Rocky Knoll Debuts ‘Channel 52 RKS News’ 

The student-led news broadcast premiered on Facebook on Feb. 20.

Rocky Knoll Adventist School (Martinsburg, W.Va.) aired the first episode of a new student-led news video broadcast last week. 

The “Channel 52 RKS News” debut episode premiered on Facebook on Feb. 20 and featured student news anchors and correspondents reporting on current events at RKS. Upper-grade students assisted in writing and producing the episode.

“I thought it was fantastic for the very first one! I was really impressed with the students!” says Melissa Baggett, RKS principal. 

The vision behind the original news broadcast is to involve students in promoting RKS to the community by reporting on school activities and showcasing their skills. Baggett says she hopes students will eventually produce every aspect of future episodes, including story selection, scriptwriting, on-camera reporting, filming, and video editing. 

“It not only shows their skills, but it also gives them that self-confidence that they’re able to do something this big,” Baggett says. 

Students selected the title “Channel 52 RKS News” for the broadcast name because of the school’s current location at 52 Advent Drive. Plans are underway to construct a new school building at another site, and students say the name will have to be modified at that time.

Baggett says students are currently working to find stories to feature on future episodes. The school aims to air new episodes quarterly before eventually moving to a monthly release schedule. 

“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from our first episode,” Baggett says. “A lot of people have said they thought it was fantastic and that they look forward to seeing more.”