Story and photos by Nandini Warrier ’28
Students in the Mini MarComm course recently got the chance to be real journalists, writing on the different courses offered to middle school students.
Participants went through four orientation groups at four stations to start the course. In one of these stations, they learned the techniques of taking excellent photos and how different angles can make a difference. In the second station, students looked behind the scenes at how articles appear before publication and how MarComm manages the different social media websites. Next, they learned an important lesson about journalism. The students were asked to try and take toothpaste off a piece of cardboard and put it back in the tube. Ultimately, the toothpaste left a stain, and they couldn’t get it back into the container, illustrating that when something is posted online, it can never be removed entirely. Lastly, they discussed content publishing and went through the process of posting the stories.
Once the students finished being trained at all the stations, they were each assigned a story to report on, and they were off to the classrooms to get a closer look at each course. After analyzing the classes, students got to work, and they worked on writing their stories. Students underwent multiple editing rounds with the help of members of the MarComm department, including Paul Colletti, Multimedia Specialist; Allison Light, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications; Crystal D’Angelo, Marketing and Communications Manager; and Amy Zlatic, Director of Marketing and Communications. Students then learned to post their final products on the website and create their own social media posts to promote their stories.
Mini MarComm had something for everyone. Students could explore the art of taking photos, learn how to ask more profound questions, practice their writing skills, and learn to write in different styles. When they were not taking pictures or interviewing students, they were working hard to publish their work. The students learned that the process of writing a story can be surprisingly complicated and long. There is more to the MICDS MarComm Department’s stories than just taking photos and reporting. They visit the classes, interview students, edit the images, and write multiple drafts before they can be published.
Students had the opportunity to work alongside real reporters, and the adults were as excited as the students to start the course. “The reason why our team wanted to do this class was that we spend a lot of time covering all of the interesting and amazing things our students and teachers do,’’ said Mrs. Zlatic,‘’ This was an opportunity to work directly with students because our students are awesome.”
The course was fun and a way to help students learn to communicate in school and the real world. Olivia Brauer ’28 said, “This helps in and outside of school in different ways because, in science class, it can help me ask different, deeper questions and find new ways to get information and observe. It also helps in English class because I can be more analytical.”
Noah Malik ’29 said, “ I think it was really cool that we got to be a part of other classes and act as real reporters. I loved learning how to take better photos.”
Fantastic work, MiniMarComm! Check out more of our student stories in the Weekly Newsletter and other social platforms.
