‘The Hawkeye’ Gives NHS Students

A Real Taste Of Journalism

By Andrew Rote

If you were to walk by room B246 in the high school, you would not see students sitting in chairs, reading out of textbooks, or listening to a lecture. What an observer might see is a group of students working under a deadline to complete a student-run newspaper.

Every week, local residents get their news from The Newtown Bee. Newtown High School gets its news from The Hawkeye.

There are very strict rules about finishing work on time for the deadlines, but the staff makes the atmosphere fun. The main goal is to work together as a team to create a finished product.

Students start in Journalism I, learning to understand the basic principles of a beginning journalist. This includes learning how to write and conduct good interviews and surveys, writing the different types of articles without bias, and working together as a team. Students also master all the characteristics and vocabulary of layout. In the beginning of the course, students learn to understand the laws of libel and slander.

Working with others toward a common goal is what Journalism I stresses the most, as well as completing well-written articles by the assigned deadlines.

The course gives sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are interested in the field a chance to write and design a real newspaper.

While the staff becomes acquainted with the rules of creating a newspaper, they contribute articles concerning any approved topic they want to write about.

“I really like having the freedom to write about topics I’m interested in while still working towards the common goal of creating a newspaper,” says Grant Skinner, a junior member of the staff.

The authors of the articles learn through the critical reviews of their teacher, Mrs Nicole Rossi, and the editors. Other staff writers help out as well.

“It’s great to see students so excited about their writing,” Mrs Rossi says.

She is currently teaching her fourth year of Journalism. The class takes place in one of the school’s computer labs where the staff has easy access to research and typing.

Over the course of the year, each student tries to cover at least one story in each of the four main types of articles: news, feature, sports, and entertainment.

The second semester is more student-directed. Students are given the chance to apply everything they have learned toward the second half of the year.

“I was really impressed with the staff second semester. We work really well together and get things done,” says Emily Sheehan, The Hawkeye’s Editor-in-Chief.

Once students finish their first year of the course, their high school journalism careers are far from over. They can stay in journalism until they graduate.

There are always new techniques to learn. After being a staff writer, students have the opportunity to become editors. This year, there are three editors. They include senior Editor-in-Chief Emily Sheehan, junior News Editor Shannon Solheim, and senior Feature Editor Katie DiPerrio. The Hawkeye also has a photojournalist, junior Jeff Walcott.

“I liked everything about this course. My classmates were great. I was free to pick any topic and write about it,” says Rabiya Ansari, a junior.

Junior Anna Bingaman said one of the things she enjoys most about Journalism is making new friends. The staff grows very close together during the year, and shares stories with each other – written, as well as personal.

“This is my second year writing for The Hawkeye and it has definitely been one of the most positive experiences for me in my years at NHS,” says Katie DiPerrio.

Journalism is a class that students look forward to. They can prepare for a possible future career while having fun. Also, when the newspaper is printed, students enjoy passing them out and having others read their articles.

“It’s great to see the final product after all the hard work that went into preparing the issue,” says Shannon. “I also love being bombarded by students in the hallway who are eager to read the latest issue.”

Junior Leah Blewett sums up her Journalism experience. “This class has been really fun, and it taught me a lot about something I would like to pursue in college.”

Whether a student’s future plans include following a career in journalism or just learning the basic inner-workings of a newspaper, this course is very interesting, informative, and well worth experiencing.

(Andrew Rote is a sophomore journalism student at Newtown High School, who writes sports and feature stories for the school’s paper, The Hawkeye)