MEDIA AND JOURNALISM GOING STRONG IN ITS THIRD YEAR

By KATRINA CHIN 

KATRINA CHIN FOR WIZARD WEEKLY

During the 2014-2015 school year, the Media and Journalism class was instituted at Washingtonville High School being taught as a combined enrollment course by Mr. Leonard and Ms. Carnright.  This is a senior course and students that decide to take it receive both an English credit and an Art credit.  There are four different aspects of the class: studio crew, field crew, newsletter and podcasting.  Real world communication and thinking skills are vastly encouraged by going out and gathering news to report on.  Students are continuously developing and producing different media sources for the student body and the community.  Every week students in the class are recording, interviewing members of the school and community, advertising, and writing news articles and editorials.  It is imperative that students research topics so that they are knowledgeable about what they are reporting on.

This year, Mrs. Connolly has taken the Journalism position upon Ms. Carnright leaving.  When asked why she chose to teach the class, she answered, “I was approached by my department head and I felt like it was a good time to try something new.  I majored in Journalism so I knew it would be a great fit for me. It has been extremely challenging, but exciting and fun at the same time.”  Mrs. Connolly is teaching her students how to form intelligent interview questions and conduct a well planned out interview.  She is also teaching students to write appealing news articles that entertain and inform.

When Taylor Hackett was asked what has been her favorite aspect of the class so far, she emphasized, “I like how we are in control of what topics or events we want to cover.”  As our new anchor, she is also looking forward to “being the face of BGTV.”  David Mosca stated, “I would like to learn how to use all the equipment because I am planning to be a film major.  I also hope to improve my speaking skills through field crew, podcasting and studio crew.”  He wants to become a director after receiving a film degree in college. Mosca would recommend this class to an underclassman because, “the experience is unreal. You get to become the face of the school and the community and it truly is an honor.”

In this class, students use different photography equipment and computer programs such as Final Cut Pro, GarageBand and Photoshop.  If you are considering majoring in Communications in college, this is the class for you!  Students are offered a variety of opportunities throughout the year that no other class could allow.