By Valerie Perez
Many students at Coronado feel underwhelmed and indecisive while choosing an elective to sign up for. There’s an array of classes to consider including Student Council, Band, and more, which often require demanding days and stressful nights that stray away from ease and enjoyment. Though Journalism goes unstated, Newsteam is a class where students can work independently and be productive. Journalism is an elective that requires only writing experience, and it allows for meaningful connections with classmates and students, all without the stress.
“I’ve been in Newsteam for all four years of high school, and it has truly been my favorite class,” senior Editor-in-Chief Madison Kitch said. “I’ve made so many meaningful connections and seen my staffers grow as writers and as people.”
Journalism, also known as Newsteam, is an elective that focuses on English, writing and reporting. Staffers spend time interviewing teachers and students to create articles to post on the Newsteam’s website, ‘The Roar.’ In the student-run class, five editors are chosen to teach and edit for the class, each for a different section. Collectively, students brainstorm article ideas that can be written about in different categories such as News, Features, Opinion, Entertainment and Sports. With broad categories, students are bound to find and choose an article they would be interested to research and report about.
After the class is assigned to write and upload several articles a quarter, students are free to work towards completing their articles independently or as a group. Students are given a press pass with their name and picture to allow interviews with students, teachers and all staff to gain the information needed for their article. Journalism staff can enter most school games, events, and activities without a fee to report scores and take pictures of their choosing.
“Journalism is something that I have been passionate about and wanting to pursue since I was little,” junior Assisting Editor Aubree Gearhart said. “I have been a part of The Roar my entire highschool career and will continue to be a part of Newsteam my senior year. Journalism has taught me an array of different writing skills that I have been able to transfer over to my other classes. On The Road not only do we tackle the writing aspect of journalism, we also have a look at the reporting side of things which I love. I think the reporting side of journalism is a great way to interact with others and give you a better understanding of what you are writing and reporting on. Being an editor I have seen the staffers grow immensely, not only as writers but as individuals. Journalism is something that I will be continuing through college as it is the career I hope to pursue. For anyone thinking about joining journalism I highly recommend joining the program.”
Along with writing articles, members upload to different social media accounts including the Newsteam’s Instagram (@chsnewsteam) and Twitter (@CoronadoRoar) to post pictures of students and their responses to questions, events, and sports scores. With many activities and student participation, there are many ways to earn extra credit and sign up for more opportunities to attend events and report.
After completing articles and gathering all of the information necessary, students go through the editing process. It begins with peer editing where one of the students in the class edits the article. Of the five-section editors, all articles will be sent to one of the sections specific to the article and continue on to the Editor in Chief for the final check. After completing this process, the article will be published on The Roar website under the students’ names.
“Newsteam has introduced me to so many writing skills that have been implemented into other classes that involve writing,” senior Features Editor Lorin Alukonis said. “Being the Features editor myself, I see many types of writing from people who have been in Newsteam for years and beginners, and I can say there has been much improvement as the staff members write more articles and learn different writing techniques.”
Joining Newsteam provides skills that can help guide students through school, life experiences, and future careers. In the class, students learn how to communicate with others and effectively compose an article that can present information worth reading. Throughout the year, students gain experience and learn more along the way, finding a passion for journalism and pursuing it in the future.
