**Written by Teen Central’s Teen Tech Mentors, Khalid M & Khalid I**

So, in the beginning of January, our boss Ally and Children’s Librarian Maggie told us that we would be co-leading a Tween Time project. Tween Time is a joint program between the Children’s department and Teen department for older kids, between the ages of 9-12. They get to participate in various Lab activities. The premise of this project was to make a 90 second book trailer modeled after the 90-Second Newbery Award trailers about a book of the tweens’ choosing. We had narrowed down options to Frog and Toad, The Lion and the Mouse, and Finding Winnie. The tweens chose Finding Winnie as their new movie project.

The entire team was – Ally (Youth Technology Librarian), Maggie (Children’s Librarian), Khalid I. and Khalid M. (Teen Tech Mentors), tweens Julia, Lyla, Bella, Owen, Abel, Bethel, and Gus. To first start this project, we (mentors and tweens) had to get familiar with the picture book. Khalid and I read the book independently and then to the group. Afterwards, Maggie showed the tweens different Newbury trailers, and we discussed how each have a different theme. The next tween time, we asked the tweens to settle on a theme for the trailer, and the vote was split between an epic drama or an adventure. The tie was broken by Abel who changed his vote of fairy tale to epic drama. After settling on a trailer theme, we made a general outline of the story – plot points, characters, actions, etc. We wrote this on a white board and had tweens explain why one is important or not. The tweens then put plot points on sheets of paper, and we organized our  storyboard on the wall. We then had our scenes in their order, and our outline of characters on the board. We also assigned roles to everybody, such as Owen making the boat, Lyla making finger puppets, Bethel making Harry and the Hunter, etc. It was time to craft our sets, puppets, and pieces.

We printed pictures of the sets needed for each scene and got our supplies ready.  We taped the characters on to wooden sticks and used them for our scenes. We then also used string and marionettes to build other characters, such as a bear made through the ingenuity of Abel. We filmed all of the scenes we needed through Ally’s phone and we then put them into iMovie.  We recorded each scene and finished the filming process. We completed final edits to all of our film, added to the storyboards and presented our film to all of those involved in the making of this film.  After playing the complete video for the first time, we ran into issues with the audio and had to go back and embed the music into the scenes within iMovie.  We then began saving our final movie outside of iMovie.  

Khalid I: At the end of our first long-term program, we came out with a deeper understanding of iMovie and what it took to make and see a film through from beginning to end.  We learned how to complete a program through sequences, having to meet certain deadlines. And it was a lot of fun.

Khalid M: All in all, I found this venture to be a very enjoyable and challenging one. The main issue of this project was that it was supposed to be a six week one, ending in mid February. However, due to winter storm cancellations and gaps in attendance, the project was not done until mid-May. Other than that, it was a nice exercise in leadership and group management skills. The ingenuity of tweens making a storyboard, crafting puppets, and acting was very pleasant to work with. As a consequence, the final edition of the trailer was very enjoyable to watch.

After months of hard work, we are proud to finally reveal, Finding Winnie: The Movie by Khalid Films!

Yo yo yo it’s ya friend Ananda here back at you with some new info about the professional panel y’all missed. So today April 24th, a lovely woman by the name of Velma came to tell us about how we can be the next team of City Year members. Did you know that about eight hundred thousand students drop out of high school a year? City Year members aren’t mean and discriminating like we might have assumed in like 5th grade. They are actually committed members who are passionate about filling in that extra help for those students,who struggle in school, have behavioral issues, etc.  They are even starting to recruit members starting at 18 years old. The position is a 10 month commitment and opens up a world to networking. How exciting is that!  They coach you through how to be a leader as well as prepare you for the college experiences and the aftermath. This sounds like the best opportunity if I haven’t seen one already.

Hello my fellow teens, gamers, geeks, um… whoever you may be, it’s Jorge coming back to you with another program review! This time, we had a member from City Year come in and speak to us about her job and the experiences she and her peers had. During this presentation, we were given an overview of the job, including the story behind their uniform, the founder of City Year, and the activities they participate in as a group. The Teen Gaming Specialists along with the Teen Tech Mentors sat in a semi-circle with staff member, Velma, and watched a short film on the long-term goal of City Year, followed by our questions and her insight. City Year’s goal is to help foster academic achievement along with captivating activities such as field trips, group projects, and cooling time between classes. The deeds the staff members take part in include giving students help on school or personal matters, giving off an energetic vibe to anyone in the vicinity, and being an overall support system to students. When asked about pull factors of this organization, her reply was along the lines of knowing that unfortunate students need a helping hand, and that she wants to assist in making their road to adulthood as easy as possible. This is a perfect example of how City Year’s main focus is the achievement of young students and their well being.