The Importance of Workshops

We attended Walsworth’s Elite Weekend this weekend. I can’t say enough good things about this workshop. The timing is perfect. There’s a lot of work time. Trainers help finalize plans. There is a lot of networking (or hanging out with my adviser friends). It’s only a 20-minute drive for us, but we stay the night.

Do Not Print List

Behind the Scenes After obtaining a list from my front office of parents who selected “do not print in school publications” during the registration process, I email the parents to see if they would like to change their selection. Most of the time, the parent selected the “do not print” option in error. I also

A Fresh Start

Photojournalism The first day of a six-week grading period is photo inventory day. We look at photos over the projector to see what’s needed. The editors open each folder on the server to see how many photos are on file, how good the photos are and if there is a variety of photos. Then we

History of Photography

Journalism 1 We started the second six-week grading period today. After weeks of writing, usually, J1 students are excited to start something new. And they love photography. I don’t know that they love the history lessons here at the start, but when we get to taking photos, they enjoy it. I start the unit by

Leadership Training

I’ve learned later in my career and especially after COVID that teaching leadership is important and an ongoing task. This morning, we took time to talk about the book “Leaders Eat Last” which students read over the summer. I’ve attached the discussion packet we went over this morning. My favorite part of this activity is

We didn’t start the fire

Fun Day for All Today we worked through famous events in history. (See attached list.) These are actually events from the song, “We didn’t start the fire” by Elton John. I don’t tell them until they are finished then play the song. THEN I give them the list for the new Fall Out Boy version.

Discuss Current Events

Journalism 1 I do my best to take time weekly to talk about current news with my Journalism 1 class. We usually watch Lester Holt when time permits. Okay, I’m a big fan of The Lester. If you’re looking for something to grade, a news quiz is easy. It’s the end of the grading period,

Writing, Peer Editing, Conferencing

Journalism 1, Yearbook, Newspaper Most of my staff and my intro class are working on feature writing (or refining their skills). Journalism 1’s goal is to get theirs published on www.therideronline.com for a 100 for the next grading period. Yearbook will use theirs, in some form, in the yearbook. Newspaper personality profiles are drafted and

Remembering 9/11

Remembering Today, is a day I take off from yearbooking and just sit and talk about events of 9/11. I’ve included some discussion topics. I use the video about Falling Man. This interview is powerful because of how the photographer views his job as a photographer. Topics for 9/11 What I remember/Where I was How

Promote Yourself

Journalism 1 Today, I broke down paragraph by paragraph about how to write a feature story. I use a UIL prompt to select facts/quotes to use. I’ve attached the outline I use. Keys things Creative lead that catches attention Newspeg with a future event – written as concisely as possible Quote feelings and emotions Use