Zachary Parlee: “Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Sarah Simmons” (November 11, 2020)

Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Sarah Simmons, grade 11 ELA

I took a look back at all the stories I’ve published over the year so far and there are a lot of really good ones. Some are my own stories that I wrote and others are stories where my writing was used to make one big story but if I was to pick my favorite I would have to go all the way back to November. And that would be Spotlight on our favorite remote teachers where I wrote about my favorite teacher. And I think it was my favorite because it was my first story I got complete credit for and it was just really cool to see all the work I did on the story get published. It was also the most read story for at least a couple months I think and also because it was just super fun to write about a teacher I really enjoyed and liked going to her class so that’s why this story would probably be my favorite story I wrote at the moment.

Kemilly Pinto: “Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Amy Brogna, math” (November 19, 2020)

Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Amy Brogna, math

Journalism has been an adventure. For the past 3 years, I wrote so many stories that I will cherish forever, which means the world to me. My favorite story of all time was the one I wrote about a teacher I appreciated. Mrs. Brogna emailed me about how much that made her day and expressed her feelings about it. When someone personally feels a type of way about your story, it means a lot to the writer. I’m going to miss high school journalism. We all had a great teacher who turned us into real-life journalists.

Jakob Teixeira: “Ten video games that have been getting us through quarantine” (November 15, 2020)

Ten video games that have been getting us through quarantine

My top favorite of all time would be the video game review story. I wrote about my favorite 2020 games that were out at that time. I also wrote about why I liked those games, but I also wrote about some of their downsides as well. More specifically, the games I wrote about are “Final Fantasy 7 Remake,” “Ghost of Tsushima,” and “Last of Us 2.” The things I liked about the “Final Fantasy 7” remake is the story is absolutely amazing, and could easily make for a great game if everything else was bad. The combat and gameplay was also really great. The things I liked about “Ghost of Tsushima” is the fact that the story was an amazing adventure about a samurai thought to be dead, and the combat was really fun and engaging. However, for some players, the open world aspect and the amount of content is overwhelming. And finally, the thing I liked about “The Last of Us 2” is that the combat was super fun. However there were a ton of things that were wrong with it, such as the story was way too complicated, there were way too many cut scenes, some gameplay sections could have been skipped entirely, and it felt like there was way too much padding. 

Aaliyah Fountain-Siriani: “Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Haley Cunningham, advisory ‘pod’” (December 5, 2020)

Spotlight on our favorite (remote) teachers: Haley Cunningham, advisory “pod”

I picked this story because it was really special and I kinda took what I was feeling inside about our relationship and put it on paper. I’ve known her since freshman year and that gave us time to grow and better understand each other. I feel like kids need that one nice and close teacher to be there for them. Throughout high school I’ve been through so many things and experienced so many things that I honestly couldn’t do alone or couldn’t even talk to my family about and having her by my side all the time was amazing. She, our relationship, and bond is one thing I’m going to miss. 

Anthony Guzman: “Chat with the Principals” (December 24, 2020, February 25, 2020, March 26, 2020)

Outdoor prom? Pool testing? Stolen cars? Highlights from our March Chat with the Principals

My favorite story by far of the year were the chats with the principals. The reason why I like to chat with the principal is that I didn’t know the principal or vice principal like that and didn’t know a lot of information about them or details such as their type of music or genres they like. Also their favorite types of coffee and refreshers and whether they like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. They even told the class their background and what they did before if they didn’t work at Everett High School.

Ansley Jean: “My mom, the citizen” (February 03, 2021) 

My mom, the citizen

My favorite story would be “My mom, the citizen”. In this story, I wrote about my mom, who had recently become a citizen of the United States in January. This is my favorite because it was an exciting moment for my mom and my family. I feel like this was my best story in general. Other stories I liked were the ones when we talked to the principal and vice principal of the school. I liked those stories because every time we had a talk with them, they always talked about going back to school and how it would be, which many students anticipated. And also because they always have good things to say. When we get to know them more, we find out they have or have had similar interests and hobbies as we do. And they always have words of encouragement. Which helps us regain our confidence through the tough times.

Zakiah Mitchell: “I’m sick and tired of Black History Month” (February 18, 2021)

I’m sick and tired of Black History Month

During this long and tiring school year I have written a variety of different stories, good and bad, long and short but in these 10 months my favorite story that I have written was my “I am Sick and Tired of Black History Month” story. This story is my favorite because it amplified my voice that I didn’t know that I had. It helped me educate myself and others on the history of my people. It helped me feel powerful during a time where power and life was being striped from my people in the streets. 

Not only did my story help me, but it also touched many other people who read it. I received emails of support and admiration from readers that were teachers and students and some people I didn’t even know, for a few weeks after the story was published.People loved my message and the way that I presented myself. 

I also really like the cover art for the story because I painted it myself so I was able to not only express my emotions in words but I also was able to show my emotions through visual art.

This story allowed me to be vulnerable while still being able to feel powerful and It helped me realize how much my voice means to the world no matter how many people hear it.

 My story helped me speak my truth and for that I will be forever grateful for having the opportunity to write and share my truest thoughts.

Caitlin Welsh: “With parent permission students express themselves and show dedication to loved ones through body art” (March 17, 2021)

With parent permission, students express themselves and show dedication to loved ones through body art

I think my favorite story that I wrote this year was the one about student body art and piercings. The reason that I liked that one so much is because any form of body modifications are very interesting to me. I know that I want to get more piercings than I already have and get tattoos when I turn 18. To me, they are something I am very passionate about so I really enjoyed writing that story and getting to hear about how other people feel about the piercings and tattoos that they have.

Abel Salazar:  “Sophomore Sophia Souze and family make 1500 masks and more to help the community during a pandemic” (March 20, 2021)

Sophomore Sophia Souze and family make 1500 masks and more to help community during pandemic

During my time in journalism, I have written a bunch of stories. Ranging from many different topics. Yet my favorite would definitely have to be the “Sophomore Sophia Souze and family make 1500 masks and more to help the community during a pandemic” story. Writing that story was different from all the other stories, if I remember correctly it was the first story I had to interview someone I never met before that wasn’t a teacher. It was fun to talk to someone new since I’m not really able to do that this year because of Covid. It was a fun story to write and Sophia Souze was such a nice person and great to talk to. She always answered my questions in a formal manner and understood when I messed up on some parts. It was the closest I was able to get an in-person interview with Covid going on. The reason why it was my favorite was that I had to try something new to write the story and it was a fun experience.