The winter slideshow has been a tradition for many years at Glen Rock High School. It is an extraordinary experience for the students as they head into their winter break. In recent years, the winter slideshow has been held in the auditorium with an audience of the entire high school. The show consists of holiday-themed videos featuring most of the high school seniors.

Due to COVID-19 Glen Rock High School will not have the usual holiday slideshow experience with a packed auditorium. Media arts teacher, Troy Kroft, plans to give the senior class a chance to continue this tradition while following COVID-19 guidelines.

 “Due to social distancing guidelines, the entire student body will not be able to participate in a live show as in years past. However, we do hope to have the entire senior class together in the auditorium for a live show (pending administration approval), Kroft said. The event will be live-streamed and recorded on Feb. 24 so the whole high school and faculty will be able to enjoy the show. 

The winter slideshow normally has a holiday theme because it is usually presented before winter break. This year’s event will not have a general theme, “This year’s show will not have a holiday theme as in the past. Instead, students are free to explore any themes they wish. There are however some guidelines for length, content, and format. It should be pretty creative and interesting,” Kroft explained. 

In years without COVID-19 students and teachers have been able to work with everyone together in class. There are many challenges that have delayed and made the production process difficult for Kroft and the media art teachers.

 “This project requires a lot of cooperation and teamwork between different classes. That’s much harder to do with our hybrid schedule and with students (and teachers) constantly out due to the pandemic,” Kroft said. 

It is unfortunate that the high school will not be able to host the winter slideshow in the auditorium. Kroft and the rest of the media art teachers and students are confident that they will be able to create a memorable experience for the high school.