Students learn skills they’ll use for a lifetime
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
Area students joined forces again this year, putting their creative talent — be it with a camera, or pen and paper — to use, coming up with some great material for this year’s Newspapers in Education section of the Star-Herald.
Students in grade 5, including classes in Ashland, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Mapleton, Mars Hill, Presque Isle and Washburn, once again designed advertisements for local businesses. Given a brief description of each business, participants let their imaginations take over, coming up with some rather unique work.
Easton Elementary School students in Lori McQuade’s class were assigned the following businesses: Barresi Financial; Center Farms, Inc.; Country Farms Market; The Feed Depot; McCain Foods; Stew’s Downtown Sight & Sound; and Tompkins Plumbing & Heating. The project was completed on deadline — a term the children now associate with doing business, especially in the world of newspapers.
“My class loved ‘working’ for their paper,” said McQuade.
The teacher said newspapers still have a role in educating the youth of today.
“I feel the newspaper will one day be a part of our history — with the digital age, my husband and I actually read news on our Ipad, laptop/nook. But it’s very valuable to keep paper texts, of all kinds, in the hands of kids,” she said.
Most recently, her class has been discussing world events, with the help of newspapers.
“We discuss top news stories, such as the earthquake in Japan, and elaborate with various other media,” McQuade said.
She said newspapers also serve as a teaching tool for those with limited reading skills.
“Struggling readers in fourth grade work with newspapers for nonfiction comprehension practice,” said McQuade, noting she’d like to do this more with students in fifth and 6th grade as well.
Colleen Good’s fifth-graders at the David J. Lyon Washburn District Elementary School also put their creative skills to the task. Working in teams, they were assigned the following businesses: Aroostook Monuments; Chopsticks; Crop Production Services; Gil’s Sanitation; Lynox Welding Supply; TEMPO Employment Services; Washburn Food Mart; and White’s Service. Students learned the difference between companies offering a service and those that sell products. They also learned that producing a newspaper is actually a team effort, with editorial and sales departments working together to publish papers, meeting a weekly deadline.
Good said while she hasn’t used newspapers on a regular basis in her class, she hopes to change that.
“I really must admit that I don’t use the paper in my teaching regularly, but I am going to in the future. I do believe that it is an important tool that should be utilized,” said Good.
Classes participating in this year’s Newspapers in Education have been invited to tour Northeast Publishing to see just how a newspaper is put together and printed.
“I think it’s important for students to see how the newspaper is put together. I will certainly come up with a time to bring the fifth-graders to see this experience firsthand,” Good said.
Good said her kids are excited to see their work in print.
“They are wondering when their ads are going to be out. They were very excited to do this job. I think they would have done it for ‘free,’” said Good. “They really enjoyed the project.” In lieu of payment, fifth-graders will be treated to a pizza party in appreciation of their hard work.
Presque Isle High School students in Amy White’s digital photography course are showcasing some of their snapshots in the special section this year. White said the supplement serves as a perfect opportunity for budding photographers to share some of their favorite shots with the public.
“Students love to be published and recognized for a job well done. For some students that are pursuing a degree in graphics or photography, it will be an excellent addition to their portfolio when applying to college. Any time a student can show prospective colleges or employers excellent examples of their work, it is certainly to the student’s benefit,” said White, business technology instructor, Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center.
White said this is her seventh year teaching the course.
“The course has grown from a one-semester course to a full-year course. Along with the change to a full-year course, we have also added teaching components of Adobe Photoshop, which the students really enjoy,” said White, noting, “They like using editing software that is practical to the job setting. Most colleges that students might attend or jobs that they may have are also using Adobe Photoshop.”
At the Star-Herald, editorial staff use Adobe Photoshop on a weekly basis, processing photos for publication in the newspaper.
She said Presque Isle High School students may take the course to fulfill their fine art requirement for graduation.
There are added benefits for students enrolled in the course, according to White, such as garnering top honors at a state competition.
“My photography students that competed in the SkillsUSA Maine competition on March 10 and 11 earned gold, silver and bronze. In addition, I had a student compete at the national SkillsUSA competition. My student last year, Mackenzie Pinette, earned Best in Show,” White said.
Krysten Blackstone was one of more than 30 students in White’s class to submit a photo for publication in the special section.
“I’ve always been interested in photography and love taking pictures. I took this class in the hopes of learning more about not only taking pictures but composing pictures as well. I really enjoy the class,” said Blackstone.
She credits White’s teaching ability for broadening how she looks at the world around her.
“Mrs. White does a great job of teaching the basics of photography and still making the assignments fun for us to do. Throughout the year, I have learned more than I thought I would. Photography has more to it than just pressing a button on a camera; a great deal of thought and technique go into taking and editing a picture,” she said. “Not only do we get experience taking digital pictures and editing them, we also get experience with manual photography.”
Blackstone said the class spends a portion of the course learning skills most people never learn.
“During half of the third quarter, we get to spend our time in the darkroom processing film and developing prints from it. I have learned so much from the short time I have been in the class. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in photography,” she said.
She said her interest in the course has been strictly for pleasure.
“I don’t have plans of making photography more than a hobby, however, it is a hobby that I will continue and improve upon for the rest of my life. Photography is a hobby that will follow me for the rest of my life, regardless of what I am doing,” she said.
“The uses of photography are so versatile. While I don’t plan on becoming a professional, I do plan on taking and editing pictures for the rest of my life,” said Blackstone.
