Eagle Eye newspaper enjoys year of writing, listening and visiting

By Eagle Eye news staff


The TAHS Eagle Eye student newspaper’s 15 full-time and five part-time staff members wrote approximately five hundred stories during the 2011-2012 school year.

“We launched the Eagle Eye blog in October,” Jennie Kobuck and Devon Wiser, student editors, said. “Since then we’ve had about 3000 page views.”

In addition to posting articles on the blog, the Eagle Eye news staff enjoyed seeing their stories published in The Daily Herald, TyNotes and The Outdoor News.

“I was offered a columnist spot for the Herald,” Corey Snyder, junior, said. “If I wasn’t so busy, I would have taken them up on the offer.”

Mark and Gail Nale, outdoor writers/freelance photographers, Cory Dobrowolsky, Altoona Mirror Special Sections Coordinator and Ron Bracken, former sports editor of the Centre Daily Times, visited the Eagle Eye newsroom to share their journalistic experiences with the class.

“It was cool to have my grandfather as a guest speaker,” Kylie Barony, granddaughter of Bracken, said. “He’s such a great writer. I hope someday I can write as well as him.”

On Thursday, May 17, 2012 ten members of the Eagle Eye staff took their third annual field trip to the Newseum in Washington D.C., where they walked beside the Berlin Wall, peered into the Unabomber’s cabin, discussed the sports photography of Neil Leifer, read Today’s Front Pages, perused historic newspapers and magazines, took a class on censorship and viewed Pulitzer Prize-winning pictures. Afterwards the group visited the National Gallery of Art’s East Building and Sculpture Garden, followed by the Thomas Jefferson and the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorials.

“I especially enjoyed the Newseum’s HP New Media Gallery,” Sadie Jackson stated. “Seeing my face on the big screen was pretty neat.”

Other Eagle Eye highlights of the year included: circle time, Renaissance Sundae Bars, ballot counting, brunch at the Eagle Inn, and purple tie-dye t-shirts.

“We had a great year together,” Ms. Dobrowolsky, newspaper advisor, stated. “I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to teach and to learn from this group of kids.”