The Paw Staff Keeps the Presses Running
by Hilary Hersh
A pandemic was not enough to stop The Paw, York Prep’s school newspaper. Last spring when the school closed, The Paw’s intrepid reporters kept on researching and writing. And this fall, with some student reporters in school and some remote and eventually everyone online, the editorial staff continued working hard, week after week, to produce a winter issue coming out in January.
A pandemic was not enough to stop The Paw, York Prep’s school newspaper. Last spring when the school closed, The Paw’s intrepid reporters kept on researching and writing. And this fall, with some student reporters in school and some remote and eventually everyone online, the editorial staff continued working hard, week after week, to produce a winter issue coming out in January.
The recent issue includes a range of articles concerning the pandemic’s impact on the school and learning. The cover story, by 9th grader Emily Singh, weighs the pros and cons of remote learning. Other articles are about York’s bees, possibilities for the new roof, sports in the age of COVID-19, local restaurants, testing for the virus in school, and occasions we’ve missed, like the International Dinner. In addition, Deputy Headmaster Jeremy Clarke tells 10th grader Emily Zaretsky about how the administration devised the school’s Coronavirus learning plan.
This year, the newspaper staff includes both veteran and new student reporters led by editor Rome Kadi, who is in 10th grade. "Since I was the editor-in-chief this year, I got a special backstage pass (if you will) to all of the stories that were written in this issue. Readers will be very informed on certain topics that they usually take for granted. Also, this is probably our best issue yet, so definitely check it out if you can get the chance to."
“Joining The Paw was the right decision,” says 8th grader Katherine Carr, who started with The Paw last year. “I love learning about York Prep.” Skyelar Weiss, a new 9th grader, adds: “The Paw lets you write about what interests you, as you can explore and research topics you want to learn about.”
The stories can be challenging, but our reporters are up to it. "Reporting was hard -- trying to get questions from Nurse Loo," says James Crovitz, author of an article about in-house COVID testing. Other reporters include Alexander (Jabar) Holmberg, 8th grade, and Mark Tillinghast, 11th grade. The Paw also has its own in-house artist: 9th grader Owen Barbagallo.
The Paw is also glad to welcome a new faculty adviser, Ms. Patricia Arnao, who is the 8th grade Reading and Writing teacher and joins Ms. Hilary Hersh and Ms. Emma Giebler. “As a new faculty advisor on The Paw, it’s been a great experience getting some of my students from 8th Grade Reading and Writing Workshop class on staff as reporters,” Ms. Arnao said. “We have two new writers (Crovitz and Holmberg), and their ideas and reporting were amazing.”
The club meets Tuesdays during lunch, in room 217 and on zoom, and we welcome new members.
