LR students getting intro to journalism

Lake Roosevelt High School has a new journalism class and a website where you can view their content published under the name "The Galleon."

The class has around 20 students writing and contributing content.

"We still have a long way to go and much to learn, but it has been a fun and rewarding process so far," said Steve Files who teaches the class, adding that they hope to upload some new content weekly.

"Journalism is an elective class, and the online newspaper work is the featured aspect of the curriculum," he said. "The first quarter of the school year was an Introduction to Journalism unit where students were exposed to journalistic principles and ethics, First Amendment rights and limitations, and exposure and practice to the features of newspapers, as well as the different story types."

Those story types include news, sports, arts & entertainment, opinion and editorials, and student life, each of which have their own student editors. 1

C.J. Arcasa is the editor-in-chief and is joined by Everett Schmidt as assistant editor-in-chief.

Copy editors, reporters, and photographers round out the rest of the staff.

"I feel like our school is really opinionated on everything, and that's probably something that gets closer to kids, more so than lots of facts," Arcasa said about liking opinion pieces for The Galleon.

"That's something that makes it easier as an op-ed editor," said Kyla Wells. "I don't have to be out interviewing people, because it's my personal opinion on something. I'm allowed to be biased."

Wells wrote a story headlined "How School Culture Has Changed."

"What shocks me the most about the school culture is how the school[s] themselves really haven't changed by much," Wells writes. "We are still bound to desks that have been in the same places since the beginning. It doesn't shock me to see the students revolting at school because school has always faced the same problem but always asked the students to change their ways but has never come close to changing their own."

Sports Editor Maraya Harris said that she likes a Raider sports victory story to be around 1,000 words long, and shorter for a loss.

"It's harder for sports editors because we have something new every week," she said about the position.

A story by Student Life Editor Curtis Picard describes "street cred," with a lot of humor and describes when another student got "clowned" by Mr. Files.

Other topics being written about include the school's new Wi-Fi policy, whether students should be allowed to bring backpacks into the classroom, and an article on Dennis King, a local who enjoys photography and who has also been a handball enthusiast participating in local tournaments in the past.

An article on the school's "Super Secretary" Sheila Darnold, an upcoming winter concert, sports, video game reviews, and much more can be found at http://www.lrhsgalleon.org

The Galleon also has a Twitter page found with the handle @LRHS_Galleon.