Kotara High School has made a hilarious video calling on KISS to pay them a visit, while the band is in Newcastle for the Supercars gig on November 23.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The video has made a big impact on social media.
The school's principal Mark Snedden said it was a group project with "teachers and kids throwing ideas together".
"Talk about 21st century, creative and collaborative learning. It doesn't get much better," Mark said.
Mark initially asked if any students were interested in a secret video project.
"Eight boys tuned up and said, 'Sir, we want to do it'," he said.
"I wanted to keep it quiet so when we launched it, it was big."
Mark created a storyboard and scenes and asked the students to "tell me how it can be better".
"They had their own ideas. A lot of the things in the video were because they said, 'No sir, we need to do it this way'.
"The kids have loved it, they've been great and done all the edits."
Ladies who work in the school's office came in during school holidays to shoot the video.
"They put KISS make-up on, had a cup of coffee and we filmed," he said.
He said the video helped build relationships and break down barriers between staff and students.
Mark has been a fan of the band since 1978 when he was four.
He said the band's music was the "soundtrack to my life".
"It formed part of who I am," he said.
Mark has a gold record of Kiss hanging in his office, along with a signed lithograph of the band.
"Most principals have oil paintings in their office, I've got KISS and Iron Maiden memorabilia in mine," he said.
Music has long been an escape from work.
"You need to have a balance in a high-pressure job like this one," he said.
"The music is something that's so far removed from my day-to-day work. I like to get away from it and be someone different and that's what music allows me to do."
He said the video relieved some pressure that students and staff feel to get academic results.
Part of the inspiration for the video came from Cadillac High School's 1975 gridiron team. The coach asked the band to visit the school.
"The band at that point hadn't taken off. They'd released two albums that didn't hit the mark sales-wise. The coach wrote a letter to the band, saying 'come and inspire my team'."
The team had used the band's music to motivate them. KISS agreed to spend a day at the school. The whole town became involved.
"The team won the comp that year. The band got a lot of media out of it. It really launched the band's career," Mark said.
"I was thinking, the band's career is about to end. I'm a huge KISS fan. We have a music festival every year where kids play KISS songs.
"Wouldn't it be great to bookend their career and come to another school on the other side of the world and inspire students."
Mark sees education as about much more than exam results and "rote learning HSC papers".
"We lose sight of education - it's about relationships, creativity, collaboration and community," he said.
"By doing projects like this, you build a community within the school. School culture and ethos gets built from these things."
While you're with us, did you know the Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here.
IN THE NEWS
- One in 11 Newcastle inner-city households have had their power disconnected
- Government long service leave agency grilled at Senate estimates over treatment of 'casual' mineworkers
- North Stockton, Fern Bay strategy shows vision for new town centre
- Cocaine catamaran case: Craig Lembke found guilty of importing 700 kilograms of cocaine
- UK cops find 39 bodies in truck container
- Plastic waste sector needs a lot more public attention in the Hunter and worldwide