The students in Ms. Stumbaugh's UHS Journalism class have started publishing their writing online. From featured articles, editorials, and blog posts, each student takes their interests and freely writes about it.
This semester, the focus of the UHS Journalism course is on news writing, providing students with the chance to explore various styles of journalism. After learning the fundamentals of different article types, students then craft their own pieces in those styles.
In addition to writing news stories, students create their own personal blogs, where they post weekly. Their blog topics span a wide range of interests, including music, travel, poetry, movies, cooking, photography, true crime, and the experiences of being in high school.
Every week, students select a piece of writing to feature on the class website. In collaboration with their teacher, they revise and refine their work before it goes live.
Other students are using their writing to explore personal connections. Senior Alyssa Grogan chose to write a feature story about her father’s work with a K-9 unit. “When we learned about feature stories in class, I was excited to write my first one about my dad’s K-9,” she said. “It was a chance to use what we’d been practicing in class and also learn more about his job.”
For junior Izzy Dulay, the featured piece was a poem that reflected on the pace of modern life and the way people often overlook everyday moments. “We become so overwhelmed with the idea of doing new things, looking forward to others, and keeping ourselves busy we forget to allow ourselves to enjoy the simplicity of life,” she said. Her poem used the perspective of a dog to illustrate this idea, emphasizing how animals live in the moment unburdened by stress, status, or social pressure. “I felt like this poem encompassed this issue... how we should allow ourselves to take a moment to appreciate those around us, embodying the mind of a dog for a while.”
Through these projects, students aren’t just learning how to write they’re learning how to express themselves, connect with an audience, and see the world through a journalist’s lens. And as the semester continues, so will their stories.
Read their stories here.