Shepaug Filmmakers Win Big In State Competitions
The Shepaug Valley School video production program accomplished great feats in the 2017-18 school year! Our tiny school competed and won awards in several different competitions this year, bringing statewide recognition to the program.
This was the first year students participated in the Fox 61 Student News Program, where students were encouraged to capture, edit and publish original, newsworthy stories. The best segments were featured on-air during Friday's Morning News, the 5 and 10 p.m. news, twice during the FOX 61 Morning News on Saturday, and on the station’s Facebook page and website.
Shepaug earned a spot on the weekly news nine times throughout this year. They were also awarded six nominations for top story at the Fox 61 Student News award ceremony on Wednesday, May 23rd, at Goodwin College.
At the awards ceremony, students from 80 participating schools were able to walk the red carpet. They met and had pictures taken with FOX 61’s Keith McGilvery and Audrey Kutchen. Shepaug won three of the seven awards presented, with one being for the most news stories submitted (16). Cazden Brenner and Luchino Romano won the Big Y Locally Grown $2,000 Scholarship, and Alexa Kotas and Henry James won the CHESLA/ CHET Higher Education Award which included a $1,000 Scholarship. Students also received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Elizabeth Esty, Certificate of Excellence in News Coverage from the Office of the Secretary of the State, Connecticut’s Honorable Denise W. Merrill, and a Certificate of Accomplishment from Senator Christopher Murphy. Other SVS nominees included Freshmen Matthew Sheedy, Jaxen Griggs, Eliza Slastushinskaya and Ava Adiletti, Junior Devon Langworthy, and two nominations for Senior Olivia Lautier.
Region 12 filmmaking students also took home accolades at the Connecticut Student Film Festival Friday, May 18th, at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford. Emma VandenBosh, Kaylee Alexson, Henry James, and Alexa Kotas were nominated for Best Newscast. The high school video club won the coveted 84 Hour Film Challenge Fictional Short - Best Screenplay, with their fictional short, Alone. The video club participants included Freshmen Isabella Guzman, Lydia Hagen, Kayleigh Hendy, Kaylee Martinez, Emma VandenBosh, Kaylee Alexson, Henry James and Alexa Kotas.