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Clockwise from top left, eighth graders Amelina Mangani, Mara Jordan, Elizabeth Tanski, Hannah Follensbee, seventh grader Cassidy Saxon, and eighth grader Anna Dixon Vestal participate in a discussion during podcast club at Lebanon Middle School in Lebanon, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Conversation topics ranged from homework to superpowers, and older students made an effort to moderate the conversation and ensure that everyone got a chance to speak during the recording. (Valley News – Alex Driehaus) -
Eighth grader Graham Sielicki participates podcast club at Lebanon Middle School in Lebanon, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Podcast episodes are uploaded to the club’s YouTube account where students’ friends and family members can listen. (Valley News – Alex Driehaus) -
Christian Terry, center, band teacher and podcast club advisor, operates the mixing board during a recording at Lebanon Middle School in Lebanon, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. There has been more student interest in the club than Terry anticipated when he started it this year, and the group of nearly 30 students has been split into two sections to make recording more manageable. (Valley News – Alex Driehaus) -
Fifth graders Sam Beirne-Freiman, left, and Jacob McDowell participate in a discussion during podcast club at Lebanon Middle School in Lebanon, N.H., on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Valley News – Alex Driehaus)
LEBANON — Podcast fans looking for a show that tackles topics from local middle school sports to movie recommendations and the most useful superpowers have a new offering this fall thanks to the Lebanon Middle School’s fledgling podcasting club.
Each week, about 15 students in grades 5 through 8 gather in the school’s computer lab to record the lively and wide-ranging “LMS Podcast.”
This week’s episode covered Halloween costume ideas, the difference between creepy and scary movies — along with recommendations — and an analysis of which grades have the most homework.
“From the freshmen that just went up, I heard that there’s a ton of homework,” in high school, eighth-grader Elizabeth Tanski said. “I’m really scared,” she added, to concerned agreement from others.
The club is the brainchild of Christian Terry, the school’s band director since 2020.
Terry developed an interest in audio recording and engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic and thought students might be interested in learning what it takes to make a podcast.
He was right.
The podcasting club is so popular that its 29 participants are split into two groups — A Group and B Group — with each producing a 30-minute podcast every two weeks.
Terry purchased microphones and headsets through a small grant from the Parent-Teacher Organization. A mixing board borrowed from a friend who is a professional sound engineer had ports for 15 participants. The show, “LMS Podcast,” is recorded after school and posted on YouTube each week under the @LMSPodcast handle.
Last Thursday afternoon, Group A settled behind their microphones with a bit of nervous fidgeting. Terry offered a few reminders — “stay about three inches away from the mic,” “No yelling!” — before giving the group a silent thumbs up.
Once the recording began, the nervousness seemed to fall away and the conversation flowed easily from topic to topic.
On the issue of which superpower everyone would choose, Hannah Follensbee couldn’t decide between invisibility and teleportation. She settled on teleportation for the ability to steal cookies from the kitchen at night. “You could just teleport yourself into the cookie jar,” fifth grader Jacob McDowell suggested.
Plus, teleportation would allow more time to sleep in on school days, eighth grader Genevieve D’Entremont said.
Sam Beirne-Freiman wanted to know what everyone thought about superhero costumes, given how difficult it is to sneak up on people in flashy spandex. “Batman knows how to make a costume because he’s stealth,” he said.
A group of eighth-graders emerged as de facto moderators, calling on speakers, offering encouragement and asking follow-up questions.
Elizabeth did a bit of traffic control — “guys, one at at time” — when excitement occasionally led to cross talk. The girls put anyone on the spot and seemed to have a keen sense of when to acknowledge speakers.
Elizabeth said afterward that the leadership role felt natural to her, and she enjoyed that ability to steer the conversation in different directions.
The club is “a good way to connect with more people at school,” eighth-grader Mara Jordan said after the recording session. Cassidy Saxton added that it’s also a fun way to interact with what’s going on at school.
While some voices garnered more air time than others, there wasn’t a sense that anyone was deliberately dominating the discussion, and the tone was upbeat and mutually encouraging.
“Some kids are still finding their voice,” Terry said.
There’s sometimes a bit of light complaining about school issues, but Principal Tom Harkins is fine with it.
“It doesn’t have to be all sunshine and puppy dogs,” he said. “It’s OK to complain.”
Harkins appreciates the free-flowing nature of the discussion. “It feels like they forget that the whole world can hear them,” he said.
Lebanon’s new podcasters recommend the activity to kids at other schools. The general consensus is that it’s a good way to build leadership skills, learn about technology, and help keep the school community informed. And for kids who might feel shy, it had advantages as well.
“If you’re quiet, it can help you reach out a little bit more,” Hannah said.
The LMS Podcast can be found on YouTube at: tinyurl.com/29aotpwj.
Christina Dolan can be reached at cdolan@vnews.com or 603 727-3208