October 2009
Volume 2, Issue 1
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Letters to the Editor
| Date | Subject | Posted by: |
|---|---|---|
| 11/07/2008 | This is in regards to the water treatment article. Louisburg's water never passes, the water always taste like chlorine, even 5th graders notice these things. The water does not bother me, its even a running joke at my house, they should save paper and send out a letter when the water passes. Ha ha, the reason the water doesn't bother me is that we have a purification system, and you should see the filter when we change it, it is the most discussing thing in the world! I also have a question if we're getting water from Paola will that make water more expensive here? If so is there another solution? | Heather Wooters 1103425@usd416.org |
| 11/13/2008 | As a former Pawprint staff member, I'd like to say congrats on a great start to your publication this year. I'd also like to make a suggestion for a story: SEX EDUCATION @ LHS. I think students would really benefit from knowing about why they get the information that they are getting, or AREN'T getting. Sex education is currently a very hot topic in politics and education discussions alike. I would LOVE to see an investigative piece about LHS' sex ed policies, is it opt-in or opt-out? Explain opt-in and opt-out. Does LHS have comprehensive sex education or abstinence only? How does LHS deal with abstinence only? Explain abstinence only education. Why does LHS have abstinence only education? Who decides? What procedures does the school board go through when deciding whether students get medically accurate, comprehensive sex education? What do other studies say about the effectiveness about abstinence only education? (it doesn't work). How is sex ed funded? Who pays for abstinence only education? Are the boys and girls getting equally informative sex education? Are LHS students getting medically accurate sex education? Do students know that 1 in 4 teenage girls has an STD? Or that almost 750,000 teenage girls will become pregnant this year? Or that nearly 80% of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare? OR that teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $9 billion annually? (PS...if anyone decided to write this article, I'm sure it'd be a grrrreat topic to submit to contests.) I've got some great information and resources if interested. Thank you. |
Virginia Phillips
PR & Media Coordinator
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| 12/19/2008 | This is a response to the article about no early timeline for next year. The teachers don't like the early timeline because they make things due for both timelines on the same day. What they need to do is have some teachers with early and some teachers with late and not mix them because that makes things more complicated. Another thing is that you shouldn't get kicked off of early because that puts way more stress on the early students. I was on early and I loved it, but I felt very pressured to get everything exact and I didn't have a chance to mess up because I was terrified of being kicked off. I was such a relief to be done early. What they should do is give over times just like on regular. Organization and communication is another thing that could be improved to relieve some of the stress on the teachers. Many of the deadlines we were given were different on every page and that was confusing for everyone. I understand this was only the second year, but if this is suppose to be preparing us for college and they expect us to do everything just as it says then they need to be consistent. Also they need to take a look at the examples in our handbook. If they are going to use these as examples then they should be correct because I and other students followed these examples and we were counted wrong for things. Educating the graders is another thing that could be improved. I understand that many of the teachers don’t have masters in English, but when one of the criteria is "is the title bold and center" and one of the graders checks yes and the other checks no there is a problem. I really did enjoy most of the GRP, but I feel that these are some improvements that could be made. If the heads of the GRP would sit down and discuss with the students how they felt about the project, they would see that many of us have ideas that could really improve the project. I know many of the students complained, but I really like the concept, it just needs adjusted. Sincerely, Ali McKiearnan |
Ali McKiearnan
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| 02/04/2009 | While I think the writing in the Pawprint's most recent edition flows and is edited well, I can't help but wonder - why all the (sorry) boring stories? While students do want to read about each other, and you do a great job of featuring students, a monthly newspaper needs more interesting topics. Band, choir, upcoming play...? blah. Pawprint is a MONTHLY newspaper; there is time to do more investigative journalism. You guys are in this class to develop your journalism skills - PICK SOME STORIES THAT CAN'T BE STARTED AND COMPLETED 45 MINUTES BEFORE THEY'RE DUE. Set up interviews in advance. Have a hypothesis. Take some time to sit on your interview. Draw conclusions. Write something that hasn't been done before (or, at least, in a while). Finally, write about something that interests you, and take some risks with it. Were you REALLY interested in the band and choir story? Was it exciting to write? (not all stories will be exciting, but AT LEAST one should be) It makes me sad to see such mistake-free BUT bland stories. Yes, it's a pain to have to make time in a busy schedule to interview ahead of time, but a more involved story makes for a better read. |
LHS Alum
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| 02/06/2009 | The above poster isn't mean, they're right. Because, well, this is probably just a class where you've cut a comfortable niche for yourself while doing the bare minimum. None of you are bad writers, any journalism program would be proud to have any of you. But you have no passion, no voice. You have two advantages: 1. You live in a state that does not enforce prior restraint. 2. You're young. You're closer to being able to tell the truth about what it is to be in high school, and all that comes with it, than any adult could ever try to be. Instead of 5 story ideas you don't care about, work on one good one that you love and pitch it (fight for it if you have to). P.S. Sophie, in no way does calling these stories dull reflect upon your abilities as an editor. Nobody can kick a teenager (much less a dozen of them) into gear, except themselves. |
Barack Obama
The White House
President and master griller
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| 04/01/2009 | Another great story idea: Make teenagers aware of new prevention method available to more of them now (age restriction lowered). Put a little blurb as a news brief? This is info that could really benefit teens. Here it is- March 24, 2009 Contraception Pill NY TIMES - Strictures Are Eased by a Judge By NATASHA SINGER A federal judge ordered the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to make the Plan B morning-after birth control pill available without prescription to women as young as 17. The judge ruled that the agency had improperly bowed to political pressure from the Bush administration in 2006 when it set 18 as the age limit. The agency has 30 days to comply with the order, in which the judge also urged the agency to consider removing all restrictions on over-the-counter sales of Plan B. The drug consists of two pills that prevent conception if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/health/24pill.html?fta=y It's timely. It's a health issue, and I'd be willing to be lots of the student body is unaware of the law-change. A little news brief about this could really, really help one of your classmates out. |
LHS Alum
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