Greenfield School Journalists leave a mark on Downtown Edmonton

Our week at EJ School in late October was fantastic! We really enjoyed learning about the past, present and future. With Sandy VanRiper, we met many magnificent people and saw many landmarks of Edmonton and historical buildings, including CKUA in the Alberta hotel and the Hotel MacDonald. We were all inspired by the interesting people we interviewed! We went all over downtown to learn about history in our marvelous city. Overall, our week at the Edmonton Journal was amazing.   

New Journalists Head Downtown & Do Some Bench Rubbings

Rubbing Holly Newman's Flying Geese bench

 Abby Gottstein

We traveled downtown to some of the poetry benches. We took a pencil crayon and put our paper down on a rubbing of our choice. Lightly, we used the side of our pencil to recreate the artwork. When we were at the benches, we talked about the creator and the creative poetry. Each bench tells a story about a variety of different things that really shared how the artist felt. On some of the benches, it showed Canadian geese and faces that were happy, sad and ones with mixed emotions. Some of the poems made sense while other were confusing in many ways, but they all were very creative. 

Interviewing at EJ School

Tal

Interviewing Jeff Samsonow

In class we learned how to interview like a real reporter. We took notes about everything we saw and the notebook came everywhere we went. The notebook was a vital part of our journey and it held every bit of information we collected over the week. Names, dates, nouns, verbs, and actions all went inside. We learnt that the first question a reporter asks is “What is your name and can you please spell it?” We wrote down every word that came out of our subject’s mouth and we tried to look for quotes that they told us. We had to prepare questions before we came and sometimes to come up with them while we were interviewing. Some of us wrote 5-6 pages just about one topic. The subjects also gave us great advice and information about poverty and homelessness for our United Way project.

CKUA

Livi Palmer

Outside CKUA

During the week at EJ School our class went to CKUA. We learned so much about radio stations and how they work. There we created station IDs and that every few hours they are required to play identity tags so listeners know that the station is CKUA. When we finished listening to our recordings we all realized that our voices sound different than we think we sound. In the library we learned about all the different generations of music. We even heard some of the music and saw music players that were around from the 1880’s. That music was so interesting because they had no words. Next we had a press conference with Tony King. He had such an interesting and inspirational story.

Poverty in Edmonton

Livi Palmer

The Grade 6 students from Greenfield School have been working hard on trying to raise awareness to end poverty. We decided to order shirts with logos on them and go to High Schools and talk about how we can raise awareness. At EJ School we also talked more about it and how to get the audience's attention. We also talked to lots of the people to see what they felt about homelessness and poverty. They also gave us ways to be more confident in our work and presenting to a big group of kids that are older than us. This gave us more things to put into our presentation.

Grade six uses timeline to learn about the history of Edmonton. 

Time connections

During EJ School we met a nice man named Dan Rose who works at Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. He taught us about the downtown Edmonton history. We learned about the Hotel MacDonald, how it has been in terrible condition and about to be taken down. Did you know that McDougall Church was built in 1910 and over 105 years old? Learning with Dan was an amazing experience.  We built a timeline of buildings or moments in Edmonton. We put down facts like the Thistle Rink burning down in 1913 and the Pulitzer Prize awarded in 1938. We are very happy we had this experience to learn about the history of our city.  

George Luck Room 13 Highlights from the Week

Connected, Contributing and Caring Citizens 

from Gr 4 Room 13 George Luck at EJ School

Merissa Feraco-Batiuk and Room 13 students

First Day

Enjoying learning about changes in communication
 and radio broadcasting at CKUA Studio.

One of the highlights of our wonderful Edmonton Journal School week was visiting the CKUA radio studio!  We really enjoyed it! It was neat to meet Tony King and go on air with him. We learned that there have been many changes that have taken place in the radio broadcasting industry and in music radio. It was interesting to see an old record, record player, cassette and CD. Some of our parents heard us live on CKUA! We have learned that the past helps shape our future. CKUA is a fantastic place to learn!

Memorable afternoon of learning at CBC Studios
 in downtown Edmonton

We also enjoyed visiting the CBC Studio downtown! Chris gave our class a tour and we were able to see different types of cameras, televisions, microphones and screens. We learned that programs are also created in French at CBC. Did you know that CBC broadcasts hockey and other sports in French? There have been many changes with technology at CBC.  It would be very interesting to work at CBC and broadcast the news!

Students learned about entrepreneurship and
made many great connections when interviewing
special guests from Capital Ideas

Our Grade 4 class enjoyed the entrepreneurship activity! We enjoyed interviewing the different entrepreneurs. It was neat to learn that an entrepreneur is someone who does what he is passionate about. All of the people we interviewed made a difference in their community! It was memorable interviewing people like Lori because they each had an inspiring story.

Our Grade 4 class thought the Fly On The Wall interview activity was a lot of fun! It was so interesting to interview people at the Edmonton Journal and find out what a photojournalist, editor and journalist does. We learned a lot about different careers at Edmonton Journal School. We enjoyed working in groups and asking really great interview questions! Grade 4, Room 13 thought it was pretty special to meet so many interesting people at the Edmonton Journal!

Our special week of learning was fun, interesting, meaningful and memorable! Room 13 loved EJ School!

Grade 4 students in Mrs. Feraco-Batiuk’s class at George Luck School enjoyed interviewing many different people at the Edmonton Journal and members in our community. The Fly On The Wall activity was a lot of fun.

Coronation Students Become Journalists for a Week

The Grade 5/6 Students Collaborate, Investigate, Communicate!

Amy Peter and the Grade 5/6 Class

Stomp, stomp was the sound of 23 eager student journalists as they climbed the giant 87 step staircase to their destination at Edmonton Journal School. With a pencil in hand and a journal by their side, they prepared for a journey of investigation, inquiry, and collaboration.

Sandy VanRiper, facilitator of EJ School, set up and organized themes, people and places for the Coronation students to connect to. Their week of learning and adventure was ready to go.

Day One involved meeting photojournalist, Ed Kaiser. Students had the opportunity to ask engaging, thoughtful, “FAT”questions.  After interviewing him, they found out he considers photojournalism to be, “one of the best jobs in the world!” They learned about front page articles, also known as A1.

Maxine, Oneia and Malina put on white gloves to handle

 the delicate pages of the 100 year old Edmonton Journal. 

Students also studied how the Edmonton Journal has changed over the years including mastheads, staff changes, the building’s architecture, the printing process, printing location and more.

Day Two, the student journalists put their new skills to the test. They became flies on the wall and took in the lay of the land. Next came the amazing questions. Ms. VanRiper assigned groups to interview Edmonton Journal staff: columnists Tristin Hopper and Paula Simons, capital ideas staff Sam Brooks and Jeff Samsonow, Anna Posteraro from marketing, reporter Matt Dykstra, and crime reporter Otiena Ellwand. The students learned how to be reporters and learned more about the Edmonton Journal company.

At CKUA radio station a group of Grade 5/6 students 

learn how to read scripts on radio and the technology

 behind it from radio host, Marketing Mark. 

Visiting radio station CKUA was a highlight in the week! Students met radio hosts Grant Stovel, Marketing Mark, and Tony King. With an opportunity to conduct a Press Conference, students learned about the life of a morning radio host and encouraged students to “follow your dreams”.  Grade 5 student Ethan Short states, “It was very cool and interesting. I learned that it took half of a second for the broadcast to send to the satellite and have the signal returned live on air. ”Touring the radio station was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” says Grade 6 student Maan Vadgama.  The Press Conference became a pep talk for the students explaining how to encourage your dreams and try hard.

Joel, Salix and Maan use microfilm

 at the Stanley Milner Library to 

read old newspapers from 1965. 

Day Three began with a tour of the Stanley Milner Public Library in downtown Edmonton. The grade 5/6 students explored the library and saw the Makerspace, an area of new technology with robotics, a 3D printer, and more. They also used the microfilm, and learned how past articles are preserved and searchable. The astonishing library had numerous areas of books, artwork, a model ship, and more. During the tour, they met two important people. The Edmonton Public Library Writer-in-residence, Wayne Arthurson, answered their questions about his job, writing novels, publishing books, and how to become better writers. A short interview with librarian Angie Mills taught the students more about features the library has for the public, like internet access and more. It was a great learning experience about literacy.  Wayne said it best, “You don’t have to worry about it being perfect, because you can go back and fix it later.”

Coronation students interview software
developer and entrepreneur Mack Male 

Wednesday afternoon the students met with Edmonton entrepreneurs. They worked in small groups to ask interesting and engaging questions about what it means to be an entrepreneur. Mack, a software developer, gave great advice to any future business owners to “under promise and over deliver.” Students learned that entrepreneurs are someone that helps other people in the business field.

Thursday, Day Four, took them around downtown Edmonton once again. This time, they went to City Hall and had a very informative tour by Linda Hut. The highlight on Ms. Hut’s tour was seeing Council Chambers, where all of the important decisions are made for the city. They loved seeing the hidden room at the back. Ms. Hut told the students, “Three things the city council does for us: listen, learn and decide”, important skills for everyone.

The Grade 5/6 Class learns how the City Council

 makes important decisions in the Council Chambers

 on February 11, 2016. 

On the final day of Edmonton Journal School, the student journalists had one more complete practice at interviewing. Students met the Editor, Columnists, Advertisement Manager and Senior Producer.  The interviews were intriguing, teaching students how the Edmonton Journal is created. They also learned how newspapers are struggling in a world of easy access to technology. Lastly, the Grade 5/6 studied the political cartoonist Malcolm Mayes.

What a journey, what a week! You may have heard the students stomping down the stairs, but it wasn’t in excitement, it was a sad moment to say goodbye. They will forever remember this amazing inquiry opportunity.

“Unbelievable time at EJ School!” says Grade 5C from MWI

5C from Monsignor William Irwin take a group photo with the Pulitzer Prize on their first day of EJ School

“My pictures tell stories” Greg Southam told grade 5 students from Monsignor William Irwin School on their first day of Edmonton Journal (EJ) School. From November 2nd to November 6th we interviewed many people and went to amazing places like the Marian Center, Rogers Place, and CKUA radio station. Our time at EJ School was unique and an exciting opportunity to travel in downtown Edmonton.

Anthony King is a producer and announcer at CKUA radio station. We interviewed him in a press conference on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Before he wanted to be a radio announcer he wanted to be a musician or an animal trainer in Hollywood! CKUA is special because the announcers get to choose their own music. We loved recording our station ids with Marketing Mark! He told us that our voices would not sound the same as they did talking to a friend and “it was pretty amazing how different they actually sounded!” commented Chayce and Noah. It was very interesting to see how radio stations work and see the library with over 65,000 CDs! Another place we visited was the Marian Center.

Janet and David tell stories at the Marian Centre.

When we walked through the Marian Center there was a delicious smell of stew. “Love makes it good” said Janet, one of two volunteers we met. Along with her was David, another generous volunteer who lives at the Marian Center. They work towards the mission of the center to help Christopher’s and follow God. A Christopher is someone who does not have a home and faces problems in their life. They come to the Marian Center for a healthy meal, clean clothes, and a safe place to spend time. Janet taught us that the biggest problem Christopher’s face is loneliness. When they visit the Marian Center they experience love and friendship. David hung up an Oilers’ hockey flag to create discussions because “it`s more fun than talking about the weather.” Janet told us that “Jesus hears you talk to them and will guide them to the right path.”

Interviewing Diego from EPL at the Stanley Milner Library.

Brasil, Robyn, Ethan, Paul, and Annika pose with crime reporter Jana Pruden during an interview.

Interviewing people for Fly on the Wall was really exciting. While being a fly on the wall we collected information about someone’s job and got the lay of the land. One of the most interesting people we interviewed was Margo Goodhand. When she was about ten years old she wanted to write about the war in Vietnam, and now she is the Editor in Chief at the Edmonton Journal! The editor in chief is responsible for the whole newspaper. Another exciting person we met was Tristan Hopper. He is a reporter for the National Post. He is a general researcher who rides his bike to work every day, even in winter! We also interviewed Chris Zdeb who works in the “Day in History” section of the Journal. Once she interviewed RCMP officers who were on a stakeout waiting for an expected robbery. Someone else who has experience with crime reporting is Jana Pruden. She is the Crime Bureau Chief. The most exciting she ever covered was when she went to interview someone involved in a big shooting. She got scared by a dog and slipped backwards and got her thumb caught in her SUV door. She continued with her interview, even though her thumb was broken and her notebook was covered in blood! It was an authentic reporting experience being flies on the wall of many amazing people!

5C takes a group photo with entrepreneurs.

At EJ School we learned about different types of media. We got to be reporters and ask many questions of entrepreneurs and journalists. At the Marian Centre we learned about the Christopher`s and heard fantastic stories from Janet and David. When we went to CKUA it was really cool to make our own station ID. It was a very educational and unforgettable week.

5C taking a photo with the giant downtown Edmonton  “E” in Churchill Square