Should you consider joining the PawPrint Newspaper for an elective next year? Well if you are not,  this is why you should.

PawPrint Newspaper is an online school newspaper started in 2014 by Mrs. Kimberly McCullough, an English teacher.  This site is hosted by School Newspapers Online (SNO).  There are 18 staff reporters in grades 11 and 12.  The journalism class is open to anyone who has an interest in writing and interviewing about any kind of news.

Mrs. McCullough has always had an interest in journalism since an early age.  Her father was in the printing business and would share printing mock-ups from his work and share information about his company.  In high school, she was an editor of her own school newspaper and worked at The Modesto and Fresno Bee newspapers during college.

Excited to revamp our school’s paper, she was eager to start the program.  McCullough said, “Journalism is a fantastic class for students to develop life skills needed in today’s society.  Students learn how to question things around them, seek out information through interviews, and create articles that highlight this information. Active listening, asking questions, analyzing information, and speaking and writing are so important for anyone.” 

Neveah Prado (11) said she joined the staff because she sees potential in this field as a future career.  “I thought it would be fun to write articles and become more social by doing interviews and meeting new people during the whole process.” 

Angie Valencia (12) joined the PawPrint to better her writing skills for a future job and become a professional writer. She loves writing in her room on rainy days or when she is very bored. Joining with friends, Valencia said another main reason was ‘To heighten my writing skills and public speaking skills. The hardest thing in this class is coming up with new articles every week.” 

Jose Esquivel (12) joined to become better at social skills, in hopes to overcome some of his shyness. Although he does not writing so much, he joined the class to be with the best teacher on campus, Mrs. McCullough.  “You always want to be good at writing. Writing can take you far in life and get you a lot of jobs. A hard part of the class but good for me is spelling and formats. I struggle in both of these areas, but writing is helping me get better.”

Evan Rebosa (11) joined the newspaper because of influence from friends and recommendations from teachers.  He thought that it would be a good idea to try something new. Over this past month, he has been enjoying this class so far because of the work flow and how he is now constantly able to keep up with the school news.

Rebosa also likes how writing in the newspaper is much different from writing an essay.  “It is something new and refreshing.¨ 

He added, “PawPrint has been very enjoyable so far. We even have potlucks after publishing.”

The biggest challenge so far for Rebosa has been finding time to interview his subjects.  He  definitely recommends joining PawPrint, saying, “It is fun and helps you develop your writing skills.”

Ramon Mondragon, who is also a junior, joined PawPrint because of the influence of his friends.  He found interest in the fact that he can write articles about things he finds interesting.  Mondragon enjoys this class because of how the class operates from day-to-day.  He enjoys writing and felt that journalism would not only be in his interest but help him become a better writer.  Mondragon really recommends this class because students get to work with others and the environment is phenomenal for writing.

Emily Zaragosa, a junior joined PawPrint because she felt that it would be a great way to better her writing, but surprisingly had no idea this meant she would be writing in the school newspaper. Emily enjoys this class because it is very relaxed and gives her lots of free time. Later in life, she hopes to major in English, and felt that this class would help her with field.  Journalism has helped with creativity and helped her with deciding on what to cover during stories and recommends this class if students are willing to take up a challenge, socially and with writing.

Check out all staff members on the staff link found at the bottom of the website.