The staff of The Whirlwind are 10-12 graders at WAHS in Albany, OR. They're a diverse group of athletes, band kids, drama geeks, writers and rabblerousers who come from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Last year they re-started a student publication at their school and published six issues of a 32-page newsmagazine.
This year, they're aiming even higher and hope to develop their website into a full-blown news source. The staff of 40 are eager to do great journalism and tell the stories of their community.
My Project
When it comes to photojournalism, there is no greater teacher than the "art lens" — a prime lens that requires students to move their bodies to get great shots. Because they don't have the option to zoom, they learn to get high, low, closer or even closer to compose the shot that really captures the story. That's why we are requesting two for our staff this year.
Strong images tell stories, and that's part of what we learn in Journalism.
The combination of well-crafted words, strong visuals, and effective design — both for the web and for print — allow student journalists to serve their school community by informing and entertaining readers, and it's more important now than ever that we have good, principled storytellers who rise above the cacophony of noise created by easy access to social media.
Help me help them become excellent storytellers! Thank you for your support and consideration.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Balmeo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
