The Heart of Media at Spanish River: Galleon and WSRH

At Spanish River High School, two of the largest student organizations—The Galleon and WSRH offer students a unique opportunity to dive deep into the world of media. Whether it's capturing stunning visuals with cameras, creating engaging content with green screens, or drafting articles on computers, these classes allow students to explore their creative potential. Yet, one of the most frequent questions is "How do we manage to do it all?"

Every quarter,students of the Galleon present a fresh issue of the newspaper, filled with exciting school related and global news. Behind the scenes, it is a rigorous process where dedicated staff brainstorm and refine ideas to craft compelling stories.Here's how the school community stays informed, from celebrating last year's state championship win by the softball team to sharing insights from the theater production of All Shook Up.On the Galleon, every staff member brings something unique to the table, working together to create a wide range of content. Each person focuses on a specific section-from News,where we dive into the latest big events-to Currents, which keeps everyone updated on trends and ongoing stories. In Lifestyle, we explore everyday life and what makes it interesting, while Face-Off sparks lively debates with different perspectives. Our Advertisements section showcases cool promotions, and Feature Focus allows us to go deep into special stories. Arts and Entertainment is all about cultural happenings and reviews, and Sports gives the latest on games and athlete highlights.

The process begins with writing a draft,which advisor Suzanne Delaney reviews and edits throughout the day. By the time 6th period arrives, the class gathers in her classroom easily recognizable by the large "Galleon" sign where the final version is prepared and ready for publication.One of the most crucial aspects of our work is ensuring the newspaper gets printed. Since printing is not free,the Galleon relies on funds raised through advertisements to cover the costs. Every ad we secure helps make the next edition possible.

While at WSRH, our day starts off earlier than most. As part of the video production team, we’re up an hour before the rest of the school, making sure everything is set and ready before the first period even starts. It’s like being part of a crew on a well-run ship, everyone has their job, and we all know what needs to be done.In our classroom, we’ve got a weekly schedule that lays out who’s doing what.

There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to make sure you see a great picture on screen. We’ve got different roles in our team that all come together to make it happen.For starters, there’s the camera operator, who makes sure to zoom in or out at just the right moment. Then we have the tricaster-the person in charge of editing the video, adding cool special effects, and smooth transitions. The teleprompter operator scrolls the text on the screen so the on-air talent knows exactly what to say.Let’s not forget the host, who greets you after the intro, and our two talents—the faces who bring you all the news of the day.

One of my classmates and a co-worker at WSRH, Missoni Thompson, shared her thoughts on being part of the morning announcements: “I love WSRH because it’s a great community where we all work together to bring announcements to all the students, and it’s just a really fun experience to learn how to edit.”