Observations

Dear Campus School Families,

This year’s student film festival was another huge success. A large crowd of excited and engaged students and parents filled the gym to watch short films created by our students and featuring their unique perspectives and expressive talents.

Using simple technologies in innovative and creative ways, our students’ films were funny, sweet, moving, silly, and engaging. Some students displayed a very absurd sense of humor – their films had elements of slapstick and humorous irony. Others did documentary style shorts, demonstrating their baking skills or musical talents. A couple of films were parodies of things like game shows and pharmaceutical ads – these were very sophisticated send-ups indeed.

The constant thread throughout these films was a combination of joyful creative abandon and serious attention to detail and craft. It was clear that students put a lot of time and effort into their films – and that they had real fun engaging in the creative process. In this sense the film festival gives students an opportunity to engage in meaningful, relevant, and interesting project-based learning, which is one of the best ways to learn and develop skills. Learning like this tends to “stick,” and I am sure our students will remember their film making experiences long after they graduate from the Campus School.

Warmly,

Chris