More film awards for Castle Rock students

“The precipitation is connected to the mountain,
The mountain is connected to the road,
The road is connected to the gutter,
The gutter is connected to the storm drain,
The storm drain is connected to the stream,
The stream is connected to the river,
The river is connected to the ocean,
And the watershed cycle goes around and
around.”
(Sung to the tune of “Them Bones”)

Performance of the full version of this song appeared in “Sustainability of Watersheds,” a video which won the 6th to 8th grade class at Castle Rock Elementary School their second and third film competition prizes this year.

Fifteen students, under the guidance of teacher Stacie Ricketts, scripted, storyboarded, shot, edited and submitted the one-minute clip for the Whole Earth and Watershed Festival in Redding April 23.

The video scored in both the Jr. High and People's Choice awards, winning cash prizes of $100 each.

The classmates received their first prize earlier this year with the eight-minute short “Slime Flu,” which took Best Student Film honors at the Sundial Film Festival.

This time they had a lot less room in which to work. Conceded teacher Ricketts Friday in class, “It was hard to say what we wanted in 60 seconds.” So they packed in all they could.

As suggested in the song, the video presents an educational linkage of systems which comprise a watershed. After opening with titled words defining a watershed, it cuts quickly to a student or students standing before the part of the watershed noted by lyric or narration; they deliver a line before the camera cuts to the next scene.

“And what did you learn?” Ms. Ricketts asked her class.

Brandon Seymour answered, “I think we learned what a watershed is and how it worked.” Which, according to David McElhiney, started in an area between mountains. “Water flows down to the Sacramento River,” he said.

Isabella Glenn added, “We learned to protect it, because that is water we drink. And there's wildlife around it, so we need to keep it clean.”

The class cheered her words.

“We learned how to use a video camera and editing,” said Susan Garcia. “And that it takes days to film.”

Ricketts shared how Susan had recited her lines in Spanish to give the finished piece a cross cultural touch.

Tylor Perry said that they shot the entire video down at the river and just outside school doors. “The whole project was brought by Ms. Ricketts, who heard about the watershed project,” he stated. “The song used in the film was in the form of an older song about connecting bones.”

Tyyler Enright added, “Ms. Ricketts set up a song that was connected with the target.”

Which was, according to Brianna Becera, “Mainly the adults who were judging the contest.”

Explained Ricketts, “They learned for their future to tie in information for their target audience, as in advertising.”

Emalee Koschnick announced that the class would be filming a new movie in Sacramento, by personal invitation from Assembly member Jim Nielson.

“It’s going to be a documentary on funding budget cuts, what may happen to education, especially a small, rural school,” said Ricketts, adding that it is planned as an investigation into what may come in the near future.

“This one will go national,” she declared.

Ricketts said her class will continue video production. “It has opened their eyes beyond their small community,” she said.

When the class was asked how many will pursue the profession after graduation from school, every student present raised his or her hand.