Friday Letter - November 30, 2012

One of my first introductions to life at the Upper School was a phenomenon known as being “Paw Printed.” Thinking back, I’m not sure if I had even stepped foot on the campus as the incoming Upper School Principal when I received an e-mail from a student-reporter asking to interview me for the high school newspaper, Paw Print. We e-mailed back and forth a few times and made arrangements to speak at my next visit. She asked me a variety of questions about my reasons for coming to the Schechter School of Long Island, my background, and my thoughts on education. In other words, I was “Paw Printed.”

Since then, I’ve been “Paw Printed” several more times, and I am sure that there will be more.
In the past week, I’ve been approached by student-reporters from each of the school’s news publications, Paw Print, Paw Print Now, and News from the Middle, the middle school paper.  Our student reporters are diligent, inquisitive, and respectful when they are out “on the beat.” And, as I learned from my first experience with Paw Print, persistent.

Student journalism is an incredible learning experience for our students. With the support of Paw Print and Paw Print Now advisor, high school English teacher Shawn Thorgersen, and News from the Middle advisor, middle school English teacher, Kayla Motroni, students have been organizing coverage of school events and thinking about issues of concern to students with the goal of creating a quality publication that engages its readers. Students, particularly our reporters for the Paw Print Now daily news blog, are learning about deadlines and figuring out what is actually newsworthy. And, of course, they are learning about writing as a journalist.

So, the next time that you are in the building for a program, don’t be surprised to be approached by a student with some probing questions about life at Schechter. After all, you could be the next person to be “Paw Printed.”

Shabbat Shalom!