Thistletalk Summer 2010 - Winchester Thurston School

NORTHNEWSHOUNDSWT North fifth graders gained real-world experience thisyear as they chronicled campus life for North News, aspecial section of the Pine Creek Journal communitynewspaper. From teacher interviews, favorite field trips, andannual events such as the Medieval Festival and Applefest, toa report on the natural beauty and benefits of the North HillsCampus and related environmental issues, the students wroteabout and photographed anything that piqued their interest—and what they predicted would interest readers as well.“It has given them a chance to apply the writing and editingskills they have been learning to a real purpose and for a largeraudience,” notes fifth grade teacher Brock Perkins.Perkins’s students honed critical literacy skills throughNewspapers in Education (NIE), a program that links schoolswith The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post,and other papers. WT’s junior journalists partnered with the PineCreek Journal and its parent company, Trib Total Media. DonaDreeland, assistant director of community relations, collaboratedwith Perkins and his students, who published six issues ofNorth News.“It is especially gratifying to be involved in this programbecause it encourages learning, thinking, and writing—threequalities of any good journalist, and valuable skills for students,no matter their grade level,” emphasizes Dreeland.“This project has allowed students to tell North’s story fromtheir perspective,” explains Perkins. “They brainstorm the ideasfor the articles, choose which articles to write, and plan, edit, andrewrite their items for the newspaper. They have also workedwith a terrific parent editor, Jen Alexander, and have come torealize that their articles may be changed to fit the newspaper’sspace and needs. They see what it really takes—what editorsdo and look for, and that it’s not just the teacher who takes thered pen and says, ‘this doesn’t work.’”“Lower School students need to see howwhat they learn in school is applied in thereal world.”— Brock Perkins“I have learned that when you write an article, your roughdraft is very different from your final draft,” attests KelseyBares. Classmate Julia Lupariello advises patience through theprocess. “It takes a lot of effort and hard work to write a story.It takes a long time to finish your article, and there is alwaysmore editing to be done.”“I like reporting for the newspaper because we get to learnlots of new things that we didn’t know,” says Ben Harrison.“When you are telling a story, you have to add lots of detailsto make it interesting.” Most gratifying for Caldwell Holdenwas “seeing what it looks like at the end, and being proud ofmy work.”Perkins declares the project an unqualified success, and isalready planning on more editions of North News for next year.“Lower School students need to see how what they learnin school is applied in the real world,” states Perkins. “Fifthgraders, in particular, really need to see the real-world valueof the concepts and skills they are learning.”w w w . w i n c h e s t e r t h u r s t o n . o r g15