inaugural NSW Secondary Prize with their film ‘Skool Daze’, in 2005 it was the film ‘Fish n Tips’, in 2006 ‘Bored Busters’ took the hat and in 2008 we saw ‘Future Frolics and Histrionics’ once again take the NSW Secondary School Prize.
Each year Panasonic through the KWN short film program hosts Inspiration Sessions across the capital cities in Australia for primary and secondary schools on the art of film making. This year the students at Warrawong High School were unable to attend the workshop in Sydney, so as a special surprise, the team at KWN decided to bring the experts to them. The Acting and Presenting Master Class provided the students with helpful tips on the fundamentals of film making including acting, presenting to camera and conducting interviews - valuable advice that will assist them in creating their own five minute short film for the KWN program.
Jenny Flowers, KWN Coordinator and teacher at Warrawong High School, added “The students and I were thrilled to take part in such an intimate and interactive session where we were given the opportunity to learn from professionals in the film and television industry.
“It was wonderful seeing the students so excited and eager to learn all these new skills and they are just itching to use their new-found knowledge in the production of their film. I think this experience will be a stand-out memory for each student in their school life, you never know, perhaps this workshop will inspire a student or two to pursue a career in acting or filmmaking!”
At the session’s conclusion Toni Pearen said, “The master class focused on teaching, motivating and inspiring the students to be creative with new media technology and implementing that creativity into all the aspects of their short film including script writing, acting, filming and editing.
“The students showed so much enthusiasm during the session. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to share some of my experiences and tips with them and I can’t wait to see their final film submission”.
KWN is a short film competition developed by Panasonic, for primary and secondary school students which aim to inspire creativity and encourage teamwork in the classroom. This year 64 schools from across Australia will take part in the program which sees students write, direct, shoot and star in their very own short film using equipment provided by Panasonic.
The main event in this year’s KWN calendar is the National Awards ceremony in Sydney, scheduled to take place at the Dendy Opera Quays cinema on October 19. It will see more than 200 excited primary and secondary students from around the country travel to the city to represent their school at the star-studded event. Hosted by Toni Pearen, the Awards have attracted special guest judges including INXS founding member and guitarist, Tim Farriss; former Young Australian of the Year and three time AFI award nominee, Khoa Do; Chief Creative Officer from advertising agency The Campaign Palace, Reed Collins; and Luke Carroll.
On location at St Michael's Primary School, Coolamon 
Making a cameo appearance in Coolamon, New South Wales, during May, was none other than KWN Ambassador Toni Pearen, who treated the students at St Michael's Primary School to a private film making workshop. Toni ran a session that focused on the art of acting, teaching the students how to deliver their lines like movie stars.
Shane McLachlan, a director and editor with more than 30 years experience, also led a session at the workshop that covered creative script writing as well as the ins and outs of film production.
Toni really enjoyed the opportunity to share her experiences with the students at St Michael's saying, "The students were very enthusiastic and I think they got some really good ideas out of the workshop".
Brendan Flanagan the Principal and KWN coordinator at St Michael's Primary School said, "During the workshop it was great to see the students display such passion for writing, directing and producing their own short video."
The students at St Michael's are now well on their way to preparing their short video for the KWN short video competition.
Middle Kinglake Primary School's short-film of hope
Students at Middle Kinglake Primary School in Victoria will share their story of hope at the Kid Witness News (KWN) New Vision Awards in Sydney next month.
As part of their involvement in the Kid Witness News (KWN) short film program, the primary school students will produce a video which tells the story of the rebuilding of their school following the events of the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
Toni Pearen, TV personality and KWN ambassador, Derek Fung, associate editor and camcorder specialist at consumer tech site CNET Australia, and Shane McLachlan, a filmmaking guru, visited the school to teach the students all about the film making process.
What Toni and the Middle Kinglake team had to say about the day...
"I have been overwhelmed by the dedication and interest of the teachers and students at Middle Kinglake and it has been wonderful to get the opportunity to sit down with them today and pass on some of the acting and camera techniques I have picked up during my career in television. The students showed a real flair for creativity and were very keen to learn the tricks of the trade. I can't wait to see their film at the KWN awards ceremony."
Toni Pearen, TV personality and KWN ambassador
"I had a great time with Toni and am looking forward to putting all the techniques I learnt in to practice."
Emma-Rose Sommers, a student at Middle Kinglake Primary School
"It was great to see our students display such passion about writing, directing and producing their own short-film."
Steven Hallam, Middle Kinglake Primary School Year 4/5 teacher
"They asked all team members probing questions about filming and acting. This will be the first time our students have produced a film on their own and they are extremely excited to get to work."
Janette Cook, the Principal at Middle Kinglake Primary School
Mooloolaba State School wins award in international short film competition
Sydney, 7th July 2009 - Students from Mooloolaba State School in Queensland have received a prestigious international filmmaking award as part of the Kid Witness News (KWN) Global Contest 2009.
Mooloolaba State School was awarded the Global Best Ecology Award at the official ceremony held in Tokyo, Japan for their film 'Planet Earth', a dramatic five minute film about a team of young doctors fighting to save the life of planet Earth which is suffering from the effects of global warming.
To win this award, the students competed against more than 600 primary and secondary schools from across the world and were judged by a panel of international filmmaking, education, and journalism experts.
Year 7 students, Mikayla Leslie and Joel Williamson represented Mooloolaba State School at the Awards, accompanied by teacher and KWN coordinator Danette Flick.
Ms Flick was delighted to see the students receive international recognition for their hard work and passion for environmental conservation. "The students worked extremely hard to create a film that communicates an important message about the environment and receiving the Global Ecology Award is testament to their skill in conveying this message."
"I am really proud of all the students' efforts and I cannot wait to get back to school to share our success and experiences in Tokyo with all the students who participated in and contributed to this program," said Ms Flick.
Commenting on the results, Panasonic Managing Director, Steve Rust said, "Mooloolaba State School has proudly represented Australia at both a regional and international level and has consistently been recognised for their creativity and talent. Winning an award at the KWN Global Contest further proves Mooloolaba's dedication and enthusiasm for filmmaking. I would like to congratulate everyone involved."
In December 2008, the team from Mooloolaba flew to Sabah, Malaysia for the Regional KWN Awards, where they were acknowledged for excellence in Scriptwriting. The school also won a number of accolades in the 2008 Australian Kid Witness News competition, including the Regional, National Primary School and the Queensland Primary School prizes, as well as winning Spotlight Awards in Writing, Videography and Editing categories.
KWN Roving Reporters head to the SA Jockey Club for exclusive behind the scenes interviews
Students from Le Fevre High School in South Australia were trackside at Allan Scott Park Morphettville in June to record a live interview with the State's most influential horse racing figures, as part of their involvement in the 2009 KWN program.
Jessica Johnson, 13 and James Shelton, 14, visited the track to film a segment that will feature on the official KWN website and be showcased at the 2009 KWN New Vision Awards to be held in October.
Brenton Wilkinson, the acting CEO for the South Australian Jockey Club, Simon Price, a professional jockey and veteran horse trainer Jon O'Connor were in the hot seat as the two amateur reporters fired off their questions about life as a jockey, horse training techniques and the history of the SA Jockey Club.
With the three men in front of the camera, the students were keen to apply the news reporting, scriptwriting, acting and film production techniques they are currently learning as part of their involvement in the KWN program.
One of the KWN Roving Reporter, Jessica Johnson, said,"It was great to have the chance to be a news reporter for a day and use all the skills we have been learning as part of the KWN program. We asked some really tricky questions during the interview and Brenton, Simon and Jon gave us some really great responses - I can't wait to see how the final news story turns out."
KWN Roving Reporters ask the hard hitting questions 2009 Formula 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix
KWN students from Springvale West Primary School were given the chance to be sports reporters at the 2009 Formula 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Two lucky students were trackside for the first big F1 race weekend of the season for an exclusive interview with the Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 team manager, Jens Marquardt.
Marquardt, who took over as Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 team manger in November 2008, gave an exclusive interview to Springvale West students about F1 racing and how Toyota was gearing up for the Grand Prix season.
Springvale West's pupils were also treated to an exclusive 'behind the scenes' tour of the Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 pit at Albert Park as part of their exclusive story.
To check out Springvale West's interview with Jens Marquardt
What they had to say...
"It was so exciting to conduct a one-on-one interview with Jens using the skills we are learning while shooting our short-film for KWN. I felt very special to be chosen to do the interview and can't wait to watch the Toyota team race on the weekend."
Caroline Cheng, a student from Springvale West Primary School
"It was great to see the students from Springvale West working as directors and reporters. They showed extreme enthusiasm and promise and I wish all the students involved in the KWN program all the very best for the 2009 competition,"
Jens Marquardt, Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 team manager
"This was a great opportunity for the students to gain some hands-on experience and put their skills in to action. I am sure they will all be glued to the television this weekend cheering on the Toyota race team."
Josh Healing, a teacher at Springvale West Primary School
