Each week, the Feature Friday team works to bring students a 10-minute segment of announcements and more

As a source of entertainment and news, Feature Friday is shown every Friday to announce the latest in the community. What started out as a small club of only eight members came out to become the most reliable news network at the school.

In 2015, the school decided to switch the way they would deliver news. From daily announcements via the Promethean boards mixed with PA announcements, teachers and students reported that little attention was being paid to these outlets. In an effort to use class time more wisely, the idea of Feature Friday, a ten minute news segment played only on Fridays, was born.

“We were having trouble with students paying attention to the announcements the way they used to be. So, Ms. Ottenberg and I came up with the idea to completely revamp announcements,” said club sponsor Jeannie. Jens. “We used Twitter for our daily announcements, and we had this vision for a Friday 10-minute video, which has worked out really well.”

From filming, to editing, to producing, it takes time and concentration to make each Feature Friday video. Meeting every Thursday after school, the club not only plans its next segment two weeks ahead of time, they also preview the next day’s video.

“I want [students] to be excited and want to watch [each week],” said junior Christopher Kasuba. “I like to put more pictures on the screen to keep people intrigued.  Obviously I want them to enjoy it, not get bored, and be informed of everything that is happening in the school.”

To plan for each installment, members brainstorm and are then assigned to a position of either taking photos, gathering information, editing, or putting the video all together.

Kasuba, who has been part of Feature Friday since he was a freshman, spends as much as six to 10 hours editing. “I love editing, and I think it’s really cool to pursue it,” said Kasuba.

Besides modifying and revising videos, Feature Friday is a club that enables students to pursue careers in technology, such as editors or engineers. By being in this club, students can gain an experience in technology that can help them in the future.

Junior Mackenzie Green is in her second year on the Feature Friday team and is also a part of the Monroe video editing program.

“Feature Friday is one way that I can continue being creative and practice editing videos,” said Green. “It allows me to continuously practice editing videos, which is helpful since I want to pursue something in TV, Film, or Media industry.”