Terryville Class Project Unites Students From Different Schools

Each year, Terryville Elementary teacher Brian St. Pierre guides his fifth-grade class in a yearlong project: Together, they create a movie from scratch, from the brainstorming and script writing process to the shooting and editing.

This year, his class produced a 70-minute film called "A+ in Spell Casting" that will premiere on June 18 at Comsewogue High School at 6 p.m. Admission is $2 per person of $5 for a family. Click here to watch the trailer.

Recently, Patch visited Mr. St. Pierre's class to interview students about the film. The students described the project as a fun way to learn more about each other, especially during the transition to the Comsewogue School District's new elementary school format that combined students from Clinton Elementary and Terryville Elementary into a school for just fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students.

"Having a big, yearlong project in this way helped bring together students from two different schools," Mr. St. Pierre said.

The students used words and phrases such as "exciting," "intense," "hard work" and "teamwork" to describe the project. Every student had at least one line in the movie. The students worked on the film one or two class periods each week.

"The process for making the movie was kind of like a building because you start from scratch and build up," said one of the students, Thomas Gordon. "The movie process is hard but when we work together we make the process a lot easier."

Plus, the project holds special meaning: the movie screening will be a fundraiser for the Christopher J. Malvetti Fund. The organization provides scholarships to students in the local area who exhibit the same wonderful character traits as the late Christopher Malvetti, a Port Jefferson Fire Department volunteer who died suddenly at the age of 21. For more information on the organization, visit www.malvettifund.com.