The Morgan PawPrint is a news source where the Clinton and Morgan community can get all different types of information and learn more about Morgan. There are articles written about issues going on in town and even outside the country. The PawPrint also provides videos and photojournalism.
Before the Morgan PawPrint, Morgan’s newspaper was The Husky Herald. English teacher Julie Frydenborg was the advisor of this print newspaper before The PawPrint existed. The Husky Herald continued publication for several years after the creation of the Morgan PawPrint.
Morgan offered Journalism as a class for many, many years. When math teacher John Madura was a student at Morgan, he took Journalism with former English and journalism teacher Paul Serenbtz. However, for years during the early 2000s, students did not choose to take the class even though it could count as a senior English credit at the time. Until 2016 there was no English 4, the year-long English class seniors take now. Instead, seniors chose electives, including Journalism, to fulfill their English requirement.
In 2011, when students signed up for the class for the first time in years, English teacher Leslie Chausse volunteered to take on the task of restarting the class. She hoped to help students create an online newspaper, and Principal Keri Hagness and Mr. Serenbetz agreed. Ever since, Mrs. Chausse has been teaching Journalism.
The first class she started teaching was in the spring of 2012, and there were around 15-18 students in the class. Mrs. Chausse and her classes talked about what they wanted this newspaper to look like, and what platform they would use to create it. At the time, there were limited options for creating student news. Former student, Evan Doolittle had experience with graphic design and was able to create a site that worked well for The PawPrint. The students in that class made decisions about formatting, and designing the logo, and decided to call the news source “The Morgan PawPrint.”
Today The Morgan Pawprint uses SNO Sites, a company created for journalism programs at schools. This change in platforms was necessary because WordPress did not adhere to the Connecticut student privacy law.
Students decide what stories they want to cover, edit each other’s stories, interview, and express their opinions. Students also have the liberty of taking cameras, and any other equipment home with them to take photos, or videos outside of school. Mrs. Chausse said, “I think it’s exciting when students publish things that may lead to change for the better. It’s also exciting to see students express their voices.”
The Journalism class operates like a newsroom, where students have to take on additional roles along with providing content for the PawPrint. Senior Julia White takes on the role of Publicity Manager and Email Manager. Her job is to check all the PawPrint social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and X to make sure all recent articles and videos are posted. As Email Manager, Julia responds to emails and sends emails thanking any teacher who has been interviewed. Sophomore Ainsley Lyon is one of many equipment managers. Her role as an equipment manager is to make sure any cameras, iPads, computers, microphones, etc. that are being taken out of the classroom, are checked out and checked back in. Another aspect of her job is to make sure all equipment is charged and returned to the right spot, at the end of the class.
Seniors Sean Davis and Emely Andino take on one of the hardest roles in the class as Chief Editors. This job is the most demanding and important role in the newsroom. They check in daily with students to make sure that they have content to work on, and if a student is struggling to find something to work on, they suggest story ideas. They also make certain all students in the newsroom are on task and productive. The other roles in the newsroom report back to the Chief Editors and ensure that all other jobs are completed correctly and efficiently. Emely Andino stated, “As a new chief editor, I’m still trying to find a balance between managing the newsroom and providing content for the PawPrint.” Sean Davis explained, “Being a Chief Editor is a big responsibility, but is something I thoroughly enjoy taking on. It’s more work than it looks, and honestly, more than I was expecting.” Despite the hard work, Sean takes great pride in the content the newsroom produces every week.
While there are many exciting factors in the Journalism class, students also experience some difficulties. One of those obstacles is Checkology. Checklogy is a news and media literacy learning platform. The purpose of Checkology is for new journalism students to understand the ethics and different responsibilities of being a journalist. Freshman Gavin Clow said it’s long and time-consuming, “There’s been only a few times where I’ve gotten it done on time.” Checkology is only for students who are taking Journalism for the first time. Each year, students can take Journalism for a semester or a full year. Experienced journalists help guide the new students.
