The Bellville Herd

 

NEWSROOM

 

A Brahma Video Productions Student Newsroom

Denise Schroeder
Brahmadora Drill Team Coordinator
Room Number:  Brahmadora Room
Email: dschroeder@bellvillebrahmas.org

Meeting dates, times, and location still need to be confirmed with Mrs. Schroeder.

The Brahmadora Drill Team represents Bellville High School through dance, performance, school spirit, and teamwork. Members prepare and perform routines at athletic events, pep rallies, competitions, and other school and community activities. Coverage should look beyond the finished performance to the students, preparation, creativity, discipline, and teamwork behind each routine.

  • Football game and halftime performances
  • Pep rallies and school-spirit events
  • Competition preparation and results
  • New routines and choreography
  • Practices and rehearsals
  • Auditions and new-member selections
  • Officers, captains, and student leadership
  • Individual and team awards
  • Senior members and final performances
  • Team traditions and special events
  • Uniforms, costumes, props, and performance themes
  • Community appearances and special performances
  • Behind-the-scenes preparation before performances
  • Students learning or perfecting difficult routines
  • Changes made to choreography during rehearsals
  • Individual member accomplishments
  • Team-building activities
  • First-time performances and important milestones
  • Challenges the team works together to overcome
  • Memorable performances and moments
  • Preparation for major games, competitions, or events
  • What happens between performances that the audience normally doesn’t see

Covering the Bellville Brahmadoras Beat

Start Here

  • Introduce yourself to Mrs. Schroeder and explain that you are covering the Brahmadora Drill Team for the BVP Newsroom.
  • Ask when and where the team regularly practices.
  • Ask how she prefers to be contacted and how far in advance interviews, photography, or video coverage should be arranged.
  • Request the team’s current schedule of performances, pep rallies, competitions, practices, and special events.
  • Ask how new members are selected and when auditions or tryouts take place.
  • Ask for the names, grade levels, and positions of team officers, captains, or other student leaders.
  • Ask how routines are selected, choreographed, taught, and practiced.
  • Find out which upcoming performances or competitions require especially significant preparation.
  • Ask about team traditions, annual events, and important milestones throughout the year.
  • Ask whether there are restrictions on photographing or filming practices, rehearsals, performances, or competition routines.
  • Check with Mrs. Schroeder and student leaders regularly for updates and possible stories.
  • When you discover a possible story, submit it as a pitch before beginning full coverage unless your teacher tells you otherwise.

Your Responsibilities

  • Check for Brahmadora updates at least once each news cycle.
  • Maintain contact with Mrs. Schroeder and student leaders.
  • Keep track of practices, performances, competitions, pep rallies, special events, and important dates.
  • Watch for stories developing before the performance during rehearsals, preparation, choreography, and team activities.
  • Look for students learning difficult routines, taking on leadership roles, overcoming challenges, or reaching important milestones.
  • Pay attention to the process of turning a new routine into a polished performance.
  • Watch for auditions, new members, officer selections, senior recognition, awards, and other important team developments.
  • Look for the students behind the performances—the choreographers, leaders, experienced members helping newer members, and individuals doing work the audience may never see.
  • Pitch promising stories to the newsroom.
  • Arrange interviews, photography, and video coverage in advance.
  • Confirm names, positions, dates, competition results, awards, and other details before publication.
  • Follow up after performances and competitions to collect results, photographs, reactions, and information about what comes next.

Important

The performance is the finished product—not necessarily the whole story. The audience may see only a few minutes on the field or gym floor, but those few minutes can represent hours of practice, choreography, repetition, corrections, and teamwork.

Look for what the audience doesn’t see. How was the routine created? What was difficult to learn? What kept going wrong during practice? Who helped fix it? How many times did they rehearse it before everyone was synchronized? What is going through a performer’s mind just before she steps onto the field?

Don’t settle for “The Brahmadoras performed at halftime.” Find the people, preparation, challenges, decisions, and experiences that made that performance possible.

Reporting Your Brahmadora Stories

Possible Story Ideas
  • The Brahmadoras prepare a new routine for an upcoming performance.
  • The team prepares for a competition or major event.
  • Members learn especially difficult choreography.
  • A student creates or helps choreograph a routine.
  • New members prepare for their first performance.
  • Auditions or tryouts are held for the team.
  • New officers, captains, or student leaders are selected.
  • A senior prepares for her final season or final performance.
  • The team introduces a new uniform, prop, theme, or performance style.
  • Members prepare for a special halftime or pep-rally performance.
  • The Brahmadoras earn an award or recognition.
  • The team reaches an important milestone.
  • Members overcome a difficult challenge during preparation.
  • A student balances drill team with academics, athletics, or other activities.
  • Experienced members mentor newer members.
  • The team participates in a community or special school event.
  • A tradition has special meaning to current or former Brahmadoras.
  • A behind-the-scenes look at what happens on performance day.
Signs There May Be A Story

Pay attention when:

  • The team begins learning a new routine.
  • A major performance or competition is approaching.
  • Rehearsals become more frequent or intensive.
  • A routine is proving especially difficult to master.
  • Choreography has to be changed or reworked.
  • A member takes on a new leadership responsibility.
  • New members are preparing for their first public performance.
  • Auditions, officer selections, or senior recognitions are approaching.
  • Something goes wrong during practice and the team has to adjust.
  • A student makes significant improvement.
  • The team introduces something it hasn’t done before.
  • Members are preparing costumes, props, decorations, or other performance elements.
  • The Brahmadoras receive an award or notable competition result.
  • A performance has special significance to the team.
  • You hear members talking about something that took considerable work that the audience will never see.
Questions to Ask: The 5 W's and 1 H

You will not necessarily ask every question below. Select the questions that fit your story and ask follow-up questions whenever an answer is unclear or incomplete.

Who was involved?

  • Which Brahmadoras participated?
  • Who choreographed or taught the routine?
  • Which officers or student leaders were involved?
  • Who had a particularly important role?
  • Who helped the team prepare?

What happened?

  • What routine or performance was being prepared?
  • What made this performance different or important?
  • What was particularly difficult?
  • What changed between the first practice and the final performance?
  • What went especially well—or didn’t go as planned?

When did it happen?

  • When was the performance, competition, or event?
  • When did preparation begin?
  • How long did the team practice the routine?
  • When is the team’s next performance?

Where did it happen?

  • Where was the performance or competition?
  • Where did the team rehearse?
  • Where will they perform next?

Why does it matter?

  • Why was this routine or event important?
  • Why was a particular decision made?
  • Why was something especially difficult?
  • Why does this tradition matter to the team?
  • Why did the student want to become a Brahmadora?

How did it happen?

  • How was the routine created?
  • How did members learn and perfect it?
  • How did the team overcome problems during rehearsal?
  • How do members stay synchronized?
  • How did the team prepare on performance day?
  • How did the actual performance compare with rehearsal?
People You May Need to Interview

Depending on the story, consider interviewing:

  • Brahmadora Drill Team Coordinator Denise Schroeder
  • Team officers or captains
  • The student who choreographed or helped lead a routine
  • Members performing the routine
  • New members
  • Senior members
  • Students responsible for particular performance elements
  • Members who overcame a particular challenge
  • Students who earned individual recognition
  • Former Brahmadoras when a tradition or team history is relevant
  • Other school employees involved with a particular event or performance

Whenever possible, talk to the members who actually experienced the story. Mrs. Schroeder can provide official information and background, but the students can explain what happened during practice, what was difficult, how they felt before performing, and what the experience meant to them.

What You Need to Collect

Before writing or producing the story, collect:

  • Correctly spelled names of everyone involved
  • Each student’s grade level
  • Each student’s position or leadership role, if applicable
  • Official name of the event, competition, or performance
  • Date, time, and location
  • What routine was performed
  • How long the team prepared
  • Who choreographed or taught the routine
  • What made the performance challenging or significant
  • Problems encountered during preparation and how they were solved
  • Official competition results or awards, when applicable
  • At least one useful quote from a Brahmadora involved
  • Comments from Mrs. Schroeder when appropriate
  • Photographs or video of rehearsals and preparation
  • Photographs or video of the finished performance
  • Names of everyone identifiable in photographs
  • Information about what happens next

For a performance story, try to collect material from both before and after the performance. Preparation gives you the story; the performance shows your audience how that work turned out.

Before You Leave

Ask yourself:

  • Do I have the correct spelling of every name?
  • Do I know each student’s grade level and role?
  • Do I know exactly what they were preparing for?
  • Do I know when and where it happened?
  • Do I understand how long they prepared?
  • Do I know what was difficult about the routine or performance?
  • Did I find out what went wrong during preparation—not just what went right?
  • Do I know how the team solved those problems?
  • Did I talk to the students actually involved?
  • Did I get a strong quote—not merely “It was fun” or “I was nervous”?
  • Have competition results, awards, or recognitions been confirmed?
  • Do I have useful photographs or video?
  • Did I identify everyone shown in my photographs?
  • Do I have something from behind the scenes, not just the finished performance?
  • Can I explain why this particular performance, event, or experience mattered?
  • Do I know what happens next?