Eighth-grader Samantha Roth, 13, dabbles in some visual effects on a control board in the Patch High School audio/visual department in Stuttgart, Germany. (Ben Murray / S&S)
STUTTGART, Germany — For some parents and their children, a nightly bedtime story is a beloved ritual that suffers whenever a military mom or dad is deployed downrange.
No “Goodnight Moon,” or a reading of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” before the kids get tucked in.
But Stuttgart audio/visual teacher Walter Fritz says it doesn’t have to be that way. Last month, Fritz decided to use his department’s high-tech equipment and his students’ expertise to help solve the problem.
Parents preparing to deploy can now record readings of bedtime stories in the school’s studio and have them burned to DVD, complete with visual effects and pictures from the books, Fritz said. Kids can then use the videos after parents deploy to hear a story anytime they want, he said.
The program is similar to one implemented last year in Würzburg as parents in the 1st Infantry Division prepared for a yearlong deployment to Iraq, said Würzburg high school teacher David Flom. He said about 50 Würzburg parents took advantage of the service while it was available.
Fritz said his department has such a wealth of top-end equipment and talent among the students that he felt he could offer a similar service to the Stuttgart community, while gaining a valuable new teaching tool.
“We want to see the connection between the school and the community interlace,” Fritz said.
The Stuttgart students will also record and send video messages from children or spouses to their deployed relatives, Fritz said. The services are both offered free of charge and can be used at any time during normal school hours, he said.
