Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Sierra Vista Journalism Staff - End of Summer Message 2015

Dear "Sierra Vista Life" journalism staff,

I have recently been informed that because our yearbook team is not able to attend, we will NOT have our joint leadership training day this Friday, July 31, with the students of ASB, journalism, and staff. Mrs. Flaherty is hoping to reschedule for a date after the school year has begun.

In its place, I would like to invite you to come to my classroom (Room 301) for an informal work day this FRIDAY, JULY 31, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. It is totally optional, but if you are interested I would greatly appreciate the help to get my classroom ready for the upcoming school year. It will also be an opportunity to hang out with other journalism students as well.

We also have 8th grade and 7th grade Registration next Thursday and Friday, August 6 and 7. Besides being able to participate yourself, these days will be an outstanding opportunity to practice your photography and storytelling skills.

I will be at Sierra Vista both days for the entire time. I am asking that we all have a meeting together on THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. If you have another family obligation and will be out of town, then of course family comes first. However, if you're in town, I look forward to seeing you then. Important decisions will be made about the direction of this year's program, and we will be trying out our new streaming video announcement system!

What am I missing? What questions have gone unanswered? I'm now back in town and eager to answer whatever questions you may have.

All the best,
Mr. Ippolito

Ron Ippolito
Social Studies Teacher and Digital Communications Adviser
Sierra Vista Junior High School
Google for Education Qualified Teacher
twitter: @rippolito   voice/text: (661) 347-4990
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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Great Meeting Today! - 6/13/2015

Hey, Sierra Vista Journalism students! Or should I say "Sierra Vista Life" team members? We had a great meeting today! If you couldn't make it, here was our agenda.

One of the things we spent a lot of time on was our new leadership positions. Here is the handout I gave everyone HERE. Check it out, especially if you are interested in a leadership position for next year. Have a great summer, and I will look forward to seeing you all at our combined ASB-Journalism Leadership Training Day on July 31.

Cheers,
Mr. Ippolito
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Friday, June 12, 2015

Sierra Vista Journalism Team - meeting tomorrow

Dear Journalism students and families,

This is just a reminder that our first summer meeting is tomorrow, Saturday, June 13, in my classroom, Room 301. Our meeting will go from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon.

We also have a pre-meeting scheduled for all editors from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. I would like to open an invitation to ANY eighth grader who is interested in a leadership position to attend. There will be plenty of leadership opportunities available in the coming year.

Our program is undergoing some exciting changes. Junior high and high school journalism programs have gone largely unchanged for the past seventy years. While typewriters have given way to computers, and film cameras have been replaced by digital cameras, the concept of the "school newspaper" has remained basically the same since the mid-20th century. Stories would be assigned, copy written, photos taken, and then the story would be printed and shared whenever the next edition of the school newspaper might be printed, which could be next week or next month. That will soon be changing at Sierra Vista.

In today's world of journalism, reporters capture stories, photos, and video and share them through digital media the same day. That's what I would like to start doing at Sierra Vista. I am applying for funding that will give us the technology to do the same thing they're doing at the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. More than just a "Journalism" class, our program is poised to transform into a Digital Communications program that reflects what colleges and universities have recently started offering, and that could serve as a model for other schools in our district.

Our principal, Mrs. Hoffman, has also asked our class to start delivering the morning announcements. If we get the technology I am requesting, our own Journalism students will be in front of a camera reporting the morning news live each day to every student and staff member in the school. Like I said, we have some pretty exciting days and months ahead of us. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Cheers,
Mr. Ippolito

Upcoming events:
Saturday, June 13, 10am-12pm, Journalism Staff Meeting, SV Room 301
Friday, July 31, 8am-3pm, SV Student Leaders Meeting, SV Room TBA
Thu-Fri, August 6-7, 7am-3pm, SV Registration Days, SV Room 301

Ron Ippolito
Teacher, Sierra Vista Junior High School
Google for Education Qualified Teacher
twitter: @rippolito   voice/text: (661) 347-4990
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Monday, June 1, 2015

SV Journalism Meeting Summary - 5/29/2015

If you are in Journalism and you missed our meeting on Friday, May 29, we had a Human Scavenger Hunt to get to know each other better!

We have an IMPORTANT DATE coming up in June. June 13 we will be having a Journalism meeting in Mr. Ippolito's classroom on Saturday morning. This event will be the first time that both seventh and eighth graders can come together! The dates and times are:

Saturday, 6/13, 9am-10am Editorial Staff Meeting SV Room 301
Saturday, 6/13, 10am-12pm Meeting with all 7th/8th graders SV Room 301

 -Lorissa

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Spring Meeting Agenda - 5/20/2015


Spring Meeting Agenda - 5/20/2015
  1. Vision for next year
    1. Traditional print newspaper
    2. Digital publishing
    3. Social media
    4. Daily Plainsman
  2. Communication during Summer Break
    1. Sign up for Remind
    2. If you or your parent/guardian has a question over the summer, please email me at rippolito@hartdistrict.org or message my Google Voice #: (661) 347-4990
    3. I will also post all communication on svjournalism.blogspot.com
  3. Leadership positions for next year
    1. “Leadership is action, not position.”
    2. Previously existing journalism roles
      1. Editor-in-Chief
      2. Layout Editor
      3. Art Director
      4. Business Manager
      5. Publicity
      6. Sports
      7. Reporter
      8. Photographer
      9. Artist
    3. Have a leadership position you’re interested in? Let me know on our blog
  4. Ideas for branding the products we will offer next year
    1. Sierra Vista Life - our overarching brand and our digital publication
    2. The Daily Plainsman - our daily broadcast we push out to students, parents, and staff
    3. Plainsman Press - our periodical paper publication
    4. SierraVistaLife - our social media brand on Instagram and Twitter
  5. Get your Student-Parent Agreement to me by this Friday
  6. Questions?

Next meeting: Friday, May 29 at lunch in Room 301
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Journalism Editorial Staff Survey - 5/20/2015

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Spring Letter - 5/19/2015


May 19, 2015
Dear 2015-16 Journalism Student,
Tomorrow, Wednesday May 20, we have a very important lunch meeting, and I need for you to be there. We are assembling our Journalism team for next year, and we have a great deal of work ahead of us in the last couple weeks of school, and then into the summer. I would like to start laying out a vision for what next year’s Journalism program will look like. I want to honor our award-winning program’s history with some ideas that will help bring us into the future.
Journalism means finding stories that matter, and sharing those stories with our audience. The students of Sierra Vista Junior High School are our primary audience, and it is our responsibility to give them the information they need, as well as the stories about the lives of their friends, their classmates, and their teachers that they want to hear.


I want Sierra Vista Journalism to use all the resources we have to empower and inform the Sierra Vista community. Our school deserves the best we have to offer. I pledge to give my very best to Sierra Vista Journalism, and I am asking you to do the same. Please take a moment to read, initial, and then sign (along with a parent/guardian) the Student-Parent Agreement for 2014-15. I handed this agreement to you personally, or you received it via email (or both). Please give this agreement to Mr. Ippolito in Room 301 no later than this Friday, May 22.
All the best,
Mr. Ippolito

Please mark your calendar now for these important upcoming dates. Also share these dates with your parents to add to your family calendar:
Wednesday, 5/20, Lunch 2015-2016 Planning Meeting SV Room 301
Friday, 5/29, Lunch 2015-2016 Planning Meeting SV Room 301
Saturday, 6/13, 9am-10am Editorial Staff Meeting SV Room 301
Saturday, 6/13, 10am-12pm Meeting with all 7th/8th graders SV Room 301
Friday, 7/31, 8am-3pm SV Student Leaders Meeting SV Room TBA

Thu-Fri, 8/6-7, 7am-3pm SV Registration Days SV Room 301

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