#SocialStudies v9.0

April 12, 2012

While thousands of high school students return to class this week after Spring Break -- surely ready to regale their friends, teammates and teachers with tales of their adventures on vacation (or "stay-cation" for some), I thought it might be fun to show you what we've been privy to over the past week.

Welcome to #SocialStudies, the Back-to-School-In-Spring Edition.  

As usual, it's a hodgepodge of ridiculous, funny and sporty. Enjoy, and don't forget that a little moisturizer makes that tan last a lot longer.

1. Stayin' Alive in the Magic Kingdom

For the marching band at Dexter High School, Spring Break meant traveling to Orlando, Fla. -- and performing before the Main Street Electric Parade at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Congratulations to the Dreadnaughts Band, who clearly enjoyed its time down south, and gave the Mickey & Minnie-loving crowd a sweet Bee Gees jam.


 2. Buckle up

Any adrenaline junkies out there? Yeah, I figured as much. If you haven't ridden this coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio -- think about making the trip. Just try not to get all amped up around 50 seconds into this front-row POV vid from the spectacular Erie-lakeside Millenium Force. Keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times, and enjoy your ride.


3. Even the pros do it once in a while

We've all been there. If you've played a sport, you know that sometimes the desire to try something spectacular can sometimes end in sheer disaster. This is why coaches tell you to take the "easy two." In that spirit, I give to you a sure-fire NBA Hall-of-Famer, Vince Carter, missing a wide-open layup.


4. Lots of Laughs

To be perfectly honest, when schools are out of session, our office gets a little too quiet. The phones ring less, several staff members take vacations to coincide with Spring Break, and it's typically the week after our winter tournaments (read: CRAZY TIME!) conclude.  

As such, those of us left in the office need to get creative with how we stay engaged. Here's one way we got through last week without you all. I make no excuses.  (As an aside, big congratulations to our Assistant Director of IT, Jordan Cobb, on the birth of his first child, Zoey!)


As always -- if you find something worthy of us watching, send it over. Links, photos, stories ... whatever strikes your fancy that week. Make it part of our #SocialStudies!

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SBP School Streams 1st HD Broadcasts

February 4, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director

The first High Definition video streams by a participating school lead a list of more than 50 sporting events on MHSAA.tv this week being produced by its School Broadcast Program.

Haslett High School streamed live HD video of its boys basketball game with Okemos on Tuesday and will do so for its game against Saginaw Nouvel on Feb. 10, utilizing its new in-school fiber network connections from its gymnasium to its production control room for the first time. Haslett joins a short list of schools in the SBP which run fiber from their event facilities to a control room in another wing of the building where video production classes are taught.

Most schools haul all of their production equipment to the venues for their video broadcasts. Now at Haslett, cameras, audio connections and intercom communications will simply be plugged into network  jacks, replacing long snakes of cable runs around a performance venue. In addition to the fiber connections at the gym and football stadium, the school’s Performing Arts Center also is connected by fiber to the control room.

The School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

Here’s the schedule of School Broadcast Program members planning to cover varsity competition over the next week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv (as of Feb. 2).  The following events will have live streaming video unless otherwise indicated:

Wednesday, February 4
Boys Basketball – Gaylord St. Mary’s at Indian River Inland Lakes, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Alba at Mackinaw City, 7 p.m.

Thursday, February 5
Girls Basketball – Mt. Morris at Montrose, 5:30 p.m.
Boys Swimming & Diving – Grand Ledge at East Lansing, 6 p.m. (VOD)
Girls Basketball – Whittemore-Prescott at Hillman, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Bellaire at Indian River Inland Lakes, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Girls Basketball – Alanson Littlefield at Mackinaw City, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Mancelona at Onaway, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Girls Basketball – Hillman at Posen, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Mt. Morris at Montrose, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Fairview at AuGres-Sims, 7:15 p.m.

Friday, February 6
Wrestling -  O-K Conference Blue Tournament at Comstock Park, 5 p.m. (Comstock Park, Allendale, Belding, Coopersville, Sparta, Grand Rapids West Catholic)
Wrestling – Quad at Pinconning, 5:30 p.m. (Pinconning, Standish-Sterling, Bay City John Glenn, Tawas)
Boys Basketball – Johannesburg-Lewiston at Indian River Inland Lakes, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Boyne Falls at Mackinaw City, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Bellaire at Mancelona, 7 p.m.          
Boys Basketball – Paw Paw at Dowagiac, 7 p.m.
Ice Hockey – Port Huron Northern at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, February 7
Girls Competitive Cheer – Montrose Invitational, 8 a.m.
Ice Hockey – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Detroit U-D Jesuit, 5 p.m.

Monday, February 9
Girls Basketball – Pickford at Newberry, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, February 10
Boys Basketball – Pickford at Newberry, 6 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Chassell at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Saginaw Nouvel at Haslett, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Mio at Hillman, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Goodrich at Montrose, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Central Lake at Onaway, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Lincoln Alcona at Rogers City, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Hale at AuGres-Sims, 7:15 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Hopkins at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.

Live stats of select basketball games also are available on MHSAA.tv. Check out the MHSAA.tv website on game night to see which schools are streaming live stats, or stop by to view stats following games on an On-Demand basis. A Day Pass to view live stats is $1.95.

All sporting events – live or delayed – are available on MHSAA.tv on a subscription basis for their first 72 hours online. A portion of each subscription is returned to school originating the broadcast. Video subscriptions run $9.95 for a Day Pass and $14.95 for a Month Pass. Some schools also are offering Annual Passes at a discounted rate. All sporting events become available for free On-Demand viewing three days after they have been posted. 

To view all of the recent School Broadcast Program productions, go to MHSAA.tv, click On-Demand on the nav bar of the left side of the page, and on the Filters tab at the top of next page, click on All States and then select Michigan. 

Also available below is an SBP highlights package from the past week, including a 55-50 victory by East Lansing over St. Johns in a boys basketball contest plus a 37-36 overtime win for Fairview at Lincoln Alcona in girls basketball.

Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.