Eclipse 2017: Staffs Share How They Covered The Event

On Monday, August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse went from sea to shining sea across our nation. It started in Lincoln Beach, Ore., and made its way to Charleston, S.C. This historical event was an opportunity for scholastic journalists to shine.   Rolla, Missouri Mary Gillis of Rolla High School is the adviser for the school magazine, online newspaper and yearbook. Her eclipse experience was as diversified as the publications she advises. “In May, I wrote a grant that provided funds to take my news staff to Jefferson City’s Capital Solar Eclipse. NASA was there to do a live broadcast of the eclipse and also had a travelling exhibit ‘Journey to Tomorrow.’ It was also ...

Opportunities in college and the real world: One student’s perspective

Cassandra Bauer attends Drake University. She is a junior majoring in digital media production and minoring in graphic design. She recently sat down with SchoolJournalism to answer a few questions that we had. We hope the interview is helpful to both students and advisers.   Q: When you were looking at schools, what was it about Drake that pulled you in? A: I was really focusing in on schools in Iowa because I didn't want to stay in Missouri and be with the same people I spent my high school years with. I choose Iowa because it wasn't completely isolated from home. My grandparents live in Grinnell, and so I get to see them a lot during the school year. That is nice because before I...

Three Hours Recharges Your Program

I have heard of teachers who have had a lot of success with three-day or five-day boot camps, workshops, etc. with their incoming staffs preparing for the new year through ice breaker games, skill building and work exercises. Those are, I’m sure, spectacular for many schools. However, multi-day events don’t work for everyone. These days, there’s more and more that fills a student’s summer:  traveling athletic teams, youth camps, debate competitions, summer school consuming June, family vacations, working summer jobs – the list just goes on and on. A few years ago, I found myself asking my producer and editors, “Do you have one day, just one day to give to journalism?” Appare...