Quick Story Monday

Quick Story Monday
Breast Cancer Awareness Interview With Mrs. Cody
By Rachel Chenard, Damion Taylor, Allyssa MacCabe, and Ian Maksut

Breast cancer can affect men and women, and here at Thornton Academy, it seems most people you talk to has in some way been affected by breast cancer. A beloved Latin teacher, Sally Cody, knows all too well the effects that breast cancer can have on ones life. As a breast cancer survivor, along with Patty Parisien, the two spearheaded Pink Week this past week. The two shared their very hopeful stories at school meeting last Monday, kicking off the week. Their stories raised many questions from both students and teachers alike, causing the week to be both educational and hopeful for many whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Mrs. Cody seems more than open to answering questions, “If it helps somebody out, I’ll share.”

According to Cody, pink week was a huge success, “The pink was amazing...that kind of support means a lot.” Cody mentioned that it was the little things that effected her most, for example, “many kids showed me their pink clothing. In study halls they would ask me to make a pink week sign.” Although the money has yet to be tallied, it seems that it really is not important. The goal of the week was simply to raise awareness of this disease. Whether it be the jar of coins from the middle school, or the 20 dollar bills contributed by staff, all the donations are greatly appreciated. Ultimately, the success of pink week was profound, showing how caring the school community is.

Vocab # 3

2 12 year old girls who had previously lived a fairly pedestrian life just discovered that they had been switched at birth. After the adventitious discovery, the parents were offered the bona fide offer to switch the girls back, but both the children and parents refused. It began when the ex husband of one of the mothers refused to pay child support because of the lack of resemblance to his daughter. His ex wife tried to extenuate the situation by getting multiple DNA tests, revealing that neither parent was biologically related to their daughter. Both parents were completely obfuscated. The event was obviously a cataclysm in both families lives. After importuning their parents, the girls lives are now very much intertwined. Many would think that the experience would have impaled the family bond, but in reality it brought them closer, and in many ways even edified them. They all had to deviate from their normal lives, and expand their once parochial view of life. In the end it turned out to be an optimum situation, and gave them a much more ambiguous view of the world around them. The family brought the hospital to court, and the judge glowered at the culprits, ordering that they pay the family 160,000 dollars for emotional damage.


http://gma.yahoo.com/switched-birth-girls-want-stay-wrong-moms-160048481.html

Photo Captions

Captions: little titles
Cutlines: Words describing the picture
Information you should have:
-Who is that?
-Why is the picture here?
-What's going on?
-When and Where?
-Why do they look that way?
-How did this occur?

-Don't editorialize
-Explain unknown
-Reflect image
-Check spelling
-Shorter is better
-Don't elaborate too much

Great Picture

Prakash Hatvalne (Bhopal, India)
Photographed June 2008, Bhopal, India

Hatvalne, who has worked as a photojournalist for the past two decades, was taken by the dancers’ fastidious preparations before a performance. “I love photographing people,” he says. “I also sometimes photograph landscapes as well, but there is no better landscape than a human face.”

What I really liked about this picture was the perspectives. It almost seems like the photographer was in the camera taking a picture of what was going on. In addition to that, the girl in the background is reflected in the mirror, making it almost seem like there are more people in the room. I also like that the photo is not specifically focused on either of the girls. In relation to my own picture, I could maybe use some of these different perspective elements. 
For my own photos, I will probably have one of Amelia next to a UN flag, and maybe an artsy kind of picture of her desk. 

Profile of Heidi

She stands quietly in front of a small group of teenagers, catching her breath before beginning. She shuts her eyes, takes a moment to herself. As she begins, she transforms, a much different women than the one who stood, breathing deeply, only seconds earlier. Her voice rages across the once silent library, commanding all to listen to her story. She gasps for breath, as one line of poetry feeds into another, and suddenly ends.


-Met Wil at a manchester reading and the "immediately clicked"
-Lives in a poet house in portland
-Started sharing in high school
-In college brought poems to a cement bench and would stand up and read them
-"A women, a red dress, lighting a cigarette on a lonely street corner in the middle of a snowstorm."

Chapter 4 notes

-Inverted pyramid= facts descending from most to least important
-Answer what, who, where, when,  why, and how before lead and body are written
-Writing a focus statement is helpful and keeps writer on track
--"fleshing out" in the body paragraphs
-paragraphs should be brief
-Save an especially interesting quote for near the end to keep the reader hooked
-Use third person pronouns
-USe transitions to tie words together
-Using quotes and citing is vital to establishing credibility
-editorializing: Unattributed and attributed opinion in a news story
-Opinions and facts should be quoted directly
-What would this direct quote contribute to my story?
-Ask questions that will elicit quotes
-Good news writing doesn't lack color and occasional drama
-Begin each paragraph with a significant or interesting fact
-using familiar words is a good thing
-Active-voice verbs are better than passive

Homecoming- Quick Monday

Rachel Chenard

Damion Taylor

Just as the sun is rising on the horizon, a small group of seniors gathers. With buckets of glitter glue, and dozens of posters, they begin putting the final touches on the senior homecoming float. It is a tradition that has been part of the TA community for as long as anyone can remember. A hectic day, starting with the parade, followed by the homecoming football game, and ending with a dance. This years homecoming was particularly special, as it was their 200th.
Homecoming, this year, went beyond the regular crazy day. For the first time ever, the halls of the school were decked out in maroon and gold streamers, and it seemed like every day there was some sort of alumni event. Although it as a shortened week, spirit week still went on. The days this year were tie-dye, western, and maroon and gold. Winner of spirit week for the boys was Goliath VanAlphen, and there was a tie for the girls between Miranda Gionest and Darian Jenkerson. As a whole, the Junior class dominated in both spirit week and the tug of war. However, at the night rally later that evening, the alumni won out over the Juniors.
Senior, Alex Vieira, a member of student council spent the whole week involved with homecoming events. Led by president Amanda Robinson, the senior student council worked non-stop to make a winning float for the parade, decorate their hallway, and decorate for the dance.
The dance this year was a huge success, says Vieira, despite the threats of the “spotlight.” About a thousand tickets were sold, a record for the Homecoming dance. “It being the bicentennial year was really special, and everyone was really involved,” states Vieira, who knows first hand how hard students worked to make this a homecoming to remember.

Christenbury for Mayor

Christenbury for Mayor.

Jeffrey Christenbury has lived in Saco since the age of five and currently works for Thornton Academy as the head of TATV, aired on channel three. Christenbury states that he has always been interested in politics, being a former city council member, has recently had the desire to run for the Mayor of Saco. Christenbury will run against Mark Johnston, a former 6 time mayor in the November 8th election.

If elected mayor, he hopes to bring small business back to Saco and “continue to make it a destination” He stated he would like to “bring life back to the Saco downtown and create business appealing to the students of Thornton.” He hopes that if downtown becomes a hot spot for shopping, it will bring people into the local restaurants and stores and put money back into the community to prepare for the economic rebound.

Christenbury is determined to set a positive tone for the community by continuing with our education, low taxes, and keeping fresh ideas flowing in the community.Throughout the beginning stages of his campaign he has started a website and a Facebook page, which currently has “77 likes”, hoping to continue with the younger generation movement. Within the next week he hopes to put yard signs up in the local area. He also stated he will go “door to door” to meet members of the town, instead of doing more of the talking he will do more of the listening, to understand the citizens concerns.

Ways to begin a feature story- notes

-Delayed lead (anecdote or description)
-After the lead comes the "nut graf." This tells the reader what the story is actually about
-The opener has to make sense with the article, and not just be colorful for the sake of being colorful
-If the writer can startle you at first, they will likely have you hooked the whole time
-Resist the urge to start with a quote

I'll probably start my article (at least the rough draft) with a description of the setting I am interviewing Amelia in. Where we are, how she got there, etc... try to paint a picture of the type of person she is without actually saying it. This might change in the final draft, as I may use an interview with Mr. Grasso, or of when I sit in on a meeting.
Another idea is that I could start off by describing a super intense news story that Amelia, or one of the other club members, is learning about so that they can discuss during one of the meetings. I think I will wait to make that final decision on the first few paragraphs until I see what my realistic possibities are, though.

Still life photo

My Feature plan

I've decided that for the first feature I write I am going to write about the Model UN club that is starting for the first time this year at TA. I will sit in on one of their meetings to observe, and hopefully get an interview with Mr. Grasso, who is the advisor for the group. I will also be interviewing Amelia Courtney, who originally started the group and who I believe is president of the club. If I can, and if it works in my feature, I may interview another person in the club to get their perspective.
As far as the rough draft goes, it may not be as complete as I would hope, depending on when the next meeting is, and when I can talk to Mr. Grasso. I plan to get in touch with him on Monday. For the rough draft though I will have at least an introduction, the nut graf, and 1 interview, and then I can add to it later for the final.