-VISTA Students partner with Pacer Center to increase awareness of an important issue- Pacer Center Bullying Awareness Project  Student camera workVISTA Students volunteerd their time and talents to help Pacer Center in their crusade against bullying. Four different scripts were written by VISTA students centered around the issue. Over the summer the students worked with professional writer/director Mark Benninghoffen to perfect the scripts. The segments were cast with VISTA student actors and filmed the fall of 2008. During this process the students worked with David Carey of Savvy Jack Productions to film the segments using locations at Visitation and St Paul. Mr. Carey then created original music and edited the film. The videos will be used on PACER’s Teens Against Bullying Web, which will launch in early 2009 as a companion to the popular PACERKidsAgainstBullying.org site for elementary school children. Visitation / St. Thomas students have played an important role on both sites. On the elementary site, they provided the voice talent for the Club Crew biographies and animated Webisodes (which is one of the most popular features on the site). On the teen site, they’ve expanded their involvement by writing, developing, acting in, and providing technical assistance on four videos that demonstrate different types of bullying. That authentic voice makes the videos an innovative teaching tool to help other teens understand the dynamics of bullying and what they can do about it. The videos will be used by hundreds of schools and organizations to educate students in all engaging manner. PACER developed both sites for all students—whether they witness bullying, are targets of bullying, or engage in bullying behavior. Supported by donations, both sites also offer resources to parents and professionals and promote community involvement through National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week (Oct. 5 -11, 2008). Visitation / St. Thomas has been an essential part of the success of PACER’s bullying prevention efforts. PACER’s Center’s Bullying Prevention Project is for all children, including children with disabilities. It promotes bullying awareness and teaches effective ways to respond to bullying. PACER Center primarily serves families of children and youth with disabilities. It provides resources such as publications, workshops, and individualized assistance and helps families make decisions about education, vocational training, employment, and other services for their child. Its primary Click here to visit website PACER and its phone numbers are 952-838-9000; 800-53-PACER (MN toll free); and 888-248-0822 (national toll free).  working with boom mic setting up the shot classroom scene |