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Austintown Middle School students publish newspaper
By kristine gill
austintown
Andrew White is a trained observer.
When the Austintown Middle School student walked into his resource period and saw that many students from the previous class were still hanging around, he jokingly voiced his safety concern.
“I think we’ve surpassed maximum capacity,” he said.
Andrew is the eighth-grade editor of the next issue of The Falcon Flyer, a new publication produced by seventh- and eighth-graders in gifted programs. Students in both grades are now working to produce their next issue, which hits stands Dec. 21.
The staff of 23 students produced a seven-page publication but has concerns for their next issue.
“How do we get people to buy our paper?” asked Marina Pavlichich, an eighth-grader.
The students seem to have run into a roadblock all-too-familiar to those in the newspaper industry.
The Falcon Flyer sells for 50 cents a copy — the same price you paid for this copy of The Vindicator. Davis estimates that students sold only about 40 or 50 copies of their first issue.
Still, students say they’ve learned from the experience so far.
Marina said she’s learning how to make her writing more concise and to finish her assignments on a deadline. Andrew said it can be awkward to approach other students for stories, but he’s gotten used to it.
Maia Totterdale is the seventh-grade editor.
“It’s kind of fun, but it’s kind of a big responsibility,” she said. “If there’s a mistake, it’s your fault.”
Alex Davis is the intervention specialist who works with the group. She said they’ve faced many challenges in producing a quarterly paper with relevant information, but have learned to work together to finish everything on time.
“They’re participating and establishing leadership roles with the editors and learning communication skills and technology skills — and reading, of course,” Davis said.
The paper includes word puzzles, a poll and reader submissions that include poetry. The staff writes about outstanding students in each grade and profiles a teacher for each issue.
Davis said students have a lot of freedom when it comes to writing topics and roles.
“I hope they like that they have some flexibility in what they choose to write about and what jobs they take on, whether some are more computer-literate or artistic,” she said. “They can just really add to their potential, and it [can] be in their area of interest.”
In their upcoming issue, they’ll write about the holidays, the need for better referees to call soccer games and the pros and cons of homework.
Eighth-grader Cassie Wirtz is working on that editorial.
“Nobody likes to do homework, and you don’t get anything out of doing something you don’t want to do, so it’s pointless to make us,” Wirtz said in summary.
The paper’s mascot is a stuffed-animal hedgehog named Poncho. Students hide his image throughout the pages of each issue for readers to find.