CapSU extensionist trains national HS paper staff on basic journalism

Photos by Lorie Legada

Great things come from small beginnings, an ad says.

To enhance the writing skills of high school students for campus publication, some 32 staff members—contributors, artists and editors of The Highland Echo, the school publication of the Mambusao National High School (MNHS) took part in the two-day Seminar-Writeshop on Basic Campus Journalism Workshop led by Capiz State University (CapSU)'s Extension Institute at the MNHS's Science Laboratory Room in barangay Tumalalud, Mambusao Capiz on September 12–13, 2011.

The seminar featured Mr. Nino Manaog, extension associate of CapSU, who led the students in learning the basic concepts in journalism and news writing skills. Guided by Mr. Manaog, the Highland Echo staffers—composed of students across the four year levels—studied news values and the key steps to writing news articles including pointers in writing good headlines. In the second-day workshop, selected students took part in practicing their interview skills required in the practice of journalism. Through the workshop sessions, students took diagnostic tests in writing and were also asked to write news articles following a number of writing models.

For two days, Mr. Manaog (top left) led the students to learning new skills, by using
varied approaches that encouraged their listening, reading, speaking, thinking
and writing skills.

According to Mr. Rolando Ricardo, school principal, The Highland Echo staff needs to be trained to supply intelligent publication to the campus and the community. “We want to record our activities well. Training student writers to write will help us do just that,” Ricardo said.

Fifteen-year-old Jayson Gula, editor-in-chief of The Highland Echo, expressed gratitude for having been part of the training. Gula said that the skills given to them were helpful and that they will do their best to produce their school paper. While Associate Editor Irene Francisco is grateful to have gained important strategies in writing, 20-year-old Margelyn Gaspar, school paper’s circulation manager, cited the expertise of the “very good lecturer.”

Moreover, Associate Editor Gilbert John Lacorte said the writeshop “caught my attention” and sparked his interest to take writing seriously for the purpose of the school paper. For his novelty lead in his news article under workshop, Lacorte wrote that the training served for a “new power for The Highland Echo.”

According to Ms. Emily Sibug, school paper’s co-adviser, the participants consisted mostly of students from MNHS’s Special Science Class. For Sibug, the students were privileged to have learned journalism concepts from a practitioner.

The writeshop initiative was led by Mrs. Loreli Legada, adviser, in coordination with Mr. Rolando Ricardo. Towards the end of the writeshop, Ricardo urged the students to find their strengths in the tasks of campus journalism, encouraging them further to shine in their chosen fields of expertise in the future.

An advanced journalism workshop which will cover feature writing, editorial writing, cartooning and creative writing has been slated by Ricardo and Legada in October this year to serve as follow-through activity for the student writers.

Mrs. Emily Sibug, English teacher and Mr. Rolando Ricardo, principal of
Tumalalud High School (standing, first and second from right) join Mr. Manaog 
(first row, far right) who served as resource speaker for the journalism training attended by staff 
members of The Highland Echo, the high school paper. 
The photo was taken by Ms. Lorie Legada, school paper adviser.