On November 7, six students (Parker Billingham (9), Kyla Clayton(12), Hadley Shasteen(12), Maggie Wallace(12), Carleigh Brittingham(11) and Sophia Gruntman (12)) went to Philadelphia, PA with Ms. Swanson for the National JEA Convention.
They competed in competitions, explored the city, and more. The students stayed in the Marriott in downtown Philadelphia where the convention was being held.
On the first day, the young journalists spent the majority of the day sightseeing and exploring. They took a double-decker bus tour throughout the city with various different schools. They saw the Rocky Statue, Independence Hall, the LOVE statue and much more.
On the second day, students participated in various workshops and contests, visited Reading Terminal and the Liberty Bell. Reading Terminal had a variety of delicious foods for lunch to choose from.
The last two days the students and Ms. Swanson attended multiple classes or sessions to learn more about publications. On the last and final day of the Journalism Convention, they announced winners, out of all of the other 3000+ students attending.
Congratulations to Sophia Gruntman for winning a honorable mention Journalism Education Association National Student Media Contests certificate for Sports Yearbook Copy/Caption and Maggie Wallace (Editor in Chief), who also won an honorable mention Journalism Education Association National Student Media Contests certificate for Academics Yearbook Copy/Caption.
Following the award ceremony, the young journalism students and Ms. Swanson checked out and went exploring and went inside Independence Hall. They also had time for souvenir shopping before they went back to the hotel to pick up their suitcases and bags while they waited for the shuttle to pick them up and take them back to the airport to go home. The students and Ms. Swanson had so much fun.
“I would recommend other young journalists to go on a trip like this because it’s a great experience for them to get and you learn a lot of new things that you wouldn’t have learned if you wouldn’t have gone.” Sophia Gruntman (12) said.
Besides the great learning experiences, the city itself was amazing to see.
“I liked the tour bus because I liked going around and seeing all of it and not having to walk and hurt my feet,” Kyla Clayton (12) said. “I liked how close it brought all of us and how much we bonded over the trip.”
The students are hoping to attend the next one in April, which will be held in Seattle.