Journalism Class

I really like this class. I think that being able to read and write different types of articles was fun and beneficial even if you are not going to be doing anything with journalism in college or as a job. It is important to be well rounded and understand what other people are doing. Working in this class was a challenge for me because thinking of topics and finding good interviews are hard for me to do. Photoshop was really interesting to learn and I am glad that we did it. I hope that whomever teaches this class next year continues it the way you have. Also, I liked that we could pick where we sat and you didnt make an assigned seating chart. That makes class much less fun and I kind of tune out because I feel awkward next to people I don't know. Thank you for being such a great teacher this year, good luck at Burnsville!

Shattered Glass

This movie was really interesting to watch. It is hard for me to believe that someone would have spent all that time making something up when it would have taken less time just to do a real story. I think the actors were great and I liked the flash back sections of the movie. I feel bad for the teacher he had because what is she going to think when she finds out he never really wrote anything. For all of the time that he spent working on those stories was it really worth it for the people that he hurt? If I was the girl that liked him I would be incredibly upset for feeling like I was blind sided. Hopefully he learned his lesson and eventually admitted what he did wrong. I also think that what the editor did was very hard for him and that is great that he had the integrity to call someone out on their lying. It was a hard/ sad movie to watch but i really enjoyed it also.

Newspaper #2

Newspaper-1

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Editorial Final

            Due to the advancements in technology teens have new ways to bully their peers such as cyber bullying or text bullying. Bullies are no longer limited to physical and verbal bullying. The consequences of these new bullying techniques can be devastating and parents and teachers may not even know what’s going on until it’s too late.

            Text bullying can mean, untrue, hurtful or embarrassing messages to or about someone using a cell phone. This can also include sexting or suggestive messages to or about someone. Many kids get cell phones in middle school which is when bullying occurs the most. Text bullying has become more common than traditional bullying, especially among girls. Almost 9 out of 10 teens have a cell phone, and about 1 in 5 will be victims of a text bully. About 1 in 10 teens engage in text bullying.

            Schools should be doing more to keep bullying off of school grounds. Cell phones should not be allowed in classrooms, only in lockers. If a student needs to call a parent they can use the school phone. Also, parents can do more to help by turning off texting abilities between 8 and 2 pm. That blocks out the part of the day that high school is in class and still leaves a little time if kids need to contact parents.

            The best offence is a good defense. If parents and administrators are worried about bullying then they can do more by working better together, blocking text messaging at inappropriate times and blocking websites that students shouldn’t be on during the school day such as Netflix or game sites. If you only take away one option of bullying then bullies can go another route. As long as parents and schools block all options bullying will go down significantly.  

Final Feature Story

Fashion is a big part of society. What you wear always has a statement. For example, if you have jeggings, converse, a white v-neck and a scarf your statement is cute, casual and comfortable without trying too hard. Example two, sweatpants and a sweatshirt say “I’m tired and I don’t care”. Each year for my birthday, I try to think of something that will benefit me and give back to someone else. In the past, I have donated to the Minnesota Valley Humane Society, the Minnesota Zoo, and many other organizations. This year the idea that came into my mind was fashion.

                The first thing that popped into my brain was TOMS shoes. TOMS was created in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie who was traveling in Argentina where he befriended children who had no shoes to protect their feet. His idea was to create a company that did what he calls “one for one”. Every pair of shoes you buy the company will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need. By the end of 2006 Mycoskie returned to Argentina with friends, family, staff and 10,000 pairs of shoes from the first round of TOMS customers.

                I had heard about and seen people with TOMS shoes before but I was not 100% on what the profit was going to. I did a little research on the website and about a week before my birthday I was making phone calls to tell family and friends about what I wanted for my gift this year. My mom later told me “I thought you were crazy trying to get everyone to buy you those shoes and I don’t think I fully understood the idea because I didn’t understand why you wanted so many pairs of the same shoe.”

Most phone calls went unanswered at first so I started to send emails and text messages as well as leaving voice mails on all of the phones I could reach. The first person I got to agree to buy shoes was my sister Katherine. “As long as you wear them I will buy them” she told me. My birthday was the last Saturday in spring break and I started calling on Friday. By Sunday I had 3 supporters and by Monday I had sixteen. I spent my entire spring break pestering people so that by my birthday they would be more than willing to give me a pair of shoes as long as I left them alone.

Tuesday, I realized that it would be good to remind everyone to get it for their shoes size and whatever color they wanted so that we wouldn’t be donating the same size and color of shoes. Each phone call and yes that I got, I became more excited about the shoes. I got an email for every pair that was bought in my name. I put up a poster on our family farm so that everyone in the family could see the progress we were making. My grandmother was the most surprised of all. “I didn’t realize this could help so much or that you could get so many people to participate and contribute” she told me on Wednesday. I got all 30 people in my immediate family to buy two pairs of shoes and I was on to my friends next. I decided that my goal would be to get 100 pairs of shoes donated to children in need.

Most people are out of town on spring break so that left out a few of my friends being able to participate. Other than those few, I called another 15 people, but I soon realized that high school students are less excited to buy a pair of shoes when they don’t have a money source other than their parents. Instead of going to specific people I decided to go to their parents to explain what I was trying to do and why. By the end of Wednesday I had reached my goal of 100 pairs of TOMS shoes.

By this time half of our garage was full of shoes and I was trying to think of what to do with the shoes given to me. I couldn’t keep all of them and I wanted them to go somewhere that needed them instead of just giving them away. I went to the library Thursday morning to try and find a place that I could donate shoes that would really use them. Not very many organizations are looking for shoes but instead are looking for money in order to pay for people’s specific needs. After about 4 hours’ at the library I found an organization called Souls4Souls. They take new and used shoes and give them to people all over the world who are in need or recycle them in an effort to eradicate poverty.

In the three days that followed, I went back to all of my family members and collected old shoes and still had them donate new shoes to TOMS shoes. The other pair then went to Souls4Souls. It took a week and a lot of begging, but by my birthday on Saturday I had almost 500 pairs of shoes donated. I went to family, friends, both of my parent’s offices and put flyers up at local places. I don’t know all of the people who helped to donate shoes in my name, but I am very thankful for everyone that did.

It was very exciting this year to be able to bring so many people together of different ages to donate shoes to children and adults in need.  Children all over the world can easily get diseases through their feet by stepping on something. It can quickly spread through the foot and sometimes the entire body causing temporary pain or permanent damage.  I love the idea that by doing something so small that takes very little time it can have such a big impact on so many people. Saving lives of children in such a small way is amazing.      

My parents were so proud of me that my birthday card read, “Happy Birthday to the purest of souls”. I’ll admit it was a little cliché but I was very excited that they noticed all my hard work. Out of all the shoes that were donated in my name, and everything I have done in the past it’s my parents recognition every year that makes me want to keep up with donating and helping. 

Feature Edits

I edited Averi's and Jordan's

Draft Feature Story

                Fashion is a big part of society. What you wear always has a statement. For example if you have jeggings, converse, a white v-neck and a scarf your statement is cute, casual and comfortable without trying too hard. Example two, sweatpants and a sweatshirt say “I’m tired and I don’t care”. Each year for my birthday I try to think of something that will benefit me and give back to someone else. In the past I have donated to the Minnesota Valley Humane Society, the Minnesota Zoo, and many other organizations. This year the idea that came into my mind was fashion.

                The first thing that popped into my brain was TOMS shoes. TOMS was created in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie who was traveling in Argentina where he befriended children who had no shoes to protect their feet. His idea was to create a company that did what he calls “one for one”. Every pair of shoes you buy the company will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need. By the end of 2006 Mycoskie returned to Argentina with friends, family, staff and 10,000 pairs of shoes from the first round of TOMS customers.

                I had heard about and seen people with TOMS shoes before but I was not 100% on what the profit was going to. I did a little research on the website and about a week before my birthday I was making phone calls to tell family and friends about what I wanted for my gift this year. My mom later told me “I thought you were crazy trying to get everyone to buy you those shoes and I don’t think I fully understood the idea because I didn’t understand why you wanted so many pairs of the same shoe.”

Most phone calls went unanswered at first so I started to send emails and text messages as long as leaving voice mails on all phones I could reach. The first person I got to agree to buy shoes was my sister Katherine. “As long as you wear them I will buy them” she told me. My birthday was the last Saturday in spring break and I started calling on Friday. By Sunday I had 3 supporters and by Monday I had sixteen. I spent my entire spring break pestering people so that by my birthday they would be more than willing to give me a pair of shoes as long as I left them alone.

Tuesday I realized that it would be good to remind everyone to get it for their shoes size and whatever color they wanted so that we wouldn’t be donating the same size and color of shoes. Each phone call and yes that I got I became more excited about the shoes. I got an email for every pair that was bought in my name. I put up a poster on our family farm so that everyone in the family could see the progress we were making. My grandmother was the most surprised of all. “I didn’t realize this could help so much or that you could get so many people to participate and contribute” she told me on Wednesday. I got all 30 people in my immediate family to buy two pairs of shoes and I was on to my friends next. I decided that my goal would be to get 100 pairs of shoes donated to children in need.

Most people are out of town on spring break so that left out a few of my friends being able to participate. Other than those few I called another 15 people but I soon realized that high school students are less excited to buy a pair of shoes when they don’t have a money source other than their parents. Instead of going to specific people I decided to go to their parents to explain what I was trying to do and why. By the end of Wednesday I had reached my goal of 100 pairs of TOMS shoes.

By this time half of our garage was full of shoes and I was trying to think of what to do with the shoes given to me. I couldn’t keep all of them and I wanted them to go somewhere that needed them instead of just giving them away. I went to the library Thursday morning to try and find a place that I could donate shoes that would really use them. Not very many organizations are looking for shoes but instead are looking for money in order to pay for people’s specific needs. After about 4 hours’ at the library I found an organization called Souls4Souls. They take new and used shoes and give them to people all over the world who are in need or recycle them in an effort to eradicate poverty.

In the three days that followed I went back to all of my family members and collected old shoes and still had them donate new shoes to TOMS shoes. The other pair then went to Souls4Souls. It took a week and a lot of begging but by my birthday on Saturday I had almost 500 pairs of shoes donated. I went to family, friends, both of my parent’s offices and put flyers up at local places. I don’t all of the people who helped to donate shoes in my name but I am very thankful for everyone that did.

It was very exciting this year to be able to bring so many people together of different ages to donate shoes to children and adults in need.  Children all over the world can easily get diseases through their feet by stepping on something. It can quickly spread through the foot and sometimes the entire body causing temporary pain or permanent damage.  I love the idea that by doing something so small that takes very little time it can have such a big impact.