Same rules as the last time. Publication date will be late-September. Please keep that in mind when coming up with ideas.
Please post 6-7 ideas for the second edition of the year. You must have at least one article idea for each section (News, Sports, A&E, Features, Op/Ed, Center Spread). Be sure to read the other ideas BEFORE you post your own. You can elaborate on another person's post (with a citation, of course). Include an article idea for each section. Be specific and format each idea as such:
Article Idea:
Must interviews (be specific ... "students" is fairly obvious and somewhat lame):
Why will people want to read this:
21 comments:
Features) MA= Minimal Attendance
-How many days off we have this year
-What is curriculum advancement day (this is new and we have about 3 days off for it)
- We can do a graphic on the easiest of fewest school days in a month etc.
News) E-mail server change
-The tech guy sent about 30 emails so we could do a clarifying "How to set your email up again and get your username and password to work at school"
Sports) Scoreboard
-I liked the idea of including a scoreboard/standings type thing in the paper this year. We would just need to figure out the best way to keep it timely.
Op-Ed) I'll eventually have an epiphany on what to write
Features) Magazines in the LIB
-Quantify how many people at MA read Maxim and Gossip Magazines versus Intellectual magazines
-Look into MA's magazine subscription process
A&E - The basics for school: the best places to eat, work out, catch up on sleep, study, have fun, or hang around on or off campus. By the time the first edition comes out, everyone will begin to feel stressed and will probably need “essential” items to make their day run smoothly, such as coffee, energy drinks, and even stress releases. I think it would be fun to interview students and faculty about their favorite drinks/power foods, places to eat, and how they burn off of all of their stress when the day is finally over. This could be helpful for incoming freshman who have trouble keeping calm, as well as juniors and seniors who feel pressure to work extremely hard so that they can be accepted into the collage of their choice.
News- Earthquakes and how they are effecting the world. Just recently, there was a 5.8 earthquake in Washington D.C., which didn’t appear to effect the people on the east coast too much, but seemed to make people more aware of the dramatic effects it can have on buildings and countries in the world such as Haiti and Japan. We could also tie in the new earthquake drill policy that is being reinforced at MA, which says that we have to have an earthquake drill at least once a month, unannounced. We could interview the fire department, those effected by the east coast earthquake (how did they feel about the Haitian and Japanese collapse after experiencing something similar?), as well as those working at MA who will be participating in search and rescue during the drills.
Sports-I think it would be fun to interview MA alums who participated in school sports, and amounted to pro sports or even playing that particular sport in collage. We could focus on how participating in these activities helped them stay out of trouble, taught them how to manage their time, and important life lessons (ex: “You can learn from your mistakes”, etc.). This could encourage other students who are too shy or are not motivated to try out for a school sport. It would also be interesting to find out how MA has benefited alums who went on to use the lessons they learned from playing at MA.
Features- Apparently, people make up their mind about a person in the first few seconds they meet. Are we mentally able to change that first impression? Between meeting teachers and new students, there are an endless opportunities for misconceptions about new people one is meeting. We can interview students who changed their opinion of friends or teachers over time by getting to know them and giving them a second chance. This would be relevant when the paper comes out because we’ll have been in school for about a month, and some people might be secluding themselves to particular people just because they’ve made the wrong first impression.
Center - I think that we should do an article on queen bees and “wanna-be’s”. I know that this is subject that has been discussed widely (at least amongst the parental community, as there are several parenting books written on this particular subject, one called “Queen Bees and Wanna-Be’s”). I know that several people suffer from being the victim of queen bees, and I feel like it’s something that’s omnipresent, but is rarely talked about with students. Usually, there’s only one side to this story - the victim. I feel like if both sides were reported on, it would allow people to speak about this problem and work it out easier.
News: Obituary Honoring Alena Dennison
Interviews: Friends, Family
Why: Although the whole MA community is aware of Alena's death in July, I am sure many people will want to know how her loved ones are coping with the loss and more about Alena (& her life) in general. I think it would be a great way to honor her and let her family know that she will always be missed here at MA.
Sports: Secrets & Strategies of the Fall Sports Teams
Interviews: Players, Coaches of one or multiple sports team
Why: It would be interesting to read, especially for those who don't participate in school sports, to get an inside look on how the fall sports teams get back into shape after winter, spring, and summer. Also to learn the strategies teams use in games, both silly and serious (ex. girls waterpolo player Alexi Wattis has a super aggressive and scary face she shoots at the opposing team's goalie every time she shoots)
A&E: Top Summer Reads
Interviews: Avid readers in all grades to get a variety of genres
Why: I know I am always looking for a book to read but don't have time to spend hours in the public library reading the first chapter of every book with a title that appeals to me. It would be a great way to encourage people to continue reading for fun even though summer has ended and to share with the school a solid list of good books for all interests.
Editorial: Our opinion on a recent marriage-16 year old girl marries 51 year old man (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2005969/Doug-Anthony-Hutchison-51-marries-16-year-old-aspiring-country-music-singer-Las-Vegas.html)
Why: When I read this article, I was shocked and horrified. I think it would be interesting for us to share our opinion on the topic of marriage at such a young age and this situation, especially since most of us are 16 years old (+ or - a couple years.)
Features: Getting to know the new faces on campus (and no, we are not talking about the freshman)
Interviews: New Faculty members
Why: When you think of all the new members of the MA community, you normally think of the 100 new students on campus, not the few new faculty members. For the whole school to get to know the new faculty better, I think it would be a good idea to interview them, get them to share their hobbies, favorite activities, and funniest teaching moments. I think students would be interested plus it would definitely help to welcome them into the community.
Center Spread: Balancing Act
Interviews: 3 of 4 of MA's super involved students (athletes, club leaders, musicians, etc)
Why: I know everyone thinks they have way too much on their plate as the school year begins and the workload triples. But what about the musicians and athletes who have hour long practices before they can even think about starting their hw? It would be cool to follow some of those 'over achiever' students lives for a week and find out how they cope with their buys schedules. This article would be a good way to give students struggling with balancing work, sports, and home some ideas/advice on how to do it all.
Tia Fung
News: well, technically this is probably also features….
New student/teacher bios. (My most original and interesting idea to date. Sarcasm.)
You know you want to be able to identify new teachers. Maybe new kids also (we have two in our class!)
Interview: the new teachers and students
Why: nobody knows them. And they will never know without us!
Sports:
preseason training?
How is preseason going? What teams are looking strong? What teams lost a lot of players? Gained a lot?
Interview: Josh/Aaron/Kelly, athletes, coaches
A&E:
Summer books and movies! Or just plain old books and movies!
What movies are worth seeing? So I can rent them when they come on DVD! How were the summer reading books? What are some other books?!
Interview: Students/Faculty. Definitely Trevor/Derek. And the kids who are running the summer reading groups.
Why: Because there are a lot of books and movies out there, and we (royal we) want to know which ones are good! Also, it’s a good fluffy article to draw people in.
Features: (i think isabelle’s idea is good, also. deep.)
Spirit captain interview
It’s a classic. They get interviewed, they are funny, things are revealed about the nature of our spirit days.
Why: some kids (fressshhmmeennn) may not know them, it’s a crowd pleaser, and it’s kind-of a look into the rest of the year (in terms of spirit).
Interview: spirit captains, captain obvious.
Op/Ed: Ummmm. Hmmmm. Uhhhhhhh. Errrrrrr.
Awkwardness. That's legit my idea.
Why: Because that’s pretty much the theme of this particular post o’ mine. Highlights may include: Awkward freshman stories. Advice. Awkward daily occurances. Because awkward people are funny. (This is by far the worst idea ever.) Also, the word awkward is just so awkward.
Center Spread:
Year abroad? (this is not the best idea, I realize. But I got nothing...seriously, look at my other ideas. nothing.)
Different exchange programs, students that have gone before, where to go, where people have gone, etc.
Why: information, exotic locations, pretty pictures….
Interview: students that’ve done a program, teachers involved in a program (are there any?)
NEWS
1. I think we should address the passing of Alena Dennison, but as far how to do that, we need to talk to Travis and the Dennison family without invading their privacy. If there is a memorial, we could report on that. Or maybe we could dedicate one of the editions to Alena and have some of her friends write short little memories of her if they felt comfortable sharing that.
2. Article Idea: I think we could definitely cover the presidential debate. Most of the info should be relevant in a month when the paper comes out.
Why: Many members of the community will be able to vote in the next election. Certainly all of the faculty will be able to vote, along with the senior class (twelve!!), and even some of the juniors. People will want to make informed decisions.
Interviews: Pam/Nancy...whoever teaches the Government class. Any/All US History teachers. Travis. Students who are already 18 or will be by the elections.
CENTER SPREAD
Article Idea: The process of going back to school in other cultures. Specifically, in other parts of the world, is there the same excitement surrounding being a senior? What are some of the traditions other high school age people have? Maybe explore what it's like to return to school in impoverished places where they can't afford new school materials or even clothing.
Why: Connects MA to the outside world, provides a different perspective.
Interviews: Students who went to Daraja, Emily Klein (has an Italian exchange student), students who hosted Japan students.
OP-ED
Article Idea: What students/teachers think about going paperless and also the use of iPads and tablets in the place of textbooks.
Why: It effects both the way we learn and take in information and how heavy our backpacks are...plus some people feel very strongly about this. we could also do a point-counterpoint.
Interviews: Jon Bretan, Ryan Burks (uses his iPad in class to take notes a lot), Joani Lacey (in reference to learning styles etc.)
FEATURES
Article Idea: Find out some of the community's favorite spots to hang out over the summer. That could mean a road trip to some lake in tahoe, a favorite restaurant in the Bay Area, or even a favorite little pool, place in nature etc. to go hang out with friends. One thing to keep in mind would be to avoid big international adventures and expensive getaways. We could do some cute graphics or a map with it.
Why: During the summer, many members of this community have to opportunity to travel to exotic locations across the globe. I think featuring those trips, as we've done in the past, would be kind of boring and also bring up the over talked about privilege issue at MA. I think it would be nice to show some of the community's favorite little getaways, ones that don't require a lot of resources.
Interviews: Any students or staff that did something unique over the summer.
SPORTS
Article Idea: There was a summer seminar on LGBTQQ issues on sports teams. We could find out what the seminar covered and see if athletes/coaches have notcied any changes on our sports teams.
Why: Because this is the first time that these issues have been discussed in the context of sports teams at MA.
Interviews: Sanjai, Josh Frechette. I didn't attend, so I don't know what students were there, but I assume many of the team captains were in attendance and would talk about their experience with it.
A&E
Article Idea: Student filmmakers.
Why: Seem to be a lot of very creative, film focused students.
Interviews: Tyler S., students in theater/art classes. People who have planned to make movies for their senior arts.
Sports: Article- Summer Sports Endeavors. About all the things people did over the summer related to sports, like going to camps or playing on travel teams, or traveling to different countries to play.
Interviews- Josh's in case they know of people
Why: We just got back from the summer, and MA fall sports seasons haven't progressed much yet
A&E: Article- What social groups are most likely to party and drink? Does playing sports make you more likely to party, or is it the theater kids? What kinds of things influence students substance abuse tendencies?
Interviews: Student interviews might need to be anonymous, because a wide variety and a large number of opinions would be best to accurately find trends in drinking. Also, we could ask Lynne and maybe Joani and Sanjai as well.
Why: Kids in high school definitely party and drink a lot, and for those who don't necessarily want to be in that crowd, knowing what kind of activities are least likely to lead to it would be good.
Features: Political views at MA- How many students identify as Democrat vs. Republican, what are the numbers in the faculty? It would be cool to compare the two parties (or other affiliations) by student body, by faculty, and then compare those to to county, state, and national trends. How to we compare, and if we're different, why? THe artcile could focus on how we compare as a community to our nation.
Interviews: A large and random mix of students, as many faculty as willing to participate.
Why: Presidential elections are coming up in 2012, so political views are pretty relevant.
Op/Ed: Article on summer jobs vs. summer fun: an opinion piece weighing the pros and cons of working over the summer versus just hanging out on vacation. Which one is better in the long run, which makes for better success when returning to school, which option is overall a better choice?
Interviews: People who had work intensive summers and people who didn't do a single day of work or sports, the Jennifers (for the college angle)
Center Spread- An article on why so many faculty at MA left last year, like Joe Harvey and Karen Jacobsen. We could try and get a hold of them and see if they have similar reasons, or if it was just spontaneous. There are some suspicious as to why some of MA's key players left all at once.. it would be good to write a big article on it, because the school is very different without them.
Interviews: Joe, Karen, Ken Lanick, other teachers who may know
Why: It definitely is different at MA without Joe and Karen especially, so it would be good to see why they both left
News: Article Idea- I think we definitely need to do a piece on Alena Dennison, who the MA community unfortunately lost recently. It doesn't seem fitting not to honor her. Instead of trying to dig deep and find meaning to Alena's death, I think we just need to write a piece about who she was as a person and how much she meant to her friends, family, and the community.
Interviews: Her friends and teachers, people who were close to her (probably not her family)
A&E: Blogging
• More and more people within the MA community are beginning to create blogs (on Tumblr, Blogspot, Wordpress, etc.) as an outlet for expression. Many seem to keep quiet about it, though. Why?
• Interviews: Would have to search around for people willing to share their blogs
• Students within the MA community would want to read this as it is pertinent to our generation. Furthermore, I'd be really interested in reading other students' blogs, and I imagine others would as well.
Features: Introducing senate
• Simple photograph of each member (thinking something along the lines of the baby-boom article... just cut outs)
• Most people don't know everyone on senate, so it would be nice for the MA community to become acquainted with these leaders
• Could possibly narrow it down to just president, vice president, & spirit captains and go the profile route
News: In Memoriam: Alena Dennison
• I realize this is still (and will forever remain) a sensitive topic, but I think it's important that we address this devastating loss.
• We did a piece on Alicia Lee's passing, so perhaps we could refer back to that for some guidance.
• Student quotes are not necessarily needed for the article, though we can determine what's right for the piece so long as the Dennison's are alright with it being published.
Op-Ed: 'Slaughterhouse Five' Ban in Missouri
• An analyzation of books previously banned and then brought back to school curriculums?
• Having the liberty to read (and discuss) content that may not be deemed "age appropriate" at MA -- examples of such novels ('The Scarlet Letter,' for example).
Sports: New biking community at MA?
• Last year, a number of students began biking to school. This trend, however, has not yet been addressed.
• Interviews: Walker Kehoe, Ella Cooke, Erin Van Gessel
• Perhaps this isn't "digging deep" for a sports article, but I (and imagine others) would be really interested to see if this trend will continue upwards.
Oops. I was working on this for a little while and didn't realize several others had mentioned Alena's passing. Sorry!
Post 1:
A&E
Article Idea: Fashion Abroad
Students went to such diverse and interesting places this summer. An inherent part of learning about a new culture is observing what locals are wearing, so a piece about which fashion trends students saw abroad would be really strong. Students could share which trends they brought home with them (pictures of clothes from vacations could be the graphic), or which ones they found a little strange.
Interviews: Students (boys and girls) who saw interesting garments abroad.
Why people will want to read this: It’s a good way to recap where people went this summer in a new and fun format. I’m sure a lot of students went shopping in different countries, and saw both cool and slightly weirder things. All in all, I think the piece has the potential to be both interesting content-wise and graphic-wise.
Sports
Article Idea: Lake Sports
Something that usually doesn’t get a lot of paper space is lake sports (tubing, wakeboarding, water skiing), because they are generally done during the summer. Many students enjoy going up to Lake Tahoe or even in the East Bay to do these sports, and they are generally essential at any summer camp. We could highlight several of the different sports (there are some strange ones like wake surfing), and interview students who are into them.
Interviews: Students and faculty – especially those who own a boat or wakeboard, etc. Would have to do a bit of interviewing to see who at MA is really into these.
Why: Our sport section generally sticks to school sports. This would definitely add a little bit to our sports section, and would also work as a good highlight of summer fun.
Center Spread
Article Idea: Friendship at MA
At the beginning of the school year, it’s always both refreshing and a bit awkward to see people who you haven't seen all summer. For freshmen, especially, the beginning of the year means lots of new friendships and finding a “niche” at MA. So what does friendship really mean at Marin Academy? It would be interesting to examine what people view as friendship, how they go about making friends, and why they are friends with who they are. We could take a sort of “cliques at MA” stance on it, or it really just be about how people go about making lifelong friends. I think especially for freshmen this could be a cool idea.
Interviews: A lot of freshmen, and maybe we could do a section with a senior’s opinions on making friends freshmen year. Also upperclassmen on how they’ve hashed out who their real friends are, and sophomores on solidifying friendships.
Why: I think that our center spreads are always subjects that we as a paper could and should delve deeper into, and I think friendship is a broad but probing topic. It's such an integral part of our lives as high school students, and it can affect people's entire high school careers. This shouldn't be some superficial "everyone is nice to everyone" article, but delve into how people create meaningful connections and what factors at MA inform these decisions.
Post 2:
Op/Ed
Article Idea: In Memory of Alena Dennison
I know everyone has already posted about writing something about Alena, but they've put an article idea under news or features. I think to make this article more personal and sensitive to the Dennison family, we could have an Op/Ed piece about how amazing of a girl she was. We could have people submit paragraphs about her and include them in the article, rather than having it news based.
Interviews: Of course we would only do this if the Dennison family/Travis agreed, but we could ask students and teachers to submit small paragraphs about Alena.
Why: Needless to say, this issue needs to be addressed. At this point though, I think it's still a very emotional thing and for now at least we might want to stick to the "emotional" side rather than trying to get the story of what actually happened in the car crash.
Features
Article Idea: What's in your pencil case?
We could have a couple of students open their pencil cases to see what's inside. This could be a super cool graphic piece - in Nylon magazine, they do something similar but with a bag and a bunch of random things. The photo is a birds eye view, looking at the bag with all of the contents spilling out of it. We could then get quotes from the students who are sharing their pencil cases about why they have the things they have in there. I'm sure we could find some pretty interesting pencil cases...
Interviews: We would only really need to focus on one or two people (maybe one girl and one boy), but whoever was working on this piece should scout around for interesting contents.
Why: Graphically, this piece could be super successful. And it goes with the whole "back to school" theme as well, seeing as everyone has just gone supplies shopping.
News: Senior speech introductions… No more Travis?
Apparently Travis will no longer be part of senior speech introductions? This could just be rumors, but if not, I think it would be interesting to see why this change is occurring and who will take Travis’ place to introduce the senior speakers. I also heard from the senate member that proposed the idea that Travis was not happy to relinquish this duty… drammaaa.
Interviews: Leigh Kinney, Travis Brownley
Sports: Trying to get into college? Do crew!
As we have learned from students who row, such as Greig Stein who has been approached by nearly every top tier college in the country, crew is the way to go when applying to college. Several students at MA have developed a passion for rowing, some maybe for college, others not. We could do a piece on how these rower’s high school experiences have been altered due to extensive crew commitments and how they feel about the constantly growing hype surrounding the sport. (Go Greig!!)
Interviews: Anyone who rows; I’m sure other people in the class know more names than I do.
A&E: Music Festivals in the Bay Area
I can’t remember if we’ve done this in the past, but I know the idea has been proposed. MA students are known to love bay area music festivals/concerts, especially at this time of year. Outside Lands just happened, Bluegrass is in mid September, Power to the Peaceful is in late September, and Treasure Island is in mid October.
Interviews: Lizzy Elliott, Ellie Saake… anyone else who isn’t a senior that attends the festivals
Features: Bring Your Own Lunch: The Downfall of the Cafeteria
Last year, and I’m sure this year there will be as well, a rapidly increasing amount of students began to bring their own lunches to school due to either the expensive prices or the level of greasy/fatty covering literally every type of food in the café. Maybe if we do another article on how exasperated the student body is with the current food situation there will be some change…
Interviews: Chef Sean, any student who brings their own lunch
Op/Ed: The First Days as a Freshman (written by a current freshman…)
We could get one of the freshmen to be a guest writer for this edition, talking about his or her experiences as a new freshman in a completely new and chaotic environment that is Marin Academy.
Center Spread World Conflict and its Effect on MA
In International Relations today we made a list of countries that have made world news in the past couple of weeks due to natural disasters, corruption, scandals, or basically any other horrifying controversies. There were at least 20 of them, with countries such as Libya, Mexico, Syria, the U.K., and Norway coming in at the top. Our center spread could highlight the various issues occurring in the world today and how the MA community has been affected by them, if at all.
Interviews: Nancy Hoffman, Travis Brownley, Leigh Kinney, any student who has had a close personal connection to one of the issues
Op/Ed:
OK, I recognize I'm not a part of the Op/Ed section anymore, but maybe there's room for me in this edition...I really want to write about my connection to the entire Harry Potter series. Basically, how it helped teach me to read, inspired me to love reading, and essentially opened up my childhood imagination to so many other things. I think a lot of people my age owe their love of reading to JK Rowling. I also think that it would be a nice connection that as I begin my last year of high school, the last Harry Potter movie has come out. A little serendipitous, no?
News:
It might be interesting to do a profile of the so-called Arab-Spring, because there have been so many developments in the months that we have been away from school. This could take the look of a more feature/graphically-cool oriented piece. (Also, if we kept writing short it would give us the flexibility to add events at the last minute of layout, in case something happened).
Sports:
(Fantasy) Football! There is a large culture of students who participate in fantasy football leagues at our school. As a player myself, I can attest to how much of your time it takes up, as well as to how much pleasure it adds to both watching your football and goading your friends. I also think the contrast between students at our school (one without a football team) and these football players is pretty funny. Living vicariously, maybe?
Interviews: If we actually do this idea, whoever is writing it should come talk to me because I can point out many players.
A+E:
The new iPhone, which comes out in September. A little dry, I know. Still, I think that if we have a more techy-oriented writer on staff, then this could be a pretty interesting article. We could preview/analyze the features of both the iPhone and the new operating system. In terms of style, I like the idea of a feature-style piece for this article as well.
Features:
The growth of the campus over the years. I think this is relevant with regards to the new strategic plan (which we covered in a center spread last year). It would be really interesting to analyze how the MA campus has grown since the school's inception.
Interviews: Lynne, Tom, David, James, and any other teachers/faculty that have been around for a while.
Opinion: Many famous teens nowadays Should teen idols be considered “role models” to their fans? Do their mistakes take more criticism from the public because they are considered “role models”? Should the teens in the spotlight have the burden of watching their actions? Should they be more careful and make less mistakes?
Sports: NBA Lockout: Information and details of the reasoning behind the lockout. What are the opinions of the players and of the owners? If the lockout is over before the issue comes out then describe the aftermath and outcome of the situation.
A&E: Ask students what their favorite obscure books and movies are. This gives other students a chance to find out about a good book or movie when it’s not advertised regularly.
News: I think that it’s probably a necessity to remember the loss of Alena in our next issue, however since it’s already been said, I’ll offer another idea.
We could discuss the new presidential candidates, some of the people in the running are more obscure than others and it would be beneficial to get to know all of the candidates and their political standpoints.
Feature: Summer is Over! What are students doing in the first month to get back into the groove at MA? Study and organization ideas, how to manage your time and homework load. Preparing for ACT, SAT etc.
A & E: Through the harsh and rigorous school year, studying is a number one priority for MA students above everything else. As incoming freshman they evidently have more trouble adjusting to this jump in study habits, and work load. My idea is to make a list, have interviews, and this could even become an opinion piece for what to do to loosen the load, ENTAIN oneself, relax the mind, and therefore be able to cope with this type of stress.
We could interview students with different hobbies, like yoga, or meditation. Some sort of entertainment or art that takes your mind off the busy, bustling, boisterious ;) school year.
Sports: Introducing some of the 'hidden' or not so popular sports on campus. Maybe even shed a light on some of the MA connected sports like rowing, sailing, golf etc..
We could interview some of these athletes such as Grieg Stien, and his recent achievements in rowing. Even some of the Softmores such as Madiline Ginsburg, or Kristopher Swanson in sailing.
WHY: As an incoming freshman i had no idea what types of sports were out there, and as a freshman it is a goal to try as many new things as possible. Even though is mostly just benefits freshman, I do believe upperclassman could still want to try a sport a little less vigorous during harsh demanding test waves.
News: The email server change has been rather confusing and i'm sure we could find some people who know the true reason the MA computer team decided it was beneficial, i think it could be used as a comical piece, and could even help clarify this confusing switch.
Op-Ed: I know this has been suggested as an idea, but numerously I have heard from friends from Branson that they get to use an iPad or a laptop that the school provides. We could definitely get some great interviews from both sides of the argument of why should get iPads from the school for academic work and why we shouldn't. I believe this would stir up some controversy between students and teachers and parents, but that always provides for a great Op-Ed.
Sports: I think it would be cool to hear about the freshman on varsity and how they're doing.
News: I know we have already said it, but doing something for Alena would be really special.
A&E: I think it would be really helpful to have an article on some cool things people did this summer that could help others figure out their summer plans for next year (internships, trips around the world, summer programs, camps, etc)
Article Idea: I agree that the presidential elections coming up is a cool thing to report on and I think we should do it in a more interesting way than just stating the candidates and facts about them. Maybe who thinks who is going to win and why?
Features: I think if we randomly quizzed one person from each grade and see if they could name everyone in their grade it would be really interesting to see.
Center: I would love to dedicate the cover to Alena.
I was the first to post last night! All of my ideas disappeared!! That is so tragic...
I hope it sent them to Mary at least!
That is so obnoxious that my entire comment is gone. Anyways, for a quick recap my ideas were:
1. News: Analyzing at commenting on the outrageously inflated textbook prices we have to face through MBS Direct. If this issue is not timely, we can expand to all other extraneous costs at MA.
2. Sports: What happened to sports games being entire community events? A look at how sports game spirit has dwindled, what spirit captains have to say/do about it, and if the school plans on restoring the "get out to every soccer game" ever attitude.
3. Features: I forgot what I wrote...
4. Op/Ed: Alena Dennison. Obviously this has been mentioned but it might be a unique and appropriate way to approach the news if we had a MyMA guest writer, who was close to Alena or the Dennison family, contribute a piece about her.
5. A+E: Leadership change in the arts. The class of 2011 had a large presence and talent in the arts. both music, theatre, and even dance. It will interesting to see how the rising leaders will fill this void/how the departments are feeling about it.
6. Center Spread: Economic crisis, the hot topic of this summer, localized. I had a lengthy explanation of how to make this work. I can explain it to the editors tomorrow.
1) FEATURES: Top 5 Worst (Best) Websites for Procrastinators
This could be a fun, tongue-in-cheek review/rating of the top five websites most detrimental to our getting homework done. Facebook and Stumbleupon must be included. The article could be a tiny little graph or chart, or have some written component about why the sites are so addictive and little quotes about the important work the MA community has failed to do in the past due to sites like these.
2) SPORTS: Sports Injuries
School sports seem to produce an unavoidable onslaught of injuries: sprain, concussion, fracture, etc. victims mob Aaron Gill’s office every day. This could be a sports piece, or an opinion piece, about unhealthy competition (for example, many athletes are reluctant to wear braces and tape for fear that opponents will target the weakness), the physical stress of high school sports, and conflicting opinions of athletes, coaches, and parents regarding how much is “too much.”
3) NEWS: COD Preview
Not sure when this issue is supposed to be published, but a COD preview might be appropriate. It’s always nice to know what’s coming up to be able to plan around classes, and it might be interesting to learn more about the student run sessions.
4) OPINION: College Stress
This could be an opinion piece on the things we do to get into college: taking on nearly impossible course loads, favoring courses more likely to get us into xyz school as opposed to courses tailored to our personal interests, trying to create organizations, spending our summers taking classes or doing community service halfway around the world, etc. The article could address why so many students at competitive, college-prep high schools seem to live for the future, and/or the cattiness and competition about college destinations.
5) A+E: Worst of Fall TV
I like this idea as a deviation from the normal “best of” A+E pieces. This piece would be reviews of this fall’s new reality TV shows, inspired by pointless classics like Jersey Shore, Laguna Beach, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Wipeout, etc.
News:
We could write a piece about the increase in teenage death either from suicide or from car crashes. It is a sad subject, but it deserves some attention.
interviews- local doctors any expert really
why- When you see a newspaper and it says sad teenage death...you want to read on. You want to know what it is about. It's natural. This is an interesting topic that can hook the reader in.
Sports:
-Again I like the idea of keeping in touch with our sport community at MA. We can interview coaches and ofcourse players on their goals for they season..
why-this is a way of supporting our classmates and gets others involved in the newspaper.
A&E:
- I really like the idea of having tips on the best places to eat with the best prices, or tips on homework, studying for tests. Anything that could help the freshman feel more at home.
interviews-upperclassmen. They have had the most time at MA. It could connect the upperclassmen and the younger grades a little more.
why-last year I would have loved some upperclassmen tell me what they wished they had known at the beginning of their freshmen year. I am sure the freshman would appreciate it.
Features:
-I like the idea about introducing the senate. We can have a little paragraph under a few people's names.(the president and vp maybe) telling us about them and their goals for MA.
interviews-senate
why-i agree that not many people know a lot about the senate. This would be a great way to get to know our leaders better.
Editorial:
-I am not really sure if this is possible, but could we do a discussion on a subject the editors disagree about? Someone asks them a question we all agree on. It has to be a topic that is controversial. for ex: abortion. interviews-editors
why-its a change and it might not be possible, but it would definitely be read!
Center Spread:
-I really like the idea about following seniors or other students in other countries.
interviews-friends in other countries or exchange students.
why-It would connect ma with other cultures and we can see differences and similarities clearly.
Features- MA Mythbusters: -Debunking or proving urban legends about the school and the surrounding community (MA= Minimal attendance, theories about the workload by class year, etc)
-Interview upperclassmen, faculty members
-Could serve as a sort of survival guide for new as well as returning students
A&E:
-Calendar of upcoming music events, such as festivals, concerts (ma and otherwise), album release dates and open mikes around the bay area
-No interviews necessary
-People like music. Basic fact. If not read it fully, they'll at least glance over it.
News:
-To build of of Isabelle's idea of the recent rise in earthquakes, we could also try and get a hold of a geologist to see if there are any developing patterns in the quakes.
Op/Ed:
-The rise/ fall of high school social classes (this could be a feature as well. Do we really continue to refer to teenage social castes? What, if anything, do ma students identify themselves as? Does anybody even take it seriously anymore?
-I know we were told not to say "students," but... yeah.
-For different students, this concept is either a huge issue or a thing of the past. Some people will use it as a guide to social life, some people will use it for laughs.
Sports:
-Eh... can I have a lifeline?
Sports: popularity/size of teams over the years
-Some sports have experienced tremendous growth (ex. cross-country), some were huge and now have almost no members (ex. track)… Why is there this shift and how do teams handle it?
-Graphs with the size of teams over the past four years.
-Interviews: Josh Frechette, Coaches, captains of teams.
Other idea:
Profiles of fall sports captains.
A and E: Change in number of senior arts assemblies.
-Compared to previous years the number of senior arts assemblies has gone down- why is that? What's the public reaction?
-Interviews with Bob, Bill, seniors that are doing senior arts, seniors that do music or dance seriously but chose not to do one.
News: Earthquake Drills
Why is it that we have to have one per month? Do we really need them? Have recent natural disasters sparked a rise?
-Student opinions, Travis, SR Fire Department.
Center Spread:
-As much as I would like to have a new idea, in my opinion there’s no way around it being about Alena.
- In addition to what’s out there, interview with Joani and Charis, also student interviews on first reactions and ways they’ve dealt.
Op-Ed: (Sorry if this isn’t op-ed material.)
Blogging, but student blogs required for classes, not blogs for fun like Sam
-There’s been an increase in the number of required blogs students have to create for classes- some people have to make three or four. Does it really make it easier to turn in homework? How many people actually have the time to look at them?
-Is the eco-friendliness of using less paper offset by the amount of energy and resources that go into powering computers and creating web programs?
-How does this tie in with the google docs method?
-Interviews: Liz Gottlieb, other teachers that require blogs, survey of students to see how many blogs they have.
Features: Comparison of Epicurean to other HS Cafés (a more positive article)
-While there are many reasonable complaints about Epicurean’s food and pricing, we should interview SR, Branson and other schools to compare prices and quality.
-Price comparisons to 1) bringing your own lunch, 2) burying a sandwich at Moonlight or Whole Foods, 3) eating out at local restaurants with similar quality
-student interviews, Chef Sean interview.
-Chart showing number of times the words “chicken”, “type of pasta”, etc. have decreased or increased in the menu over the last couple of years.
Post a Comment