WINNEMUCCA -Ian Maher began reading the Humboldt Sun newspaper when he was a third-grade student.
The papers got delivered to his classroom each week at Winnemucca Grammar School and he found he really enjoyed being able to converse about the goings on in his hometown.
Today, the freshman at Lowry High School continues to read the Humboldt Sun along with other newspapers, both print and online.
"I think it started a habit for me," said Ian. "I really like to keep up on the news and I still enjoy being able to read the Humboldt Sun, either at school or at home."
Ian is just one of thousands of Humboldt County School District students who have been positively affected by the Newspaper in Education program.
Each week, The Humboldt Sun distributes 1,000 newspapers to Humboldt County schools as part of a partnership that HCSD Superintendent Dave Jensen says is invaluable to both students and their teachers.
"Winnemucca Publishing has been a strong partner with Humboldt County School District," he said. "Their ongoing donation has provided an avenue for students to be actively involved in and aware of the news and events within Humboldt County."
He added, "This relationship is greatly appreciated."
For Julie Elordi and her second-grade students at Sonoma Heights Elementary School, the newspapers are a great way to demonstrate informational writing, and to discuss and celebrate current local events. Even older issues are put to good use: "We use them for specific cut and paste assignments," she said.
Teacher Donald Petersen said he's always excited when he can use current and relevant information from the Humboldt Sun to teach a concept in the classroom.
"The McDermitt Combined School's Web Design Class used a headline article about the Humboldt County web site's security issues and discussed how web site security is an important and sometimes costly matter," said Mr. Petersen. "The article provided great material for a class discussion on our web design security unit. Thank you, Humboldt Sun, for your contributions."
Winnemucca Grammar School Counselor Lisa Evatz said she wished to thank the Sun for donating papers to WGS, especially for children who are experiencing the "world of written news" for the first time.
"The Humboldt Sun does an excellent job including stories about our local students' successes in academics, sports, 4-H, rodeo activities, the arts, etc. All of these activities promote learning," said Mrs. Evatz. "When papers are donated to schools, students are able to stay informed and even, at times, see themselves in the paper. I'm sure the students and their families treasure the articles and pictures."
Audra Young, a fourth-grade teacher at Grass Valley Elementary School, has used the newspapers in her classroom for several years to teach a literacy block. "My students read them to gain experience with text variety and also to practice grammar," she said.
Mrs. Young said the best part, though, is that "my students see a real life example of the grammar rules they are learning. It's a great source since every edition is different. Plus, when they find their name and/or picture, it is pretty exciting."
Kim Acorda said as a teacher in the rurals, "I love having the newspaper as a resource for students to see what is going on in their community. Living on the outskirts of town, sometimes these students aren't aware of community issues. The paper gives them this information. I also use our newspaper as a means to integrate language arts practices, such as summarizing, reviewing and giving opinions on stories. They are also a great resource for beginning a class period to get students working."
Cari Kimberlin said the papers were an integral part of what she did in her classroom in Orovada. "Our class kept a blog, and each week we used the newspaper to blog about current events. The students really seemed to enjoy keeping up with community news and sharing ideas electronically."
Leanne Peters, a teacher at Lowry High School, said her students use the newspapers "as a way to interact with our community and learn of any interests and information to help promote skill building within our Life and Jobs Skills classes."
As an aside, Mrs. Peters said her class also thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Humboldt Sun and having their picture taken for the newspaper.
Jessica Hallberg, a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at McDermitt Elementary School, said every Thursday morning, each student in her class receives a recent copy of the Humboldt Sun in order to complete an informational text reading assignment.
"The students love looking through the newspaper to see if anyone they know is featured in it," she said. "Most students beg me to take their copy home with them so they can share the news with their families. The Humboldt Sun is an invaluable part of our reading curriculum, and it is one that the students greatly enjoy!"
Vicki Meissner, an English teacher at Lowry High School, said the best part about the Newspaper in Education Program for her is that "students look for themselves in the local paper."
"We post pictures and articles about high school students from the Sun on a bulletin board in our English area," she said. "Students, whose parents do not subscribe to the paper, can get clippings for their portfolios and hopefully encourage their parents to subscribe."
Ms. Meissner said she also uses the short articles to teach all kinds of grammar concepts, identification of parts of speech, complete sentences, concise writing, even to find mistakes. I really appreciate the use of the papers," she said.
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