Schools Surviving Sandy [Video]

Here's the special episode of Classroom Close-up, NJ about the impact of Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey's schools.

Like Wendell says in the show, it's not our typical episode. While the format of Classroom Close-up is "newsy", were not known for covering events as they happen. Our stories are usually planned months in advance and the time from filming to post is usually the same. So everyone put in some extra effort to make this one happen, especially our executive producer, who somehow managed to pull all these stories together in just a few days and get us out in the field to cover them.

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Watershed Ambassadors [Video]

This is a story I produced for Classroom Close-up, NJ that aired earlier this month. It's about students at Kresson Elementary School in Voorhees who are studying Watersheds. I love doing these outdoor stories, but this one was particularly memorable because it was the first time I'd ever really encountered Americorps volunteers. The young women helping with the environmental lessons at Kresson were from New Jersey's Watershed Ambassador program.

Americorps recently received a lot of press when they were called on to help at shelters, remove debris, and provide assistance following Super Storm Sandy. I ran into a few of them in Hopatcong while working on a segment for an upcoming episode about the storm's impact on the state's schools.

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Recent History [Video]

Earlier this week, I was at Valley Middle School in Oakland. Although we were there working on a story about the Joining Old and Young poetry club, I couldn't help but notice the poster board exhibits displayed around the room. They were projects from National History Day, a story that I covered earlier this year that appears in this Sunday's episode of Classroom Close-up, NJ.

This weekend's episode is actually a repeat, it first aired about a month ago, just before Sandy hit us. It's the last repeat before a string of new episodes ending with a show we've been putting together about the effects of Sandy on schools around the state.

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Every Kid Needs a Hobby Day [Video]

One of the goals of Classroom Close-up, NJ is to inspire teachers (and students, parents, etc.) by showing them the great things happening at schools around the state. It must be working because Nate's become a big fan of the show. Not every story, but he definitely likes the ones where you get to see kids doing fun stuff at school.

In this week's episode, his hands down favorite story was Hobby Day, which he would like to see implemented at his own school as soon as possible.

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Check out the Classroom Close-up, NJ Facebook page and click the 'Like' button! While you're here, subscribe to my blog or follow me on Twitter.