Wheaton Warrenville South Newspaper Takes on a New Look

Under the guidance of Mrs. Rebekah Maurin, English teacher and newspaper adviser, Wheaton Warrenville South has made significant changes to the student newspaper, The Pride, and how students learn journalism. Last year, the student staff began producing a news magazine instead of the traditional paper, which allows them to deliver content in an interesting and more modern way.

“The magazine allows for greater visual appeal because we can add a lot of color and interesting infographics,” Editor-in-Chief Natalie Anderson explained. “So far, we’ve had infographics about cancer statistics and Thanksgiving Day food. “The staff has also been able to have beautiful, crisp pictures and elements that add to the writing, like pull quotes, table of contents, and color pages.”

The magazine format lets newspaper members interact with layout and print publishing software also. Staff has been using Adobe InDesign to design their own pages of the newspaper. The editors also encourage writers to take their own photos to creatively capture the essence of their article.

Another major change was the introduction of The Pride Online, where student staff members post articles that may not appear in the newspaper. Articles about events that would be out of date by the time the newspaper is distributed are posted online, along with additional articles. Students can enjoy reading The Pride online to catch up on WWS news in between print issues.

Students who take Journalism also have a chance to see their work in print and online. Brigid McNelis, a journalism student, likes that “...students who are proud of their work but don’t make it into print can still publish what they’ve written.”

Not only have there been changes to format and distribution, but starting this year, The Pride has introduced subscription options for parents and community members who wish to receive the newspaper in their mailboxes. This small fundraising effort provides extra money that allows the newspaper to improve even more with each addition. It is also a great way for the Wheaton and Warrenville communities to stay up-to-date on all the happenings in Tiger Nation.

All of these changes give students hands-on experience with journalism they wouldn’t normally receive in a school setting. The goal of the club and journalism class is to give students the tools needed to write a proper article, whether it be news, sports, features, or on any other topics. “All of the changes that were made to the print publication aim to give students more responsibility in regard to completing articles and designing the publication,” explains staff adviser, Mrs. Rebekah Maurin. “Every year going forward we hope to make more changes that will make The Pride more accessible for our audience.”

The Pride hopes to be a contender for the Pacemaker Award, which is one of the highest awards for student journalism. Also in the future, the club will give writers even more creative control by teaching the basics to Photoshop and InDesign to all of the student journalists.

To see all the changes put into place by Mrs. Maurin and The Pride staff check out Wheaton Warrenville South’s The Pride or wwsthepride.com!

This article was written by Laura Orrico, a student at Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Thank you, Laura and Mrs. Maurin for sharing this exciting news about the WWS Journalism program. The WWEA and our community will be sure to stay up to date on all things Tiger Nation!