Brandywine photography skills class spawns group of Junior Journalists
Published 6:17 pm Thursday, March 15, 2007
By Staff
NILES – A photography skills program at Brandywine Elementary School in Niles has spawned a group of Junior Journalists.
The cluster of students of Dawn Brovold and Donna Newman worked on the five-week program in which the students learned basic photography skills and rules for photos, and completed several weekly assignments with their cameras.
Martha Shreve facilitated the lessons, and Louis Stetham and Michael Herman were guest resource photographers.
As an outgrowth of that study, several teams of Junior Journalists were formed to help cover newsworthy events and help with public relations at Brandywine Elementary. Stories the students cover will be submitted to Paw Prints and area papers.
"What I hope to do is develop a relationship with [Daily] Star and other publications so we can send things in and occasionally something will strike a cord and can be used for Brandywine, and in general to have people know good things are happening here," Shreve said.
One already covered by the Junior Journalists include a guest speaker from the ethanol plant in South Bend, Ind. Mike Duckette, who's son Andrew is a Brandywine Elementary student, visited a fourth grade class one day to explain how the ethanol plant works and the concept of renewable energy.
Junior Journalists were also on the scene when fellow Brandywine Elementary students were completing their 3-D coral reef project. Teacher Jim Ackles challenged his 25 students after they read an article on coral reefs to create the construction paper model.
Students were also on assignment Wednesday, when Cheri Hallwood and illustrator Patricia Rose – Niles residents and author and illustrator of the children's book "Winter's First Snowflake" – gave a lesson on bookbinding.