SURPRISE, AZ — Every morning, millions of people across the Valley wake up and check the weather before they start their day. This week, a group of elementary school students in Surprise decided they wanted to be the ones delivering it.
Nearly 30 students at Sunset Hills Elementary School lined up to deliver a weather forecast on camera for the first time in their lives, at the steps of their school garden.
Some had been practicing for a week. Some were nervous. A few, by their own admission, were scared.
Every single one of them stepped up anyway.
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STEM teacher Lisa Moberg organized the visit and watched every one of her students walk through the experience. She said what students take away goes far beyond weather.
"It's really about literacy skills, understanding the importance of speaking and listening," she said, "pulling that all together and then being able to apply it to everyday life."
Moberg also spoke to what it means for students to feel connected to something larger than their classroom.
"To be able to see you on TV and be able to have that connection, and be able to say, 'Wow, I was part of that. I'm part of that community.'"
Sunset Hills is the first school in Surprise to take part in the Kidcasters program. Moberg said the school garden, where students delivered their forecasts, has been a source of pride for years, kept alive by parents and grandparents who show up every week to help tend it.
