Ark Valley News - Students star in music video

Jenny Wood and Aaron Wirtz discuss a shot as students wait in the intermediate school gym Aug. 21.

Students star in music video
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: August 28, 2015

By Chris Strunk

Students at Valley Center Intermediate School will be part of a music video for a good cause.

Jenny Wood, a Wichita singer and songwriter, teamed up with Super Car Guys of Wichita and the school to produce a video with an anti-bullying message.

The video features Wood's song "Don't Let Them Get In Your Head."

Wood along with Aaron Wirtz and Naythan Smith, who are with Super Car Guys' video production company, visited the school Aug. 21 to shoot scenes for the video. Some scenes featured the entire student body dancing to the song in the intermediate school gym. Another scene featured students singing part of the chorus: "Don't let them get in your head; don't let them."

"I thank God I am gifted with the one thing I can do good — sing and whistle," Wood said. "… This is what I love to do, singing with the kids and hearing them sing back to me those phrases, oh, it means so much to me."

Wirtz, a producer who writes and stars in the goofy and ubiquitous "Buying a car doesn't have to suck" commercials, shot video and still pictures of last week's performance.

Wirtz said the music video is part of a larger anti-bullying campaign by Super Car Guys. The video and other multi-media messages will be released before Anti-Bullying Awareness Week, which is Oct. 6 through 12.

"What better way to get kids initially plugged into the campaign than with this very powerful, moving music video?" Wirtz said. "Jenny's got a great story and I think kids can relate to her. … Nothing stays in your mind like music does."

Wood said she enjoyed being with the students and hopes they remember the message of her song.

"It was wonderful," Wood said. "… All my songs now are very anthematic of anti-bully and sticking up for yourself and believing in yourself. … That chorus is hopefully something they can remember when they feel intimidated."

The anti-bullying message hits home for Wood.

"I was bullied as a kid and told I was weird," Wood said. " … There's a moment where you are being intimidated and you can feel your power kind of slipping away and you almost change your mind and your heart to believe what this person is telling you to think about yourself. That little moment is a huge window, if you just remember a few key phrases that can cut off the cord of them stealing from you."

Smith said he could relate.

"I went through bullying when I was young," he said. "The thing that I turned to was music. … We hope those who may be going through bullying or something else may be able to latch onto this and find some solace in it."

The video will be released on YouTube and Vimeo. The production included a drone equipped with a mounted camera.

Principal Greg Lehr said he was happy to host Wood and the small production crew.

"Anytime you can bring someone in that isn't a teacher or a staff member who can say the same things we've been saying, it's perfect for our kids to hear," Lehr said.

A school district committee has worked the past three years on a plan that district teachers and staff can use in response to incidents of bullying as well as ways to promote anti-bullying efforts.

"It's something everyone takes very seriously," Lehr said. "We want all kids to feel like they're part of a, not just a school, but a community. … Making sure that we're consistent in the message that we're sending kids and staff is huge. That's a big part of our anti-bullying task force is to make sure we're all on the same page."