While “The River Hawk Rundown,” a weekly-ish news and entertainment show produced by members of our high school digital media communications class, is still going strong in its fourth season, a new television show debuted a few short weeks ago down at Avon Elementary School and is gaining a devoted following. 

The brainchild of Innovative Program Specialist Ian Smith, “ES TV” is already two episodes deep into its inaugural season with a third currently in production. 

The show can trace its roots back to the capital improvement project district voters approved in December 2022. 

“Going into this capital project renovation, there was a room in the building that they were trying to decide what it could possibly be used for,” Smith recalled. “And in these planning meetings I said ‘What if we make it a studio? Because I have a vision for what that could be, how I can use it with kids and I’ll run it if you give me the space.’”

While the room Smith was initially interested in ended up being put to another use, his idea for a media production program involving elementary students struck a chord with Avon Superintendent Ryan Pacatte, who suggested a small storage closet within the elementary library be converted into a studio. 

“From the very beginning he was supportive and enthusiastic,” Smith said of Pacatte. “Without that support, there’s no way we’d have the space we have today.” 

With a production space secured and Director of Digital Systems Michelle Burke and the district’s technology department coming through with cameras, microphones and other necessary equipment, Smith started bringing together a team of students to write, film, anchor and generally produce the show. He decided to start with fourth graders, asking classroom teachers to recommend students who may be interested in participating.

After receiving a couple of dozen names, Smith had students fill out job applications for one of five different jobs: Writer, producer, crew, anchor and producer. 

“I got some really good answers,” Smith said. “You saw responses from kids talking about ‘Well, I might want this to be my career some day’ or ‘I just want to learn a new skill’ or ‘I love technology, I’d love to learn more about these things.’”

Right now, Smith’s running things on a 2-½-ish week production schedule, with students meeting from 2:30 to 3 p.m., three times a week, to work on the show. 

The first week is all writing, with filming taking place during the second week. 

“We have a meeting where I assign roles for each part of the script and then they’re responsible to accomplish what they can,” Smith explained. “Then the second week is production, when we’ll film any videos that will be integrated into the live show.” 

Once a script’s been finalized and pre-recorded segments are filmed, the crew begins rehearsals, then films the final version of the episode - usually on Monday or Tuesday - before airing Thursday. 

While not technically a live broadcast, the show is recorded in one take, which Smith said creates some healthy pressure for all involved. 

“When we shoot we all cram into that studio - thankfully they're nine years old and small - and we have to shoot it from the start of the script to the end of the script,” he said. “There really isn’t a sense of ‘We can shoot this again.’ Everyone in the room - there’s a palpable energy. They’re locked in. Everyone from the sound mixer to the teleprompter operator - it all has to be done right.”

So far, Smith and his team have produced two “ES TV” episodes, with a third slated to air later this month. The first episode featured a special feature on the “InvestiGators” book series and a one-on-one interview with Principal Christie DeWald, who’s been a key supporter not only of “ES TV,” but of all the new programming ideas Smith’s come up with as the building’s innovative program specialist. 

“She’s been a constant source of support,” Smith said of DeWald. “I think it’s safe to say ‘ES TV’ wouldn’t be possible without her support.” 

A couple of weeks later, Smith and his team released their second episode, which included an experiment to test the reactive properties of diet coke and mentos, highlights from the varsity football team’s win over Notre Dame Batavia in the Section V Class D Championship and an interview with third grade teacher Geoffrey Carvill.

In the future, Smith said he may open the show up to lower grade levels, but is playing things by ear. 

“It’s really exciting, there’s a lot of energy around it right now and I just want to keep getting better,” he said. “It’s nice too that the kids have been so receptive to getting better. We do a peer critique after each episode and those have been really meaningful because the kids gave each other really genuine, nice compliments and they also gave each other really genuine feedback about how they need to grow, so that’s been really gratifying to see.” 

Long term, Smith said he hopes to gradually relinquish his directing responsibilities to his student production team. 

“They need to see a couple episodes and then I can say ‘OK, you’ve seen how this works, now go execute,’” he said. “I’ll be the adult in the room, but eventually, I hope they’re the ones running it.”

You can watch episodes 1 and 2 of “ES TV” at the bottom of the page. Oh, and make sure you keep an eye on the “ES TV” playlist over on our YouTube channel (link below) for future episodes. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSvjoGd8QyfqjarXbmFfbitWhe5B1lKPS 

In the inaugural episode of “ES TV,” above, Avery S. treats viewers to a special feature on the “InvestiGators” book series before Lanie S. sits down for a wide-ranging interview with Elementary School Principal Christie DeWald.