Kiera Riley Portfolio 2018

kiera riley kiera riley kiera riley

self reflection self reflection self reflection I sit here, eyes latched onto the fluorescent desktop screen, corneas burning into oblivion, for one last time. As I pass the baton to the newest staff of the CS Press, I find it vital to not only look at my experiences through this year but the entirety of my 3 years as a student journalist. There was a general anxiety that clouded over my sophomore year of high school, my first year of journalism. I clumsily learned to traverse the system of trial and error. According to my first self reflection, I figured how to navigate deadlines and manage my time more efficiently.

Going into my junior year I was more confident. I felt comfortable writing journalistically, so much so I tackled a few front pages.

On the opinion page, I began editing stories, creating my own graphics, and laying out my pages.

This year I learned empathy and objectivity, or so I thought.

This year was hands

down my most difficult year of newspaper.

Everything that once felt comfortable, that I once took pride and confidence in became a question. A new position of leadership and a mix of contradicting personalities provided me with some of the most valuable lessons I will learn. The less complex of these deals with my physical production skills so it only makes the most sense to address these first. This year I learned how to design more effectively and efficiently. My work on the paper coupled with my work on the literary magazine resulted in a more refined and recognizable design style.

When we were in San Francisco, I noticed that our paper especially stood out among the many other student publications. I believe this is because of our striking front pages.

This also plays into graphics as both Sara and I utilized a more diverse range of mediums when designing the front page.

We didn’t feel it necessary to limit ourselves to one single concept. Another skill I feel I’ve improved in this year is editing. In the past, I felt my editing failed to be comprehensive. My personal editing style yearns to fix flow and diction as opposed to grammar specifics. This year, I was able to hone in on both the minute style and grammar elements of each story as opposed to the just wording. Both of these skills obviously come in handy and will continue to come in handy as I pursue print journalism and design.

As far as deadlines and journalism ethics, their effects and consequences resonated with me the most this year. Being the editor-in-chief, shortcomings on behalf of the staff and the editors fell directly into my to-do list. Whether it be laying out pages, editing stories, or writing the stories themselves, it became strikingly obvious to me just how important it is to get your shiz done

It became strikingly obvious to me how important it is to get your shiz done.

self reflection self reflection self reflection

...and get it done on time

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and get it done on time. I’ve felt a shift in perspective as I no longer see deadlines as a burden but a blessing.

This also shifts into ethics and objectivity. Throughout the duration of the year, I’ve encountered instances where people insists stories or pages are complete when they, in fact, are not. Some go so far as to orchestrate an illusion of completion. The pressure in a journalistic environment can often be suffocating but that does, in no way, justify lying.

Being on the other side of deceit and feeling its consequences makes it increasingly important to me to keep myself in line when writing and editing stories. Taking the easy way out really is not an option at this point, especially on the cusp of the professional journalism world.

Now, I delve into the nitty gritty. My honest self reflection throughout the course of the last 4 issues starts upon returning from winter break. Two weeks away from the classroom brought me some peace of mind. I felt stronger, more

equipped to handle the issues ahead. Not technically handle, but mentally and emotionally handle what was ahead. The past two months involved a lot of strife and conflict within my own head. What I once felt so firm and confident in had become insecurity, doubt. But upon my return (and following my first self reflection) I regained my tenacity. With less flips given, I was ready to take on my final semester. Because of the previous semester, I felt it absolutely imperative to throw all my effort into creating the paper. In the way of dedication, I took it upon myself to show up to every production day and to stay until the very end. I stayed after school working on pages and writing and editing articles. I filled in the blanks, I made sure we did not have to cut pages or fill space in a useless way.

I didn’t do it alone. With the help of co editor-in-chief, I not only had the help but the support I needed. This leads into teamwork, the most daunting part of this year. To avoid euphemisms or cliches I’ll be

straight, working with people you do not agree with or like is difficult. It is quite honestly the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my young life. But in that, it taught me the most valuable lesson. Working with others is not always effective communication and rainbows.

It’s weird tension, passive aggressive remarks, and a whole lot of frustration. This year taught me to be honest and firm as a leader. It taught me to listen to others, even if I really really didn’t want to. It taught me to put myself and my personal feelings to the side and make it work. In the future, when, not if, it happens again, I feel like I will abide by the motto, less emotion, more communication.

In conclusion, this year was really difficult but it taught me so much about my own strength, intelligence, and ability to persevere and learn from tough situations. With that, I cannot wait for what the future holds. As I continue to pursue journalism, I will remember all the valuable lessons I learned within the walls of room 609.

Iu m lik

reflection two reflection two reflection two My most significant piece of work this year was the sexual assault front page story. Sara’s stunning illustration coupled with a narrative and informative story. The way in which we went about covering this specific issue required more attention and delicacy than any article we had written before.

Our purpose in doing this was to bring attention to the fear that women

face everyday and also to address the explosion of accusations from Hollywood. Because mainstream media was so heavily covering sexual assault, we found it essential to cover it in a way that is more localized. The story also jumped to the features page in which we elaborated on sexual assault as a whole, making it a centerpiece for our paper.

Later on, I independently elaborated upon the article on the online version by interviewing Barbara Bowman, a sexual assault survivor and representative for Promoting Awareness, Victim Awareness or PAVE. In this way, the article held great significance because after hearing her story I understood the deeper meaning in covering issues like this.

understood the deeper meaning in covering issues ke this.

tear sheets tear sheets tear sheets

february february february

march march march

april april april

may may may THE

PRESS

The newspaper of Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, Arizona

THE MAY 18, 2018 ISSUE

A FORCE IN MOTION, teachers staged a walk

in to bring attention to low funding across the state.

Shortly after, the Cave Creek Unified School District participated in the 6 day strike. 4 BLAKE DORAME

WHAT’S INSIDE

5

15

GET LIT The Yearbook and Literary Magazine staff release their 2018 editions.

Brook Bowman talks to the staff and advisers of the publications to get a closer look into the production process.

TEACHERS STRIKE BACK

OBSOLETE OBSTACLES Michael Marchica, a senior, paves his way to state, winning the 300 meter hurdles. Griffin Goldstein reports on his road to the top.

“I believe schools should’ve stayed closed until a genuine change was made.”

Following walk-ins, marches, and protests, educators launched a historic state-wide strike for higher pay and more sufficient funding.

By BROOK BOWMAN g staff writer

Dressed in red, Arizona’s educators conducted an historic 6-day strike, that lasted from April 26th to May 3rd, to protest the lack of school funding and teacher pay.

Many districts, Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD) included, were forced to close for that period. However, CCUSD did open up doors on Monday, unlike many large districts in the state such as Scottsdale Unified School District, Mesa Public Schools, and Peoria Unified School District.

The walkout caused a lot of controversy among parents, students, administration, teachers, and community members, with many voicing strong opinions on both sides.

“I completely agree with the motivation behind the strikes because I believe our teachers deserve higher pay and schools need increased funding in order to provide the best possible education for students. I think the results of the strikes will positively impact our education in the future,” said Amanda Carlson, a junior and stu-

dent at Desert Mountain Many students and teachers questioned why CCUSD seemed to be the only ones back at school.

As the bulk of the strike raged on, at Cactus Shadows, 24 teachers were missing from their desks on Monday morning.

“Personally, I believe schools should’ve stayed closed until a genuine change was made. I respect teachers for standing up for themselves. But, I also know that there are a number of details not available to me as a student,” said Gabe Ozaki, a junior.

Debbi Burdick, Superintendent, made the decision to open schools on Monday based on the number of teachers who planned to be at school.

“We knew we had enough staff to safely supervise students and safety is always our first concern,” said Burdick.

According to Burdick, most of the smaller districts in Arizona reopened on Monday, and some did not close at all. Those that did not stay open were large districts that did not have enough supervision.

Gabe Ozaki, a junior.

See Red for Ed on page 3

STRIKE OUT, Karson Shipp, a history teacher,

leads a group of around 50 educators from the community in a walk in. Shipp shared a speech rallying his colleagues in the fight for higher funding and teacher pay. 4BLAKE DORAME

OPINION

6 ■ MAY 18, 2018

TO GRADUATE OR NOT TO GRADUATE? NERVOUS AND EXCITED, YOU stand amongst your peers clad in royal blue gowns. You buzz about in a poorly assembled line just out of view of the audience. In a muffled mumble, you hear the names of your graduating class read off through the loud speaker.

You inch closer and closer to the stage, until your name blasts more clearly now and reverberates throughout the audience.

Confidently, you walk up the makeshift stairs onto the stage.

Ten steps away from your diploma, your future, your ticket out. Nine, eight, seven, you count in your head. Now you are reaching, fingers grasping for that single slip of paper. But then, a crash.

The air is knocked clean out of your lungs as your fingers graze the faux leather casing. You are on the ground, body slammed by two security guards. As their forearms press firmly into your sternum, you hear over the loud-

speaker, “You should have finished your ECAP, punk.”

Though an exaggeration, it is a nightmare almost every graduating senior experiences as the school year comes to a close. “Did I finish that budget essay? Do I still owe that dollar to the bookstore?” as we see it

the editorial and of course the main question, “Am I actually going to graduate?”

As of now, it’s not just passing classes. Graduation means completing long forgotten ECAP assignments from freshman year, paying for a library book you lost somewhere in the second semester of sophomore year, ensuring that senior ditch day doesn’t push you into academic probation and treading lightly with an ultimately lame senior prank.

One thing is certain, it’s a lot. To avoid becoming a forever falcon, there are a few simple guidelines to follow.

ECAP. With ECAP, the simplest course of action is to just redo every single assignment ever. All of them, seriously. Even though you distinctly remember completing all of them, redo them anyways. Checking your checklist on your TCCI account was always too time consuming anyways.

For library or bookstore fees, write a check equaling your life savings, maybe your first born child just to be extra careful, and deposit it with the bookstore.

Boom, fees gone, and then some.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Attendance is pretty simple.

Miss too many days? No problem.

Just loiter for eight hours in the parking lot of the school this summer, it's basically like making the days up.

All in all, graduation is rough, tough and time consuming. But with these simple steps, you’ll be just fine.

The EDITORIAL represents the consensus view of the members of the Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board members are Kiera Riley, Katelyn Reinhart, Lauren Haggar, Annalee Barnett, Maddie Howard, Mia Gilling, Sara Windom, Emma Russello, Grace Haycraft-McKee, Faith Hasher, Olivia Stickel, Zoie Lambesis and Sean Gannon.

KANYE BEST

Kanye West’s quick change in politics sparks a new conversation about race and political party.

OPINION

LAUREN HAGGAR Kanye West is known for two things in this world, being a rapper and being Kim Kardashian's husband, but recently he received media attention for something no one saw coming. No, he didn't release a new album, or drop a new pair of Yeezys, but what he did come out with was tweet showing tremendous support for President Trump. The news came as shock, considering his wife has openly displayed her disapproval of Trump.

don't have to agree with everything someone says to still support them; the very same message many Republicans have been trying to get across since day one.

But what is different about when West displays the message, is that he has a completely different audience, people who would normally never hear an opposing view because they simply do not want to, now have seen and heard it from someone who they regard as one of their own.

stand with.

Owens and West are modern day pioneers, spreading the Make America Great Again message, and revealing facts and statistics to people previously unwilling to listen. West is especially influential simply because of who he is. His platform is enormous, and he has a completely different perspective -- he is not a die hard Republican, he, in fact, still has some fairly liberal views, but what is unique and ulti-

THE CACTUS SHADOWS PR

THE

PRESS

THE NEWSPAPER OF CACTUS SHADOWS HIGH SCHOOL IN CAVE CREEK, ARIZONA

Editor in Chief Opinion Editor Features Editor News Editor Sports Editor Tech Editor Photo Editor

Kiera RILEY Faith HASHER Olivia STICKEL Lauren HAGGAR Annalee BARNETT Sean GANNON Mia GILLING

CSPress Staff Brook BOWMAN, Makenna FRENCH, Griffin GOLDSTEIN, Avianna HOPPES, Aidia NIELSON, Maja PEIRCE, Morgan REIMER, Tyler SHEA, Annie SOGAARD, Kassidy WHEELER

EDITORIAL POLICY: The CSPress is publis by the Journalism class of Cactus Shadows H School. The newspaper serves the students staff of Cactus Shadows High School and a connection to the surrounding community.

The objective of the CSPress is to publis factual, informative and entertaining news per, and to provide a forum for the expression diverse viewpoints.

The opinions and views expressed do not n essarily represent the views of the adminis tion, the adviser, or all CSPress staff member The CSPress is also published online, at c tusshadowscspress.com.

The editors reserve the right to reject material that is libelous, obscene, or poses immediate and material disruption to the edu tional environment.

WE VALUE YOUR OPINION. EMAIL YO LETTER TO CSPRESS.OPINION@gmail.COM The CSPress values opinions from its read If you have something to say about anything had read, please write a letter to the editor send it to cspress.opinion@gmail.com. Let must be typed, less than 100 words in len and signed. The editorial staff reserves the r to edit for length. The CSPress will not print ters that are obscene, libelous or that target individual.

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CSPress reserves the right to reject any adv tisement. To place an ad, contact the advise the Advertising Manager at (480) 575-2493.

The CSPress is a member of the Colum Scholastic Press Association, the Natio Scholastic Press Association, the Journal Education Association, and the Ariz Interscholastic Press Association.