TOWAMENCIN — Every Friday morning as the faculty and students of North Penn High School crawl into their first period, worn out from the previous school days, their spirits are lifted as the anticipated Mornings Show is projected onto every classroom smartboard and heard throughout the halls.

Forget your ordinary morning announcements that may put some back to sleep; the North Penn Television Morning Show is filled with excitement, student involvement, as well as important news regarding our school district. However, this isn’t just a regular student-run television show. NPTV Mornings is an Emmy award-winning production that has caught the attention of some bigger news outlets that are on our TV’s every night.

Last Friday, October 18th, 2019, CBS 3 Eyewitness News reporter Vittoria Woodill stopped by North Penn’s studio to catch up with some members of the crew during Friday’s production of Mornings and to get a behind the scenes look.

“It’s only thirteen minutes, but it’s the longest thirteen minutes of my life, and it takes a week for us to prepare,” stated senior Cassie Montgomery who has been the production’s director for the past couple of shows.

What students don’t get to see is what actually happens behind the scenes of their favorite morning show. Behind the two anchors at the desk is a room full of crew members working, watching, and listening to make sure the production moves smoothly. With the crew working hard on and off camera to make the show as best as it can be, they try their best to not disappoint. Whether they’re in front of the camera or working behind the scenes, their hard work every Friday doesn’t go unnoticed.

“I take everything I do very professionally; I write down notes and I’ll do some homework so I am prepared for every broadcast. This career-wise is what I hope to be doing and just hope to leave the best impression possible,” stated Erik Jesberger, who is the president of North Penn Television and a career study student. Jesberger has also been a TV personality in his middle school’s production of their own morning show and hopes to be doing this in the future as a newscaster or sports broadcaster.

The visit from CBS Eyewitness News was a great opportunity for their hard work to be broadcast further than the screens of North Penn students. It also provided a great learning experience for the students and motivated them to keep on producing content in and outside the television studio.

“It was a great opportunity to see how another “Morning” show put together the story—how the interviews were conducted and compare that to the final product. On Monday, we reviewed how Vittoria Woodill conducted the interviews and how she found a theme for the story that day. Watching the process from start to finish was an amazing learning experience,” stated Robert Gillmer, the advisor of North Penn Television.

Not only was this a great experience for the crew members of NPTV, but it even left some of the professionals impressed.

“As a person working in television, it is nice to see the up and coming. I was so impressed. They are following that internal compass leading them in the direction of their dreams, but you know what, they are putting in the work, and that’s how we know that they are going to make it,” stated Woodill as she reflected back on the hard work and dedication she witnessed from the NPTV crew.

With all the hard work and hours it takes to put something like an NPTV Morning Show together, it is hard for their dedication and passion for broadcasting and television to go unnoticed. At 7:21 every Friday morning, their hard work is enjoyed by all of North Penn and now, even CBS 3 Eyewitness News. Tune in this Friday, October 25th, to see what the NPTV crew has in store for their weekly morning show, and there is no doubt it won’t be something great.