Over the summer, Holy Spirit Preparatory School installed a radio station and built a recording studio. The first broadcast and sign-on ceremony was held Oct. 25.

The student-operated radio station broadcasts information bulletins regarding school events and activities during morning and afternoon drive times, allowing parents to hear school news as they drop off and pick up students. It also broadcasts original programming developed and recorded by the students to the broader community.

Students in journalism classes at the private Catholic school will research and originate programming. And students taking class electives in topics such as studio management and contract and intellectual property law will study the nuances of equipment usage and legal considerations.

The radio station is paired with a recording studio that boasts top-of-the-line industry standard hardware and software. The ProTools 6.1 software allows for 24-bit, 96K recording capability (known in the industry to be high quality). Students will be able to broadcast live or record and edit for future broadcasts.

Radio Holy Spirit will initially broadcast at one tenth of a watt, which does not require licensing. The current frequency is set at 97.9 FM, with a range of an approximately two-mile radius. Radio Holy Spirit is on the air during the hours students are on campus.

As the students gain experience in operating the station, the content will be streamed to the Internet and a license for higher power output will be obtained.

Future broadcast plans include home sports games and Sunday Mass for the homebound.

Program information is available on the school’s Web site, www.holyspiritprep.org.

Holy Spirit Preparatory School is an independent, coeducational, Catholic college-preparatory school on three distinct campuses all located inside the perimeter in Sandy Springs.