Self Analytical Essay
Over the past year, I have developed a love for journalism, despite never knowing anything about it just years ago. I decided to transfer high schools for my senior year.
Now transferring anywhere is always challenging, but having it be your senior year is even worse. Walking into a new school on the first day of 12th grade I had no idea what the expect. I was changing from an all-girls private school to a central public school. I didn’t know any teachers, I didn’t know any students, and I knew nothing about the school. But lucky for me, my first class that first day was Journalism, and little did I know that first period would lead me to find one of my biggest passions to this day. The first few weeks of adjusting to a new school were rough, but no matter what I knew I had journalism every morning to start my day off right. Now I had always had a love for writing but never had the option to study journalism, but if love, at first sight, existed for things, journalism and I had it.
Now, this wouldn’t be an accurate analysis of my journalism journey if I only included the pros. Being a senior I was thrown into the deep end. The first article I ever wrote was a long-form article talking about our superintendent's retirement, and sure I had experience writing but nothing like this. Using quotes, not putting opinions in, and gathering accurate facts were all things I’d never had to think about while writing before. But that’s also part of what makes it so special, no matter how many articles you write, or interviews you conduct you can always learn something new. Journalism challenged me in a way I’d never been challenged before. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone. Never before had I needed to interview someone or write about something that could affect a lot of students around my school. Journalism forced me to learn how to step up to the challenge at hand, instead of back down. But not only that, Journalism opened more doors than I could ever imagine. From attending the Colorado Student Media Conference to interviewing our State representative. The opportunities I have gained from journalism are endless.
But most importantly it gave me an outlet. Stress is inevitable for a high school student, but having a way to cope with it is important. Up until I started writing for the school newspaper I didn’t really have a way to do that. But writing completely changed that for me. Now when I get the opportunity to sit down and write everything else goes away, and the only thing I am focused on is the article I am producing. Journalism has done so much for me over the past year, and even with the ups and downs of navigating this new world, I am forever grateful I get to experience it.
Writing & Reporting
Writing and reporting plays a big role in Journalism. It is the number one way we can spread information we want the world to know. It has helped me to be more confident and clear with what I want to say and the information I wish to use in my articles.
Rep. Jason Crow Visit
A personal insight into a politician. Students, staff, and members of the Englewood School Board met at Englewood High School and had the opportunity to talk to our U.S. Representative. Friday, January 20th, Jason Crow visited the high school, “I thought it was a really cool experience and personally, I never thought I’d even meet anybody of that like nature. I feel like he wanted to learn more about our school and more about our district,” said Senior Sean McKee.
This was Crows’ first school visit in the newly drawn Colorado’s sixth district. With over one million people moving to Colorado in the past few years, the districts were redesigned and Englewood became part of Colorado’s sixth district, leading Jason Crow to become its representative. Superintendent Dr. Wendy Rubin was very excited that Congressman Crow is representing the sixth district now, “He is just a really, really wonderful man. He has a lot of integrity, a lot of commitment to ideals and values.”
Read the full story below
Team building and leadership
Our journalism classes are offered to all grades from 9th through 12th. At Englewood, it is important to us we always help each other out. Older and more experienced journalism students spend time working with newer students to better understand the writing, reporting, and editing process. We also spend time working with middle school students to introduce them to the world of journalism. Working together and team building are also important in Journalism at EHS. We work together doing side-by-side stories, working with photographers, and working to have the same story for written and broadcast journalism.
Rainbow Fentanyl found in Englewood community.
Fentanyl is a widely known, highly addictive synthetic opioid. According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Now we have a new form of fentanyl abuse to keep our eyes out for. Rainbow fentanyl came to light in August of 2022 when the DEA found brightly colored fentanyl pills in 18 states. It earned its name quickly because of its bright-colored appearance and candy-like look. Mandy Lopez, The Englewood Schools District Nurse Consultant, says Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, “that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. This means that a small dose is deadly. Two mg, which is the equivalent of 10-15 grains of table salt, is lethal enough to kill an adult.” Rainbow fentanyl can come in various colors, shapes, and sizes. Some of these include pills, powder, and blocks.
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Web & Social Media
Web and social media plays a big role for us. Our website has won awards for best in the state, and we spend a lot of time posting on social media as well. These resources have completely shaped journalism, readers are now able to learn information almost instantly. It has provided an amazing way to raise and spread awareness. My stories are always posted on The Pirateer before we publish our paper. This also allows us to reach a wider group of people, which lets more people be aware of what is happening in the Englewood community.
Dr. Rubin Announces her retirement
“It was time for me to learn more and be challenged again.”
Dr. Wendy Rubin announces her not-so-quiet retirement plans.
Wendy Rubin isn’t exactly retiring. The Englewood Schools superintendent announced in August her plans to step down in spring 2023, but Rubin said she has big plans.
Wendy Rubin announced at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, that she won’t be returning. Rubin told the Pirateer, she is just getting started.
Read full story here
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is also very important to the quality of your articles. Photos can draw in readers, and make your articles more interesting. It is also a great way to create lasting memories for your school. These pictures will be put in yearbooks, posted on social media, and looked back on for years.
Podcasting
Podcasting is just one of the many different forms of journalism. Podcasts have quickly become popular for their accessibility to listen to whether you are on the go, or at home. We spent time learning how to choose topics and put together our own podcasts.
Music in class - Why should students be allowed to listen to music in class?
Shorter, breaking news stories are just as important as long-form pieces. It gives students (the audience) a chance to experience events at school, often before they end.
Blood Drive at EHS
The EHS library turns into a medical facility for one day.
On November 16, 2022, Englewood High School has its annual Blood Drive. The blood drive started in 2008 when, according to Sarah Fuller, the adviser for NHS, a member of the Englewood community was going through intense medical treatment, and some Englewood students wanted to find a way to help out.
The National Honor Society decided to keep it going, which has been happening yearly. Katelyn Berry a member of the National Honors Society says it is a lot of work, “It takes about two months to get the blood drive organized.” They need so much time to prepare to get the word out to students and reach out to restaurants to get food to support the donators.
Englewood had around 50 donations, with an estimated 150 lives saved. Despite this fantastic turnout, they know the Englewood community can do better, “We’ve actually had a dip,” said Fuller. This isn’t just a dip in the number of Englewood donations, it’s a dip in donations nationwide.
High school students are some of the best donors because their blood is often in great condition. Mrs. Fuller encourages students to donate, explaining that a few hours of your time can save three people’s lives. Another drive happens in the Spring, and Englewood wants to try to save as many lives as possible.
The need for donations is so great right now, Vitalant is offering Amazon gift cards to those who donate during a specific time frame.
For more information: https://www.vitalant.org/
Audience
It is important to us at The Pirateer that our main audience is our school community. We always include up-to-date information about events, and stories going on around the school. Despite our articles being catered towards our students and staff, we have found social media and an online website have provided a way for our articles to reach much further than just our school.
Diversity in staff and audience
Diversity is possibly one of the most important parts of journalism. It is never guaranteed everyone has the same view on a story or event, and having diversity throughout our staff and audience allows us to make sure everyone is heard and feels represented.