On the morning of March 27th, the contributors to South Windsor High School’s student newspaper, The Bobcat Prowl, took the road trip to Central Connecticut State University for High School Journalism Day. The event was sponsored by the Central Department of Journalism, the Journalism Education Association, and Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair of Journalism.
The Bobcat Prowl is a student-run, award-winning newspaper. In the entire state of Connecticut, less than half of the towns offer a journalism class in their high school. Less than half of those schools possess a school newspaper.
As one of the few, and top, newspapers in Connecticut, the writers of The Bobcat Prowl were ecstatic to attend this gathering, and expand their knowledge of journalism and its impacts.
Students attended the university from 8:30am-1:30pm where they were taken through various workshops, discussions, and conversations with some of the most vital professors and writers in this field. South Windsor was accompanied by a few other surrounding high schools including Granby, Manchester, Branford, Plainville, and Milford.
The day began in the magnificent Torp Theater, where the writers listened to the Professor and Chair of the Central Journalism Department, Dr.Vivian Martin. Martin introduced the students to the packed day they had ahead of them, along with the various different journalists and professors that they would encounter throughout the day.
Immediately following, a seminar led by keynote speaker Ella Napack, an investigative reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group, commenced. Specifically, Napack reviewed her latest article on teenagers’ explicit relationships with AI chatbots, and the steps she took to gain the viewership it received.
At 10:30, students shifted gears and split into the student workshops and adviser networking. Students got the opportunity to choose between Tools for Fact-Checking, Video Journalism and Sports Storytelling each led by a professor seasoned in journalism.
One of the most popular choices by students, especially from South Windsor, was the Video Journalism class, directed by Darren Sweeney, Associate Professor and member of the Central Journalism Department. In this seminar, students obtained a lot of new information related directly to their work for The Prowl.
“We had the opportunity to hear from Darren Sweeney, a well seasoned journalist specializing in video reporting,” Editor-in-Chief, Eliza Blanchfield told The Prowl. “His anecdotal teaching style kept his audience of high schoolers well engaged as he informed young journalists of the importance of videos. Sweeney emphasized on the impact videos have, as they are consistently receiving more attention across all news publications.”
Another desired class among the students was one on Sports Storytelling, introduced and taught by Aimee Crawford and Robert C. Vance – The Endowed Chair in Journalism. This lecture brought students through a series of effective and unique ways of presenting sports through journalism.
“I really enjoyed the journalism field trip, my favorite part being the Sports Journalism part. I got to learn a lot about Sports Journalism and also learned a lot through a Kahoot I played in, and even received a signed book from the professor,” staff writer and Kahoot winner, Omar Scott told The Prowl.
The third and final class was Tools for Fact-Checking, a principal understanding when it comes to writing a school newspaper. The workshop was run by Dr. Theodora Ruhs, another Associate Professor and member of the Central Journalism Department.
“It was a great educational experience that provided new tactics to make sure my information when writing is accurate and the sources I use are credible, which are two very important skills as a journalist,” Nora Cayward told The Prowl after her experience with the Fact-Checking class.
Not only the students, but advisors got the opportunity as well to attend a workshop, specifically for their role in student journalism.
Lunch provided by the school was enjoyed by students for an hour during their break time, before the final discussion of the day, ‘High School Journalists First Amendment Rights.” Multiple adults including, Executive Editor of the Bristol Edition and State Director of the Journalism Education Association shared their important feedback and intelligence on how the first amendment relates to student journalism.
The day was not just a college experience for all the students, but it also granted them with many new skills and abilities from big journalism contributors.
“Overall it was an amazing field trip, and I will never forget my experiences from it,” Scott concluded.
The Bobcat Prowl is grateful for the opportunity to further their knowledge in Journalism, as they continue to represent student press throughout the state of Connecticut and beyond.
