The wheels of Spokesman

Short but sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:16:00 +0000

A former student emailed me last week about this blog. I just returned her email tonight and felt inspired to update again.

We've been pretty busy over the last few weeks in Room 137. Pasteup for Issue 2 is this coming Tuesday. Homecoming was last week. We reorganized our web teams in hopes of being more efficient at updating the site.

Overall, the jury is still out on how successful we have been. I feel like I am dragging the staff through web publication. They aren't kicking and screaming (which is wonderful), but they are quite picking it up and running with it yet. I'm not sure if this is because we only have 15 people on staff, so they are spread pretty thin. Or if it is because for the life of us (and I do mean us including me) we can't get our time management skills refined.

Last week was homecoming. We had a plan for posting every day. It didn't work out exactly like that. Too often, the web editor wasn't kept in the loop of what was going on with stories. Web teams didn't finish their reports in time. I ended up editing video footage to post on Friday.

I keep asking the kids to come up with a plan, but they don't seem that invested in it. This might just be my misperception and I am open to that. As the adviser, I am struggling with how involved should I be in the web publishing since as a staff we are so new at it.

On the print side, we're a little behind there too. It seems deadlines are our nemesis right now. As of this moment, there are feature and focus stories not completed. That floors me. Those stories should have been done last week. We didn't want to have to grade deadlines, but I think that's the only way to incentivize people to get their work done on time. It's really my pet peeve: people not making the easy deadlines (I understand the hard ones).

Okay, let's end on a good note. The staff is covering some really great stories this issue. The focus section is on pregnancy (teens and teachers). I'm so proud that they are covering the topic in a new and interesting way! We are also covering swine flu. The reporter reported and wrote the story all within 24 hours! The layout of issue 2 includes a lot of pictures, which is nice since too often we are way too texty.

I guess that's all for now. Tomorrow is color pasteup and I have faith in my EICs that we are going to get it done.

Spokesman fun

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Steve and I were talking today about Spokesman as we were driving to a friend's get together. I was telling him about my plan to take Jack to school with me to help Spokesman/Lair decorate the hallway for Homecoming. His quote that prompted this blog - "You've got really good kids this year." Yes, I do.

Now, before any of the Spokesman Alum who read this blog get offended, I have great kids every year, there's no question. What makes this year's staff stand out is the fun they are having beyond just publishing the paper.

Here's a sample:

This video is from our UofI Press Day fieldtrip at the end of September. All but three staffers went (and those three wanted to go but had scheduling conflicts).

They hand out with each other on the weekends. They send fun-loving messages back and forth through Facebook and Twitter (and maybe other ways too, but I don't see everything). They laugh, they support one another even with stuff outside of Spokesman, like work and hard classes and crazy relationships.

My heart warms every day when the Spokesman periods start (there are basically three this year). I look forward to layout, pasteup, and fieldtrips because I get to hang out with these fun, smart, talented people.

Oh yeah, and they are doing some incredible work too. This week the Focus section moved forward on their plans to report on pregnancy at school (both teen and teacher). The web site has been updated regularly since the beginning of the school year. And this week they learned how to post slideshows and to get all sections of the web site populated with stories.

We still have to get our T-shirts printed. But if that's the one thing we're falling behind on, I'm alright with it.

It's a three day weekend, and the only reason I am sad that we don't have school on Monday is that I don't get to see my Spokesman kids. Oh wait, we're going in to decorate for Homecoming. Nevermind, life is good.

Week 1 Done

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:59:00 +0000

This week's major accomplishment: The staff published its first online package! They put together a story about freshman orientation (it took place last week, before school started) and had pictures and video to go with it. Check it out at: First Online Story

Last Friday night, we celebrated the end of Spokesman Week and the beginning of Volume 46 with a bonfire and cookout at my house. Almost everyone showed! They even came prepared with glowsticks.

Our first official week of school has been consumed with planning for issue 1, getting the first online package completed and posted and trying to get technology in order. Overall, I would call it a success.

The thing I am most proud of is my editors. They are all taking charge and running the paper with no prodding from me! It's awesome to not have to worry about whether they are getting the job done. Instead, I am able to concentrate on how to make them better.

My goal next week: Daily emails to the EICs. I got the idea from Aaron Manfull, a standout JEA adviser from Missouri. I wasn't able to get that started this week with all of my other tech responsibilities, but I'm making it a priority for next week.

In search of the elusive life balance...

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:38:00 +0000

That's the idea I have for my new blog. I'm not positive that I will actually start it, but Spokesman has inspired me. See, over the summer I found this article about 30 things Journalism Grads should do over the summer. One of the these things was to start a blog. But Barrett, I hear you say, you already have 4 blogs going! Yeah, but each of those blogs is about keeping track of happenings for a limited audience. Only so many people really care about what is going on with Spokesman. Only so many people really want to know about Barrett Family Life. And Teaching Cathy to Speak Sports, well, she's pretty fluent now.

I'm beginning my 10th year at WHS, and to honor the occasion, I'm going to go back to the root of why I began teaching. I love journalism. I love to tell stories. I love to give people the stories/information they want and need. So, the Search for the Elusive Life Balance is my way of practicing what I teach. Maybe I can post information there that will help others in their search for life's balance.

As for Spokesman, I'm hoping this endeavor will make me a better adviser. I feel that I have fallen away from my good practices early in my career. I want to create better and stronger relationships with my students. I want to be an adviser and a mentor, someone they trust, someone who is there to help (not just direct). I think that is what I have been the last few years, more of a director than an adviser. So, maybe with a little journalism practice of my own, I can be a better adviser.

Now, this post also marks the beginning of another year of Spokesman. The 46th year to be exact. Spokesman Summer Week officially started today. Of course I was super excited and over-caffeinated. But the moment that made my day was when my EICs told me to step back, they would run today. It was awesome seeing them take charge. I still think I stepped in too much, and that was more about my inability to let go of control, not their abilities to take it. It was glorious, everything I have ever dreamed EICs would do. So I hope I can support and nurture them in their endeavors this year and not stifle the leadership and journalistic ability. Maybe if I can find the balance of how to advise vs. control, I will be a better adviser.

St. Louis Convention Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:27:00 +0000

We made it to St. Louis in one piece, and we have been thriving (for the most part) ever since. Since we did not go to convention last year, I had forgotten all of the intimate details about why I love coming to these events. I knew I liked it; this weekend has reminded me exactly why.

St. Louis fun:
We arrived on Thursday afternoon and after much ease and frustration at the registration desk, we finally were able to explore the city for fun. We walked down to the Arch. It was getting dark as we walked, which made for a nice atmosphere. While we weren't able to actually go up in the Arch (it was sold out) we were able to fully explore and enjoy the Westward expansion museum underneath the Arch. It had animatronics, awesome full wall photos, and a life-size statue of Thomas Jefferson.

The staff had lots of fun in their rooms (I saw some pics of people jumping on beds that looked like fun to me!) and meeting lots of new people at sessions and the dance.

I had fun connecting with old friends and meeting new ones at meetings, contest judging and luncheons. There are just so many smart people here.

Tonight was the most fun though. We finally made our way to City Museum. There is no way to describe it, so you'll just have to visit it for yourself. My favorite part was the ball pit. No, not the little balls like you find a Chuckie Cheese. These were the full size playground balls in s cement pit. It sounds a little dangerous when I explain it like that, but it was so much fun. We climbed through rebar tubes; we made our way through mazes, we swung from ropes, and we ran through a skate park.

I was not so good at the skate park. I almost face-planted, but I sacrificed my thigh to save my face. Dan was the master of the skate park. I've never seen someone run the half-pipe with such skill.

Sarah is the sad story of the weekend. Yesterday we went to lunch at a local Thai place. The food was good, but it did not sit well with her. She's been sick to her stomach ever since. She's been a real trooper, trying to go to sessions today and smiling when I ask how she is doing. She's spent most of the time in bed though, napping and watching movies.

I'm sure there have been some journalism things going on here too. I'll find out more about that on the ride home though. For now, I'm just enjoying the moments watching my kids enjoy the convention.

Another issue down... and still moving forward!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:43:00 +0000

It's been a little busy in my world the last two weeks. I was in California for a wedding while the staff distributed issue #2. It went well without me. They even got the mailing out. Last week the staff worked on research and interviews and info-gathering for issue #3. I'm a little concerned because when they turned in weekly points on Friday, many of them were short on the 250 requirement. I think this was because they weren't doing the interviews and research they should have been doing. We'll see. Tomorrow, we start planning out issue #3 on the layout sheets.

Other than that, it's been a little quiet. We're getting ready for the big St. Louis trip in a few weeks. I have to get out the final memos for that. Hmmm... I should probably get that done this week. I'll get to that right after I finish grading all this stuff for final grades.

Ha!

A late update

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:12:00 +0000

Okay, I have to find a more convenient time to update. The Tuesday of the following week is just a little too late.

Highlights from last week:
It was homecoming! Sarah was an emcee. She was fabulous. Claire was our Senior Star. She was also fabulous.

The new production process resulted in our first pages - 1 and 12. We finished the front and back pages on Friday afternoon/evening. It took us longer than normal. But I expected that since we had the new system and we missed a pasteup day since we didn't have school on Thursday. The results were great though. The front page has much more (and better use of) color. The back page has great stories and infographics.

Okay, that's it for now. I want to start writing about this week, but I'll wait until the weekend. Or next Tuesday.

Mutiny on the Bounty... averted

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:15:00 +0000

The big news this week: the new production schedule based on what we learned at U of I.

On Monday, I explained the new production schedule:
1st deadline - stays the same: two interviews or an observations
2nd deadline - all info collected (at least 4 interviews and an observation) change=no draft
On this deadline, we now sit down and layout the pages based on conversations with the reporters and photographers. Not all reporting will turn into a story. The point is to talk about the best way to present the information.
3rd deadline - stories written - turned in to EICs for editting.

On Monday, after my explanation, we proceeded to spend the entire period discussing why this new system is a good vs bad idea. A few staffers, including an EIC, did not like the idea at all. I was pretty frustrated, so were the few staff members. The staffers who liked the idea were also frustrated that those who did not like the idea would not get on board.

Good news: we had many more discussions on a more personal basis over the rest of that day and the next few days. I think having Tuesday off to cool off a bit might have helped too. These discussions were great. We really got to the heart of what people's concerns were and what our weaknesses were (both personally and journalistically). I learned a lot about myself.

Fast forward to Thursday. I sit down with Claire, Neal and Sarah to take a look at the centerspread section (Katie came later). We talked about what they wanted their readers to get out of the section as well as what information they had found already. It took a while, but by the end of the block, we had a plan for the centerspread that included a well-focused story, a great infographic that will double as the main graphic on the page, and several small stories to cover less important info.

Friday was similarly successful with the Feature section. The big problem I am finding is that this takes a long time, these discussions. So, I now have to sit down with a calendar and see how we can time this better.

Other journalism experts

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:37:00 +0000

So this week was pretty exciting around room 137. We had a guest speaker on Wednesday. Maggie Messitt, a journalist from South Africa, came to speak to Spokesman about community journalism and the paper she edits in her community in South Africa. Since then, my students have been walking around saying "follow the soldier, not the army". It's the new philosophy on where to focus when reporting that they got from Maggie. It was very inspirational.

Next up on our experts from outside of WHS was the University of Illinois Press Day. I took nine of my staffers down to U of I for the day. It was fabulous. I even got excited about a new idea for how we run our production schedule. I think I got all of the fieldtrippers on board, so we'll see what the rest of the staff thinks tomorrow. Each one of the nine fieldtrippers came back with at least one great new idea. That makes me feel good. And they all lived through the 5:30 a.m. meeting time. I'm so proud.

I think that about covers the highlights from last week. The week before, for which I had not gotten around to blogging about, was our distribution week. All went well with issue 1. Yea!

A look back at the first full week

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:10:00 +0000

This week's highlights:
Stories are coming together... slowly, but surely. The staff laid out the paper as a team. Everyone chipped in to help those who had to leave for swim meets and debate meetings. It was nice to sit back and watch it work.

Parent Open House - Spokesman had more parents than any of my other classes. It's nice to have such a supportive system behind the kids.

Breaking story - So on Thursday, Sarah came to class with a breaking story tip. She and Alex followed the lead to its dead end. It was so fun to watch them get to work on an exciting lead. They went down to the main office and got to interview the principal and the associate principal right away. Sarah even got to make some phone calls to other buildings. In the end, the tip turned out to be wrong. But the experience was an awesome one on how to track down a story. And it all happened with about two hours.

What we need to work on:
Page printouts were due on Friday. While most of them were turned in, it was a little less than what I had hoped for. It's not a terrible situation. However, there are some key pieces missing on pages that don't have really good reasons for being missing. We should not be waiting for a picture of the band director. The EICs are going to talk to the staff tomorrow about the importance of page printout deadline.

Interesting tidbit:
A student, not on staff, came to me last week (I think) to ask if Spokesman would be publishing something about how everyone should make sure to register to vote. I explained that we would be happy to run an ad, however, we try not to advertise for things since that taints our credibility. He came back again on Friday. It's so hard to see a student so passionate about something that I, too, am passionate about and have to send them away disappointed. The highlight here is how my EIC has handled it. She sees that us putting in this reminder when we don't put in reminders about everything else is a conflict. I am so proud of these guys!

Next week:
Look out for our first pasteup and our first issue!

Fieldtrips!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:47:00 +0000

I changed the grading system this year so that fieldtrips are extra credit. I don't want to hurt anyone's grade if they can't go, but it should certainly help someone's grade if they do go and learn something extra.

It's had a wonderful effect. I think I have 11 people going to the University of Illinois Press Day this year. It's a good conference and a quick one. Last year I only had one student go. We had a great time, but I felt bad for Dan that he had to spend the entire day hanging out with me. I think he'll have more fun this year.

So the highlights for this week have been the interviews I've seen and overheard people getting. It's nice to walk into the back rooms and hear professional interviews over the phone. However, I like it even better when I overhear staffers asking for a partner to go with them on an interview. I can't wait to see how this impacts the reporting and story writing.

The T-Shirts are practically ordered. I lost the guy's card so that put a little delay in the works. However, I found the information I needed tonight, so the order will be emailed tomorrow morning. Yea!

I think that's about it for this week. Next week ought to be fun with our first layout and our first 5-day week!

Exactly one year

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:34:00 +0000

So, my last post was exactly one year ago. What a year.

Okay, now onto this year. Today is the last day of the first week of 2008-09.

Highlights from this week:
Bryan had to go home on the first day because his eye turned bright red. We all thought it was pink eye, so I sent him to the nurse. He went to the doctor, got a note that assured it was just allergies, and was back at school by 9th period.

We decided on a T-Shirt! Neal got his wish; our T-shirt has a dolphin.

We moved into a new room for this school year. We are now living with yearbook in room 137. So far, it's been a great change. On the first day, a few of us still walked habitually into 135, but Mrs. Neiss was nice about it. To be honest, I'm feeling pretty at home in the new publications room. I really like all of the pubs kids and being able to talk publications all day long.

Some other changes for this year:
As the adviser, I'm trying to take myself out of the day-to-day decisions and monitoring business. The editors are now in charge of keeping track of who makes deadlines. I will just be the one to award points at the end of the issue. We also now have a hierarchy chart which outlines whom people should talk to about problems or questions that they have before they come to me.

So far, I have been able to talk to students about balancing their school responsibilities so they can have a life, to Dan about how we should run PodCats, and to Luke about how to set up our advertising business. It's been nice to be able to talk to students about journalism, not just grades and rules.

Despite technology

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:30:00 +0000

Here we are, week 2. We have survived crazy rain storms that shut down the district. We have overcome the lack of available computers over the last week and a half. We have started Issue #1!

Today, we have almost finished story assignments for the first issue. Due to my absent-mindedness (also known as pregnancy brain), we are a little behind in the story assignment process. Actually, we were behind originally because of school being canceled due to the storm. But the staff was catching up for that. No, I forgot to email the editors in chief last night, so they had to scramble to get the story ideas list updated and then try to assign the stories all today. They did an awesome job. Next issue will be much better because we will be used to the system.

The story ideas for this issue are great. The staff has done a great job of getting ideas from people not on staff (the requirement to do this might be helping that!), and that has led to some really cool ideas.

The first story deadline is tomorrow. This is the first deadline on the new system. I've got high hopes!

Another win for Spokesman, I have already graded the story ideas for issue 1 and have put them into the gradebook. I'm feeling accomplished.

So now it's on to the hard work - reporting, photographing, writing the news and deciding on a T-shirt idea. I think the staff is up to it.

Ahh... another new year

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:41:00 +0000

I seem to always start my post after a long hiatus with something about how crazy it has been lately. That seems a little silly now that I am realizing life is always a little crazy.

I'm starting this blog again today because today was the first day of Spokesman Week 2007-08. The staff showed up this morning with lots of good energy and fun summer stories, except for Sarah, who had an unsettling story about her house being broken into. She was still in good spirits though.

I made the official announcement that, yes, I am pregnant. In fact, I even wore a lovely maternity outfit of pants that barely fit and one of the hand-me-down maternity shirts my friends have lovingly loaned to me. The staff seems pretty enthusiastic about it so far. I even got advice on where to find cute maternity clothes (which I am sure had nothing to do with the baby blue shirt with the tie in the back that I wore today).

So, true to the little bits of craziness life always has in store, we were not able to do as planned today. There was a water leak last week in the back room (it came through a ceiling tile) that took out a computer and our two scanners. The tech guys are working on getting the equipment either running or replaced. I love those guys.

We also could not access our files yet. Actually, I couldn't even log in, neither could the students. So instead of photography workshop, we went over the calendar and the new grading system. While they weren't jumping up and down excited, I think they are slightly intrigued.

The staff also helped me rearrange the room a little, which was nice. Then Claire, Neal, Hillary, Bryan and Dan stayed around to work on the redesign. This was interesting since we couldn't log in, but the tech guys hooked us up. The kids saved everything to my flash drive, and that seemed to work.

I think it was a pretty successful start to this new year!

PodCats Episode 2 - The Hardwood Classic

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:18:00 +0000

Check out the latest edition of PodCats. Jake Grubman reports on the Hardwood Classic Basketball tournament and gets an exclusive interview with Pete Ogilvie, who has been around since the tournament started.

PodCats Episode 2 - The Hardwood Classic

Long time no post...

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 03:03:00 +0000

So it's been a while. I was just having a warm-fuzzy Spokesman moment. I was reading the comments on the Spokesman Facebook wall and I was thinking about the conversations I've had the last two days with Spokesman staff members in room 135. I really like my students. They are really good people. They do fun things, they think neat things, they say funny things. I just really like to work with them.

Lately, work has not been a source of joy for me. It's really been a big ball of stress, unhealthy stress. The last couple of days, and my little warm-fuzzy moment, have made me realize again that the reason I teach is my students. Gosh, if they weren't good people, I would have no reason to show up at Wheeling High School every day.

So, I think my New Year's Resolution is to come back and read this post whenever I feel stressed out or frustrated. I am also going to work very hard to keep my focus on my students and not get distracted by the bureaucracy of education. This might be really hard.

Key thoughts...
My current students are going to go to good colleges and pursue very admirable careers.
My current students are writing stories about their peers and working together more.
My current students are excited about the opportunities that journalism offers them.
My former students are going to exciting places.
My former students are growing up and becoming my peers. And I really like that.
My former students are becoming the accomplished (and some day famous) people I knew they would.

Okay, and that's enough cheesy, heart-warming mush for now.

Yea! PodCats is up and running!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 01:55:00 +0000

Here it is, the first official episode of PodCats. Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

PodCats Episode 1

Holy Frustration Batman!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:54:00 +0000

So today is layout for issue #4. I am trying very hard not to lost hope, but it is taking everything I have. And it seems that I am not the only one.

My advertising manager is frustrated after calling at least a dozen different businesses this issue. She calls and calls, the managers say they want to advertise, but we never get the contracts and the managers never follow through.

"I just want to be done," the focus editor said.

In five weeks, we still have the majority of stories not finished and photos missing left and right. I just don't get it.

I'm frustrated because I try to give them space to do their work, but it seems that the work doesn't get done unless I'm mean and constantly on their backs. And it's not every staff member, every issue. That is even more frustrating. There is always someone working really hard and doing great work, but then there are more people who aren't. And it's not the same people each issue.

I'm at a loss. I want them to be good. I want them to win the awards that they are capable of winning. I want others to recognize their talents. I want them to want to be good.

Podcast Attempt

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 04:17:00 +0000

I think I've learned how to podcast... kinda.

I figured out how to use Garage Band to create the audio file (and even add pics to it). However, it turns out GB 3 is the version that does this, not GB 2, which is what I have. I did manage to create a small audio file with my version of GB 2 though.

I also figured out how to create a feed from my blog. You will notice the nice little graphic off to the right there. Feel free to click on that and subscribe to my blog (and podcast should I ever get it going).

Now, the main problem that I am having is figuring out how to get my dinky little audio file onto this blog. I'm saving that for tomorrow.

Hopefully, I can get this figured out sooner rather than later. I think Jake is pretty enthusiastic about starting a Spokesman web site and podcast. I just need to figure out the details to help make it all happen.

Now, how on earth do I have time to figure this out you ask? Aren't I knee-deep in grading and lesson planning since I was gone for four days? Shouldn't I be helping my student teacher with the research paper unit? Shouldn't I be conducting grade meetings for issue 3? Well, yes, I should be doing all of those things. My problem is that none of those things is as interesting as figuring out podcasting or updating my blog.

I'm tired. I'm burning out a bit on the daily grind of planning and grading. Figuring out podcasting seems to be an interesting challenge that could invigorate my teaching.

However, all is not lost. My JW2ers are getting some good lessons on sports writing and infographics. Those ideas came from Nashville. And I'm really enjoying helping them work through this sports unit. And I'm putting my Spokesman SMART goal into action by meeting with the staffers about their stories. I've had a lot of fun and fulfillment working with them during fifth and seventh periods. It's kind of nice to be able to coach them through the story instead of just looking at it when it's finished and too late to change anything.

That's all I have for now. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise to tell you about the jeans and cab. It's coming.

Nashville fun

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 05:46:00 +0000

We are almost done with our third day of convention. It's been a great experience so far. I'll try to give you a little peak into the fun we've had.

We were pretty lucky when we got to Nashville on Thursday. The students' hotel rooms were ready right away. My and Steve's room wasn't ready until 4:30 though, so that meant a lot of sitting around the many lobbies in this huge hotel. We finally got in though with a few extra minutes before we left for dinner.

That has been the biggest disappointment on this trip. The Opryland has plenty of restaurants and food vendors, but they are all outrageously expensive. Thursday night, we ended up eating at the sports bar in the hotel. We didn't have enough time to walk the 15 minutes to Applebee's. I paid $10 for a chicken ceasar salad. It was good, but not $10 worth. A few of the girls ordered what the restaurant described as soup. A more accurate description was given by Rachel, "It tastes like water with a little bit of onion in it." The hotel food hasn't been very noteworthy other than the high prices.

Friday was filled with sessions and contests. I think everyone had at least one good session on Friday. Story ideas and design seems to be the big hit topics for us this time. That's good since that is our goal. I think that might be why we are noticing story ideas and design more.

Okay, I'm getting tired of writing now, so I'm going to take a break. However, you will want to check back later. I have a great story about torn jeans and a broken down taxi.

Veggies and pizza and goblins, Oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:44:00 +0000

It's Halloween, and I'm in room 135. I miss my purple and green Halloween bowl filled with KitKats. I miss the little toddlers dressed up as cartoon characters and ghosts.

However, I am surrounded by Pocahontas and a doctor from Grey's Anatomy. I have a box of brownies and I've already eaten a mini-Snickers and a mini-Butterfinger. I've also gotten to see a little version of Buzz Lightyear. It's not so bad after all.

Mrs. St. John brought a new treat for the staff tonight. She always bakes us goodies, but this time she brought a veggie tray. She was here about an hour ago, and the tray is now empty. Check out the photos below to see some action shots of the veggie tray.

I don't really know what else to write right now. So I guess I'll just post some pics and try to encourage my little cherubs to finish these pages! Only six pages to go!

Intervention

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 02:29:00 +0000

It's Sunday night, and I realized that I have not updated my Spokesman blog in several days. So tonight's entry is going to be a highlights entry of the last week or so.

I think I'll go in reverse chronological order. Let's start with the fieldtrip to the KEMPA conference at UW-Whitewater.

Mrs. Gruen, the yearbook adviser, and I took a total of six students to the conference. We made our traditional stop at the Starbucks in Lake Zurich. I love that stop. I don't know why, I just do. Anyway, we made it to the conference just as it was starting. Luckily, Sandy made it into the yearbook competition in time to complete her spread. Everyone else made it to opening sessions in enough time to get something out of them. Overall, the day went well. I think everyone is coming back with at least one idea to improve the paper. It always brings me joy to see the staffers get excited about an idea. I think this time the story ideas Diane got stick out the most. I also got an idea on how to sue color more effectively. I can't wait to show the staff the Northern Star tomorrow. Wow, what a great design.

On a downer, Spokesman didn't earn ALL-Kempa this year. However, I am not that disappointed since only 4 papers earned that award and one paper that didn't earn ALL-KEMPA is a Pacemaker Finalist. So, I am chalking the lack of awards up to an off year of judging by KEMPA. We did get a very useful critique back, and that makes me happy too.

So KEMPA was Friday. Thursday was Deadline Intervention Day. And to be perfectly honest, I think we needed a WHS intervention day on Thursday. There was an air of tension and stress that was choking the entire building. I have never seen so many of my colleagues as well as students as upset as on Thursday. So when Elizabeth came in 7th period upset about her stories, I called for a deadline intervention. Basically, I had the entire staff stay in the classroom while we methodically when through everyone's troubles and came up with ideas to solve them. We talked about Elizabeth's stories, then went on to Claire. I also was on the prowl all hour checking on people. By the end of the period, I think most people had solutions and drafts for the deadline as well as being much happier. If nothing else, me sounding like a fanatic made them feel a little better.

I have also tried to be a much more interactive adviser this week. I made it a point to try to have a conversation with every student every day about their stories. I was not completely successful, but I think I touched base with everyone at least once. I hope this was as much of a help to them and making deadlines as I think it was. Although there were still several stories not turned in on Thursday that I know were able to be turned in. The old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" never seemed so true.

I'm behind on grade meetings. I got three done early in the week, but with the fieldtrip on Friday and trying to manage deadline work on Wednesday and Thursday, not too many are completed. I'm hoping that I can finish most of them tomorrow and Tuesday, if not all of them.

Okay, I think that catches me up except for Spokesman stars for two weeks ago. Elizabeth gave me the sheet, but I think I left it on my desk at school. I'll get those on here tomorrow.

For a finishing touch, here are a few photos from the U of I fieldtrip two weeks ago. Enjoy!

Editors in Chief calling the shots

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 03:04:00 +0000

I had a great meeting this afternoon with the EICs.

These guys met on their own not this past weekend, but the weekend before. Basically, they met in the midst of Issue 2 craziness. This is a great thing. They had a chance to talk about all of the problems and challenges they are facing while they are facing them. Today, we finally got a chance to talk about what they figured out on their own.

I realized today that as much independence as I try to instill in these guys (and that they have), they still need me every once in a while. My goal is to try to make myself more available to them when they need me. This means that I have to limit other people's dependence on me. This could also mean limiting my obligations. That would be good for me overall though, not just in terms of Spokesman. So, to start, I'm changing my Relay For Life meeting times so that those meetings don't conflict with newspaper time. I'm also going to start meeting with Jake a few times a week in the mornings just to chat and keep the lines of communication open.

I also realized that I need to help my EICs become good coaches. Right now, they are great at picking out where staff members need help and where they are successful. The challenge is for the EICs to help the staff members when they need it without belittling their confidences. I think I'm going to start with the Coaching Writers book I have on my shelf. I might share a chapter an issue, or a week, and talk about it with the EICs.

On this same note, we (the EICs and me) have to help; our section editors be good role models. I think the first step is to be clear about what a good role model is. Jake is going to introduce this tomorrow at the Editorial Board meeting.

Okay, I think I have written plenty for today. I love the start of a new issue... so much possibility!

Fieldtrip Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:47:00 +0000

Today was the official start of Issue 3.

Issue 2 came out on Friday while I was at U of I with seven of the staff members. We had a fabulous day overall. We met up with some graduates, Marie and Eric. I think this was a subtle motivation for my current staffers. It's always nice to see someone having success knowing they were right where you are not too long ago. Marie looks so happy, not that she didn't while she was in high school. However, she looks like she's in her element at U of I. Eric looked great too. He's really getting started in his major in the comm department.

I think my proudest moment on Friday was with Shivali. After the morning sessions, we met in the lobby of the union. She ran over and told me how she and Devi introduced themselves to Susan Tantillo. For Shivali and Devi to take the step out of their comfort zones and introduce themselves before Susan recognized them was huge!

Another highlight of Friday was seeing Lora and Hillary bond. I'm very excited to see Hillary take a strong leadership role, which she has been doing in her position as Focus editor since the start of the year. But she and Lora stuck together at U of I, and I think it's nice to see Hillary reaching out to her fellow section editors. Talking to Lora, that was good for her too. I think she now has a connection to the staff other than just a title.

Every student who went on Friday is coming back with at least one useful idea for the newspaper as a whole. We came up with a way for them to share these ideas with the rest of the staff. For Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, each kid will create a poster on the easel in the classroom with helpful hints and explanations that they learned at the conference. Everyone on staff knows to look at the easel each day and take notes. We'll see how effective this is.

Usually, it's just the kids who go to the conference who benefit from the knowledge. I'm hoping this is the start of getting others on staff to benefit too.

Almost done

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Barrett) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 01:55:00 +0000

So it's just about 9 p.m. We have two pages left to finish. I've read all of them. La Voz is making corrections. Jake and Hillary are working hard to get centerspread looking good.

I'm pretty tired. I really thought we'd be out of here by now. This is just proof of the old adage... the work expands to take the time allotted.

Now, it's 9:43. We have just finished the centerspread. After much redesigning, it's done. I don't think Hillary is too happy. However, what I really appreciate about Hillary is her endless optimism. She has already started thinking about what she wants to do next issue and how she is going to overcome the problems she encountered this issue, mainly stories being too short.

Okay, that's all that I've got right now. I need to go home and go to sleep.