Semester Exam 25-26. Posted 12/11 - Final Exam

1. Final exam with reflection

If you were in Newspaper last year, please skip to #13. If you were not in newspaper last year, please start at the top!!

Make a GOOGLE DOC and email me the link (MAKE SURE IT IS SHARED) to bowie.journalism@gmail.com

DON'T USE YOUR SCHOOL GMAIL, YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT!!!

You may have to watch the videos on your phone!!

Please watch the video until 1:22 and then stop the video and answer question 1:

Please watch the video until 1:22 and then stop the video, on your google doc please answer the following questions:

1. What did she write?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU


Now continue watching the video.

2. How did this video make you feel inside?

3. Why would I show this video to you?

4. How can you "Change your words" to impact the readers of your school newspaper?

Now watch this video:




https://www.theguardian.com/media/video/2012/feb/29/open-journalism-three-little-pigs-advert

Answer the following questions about the video on your google doc, go back and watch if you need to:

5. How many different ways did the Guardian cover the story of the three little pigs?

6. Is the story the same as you remember it as a child?

7. Who did they interview?

8. What aspects of the story did they cover?

9. Were there any aspects of the three little pigs story that were not covered?

10. Did the Guardian ever offer their opinion of what happened, who was guilty, who was not guilty?

11. Can we do this for events on our campus on a daily basis?

12. How can you help make this a reality?

Finally,

It's reflection time. Please write at least two paragraphs on the following prompts on your blog:

13. What is the most important thing you have learned this semester being on newspaper staff?

14. What can you do next semester to continue your scholastic journalism career in a fulfilling and positive way?

15. What suggestions do you have to improve any part of this class? For example, you could address editor/staff relations, editor/editor relations, staff relations with the advisor, how we can better serve our community, direct suggestions on the newspaper itself, equipment or supplies we might need, computer program instructions you need, or even stories we should cover. I am open to anything. Part of my job is to make this a positive experience, yet it is also an educational opportunity for all of you and the other part of my job is to teach you new skills.

If you do not write enough, I refuse to give you a 100. PERIOD. Please make sure you write enough. A sentence or two is NOT ENOUGH!! I will not reward you with a 100 for garbage. No matter how much I want to be Santa Clause and give everyone a 100, I can turn into a Scrooge really fast when I see half-ass effort on this reflection.

Contest Opportunity - posted 11/14

 President Dwight D. Eisenhower established Law Day in 1958 as a way to challenge Americans to understand how the rule of law impacts their lives and to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in a democracy. 

The State Bar of Texas and the Texas Young Lawyers Association celebrate the importance of the rule of law and its impact on our nation and local communities by hosting statewide editorial, photo, and poster contests based on the American Bar Association Law Day yearly theme.

The 2026 theme is The Texas Constitution and the Rule of Law. Contest entries are due March 25, 2026.

Contest categories and grade levels are in the table below:

Grade Level	Contest Category	Prompt
9-12	Editorial	Explain how the Texas Constitution upholds the rule of law through its structure, key provisions, and amendments, balancing governmental power with individual rights, and promoting the principle of self-government. Assess its effectiveness in ensuring a just legal framework that both limits authority and empowers citizens to govern themselves.
6-12	Photography
K-2	Poster
3-5	Poster
6-8	Poster
9-12	Poster

More information about the contest, including entry forms, prizes, and details about each category can be found here.

All first and second year staff members MUST COMPLETE TODAY!!

This class articulates through ACC. That means if you enroll at ACC at any point, you can tell them you took this course, and they will give you college credit for this course.

1. Go here: https://austincc.tfaforms.net/f/HSStarsStudentLinks to an external site.

2. Complete the form - note you only have to fill out everything with a red asterisk * MAKE SURE YOU USE YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL since you will not have access to AISD email when you graduate

3. If you are a freshman, your anticipated graduation is 2029. Sophomore: 2028. Junior: 2027. Seniors 2026.

4. At the bottom, Sophomores match yours to this FOR YOUR PERIOD NUMBER (either 2 or 6):

5. At the bottom, Juniors match yours to this FOR YOUR PERIOD NUMBER (either 2 or 6):

 

Things to complete - a checklist - posted 9/3

1. BIOS

All staffers must complete a BIO by Monday, Sept. 8. 

Please go to the following folder: Online Bios

Make a new doc in there with your name on it. Write your bio.

Write about your experiences so far in newspaper, things you want to work on, things your are involved in here at Bowie, etc.

Examples can be found here, click anyone's name and you can see what they wrote: 24-25 Bios

2. STAFF PHOTOS

Each of you should have your photo taken sometime this week. We need to make press passes. These photos will also go online with your bio. We will also use these photos in the paper if you write an opinion story.

We need those ASAP so please make sure you get one taken today or tomorrow. Anyone who was absent on Wednesday will have to take this photo on Monday.

3. CAMERA CHECK-OUT

I will be bringing small groups back to the locker room today to learn how to check out camera equipment. It is important that you learn to do this correctly and that you use our systems properly. I also need you to return equipment immediately after you complete your assignment even if you don't have me that day. You can bring it in the morning, FIT or even lunch. That would help us a lot.

4. SYSTEMS

We have a number of systems that I will be going through with you in the coming classes. This includes organization in the Drive, how to upload images, create folders for social media, where to put your story docs, as well as art and podcast audio files. We will also be talking about recording interviews and how to get those audio files in the right place. I am trying to get Otter working and I plan to purchase a yearlong professional account that you can all use. This is new, so please give me time to make that happen. Remember you cannot use your devices to record interviews during school, but you can use them away from school. I would like you to put those audio files on the drive.

5. STAFF MANUAL

We will be going over the staff manual in the coming days. That is your go-to for information about how to do things in this class. Always start there and then move to your team to get support. You can always bring your needs/concerns to leadership people as well. Anyone who has been here before should be able to get you to someone who can answer your questions.

You can find the latest staff manual here - it has not been updated since last school year and I will need to take a look to see if there is anything that needs to be changed or updated.

Dispatch Staff Manual

6. FIRST ASSIGNMENTS

You should be getting your first set of assignments this week. We are on a short deadline, and will be for the first 4 issues. You will have to get used to the cycles. You might only have 6-7-8 classes to get your assignments done. In some cases you might be on a team that is doing work daily, but your work will be done on that day, example social media. Page editors should be able to see pages by the end of the week. We will go over the cycle soon, but if you have a story assignment, you need to get started ASAP.

7. DRIVE ACCESS

I am working diligently to get you all access to the common Dispatch Drive. You should have access to Adobe programs at this point. Once you get access, you will be linked to the drive and should use it regularly. Some of you will run into problems with syncing and making sure you are on the correct email to access the Drive. Make sure you get help as needed.

8. 3x5 CARDS

Each of you will need to fill out a 3x5 card with some information for leadership on the card. These are things that are only accessible by myself and leadership and will be used to contact you as needed for information, etc. What you need to put on those 3x5 cards is written on the board today. When you have filled those out, please come and put them in the blue box on my desk in the correct tab. Let's put them behind the tab with the correct letter - make sure you use your LAST NAME for organization.

9. DISPATCH CONTACT SHEET

We also have an electronic version of the 3x5 cards, but with some different data that I sometimes need to access. Please link to the following file and fill it out appropriately sometime during this class period.

Dispatch Staff Contact Sheet 25-26

All 1st year staff members must complete ASAP. Posted 5/19

This class articulates through ACC. That means if you enroll at ACC at any point, you can tell them you took this course, and they will give you college credit for this course.

1. Go here: https://austincc.tfaforms.net/f/HSStarsStudentLinks to an external site.

2. Complete the form - note you only have to fill out everything with a red asterisk *

3. If you are a freshman, your anticipated graduation is 2028. Sophomore: 2027. Junior: 2026

4. At the bottom, match yours to this:

 

New Voices - posted 5/16

As the 2024-2025 school year is wrapping up, New Voices Texas needs your help.

We will host a Zoom meeting on Sunday, May 18 at 8 p.m. for any student who wants to learn more about what it means to serve as an officer and how you can become a leader in the New Voices movement in Texas.

Please use the Zoom info below to join the meeting:

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89608953380?pwd=MGRFWnc2elJPYk5ESEh1RlYxVGNtdz09

Meeting ID: 896 0895 3380

Passcode: x3bVab

Outgoing student NVT officers and David Doerr, NVT's faculty adviser, will be on the Zoom call to answer questions.

Non-Senior NOT RETURNING to newspaper Final. Posted 5/15/25 - Due by the end of your classes final exam period

 This is the non-senior NOT RETURNING to newspaper final exam for 2024-25

You will write 3 letters today for your final exam. 

Your grade will be based on the amount of care you take writing these reflections. If you give half effort, do not expect a 100. Length and thoughtful writing are two of the criteria. If you give me 1/4 of a page on each letter, do not expect a 100. I am asking you to reflect on your year here in my program. Even if you are not returning, you should have learned something this year that you can take away for future use.

AIt the beginning of next year, I will email your letter 1 to you, or if you are in my class, I will print it out for you. At the end of next year, I will email mail you your Letter 2. Hopefully your email still works.

Please make ONE Google Doc and write the first TWO Letters. When you finish these letters, please share the link with me at the following email address: bowie.journalism@gmail.com. 

DO NOT SEND ME MULTIPLE EMAILS. 

Letter 1 – write a letter to yourself that you will read the first week of school next year. I expect this one to be at least 300-350 words. Don't short change this one. Here are your prompts to reflect/write:

I did a lot of great things last year that should be repeated: (think of at least 4)

Here are some things to remember: (think of at least 4)

What are some of the problems you had in newspaper this year in terms of meeting the expectations of the class?

Are there things that you think would have helped you be more successful in newspaper?

In a simple statement, give me the biggest reason you are not returning and what you could have done to keep that from happening.

Letter 2 – write a letter to yourself that you will read in 10 years. Write at least 350 words here. Here are the prompts for that letter and you can start with this:

This is me 10 years ago. I’m sure I’ve forgotten all about this email by now, and I’ve probably forgotten a lot about who I was in 2025. I’m sitting in my newspaper class final right now and Mr. Reeves is making me write to myself in the future, so hello future me, I hope everything is great in your life right now.

1. Here’s some fun stuff to remember about me in 2024-25:

In 2024-25, I have the following goals for my:

2. Education

3. Family

4. Career

5. Other

6. In case I need some words of encouragement, here’s some things about me now that I like a lot, that I hope you still have:

7. There are also some things about me now that I know I’m still working on that I hope you have figure out by now.

8. At (age) when I write this letter I’ve…..

Love, me on May ??, 2025 (name)

NOW FOR LETTER 3 - PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING ON PAPER NOT ON THE COMPUTER. I have lots of materials for you on the table up front like paper, markers, etc.

Letter 3 – write a letter to an important teacher you had this year. You can choose anyone you want that is a member of the Bowie faculty and staff.

Write a greeting, paragraphs, a closing (Sincerely, or Yours, or Thank you) and your signature.  Tell them what they meant to you. Give specific examples and details! One page will suffice. This is not a specific request for you to write me a letter, please pick who you want.

If you need some help, here are some prompts:

“You might not know it, but…”

 “Even though you ________, I want you to know that _________ “

 “I think the most important lesson I learned from you was…”

“The thing I respect most about you is….”

 “One time, when I was _________, you _______ and I……”  

“I have a hard time with _______, and you helped me _______”

“I know you ______, but for my classmates and me, it ________”

 “I appreciate it when you ____________”

“It means a lot to me that you take the time to ____________”

“When I look back on __________,  I realize that you ___________”

When you are done - you can put it into one of the envelopes I have provided and I will make sure they get these in their boxes before school is out. Teachers need this kind of letter. Make it real. Make it mean something.