“Are You Ready to Get Fuuunkieee?”
This is the first thing a listener will hear when they tune in to 87.7 The Funkie Munkie, a radio station run by high school students at Casey County High School.
Nanette Wright, the teacher of the class, is excited to see this year’s iteration of the station, which first came about two years ago.
‘It’s a student-led, on-campus radio station that allows students to create daily broadcasts with news, weather, and sports for the school community,” she said.
The Funkie Munkie doesn’t just benefit the students creating it; it also serves the school community.
“We want to inform and engage students, staff, visitors and build school spirit,” Wright said.
But there is one small drawback.
“Since it’s a low-frequency station, The Funkie Munkie 87.7 can only be heard on the CCHS campus,” Wright said.
The students involved are all taking the same class and have access to recording equipment right in their classroom.
They collaborate on a single daily broadcast and have full creative control.
“They handle everything,” Wright said. “Each day, they create a broadcast, writing and recording the school news, weather, sports updates and fun facts.”
This year’s staff includes nine seniors: Leland Brady, Landen Carter, Walker Emerson, Ben Wiseman, Blake Evans, Kaden Farris, Sam Gossage, Jess Maxfield, and Caleb Wesley.
“Students rotate roles daily so everyone learns every part of producing a broadcast,” Wright said.
These roles were created by the students themselves, and each one has a position they’re eager to try.
Sam Gossage, one of the students in the class, shared his excitement.
“I am looking forward to being the host,” he said. “Talking on the radio is new, but I’m a great public speaker.”
Later in the year, students will switch from rotating roles to settling into the ones they enjoy the most, a chance to dive deeper into their favorite parts of the process.
The goal is to give students a full experience of a role they’re passionate about.
As Wright puts it, it’s “a great way to develop communication, teamwork, and technical skills.
“It’s their creativity, their teamwork, and their learning experience in action,” Mrs Wright said.
The staff’s hard work was recently recognized with an interview by Fox 56 News out of Lexington, which was “an exciting experience” for the staff members.
“I was pretty nervous at first,” Wiseman said, “but after I got a little more into it, I was able to give some better answers. I think it actually reflected my progress on the radio broadcast.”
To listen, simply tune a radio to 87.7 while on the CCHS campus, where the broadcasts run all day, every day during the school week.
Once the students are fully into the swing of the daily broadcasts, they will also be featured on The Casey Compass’s YouTube channel and website.
