THE KIDS POST
Vol. 1, Number 1
Fall 2017
The Kids Post Alpha Blanca Alvarado Students Newsletter
From the Pros: Who’s Your Audience? And how this newsletter became a reality
Mr. Flynn video-chatting with students and Teaching Fellow Ms. Hickey (standing)
Photo: Volunteer Teacher Mr. Tanti
By Ethan Huynh, Kacie Le, Johann Taina and Leslie Mateo
On October 5th Mr. Flynn, Chief Editor of The Santa Clara, the USC Student Newspaper, held a Zoom video-chat during one of our Citizen School* Journalism Apprenticeship classes and the following week, on October 12th, Mr. Chase, Executive Editor for the Bay Area News Group came in person to our classroom for questions and answers on journalism. It was really interesting to meet with Pros from two local newspapers side-by-side, a small one, Continued on page 2 *Citizen Schools is an American nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools across the United States to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities.
Mr. Chase explaining journalism to captivated students
Photo: Johann Tahina
Our “Newsroom” in C9 was really buzzing with activity these past few weeks.
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In this issue
♥ Apprenticeships News: “From the Pros: Who’s Your Audience?” Page 1, “Photography in a Snap” Page 3, “Unleash Your 3D Imagination” Page 4 ♥ Alpha Surveys Page 5 ♥ Calendar Page 6 Arts Page 7-10
The Santa Clara with 6,000 weekly copies weekly, and a big one, The Mercury News with 600,000 daily copies, also part of the Bay Area News Group of 5 million readers. How different is our tiny middle school semester newsletter first edition from the big guys? • They are pros, we’re students. • They are adults, we are children. • They have experience, we are still learning the basics. • They have a large professional staff and support teams and we have limited resources. The following are quotes from Mr. Chase during his visit to our classroom: • They (journalists) are going into journalism because they care. • If you find you are the kind of person who always explains things to somebody else, you might be a natural journalist already. • There is only one job mentioned in the US Constitution: journalists. • One of the tricks is, never ask a question that has a yes-or-no answer. • When you get to know people, spend some time with them, you get a better interview with more information. • Find out who your audience is, what questions they are going to ask and answer those questions and that’s the way to make your story as interesting as you can, whoever you are writing for. And here are quotes from Mr. Flynn • It’s not what you’re doing that is important it’s who you are doing it with. • Most journalists fit into one of those categories: News, Sports, Opinion, and Scene.
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My main job is making sure my staff is happy and producing good work. Pay attention to the finances One of my main jobs is to come up with provocative and interesting headlines.
Our newsletter can’t compare with the pros, that’s for sure, but as we look closely we actually find many similarities between what we and the pros are doing: •
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We care because we worked hard and tried our best to give students of our school as much information of interest to them in our newsletter with very little resources and experience. We all love to explain things to people and this is why we chose this apprenticeship and it also feels good to exercise our rights as citizen. We ask a lot of questions, and don’t always get answers but we persist. We are part of the audience, which is all the students in the school, a very diverse group of people, and we care about what everybody has to say. We are respectful of each other and work well in teams. We get help from the school teachers, Citizen School teachers and volunteers. And finally we did come up with great stories and original headlines. But you know this by now since you are reading this.
So we, the Journalism Apprenticeship students, want to thank the student of Alpha Blanca Alvarado for reading this newsletter. It means a lot to us. In conclusion, keep reading and not just us. And also, very important, give us some feedback so we get better and better at giving you what you want to read and also what you need to read. Finally, join us by writing your own article and submitting to the newsroom for publication. 2
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Photography in a Snap
class. Kyle Mar, a journalism student, had the opportunity to observe photography students playing outside. Kyle believes they were taking pictures during this time.
Citizen Schools Students Participate in Photography Apprenticeship
Photo by photography student
Photo by photography student
By Kyle Mar and the journalism apprenticeship class
3D holographic image creation Citizens School students roam around campus taking pictures. Why are they outside of a classroom without teacher supervision? The scholars are participating in the Photography Apprenticeship. Our peers were allowed to use the cameras because they are in a class where they learn how to use them. These students learn how to take good pictures and edit these pictures. Alpha Blanca students learn how to take different kinds of photos to make them look more intriguing. The photography apprenticeship is taught by a volunteer named Samudhyatha. Every Thursday the photography class goes to the blacktop and soccer field of Alpha Blanca Alvarado Middle School. During this time, they take pictures according to the day’s theme. Some of the themes have included nature and scenery photos, action and live motion pictures, macro photography, and portrait photographs. The photography students made holograms. According to Citizen School student Katie Le, a hologram is created when an image is projected through a small device that is reflected to make a 3D image. In the photography apprenticeship, students used laminating sheets to create the small device for the hologram. Kids use props in their photos to make their photos more intriguing. Jessica Vo, another Citizens School student, saw balloons in some of the photos from photography
Light painting As this article is being written, photography students are sitting in a dark classroom and working on a project. They could be working on a really cool project, but we are unable to confirm at this time. According to Jessica Vo, the students are working on a project that captures light movement. Ms. Hickey explained that these pictures are created using a slow shutter speed and flashlight. Would you try the photography apprenticeship?
The Kids Post The Kids Post is written, edited and produced by Alpha Blanca Alvarado Middle School students, once per semester as part of a Citizen Schools Journalism apprenticeship.
Address
1601 Cunningham Ave, San Jose, CA 95122
Contact us
(408) 455-6355
info@alphapublicschools info@citizenschools.org
Sponsored by:
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Unleash Your Imagination
3D
By the Journalism Apprenticeship
Photo credit
On October 12, 2017 our designated reporting crew discreetly walked into the 3D printing apprenticeship and started recording videos, photos and sounds from walking around and asking questions, while sending images via Zoom, back to the newsroom. Groups of students were crouched over multiple computer screens displaying 3D objects at various levels of progress.
3D class in design phase The place was buzzing with activity. Citizen School volunteer, Dianne France, made a demonstration of the hand-held 3Doodler which is a 3D printing pen. The students were able to have fun working with the 3Doodler before getting the real 3D printer due to arrive at a later time. Robert France, Citizen School board member and volunteer, explained what this apprenticeship is about: 3D printing is a lot of fun. It lets you create almost anything you can think up out of plastic. In our class we learn the basic steps you go through to create a 3D printed item, then everyone gets to make something that gets printed, and they can keep it. The steps are to think up your design, sketch it out, with dimensions. Then, it gets modeled in a CAD (computer aided design) program. This model is a to scale virtual model of the object. We use a cloud based CAD program called TinkerCAD (screenshots in the .ppt). Next a special program is used to take the model and generate instructions for the 3D printer. We learn about how that works. Finally, each model is
printed, by stacking (extruding hot plastic) thin layers (we use .2mm) of plastic on top of each other. The plastic is special (we use one called PLA) because it cools very quickly, but is hot long enough to melt to the layer below and stick to it. Layer by layer the item is built up. At the end you snap the item off of the metal build plate. Then you can sand, paint, and glue them together (this is how you make items larger than the size of the printer). Done! Our students each design a personal small item that we print in class or at home (it is slow!). Now the students are in a team and they are designing a vehicle which will carry 5 starburst candies down a race track and we'll see whose car is the fastest. Some teams might eat their cargo before the race, but I hope not! Our 21st century skills are innovation (how to design and make new things to solve problems) and collaboration (working to solve problems in teams). We also watch a short video every week to learn about how 3D printers get used in the real world and what kinds of jobs they are creating. The best part is that after taking our class, every student will have a mini-WOW in the hand. Every time they explain 3D printing to someone, they'll get that great feeling of making something all over again! It was fun to see the 3D apprenticeship in action and the technology involved. This looks like the way of the future enabling people to make their own objects. Make sure to stop by their display at the WOW!
Photo: Volunteer Teacher Mrs. France
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3D students in 1D formation with volunteer Teacher Mr. France
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Informal Alpha Surveys Survey: method of gathering information on people. Informal: sample size may not be representative of the entire population.
In this section, we conduct informal surveys among students of our school on a variety of topics. Informal meaning we ask the questions to the Journalist Apprenticeship students and publish the result here. If you think of a survey we should conduct, please let us know.
Doodling By the Journalist Class
Do you doodle? According to Wikipedia: A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. But in fact doodling can be serious business as told in the Washington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/17/doodlingbenefits_n_7572182.html., it can help you concentrate among many other benefits Our informal survey at Alpha Blanca Alvarado reveals that 30% doddle. So doodle away if you feel like it.
Emoji’s
A student in the Journalist Apprenticeship class wanted to write about wolfs because it is her spirit animal. There are many sources on line about spirit animals, mostly related to understanding someone’s personality. Do you know your spirit animal? Our informal survey at Alpha Blanca Alvarado reveals that 10% know about their spirit animal.
Marines By Angel Zamora A student in the Journalist Apprenticeship class wanted to write about the Marine Corps, “The Few, The Proud”. They are known for their very long and illustrious history of defending the interest of the United States by sea and by land anywhere in the world. They are also known for their Esprit de Corps which is the spirit that lifts people above themselves for the good of the group, it is the feeling of camaraderie among members of a group or an organization. Do you see people acting with Esprit de Corps at school? Our informal survey at Alpha Blanca Alvarado reveals there is unanimous “Esprit de Corps” mostly in activities such as Homework and Sports.
The Mystery Spot By Dayton Nguyen
By the Journalist Class
What is your favorite emoji? Which emoji do you use the most? Are emoji’s better than words? Our informal survey at Alpha Blanca Alvarado reveals that the favorite Emoji is the crylaughing emoji.
Spirit Animal By Valerie Ortiz
If you start typing MYS… on your favorite search engine, you immediately get a hit on the Mystery Spot, a popular tourist destination in the redwood forest outside Santa Cruz. The owners claim there is a gravitational anomaly there leading to strange phenomena’s. Have you been to The Mystery Spot? Do you think it is real? Our informal survey at Alpha Blanca Alvarado reveals that 50% think The Mystery Spot is for real. Send us your thoughts about scientific ways to prove or disprove the claim.
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November 2017 Sunday
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Art
In this section, students of the Photography Apprenticeship, led by volunteer teacher Samudhyatha, display some of the photos they took during the 3D Apprenticeships and Journalism (page 7), Dance (page 8) and Photography (page 9).
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Dance apprentices led by teacher Silma Lange (center standing) 8
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Rap Monster A short story by Kacie Le Rap Monster is also known as Kim Namjoon where when he was young would love to rap in a underground rap battle. One day he faced his worst enemy, but was able to beat him. What if his enemy comes back? Deysey is a girl you may have heard before. Her attitude is hard and again has three trustworthy friends. They met after Min Yoongi was killed but before Katelynn, Maria or Katie died. Deysey was there the first day I.M. came to school. As Deysey escaped the closet when I.M. found her, she bumped into Namjoon. “Oh hi, my name is Kim Namjoon” Namjoon extended his hand out. “Hi my name is Deysey” Deysey said as she shook his hand. On accident Deysey got blood on Namjoon’s hand. “Shoot” Deysey said to herself. “Long time no see Namjoon” I.M. said appearing out of nowhere. “What do you want?” Namjoon asked. “I want a rematch” I.M. replied. “OK, you can start” Namjoon. “Wait I want to be part of this” Deysey said. “Fine you’ll lose anyway” I.M. said. I.M. started to rap his target was Rap Monster. After a while Rap Monster targeted Deysey. Deysey rapped and she targeted both of them. I.M. and Rap Monster’s eyes widened in surprise. The rap battle ended with I.M. and Rap Monster losing and Deysey walking off with a smirk on her face. That night Maria, Katie and Katelynn heard a scream, they ran to the room and saw Deysey dead and on the ground. Everyone thought it was I.M. who killed Deysey, but Namjoon was the one covered in blood that very night.
Word Game By Bryan Vasquez Before the WOW a dinosaur suddenly appeared in the cafeteria. Parents started to appear and the principal immediately appeared. Teachers dance was because the people appear. This story inspired firemen to roll. If you have any information about what happened, appear the rocket immediately.
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