SEVA Studio: Pacific Elementary School

Studio Profile

The SEVA Studio in Pacific Elementary School operates as an after school program for grades 4th through 6th. While Mr. Augusta teaches 4th grade during the school day, after school he take students from across campus under his wing in order to create the school’s newscast “Puma News.” In creating the broadcast, students come together to create stories about topics around campus with a special focus on the social emotional theme of the month. Students practice collaboration and public speaking while exercising their creativity. The feedback on Puma News from the rest the school is very positive and students in the club become leaders on campus. The whole experience of creating Puma News helps students to live out the Pacific Puma Pledge: To be caring, giving and helpful person; to seek justice and fairness; to show leadership, initiative and teamwork; to be respectful, responsible and trustworthy. Once students move on to middle school and beyond they are able to bring with them these principles that they can continue to strengthen throughout their education.

SEVA Teacher Brad Augusta

Mr. Augusta has been teaching for over 20 years and teaches media at Pacific Elementary School. He encourages students to enjoy the creative process and utilize it to find the best way to express themselves through their media projects. Students focus on brainstorming as a collective so that they can work as a team to find new subjects to explore and use to create content. While there have been hurdles to overcome during distance learning, with Mr. Augusta’s continual support students continue to create media and find a creative space to adapt and find new routes through which to learn and apply their media skills. Even within a virtual setting Mr. Augusta not only inspires his students to find their voice and be creative, but he too is inspired by his student’s abilities to rise above any obstacles they may encounter to continue to learn and share their ideas and passion for media. It is clear that the consistent guidance from Mr. Augusta will instill the ability for his students to continue to think outside the box through not only these times but as they progress on their path in media. Thank you, Mr. Augusta for seeing the potential in every student and motivating them to find their passions so that they can truly share their vision as content creators.