‘Wolverine Paw Prints’ newspaper resurrected

After a two-year hiatus, Weiser Middle School has resurrected its newspaper “Wolverine Paw Prints.”
 The student publication comes out twice per month and is now part of an official class, with advisor (and editor) Courtney Thompson leading a team of six roving reporters.
 “The previous teacher was Deana Hall, but she could only do it in her extra time,” said Thompson who also teaches computer classes at the school. “It wasn’t an actual class, and they would publish about every other month. It was a voluntary, come if you can, end of the day type of situation.”
 The newspaper’s history is a little cloudy, according to Thompson who said she found issues dating back to 2010, with the latest issues apparently coming out in 2019.
 “When Deana left our school to work in another district, it kind of lost momentum, I guess you could say, and then there was COVID,” she told the Weiser Signal American last week. “So, it’s been a couple of years since we last had a newspaper at the school.”
 Thompson said Weiser Middle School offered a newspaper/journalism class years ago when she attended, a fact that inspired her to propose once again offering it as a credited class.
 “We had one at that point and I took that class,” she said. “This year we decided to make it a full-time class versus just coming on your free time, when you had your school assignments finished.”
 Newspaper staffers include Alexis Riley, Hadon Prioreschi Selders, Sophie Funkhouser, Adrian Dodson, Kayedence Loos, and Dolores Olivos. Students must be in the eighth grade to participate.
 In case you are wondering just how much news there is to report at a typical middle school, the answer is “plenty.”
 The Nov. 15 issue included a balanced mix of news, editorial, features, events, sports, and much more. A standing favorite so far is the “Teacher Spotlight,” which gives readers the opportunity to learn more about WMS teachers, including where they attended school, what brought them to Weiser, their teaching experience, what kinds of projects they may be working on with students, and even their approach to education. 
 Thompson has her own column called “Talking with Mrs. Thompson.” In the latest Wolverine Paw Prints issue, she provides direction on how to be a good friend, which includes honesty, trust, and listening.
 There was also a notification about the WMS Winter Dance, which is set for Tuesday, Dec. 20. As Kayedance Loos described in a recent front page story, the dance will be a Christmas-themed “sock hop.”
 Thompson said she takes care of layout and printing, but that the students provide the stories.
 “I put it all together, but I make the kids write every word,” she said. “I also make them edit. I don’t do any of that.”
 They also brainstorm on story ideas and are conscientious about what they write.
 “They will come up with an idea and we will talk about it, but they do their own policing,” Thompson explained. “Sometimes they will say, ‘Yeah, I don’t think that is appropriate for middle school.’ We do have a list of topics we can talk about and usually that is my list, but they have their own list of things they want to write about, and they are coming up with some great things.”
 Weiser Middle School principal Kenneth Dewlen said the class and the newspaper has been a positive addition to the school and credits Thompson for her leadership.
 “She just brings an excitement to the class; the kids want to do their best,” he said. “It really is something when you see them walking around, interviewing. Courtney is doing great. Everything she touches seems to do well.”

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