may 2012 upfront
DESCRIPTION
newsletter of the Texas Association of Journalism EducatorsTRANSCRIPT
UpfrontUpfrontTAJE
P.O. Box 5554Austin, TX
78763-5554taje.org
Texas Association of Journalism Educators May 2012
Susan DuncanPresident
903.295.5031, ext. [email protected]
Cindy BerryPresident-Elect940.393.7231cindy.berry@
decatur.esc11.net
Christine DavisSecretary
Mikyela TedderTreasurer
Pat GathrightConvention Director
Brenda SlattonAssistant
Convention Director210.442.0300, ext. 350
Sue JettAssistant
Convention Director210.363.5156
Sheryl FloydPast President
Dianne Smith-HarperWebmaster
Rhonda MooreExecutive Director
TAJE presented college and workshop schol-arships at the ILPC awards ceremony. The win-ners are listed below.
$1000 Bobby Hawthorne ScholarshipRachel Plumley
Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities
$1000 DeWitt C. Reddick Memorial Scholarship
Tatiana MarcelenoDuncanville High School
$1000 Julia Jeffress Memorial ScholarshipElizabeth Friedman
Westlake High School
$1000 Jim Davidson Memorial ScholarshipHannah Kunz
Westlake High School
Christian Rumscheidt of Cy-press Falls High School in Hous-ton was named the 2012 Texas High School Journalist of the Year during the awards ceremony at the ILPC convention April 29.
He will receive the $1500 Bill Taylor Memorial Scholarship. In addition, Rumscheidt was a final-ist in the National High School Journalist of the Year competition and received a $2000 scholarship from JEA.
Rumscheidt has been involved in journalism all four years of high school and created his position of Executive Director, someone who “makes sure that things run smoothly.”
“I am responsible for all of our publications, do-ing technical housekeeping and making sure that we constantly cover the events at our school,” he
said. “It’s a 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. job but very rewarding to know I am offering a ser-vice to the students at my school.”
According to Rumscheidt, he must keep his team focused on what comes next.
“Our attention is always focused on what comes next,” he said. “That’s part of my job, to keep the team fo-cused on what’s next.”
Rumscheidt will work for a private company as a product designer fol-lowing high school.
“I cannot discuss what the product is,” he said, “but it definitely has a lot to do with digital publications.”
Rumscheidt said journalism is the only class at his school that has given him real-world experi-ence in communications.
“That is very important to me,” he said. “The lifestyle is addictive, too.”
Rumscheidt named Texas High School Journalist of the Year
Christian Rumscheidt
Student Workshop Scholarship WinnersMonica Garcia
Jersey Village High SchoolEvie Marie Sweeten
Jersey Village High SchoolEmma White
Rider High SchoolEmma Pattison
Denton High SchoolKristina Jingling
Rouse High SchoolPhilip Morgan
Alief Hastings High School
Teacher Workshop Scholarship WinnerMegan Ortiz
Summer Creek High School
Scholarship winners announced
2 Texas Association of Journalism Educator May 2012
From the PresidentSusan Duncan
Pine Tree High SchoolTAJE President
As the year draws to a close, I usu-ally take time to reflect a bit in the three to four weeks between the time the yearbook finals, the last paper goes out, and the yearbook comes back to be distributed. You know, journalism is not just about the words and pictures; it is about the people who make stories happen. I am thrilled at the number of quality journalism teachers we have in the state and the influence they have to mold another generation of storytell-ers.
Some advisers I only see once or twice a year at conventions, but I am always amazed when I see the great educators we have as Texas journalism teachers. These are people who love to produce a great publication, but more importantly, they enjoy being around teenagers and helping them grow and mature into young adults who can think critically and write fluently.
The advisers I so respect come from
diverse backgrounds. Some teach in private schools, other in diverse public schools, but all have the same desire to make their students reach for excel-lence in their publications and in life.
After the craziness of this April with yearbook proofs and school trips three weekends in a row, not to mention having to move classrooms from one end of the campus to the other, it was nice to sit with one of my future editors today and just talk about hopes and dreams and life. Those are probably some of my most cherished moments—reconnecting with students after a demanding deadline season.
I am weary, but it is with the knowl-edge that we’ve made it through an-other year, another yearbook, another season of newspapers. It’s the pleasure
in a job well done. Whether our pub-lications wow any judges or win any awards, we’ve given it our all. We’re confident that our student body will love our books (and hopefully buy ev-ery copy). But whatever anyone else
thinks, we are all stronger for having gone through the fire together.
So, as the weath-er warms and the pool beckons, take a moment to re-
flect on the progress your students have made and the lessons you have learned as an adviser. Rejoice in be-ing a teacher who goes the extra mile and cares about the students as much as the publication. Enjoy the summer break and return rejuvenated, ready to train a few more journalists and love a whole bunch of them. It’s what you do best.
End of year offers teachers time to reflect
The Dow Jones News Fund will select one National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year, four Distinguished Advisers and several Special Recognition Advisers based on their work during the 2011-12 school year.
Those wishing to apply must have at least three years experience and been honored as lifetime achieve-ment, state or regional winners by local, state and regional groups. The winning teacher receives a plaque, a pin and addresses journalism edu-cators and professional journalists. The teacher attends a seminar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and receives a subscription to The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edi-tion. In addition, a graduating se-nior will win a $1000 scholarship.
Added benefits include expense-
paid travel, a newsroom laptop com-puter, a column in Adviser Update and a district substitute teacher per diem.
Distinguished Advisers win $500 scholarships for seniors and The Classroom Edition.
Special Recognition Advisers re-ceive plaques and The Classroom Edition.
Winning teachers will be guests of the Fund at the Advisers’ Luncheon during the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in San Antonio on Nov. 17.
Application packages must be postmarked by July 1 to Dow Jones News Fund, Inc., PO Box 300, Princ-eton, NJ 08543.
Nomination forms can be found at Programs at https://www.news-fund.org.
Dow Jones News Fund accepting applications for Teacher of the Year
ATPI to host workshop for advisers June 6-9
The ATPI Summer Workshop for In-structors will be held June 6-9 at Allen High School.
The $250 registration fee covers the workshop, all lunches, one dinner, snacks, gift bag and other fun items.
All workshop participants will re-ceive a certificate for hours earned.
Participants can stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Allen. The hotel has free wireless internet access to all rooms and a complimentary hot breakfast buffet.
The rate at the Holiday Inn is $89/night plus 7 percent city tax. Rooms must be reserved by May 11. Contact the Holiday Inn at 972.727.2000 or use the online form to make reservations. Tell them you are with the ATPI group.
The classes to be offered include “10-Minute Newscast,” “Action Photog-raphy,” Photoshop CS5 Certification,” “WordPress Bootcamp” and “Back to the Basics.” For more information, including full class descriptions, go to atpi.org.
May 2012 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 3
“
“State Director’s Report
Alyssa BoehringerMcKinney High SchoolTAJE State Director
Giant stuffed banana. Mr. Spock bobble-head. Canary whistle. Bop It. Tetris Cube. The Alaska state flag. Trout stapler.
Every year I pack these items in a box and bring them home for the sum-mer. Well, for the next few years I’m going to pack up my entire class-room since they’re gutting McKin-ney High School to make way for new growth – including a new television studio by the fall of 2013 (happiness).
But this year in particular, I’ll have to box up some new items I’ve acquired, some of which I’d like to share.
First, a Canon 5D Mark II – a welcome addition to any photo or video classroom. This camera revolu-tionized the way our video looks, especially while shooting in low light. And yes, this was the first year we’ve produced our broad-cast packages using all DSLR cameras instead of camcorders (Shoot me an email if you’d like more information about this. High-ly recommend.) I love it and I’m going to take it to Alaska with me in July.
Two Pacemakers and one Best of Show trophy – Recognized for the broadcast, MHS1, in Minneapolis and the DVD yearbook in Seattle, I’ll be taking home some hardware. Not a bad year. I’m so proud of my students and all they’ve accomplished, but more than anything, I can’t wait to see what these new kids can do.
Engagement portraits – Oh, that’s
right. I got married this year, as if I could forget. We blew up two four-foot photos of John and me holding hands and playing kissy face to hang up at the wedding, and as neither John nor I were egomaniacal enough to hang
them anywhere in the house. I chose to bring them both to school and make my students sick. My plan worked and I
was able to enjoy my giant photos after all.
An elevated sense of enthusiasm for the coming year and anticipation for the JEA/NSPA convention in San Antonio, which I know will be the
best convention ever at-tended by any student or teacher of journalism that has ever lived – I can’t help it. I’m eager for all those scholastic journalism peo-ple to come to Texas. Why? Texas rules, obviously. We have a network of innova-tive teachers who admire and support each other. There are too many legend-ary teachers here to name. Our students win too many awards to count. We know
how to throw a good party – I mean pro-vide a nurturing learning environment for our students. We have queso. I mean, the list goes on.
We value scholastic journalism like no other state.
And that’s why I’m so lucky to be state director in Texas.
So as you pack up for the school year, think about what you’re bring-ing home with you and what you’ll be bringing back next year. And go ahead make plans to have queso with me in San Antonio this November. It’s gonna be good.
A year to remember TAJE names Herrington Administrator of the Year
Stewart Herrington of McKin-ney High School was named TAJE Administrator of the Year during the awards ceremony at the ILPC convention April 29.
TAJE received letters of nomina-tion from both McKinney advisers, Lori Oglesbee and Alyssa Boehring-er, as well as MH1 producer Matt Farmer.
Oglesbee said Herrington never once in his five years as principal infringed upon the students’ First Amendment rights.
“He knows that information is better than misinformation,” she added.
Broadcast adviser Alyssa Boeh-ringer also praised Herrington, say-ing he supports students academi-cally and in every other aspect of their high school lives.
“He’s answered tough questions when my broadcasting kids asked them,” Boehringer said. “He’s always given honest and forthright answers to their questions and never once dodged an interview with a student covering a contro-versial topic.”
Both Oglesbee and Boehringer said Herrington fully supported the journalism staff when they needed new equipment, as did Farmer.
“Without him, the past four years wouldn’t have been the fan-tastic experience that my class will hold in their hearts for the rest of their lives,” Farmer said. “Without him, my fellow journalist class-mates and me would never have been able to thrive.”
I’m eager for all those scholastic journalism people to come to Texas. Why? Texas rules, obviously.
After finding success this year, adviser looks forward to what San Antonio convention will bring
4 Texas Association of Journalism Educators May 2012
Regional representatives to meet with BoardRegional workshops are
planned for members in Au-gust and September.
Workshops will include lunch, and participants will receive a certificate for in-service credit.
For more information, contact your regional repre-sentative. Each TAJE region represents two regional ser-vice center areas. The repre-sentatives and their e-mail addresses are as follows:
Region ILaura SmithCanyon HS1701 23rd St.Canyon [email protected]
Region IIMary Beth LeeRider HS4611 CypressWichita Falls [email protected]
Region IIICorey HaleLewisville HS
1098 W. Main St.Lewisville [email protected]
Region IVCharla HarrisPleasant Grove HS5406 McKnight Rd.Texarkana [email protected]
Region V Alex Seufert
Coronado HS100 Champions Pl.El Paso [email protected]
Region VINo representative
Region VIIMichael ReevesAkins HS10701 S. 1st St.Austin [email protected]
Region VIII No representative
Region IXEd LarsenCinco Ranch HS23440 Cinco Ranch Blvd.Katy [email protected]
Region XKelsey MartinMemorial HS101 E. HackberryMcAllen [email protected]
Regional representatives will meet with the Executive Board in July. Members with questions or concerns for the Board should contact their regional representative by June 15.
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(ESC 16 & 17)
(ESC 3 & 4)
(ESC 5 & 6)
(ESC 12&13)
(ESC 15 & 20)
(ESC 18 & 19)
(ESC 7 & 8)(ESC 10 & 11)(ESC 9 & 14)
(ESC 1 & 2)
Short items
Time to renew membership
Invoices for TAJE membership for the 2012-13 school year have been mailed.
Members should check the invoice to see when their membership expires. Those who do not need to renew TAJE
Clip contest winners announced
Certificates for clip contest winners were mailed to schools in February.
A complete list of winners can be found on the TAJE website at taje.org.
Short items
After a really Hot Time in San Anto-nio when we host the 2012 JEA/NSPA Convention, the TAJE Fall Fiesta will return to the Crowne Plaza Hotel Oct. 19-21, 2013.
Room rates will remain the same at $150 per night, but we will have more rooms to spread out for sessions, on-
Date set for 2013 TAJE convention
site critiques, Breakfast with a Pro, on-site contests and more.
So mark you calendar now for Oct. 19-21, 2013.
membership this year may use the in-voice to join JEA, ATPI, PIEA or SIPA.
Members who need to join JEA may do so through TAJE. TAJE receives a rebate from JEA for each member who joins JEA through TAJE.
May 2012 Texas Association of Journalism Educators 5
Signature of TAJE member nominating
Purpose: To recognize individuals/staffs whose initial risk-taking efforts and subsequent experiences (whether wholly successful or not) to expand the scope and capability of Texas scholastic journalism benefit others who follow their lead.
Eligibility: Those who endeavor to “push the envelope” of conventional scholastic journalism to new venues or methods.
Entries must be postmarked no later than June 5, 2012.Mail nomination forms to:Rhonda MooreTAJEP.O. Box 5554Austin, TX 78763-5554
Name of Nominee:
School:
Please explain this individual’s contributions to the field of journalism on a separate sheet of paper. Include examples of how he/she has helped to improve scholastic journalism in Texas and how these improvements have benefitted others. Attach this form and send both to the TAJE address.
Trailblazer Award Nomination Form
Signature of TAJE member nominating
Purpose: To note outstanding contributions to scholastic journalism by persons/organizations not directly involved in the daily instructional process (i.e., outside the classroom).
Eligibility: Those whose instruction, service and/or assistance, financial sponsorship or per-sonal dedication and advocacy toward the betterment of scholastic journalism in Texas deserves recognition.
Entries must be postmarked no later than June 5, 2012.Mail nomination forms to:Rhonda MooreTAJEP.O. Box 5554Austin, TX 78763-5554
Name of Nominee:
Business/Organization:
Please explain the contributions of this individual/organization to scholastic journalism on a separate sheet of paper. Attach this form and send both to the TAJE address.
Friend of Journalism Award Nomination Form
6 Texas Association of Journalism Educators May 2012