South Kamloops Secondary’s students and staff members are the cast of a new CBC, factual entertainment mini-series called This Is High School, which was created by Paperny Entertainment.
Based on Twofour Group’s Educating franchise from the United Kingdom, This Is High School is about the inside scoop on the life of 13 students ranging from grade 8 to grade 12 along with six staff members. It focuses on teenage issues such as cyber and regular bullying, self-appearance, staying in or dropping out of school, mental health issues, fitting in with the crowd and problems that come with achieving the passing grade.
One episode that shows one of these kinds of issues is called I’m My Own Person, They Can’t Control Me. It shows two different stories about two individual students with similar problems. Gage, a grade 11, metal band musician who puts music over school work and Janell, a high achieving senior student who is trying to pass two certain classes (Pre-calculus and Biology) and get a university scholarship while dealing with stressful responsibilities outside of school.
Paperny Entertainment’s producers (A team made up of David Paperny, Cal Shumiatcher, Audrey Mehler, Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Aynsley Vogel and Sarah Jane Flynn.) placed 50 cameras around South Kamloops Secondary to collect footage for a period of eight weeks in April and May 2016. Then the footage was edited into six episodes.
According to CBC.ca’s website on This Is High School, the miniseries will show the great work from the staff and how they inspire the students that walk through those school doors every day. Along with showing that school life isn’t only about academics, but it’s also about preparing teenagers for a whole, new, chaotic, ever-changing adult world, A world where logic, planning and social skills are needed every day of their lives outside of school.
This Is High School will air on CBC as part of its Sunday schedule at 8:00 to 8:30 pm. More information can be found here.
Feature Photo Courtesy of: Kamhigh.com
