Portfolio Laurel Weng Pd. 5
This week has been a rather long and tough one for me. I apoloigize in advance for the numerous spelling mistakes and all the times I use the word “really”. My brain is fried and this project is testing my use of a program that I learned to use almost entirely just to do this project. So if you can find it in the bottom of your heart to look past all the errors, simple designs, and overall disarray that is this project and give this a good once over before slapping a big ol’ F on it I’d really appreciate it.
Local idiot learns to use InDesign Poits to teacher as source of inspiration
Hey Kohler, since this is a digital copy I know you can probably read this if you wanted to. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for being such a hassle this year. I know I was sort of a thorn in your side for a bit. But, you know what they say, “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and hey, this is true. But if you give the old dog the chance to teach itself sometimes it can surprise you. I really have to thank you for giving me the opportunity to both learn and teach myself many new things this year. I really wish I had been more on the ball both for your sake and now for mine. This year has been great and I sincerely thank you from
The reason I chose the news type theme is because It is what I feel most comfortable wiht. It allows for a text heavy format with a simlple black and white color scheme, which, given my limited knowledge of this program, I feel is very appropriate for my skill level (or lack of skill level rather). If it is not obvious that this is intended to be a news paper, well, that just goes to show how unskilled I am at InDesign. Overall though, most of the space other, far more talented people, would fill with pretty pictures, or cute geometric patterns, I fill with yet even more words. If you do choose to read all the extra information, know that I really did put effort into every word, yes even the ones that are spelled wrong. I really want to show you that I am capabel of doing something, maybe not even necessarily doing something well, but doing something nonetheless. So I hope you enjoy my portfolio.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 1 learn a variety of valuable skills. Whether it be perseverance from football, confidence from swimming or paitence from golf these are skills that will benifit these students throughout their entire lives. “It’s so many different things, and it’s looking at it from a coaching perspective to find out what as a coach and what my program and sport can do to give each student athlete something special that they can take away from,” said Mrs. Eggert, the cross country and track coach.
University High School has a diverse, multifaceted student body. From academic scholars to the track team students do their very best to be successful. But effort can only take them so far. They need a support system that is there for them as both students and as young adults. The teachers at University make up this support system and are not only instructors, but mentors as well. Several of the teachers on campus are also coaches of the many UHS sports teams. These coaches balance not only the task of supporting students in the classroom, but out on the field as well. “I really believe that the best way to inspire students and players is to show them how the things you are teaching them (in the classroom or on the field) have been impactful in your life and then how it is important for their lives,” said lady Titans JV soccer coach Dani Earnest. Learning, in the classroom and on the field, can be the difference between a huge success and a devastating defeat. These coaches are devoted to the success of their students and players; helping them
Being that both parties devote so much of their time to their sport the students and teachers become closer to each other. This allows student athletes to become more comfortable with approaching their coaches and asking for help when they need it. “I think coaches we get a little over involved sometimes because your always thinking about: “What can I do better?” “What can we do next?” It’s something that I think you always kinda have on your brain,” said Mrs. Eggert, However, the students are not the only ones who can benefit from these close-knit mentor relationships. “Mainly though being a coach is a major blessing and joy for me. I have built such amazing bonds with my players and many of them still keep in contact or come to practices and games after they graduate. I love seeing where they are with their lives and knowing that I had some part in what they are doing,” said Ms. Earnest. While at times the school year can get rough, there is always someone to turn to. Whether it be a teacher, a coach, or both in some cases. These dedicated leaders do their very best to inspire students in the class, on the field, and in life in general.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 1 I felt as if my grasp of the subject matter helped to make this article coherent and applicable to what I wanted to convey. Journalistically, I felt as if that the novelty of the approach of the article made it relevant. What the sports section has is a bad habit of getting into a writing rut, and I felt as if trying to find the unity of sports and education proved to be the best part of the article. My genuine take on presentation of this article is what I consider to be the article’s greatest strength. Recently I have had a hard time not using satire in writing. After all, once you find a voice, changing it feels strange. Should I get to re-write this article, I would like to focus on getting more quotes. Although I do consider the effort I put in to getting in touch with the various coaches to be one of the strengths that may not really be present, had I gotten more quotes, I could have fleshed out the idea more and made a stronger argument rather than presenting the article as a statement of fact. I would reformat the article to more closely follow persuasive and expository writing styles which would have added an element of depth to this “face value” story.
The football and baseball coaches were all too happy to respond, but at the same time I felt that only including those two teams would be unfiar to the otehr sports and their student athleets (who tend to be more acedemically involved anyway) and thus doing so would undermine the point of my article. When I finally did get a reply form one of the coaches the response was poor at best. I could tell that they had taken hardly any time to think about responding. What a let down! I had hoped that the coaches/ teachers would love the opertunity to talk a little about how hard they work with the students. With all the flack coaches catch from students and staff alike for not being invested in the education aspect. I wanted to let their voices be heard, to allow them to showcase just how hard they work as teachers and mentors.
As I said in the reflection, I think if I would be able to rewrite the article I would hound those How to get a coach to repond to your email coaches so I could get exactly the kind of responses I needed for the article. And with more quotes the For one it really helps to be on the sports team. article could be much longer and could incorperate The coaches seem to not care about students who more about being a choach and teacher and could arn’t on the teams. Secondly you have to have los of make a better coorelation between the roles of the paitence. It can take up to two weeks to even get a two. By doing this I could change the format and response. flow of the article and then it could have a much better presentation. When it came to waiting i certainly had to do my fair share. After I had gotten the swiming coach’s So, when it comes to writing, trying to get quotes name and emial from Grace and the tennis coach’s is only as difficult as your sources make it, which phone number from Abby i spent quite a lot of that coaches are extremely guilty of. When getting time contacting them over and over agian and still quotes from coahces being part of track could cerno reponse. tainly help; given all the hurdels it takes to get in touch with them.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 2 The swarm has past By: Laurel Weng
idents, are entitled to a public education, just as any other Titan. Seeing them roaming the halls, their tiny backpacks stuffed full of school supplies, their dedication to being here every day all day, is truly inspirational. Some even have better attendance records than some senior Titans. “They’re really disgusting,” freshman Izzy Bohm said. “I see them in the halls all the time.” Others, however, welcomed our multi-legged guests with open arms. Take it from freshman Oliver Butron. They have taken the presence of the bees in stride. “I like bees; bees are my friends,” said Butron.
Ever since students sauntered onto campus in September, everyone has been abuzz on the topic of insects. There seems to be no way to avoid these critters and no stop to their skittering ways. On the ground and in the air, these six-legged invaders have taken up a permanent residency on the University High School campus. Many students may already be familiar with the multitude of bees that inhabit the campus. As for now, these sweet obsessed pests are placated by the incoming cooler weather, making the biggest nuisance at lunchtime the actual wait for lunch. “I was eating my sandwich and this bee came up and was like ‘give me your sandwich’ and I was like ‘no’,” freshman Samantha Horning said. Other insects one can see around school are the many cockroaches who seem to move about the campus as students do. They, being Florida res-
However, come spring students should be aware that yellow and black is going to come back. Advice on how to avoid encountering bees: 1. Take refuge in a classroom during lunch hours; who says self-preservation cannot be educational? 2. Do not try to run; the bees can sense fear. 3. Do not bring fragrant, sweet foods to lunch. Bees just love applesauce. 4. Send your least favorite friend to throw away the trash. They may not come back. 5. Optional: purchase a bee-keeping suit. It’s certainly in the dress code. 6. Become a bee yourself, if you cannot beat them, join them. 7. And finally, stop leaving trash around campus, despite how difficult as it may be to walk two feet to the nearest waste receptacle.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 2 Students at university should not, however, confuse these bees with some of the other insects here at university, the wasps and hornets. While tending to be a bigger threat around the scorching summer months, preferring to harass drivers Ed students or simply not finding the same fear response in the August to June students, these beasts take to the air like mini dive bombers tormenting passerby and ruining games of monopoly. Given that most of the campus is an open courtyard, running into a few of these “creepy crawlies” is to be expected. However, there comes a point where a line must me drawn. Lines that look similar to the hellish stick bugs that roam the campus in the late afternoons and evenings. On and off their dead carcasses can be found littering the student parking lot or lingering just outside the cafeteria doors. Those who wish to see these pests gone, rest assured, the bugs are on the down and out as far as the janitorial staff is concerned. Appropriate measures have been taken to see to the swift expulsion of these buggers and once their gone hopefully they will not return. But because these insects far outnumber the janitorial staff there is only so much to be done. The janitors do advise that students cease and desist knocking down the “bee bags” that have been used to combat the bee situation and refrain from removing the lids from trashcans where the bees reside. And should they be unable to get rid of these pesky bugs then on the bright side there’s only six more months of human, bug cohabitation left of the 2015-2016 school year.
Reflection: As you know, I am very fond of using satire in my writing and as such I feel as if this article presented the prefect opportunity to truly show my mastery of Horatian satire. Thus, within the article, the enumerations are what I consider to be best portion. As far as quotes go, I received a quote from every grade level, which meant I not only met the minimum requirement, but also had varied responses based on experience with the bees. Journalistically speaking, as you may have guessed, the writing style is what makes it journalistically relevant. But, at the same time the bees were a pressing matter that from a student standpoint needed to be covered. So perhaps both for content and for style, I chose this as one of my best articles. If I could re-write the article I would search for more amusing bee anecdotes to include (because every student has one). With all these stories I could remove all the serious quotes from the article.
Keep an eye on Grace for me Out of all the writes I have edited for I think Grace has the most knowledge of the “way to write naturally” than all the others. She possesses a talent for journalsim and I hope she continues with this field throughout her high school career. So when I am no longer here, when I have gone on to “bigger and better things” make sure to ride her you-know-what so that she doesn’t slack off, and make her put that talent to good use. I know that Korten’s class can be absolute murder, but by surviving it people become better writers. She can do it; I know she can, but she’ll need a great teacher like you to whip her into shape. With a great teacher like you even slackers like me can become great writers and diligent students. Imagine what you can do with someone like her.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 3 “While I did have a window to complete the VLT, since my seniors were easily distracted by Homecoming activities, I chose to put off the test until Homecoming was over,” said Mrs. White, a senior English teacher. It was not just teachers giving out tests when students return. Right after homecoming week, FSA District testing began followed by make up exams of several different tests.
In the week of Oct. 5-10, University High School pulled out all the stops for homecoming. Between dress up days, royalty, the dance and a varsity football game on Friday Oct. 9, the orange and white had a week of high strung spirits. Now that homecoming week has long since come and gone the time has come to take off the flashy costumes and roll up sleeves to finish out the first quarter and prepare for the rest of the semester. Between new assignments, testing, and make ups there is a lot to manage in the last week of the quarter. Friday Oct. 23 marks the end of the first grading period. Some students, just now coming off the high of homecoming, will face a harsh reality as they make a mad scramble to pull up grades or get missing assignments in. Teachers too, can be somewhat behind after holding off on giving assignments because of homecoming. With three summative grades required per-semester, students across all grade levels could have stockpiled summatives awaiting them in the last week of the quarter.
“When you change a schedule like that, and when there are endless sheets of paper lining the halls with the names and alpha codes of hundreds of students, you’re telling those students that testing is the most important thing right now. So important that their day will be forced to accommodate for it. And that just isn’t right,” said senior Kallahan Stanley. Following that chaotic week of three varying bell schedules the week of Oct. 19-22 will return to the testing schedule implemented on Oct. 22 and 23. Those who are dual enrolled should be aware of the switch so as to not be tardy for their high school classes. With the second quarter quickly approaching, students should keep up with their responsibilities whether that means staying on top of homework or showing up to their testing dates. While these final weeks leading up to next quarter may be hectic, students should Titan up, pull through and shake off the grogginess of the homecoming hangover.
REFLECTION ARTICLE 3 This was one of the first articles I wrote this year and thus it is awful. I did not have a photo (the photo used here is one I took of my friends after homecoming) the article itself is super short, but overall I feel that (having so few of my articles to choose from) that it is still presentable overall. The amount of material it covered and the transitions are the strength of the article; despite its small size the information flows well and is easy to digest, making it a perfect fit for both the audience and the message. The writing is not some of my best so the content is the main focus journalistically. While the TitanTimes does often run articles about “toughing it out” and “titaning up” the idea that it is somewhat out of their hands as far as hardships go is somewhat a novelty, therefore it was a good attempt on my part. However, if I could re-write the article I would scrap it and start from square one. There are many ways this article could be made better (length, quote choice, order of focus) but as it stands it is an “alright” article, but I have done better.
Photography fumbles: Why we have this problem All throughout the year one of the biggest problems has been photography. Simply put the writers don’t want to, or can’t be bothered to take pitures to go along with their articles. Even “back in the day” when there was a photography section they were lazy and often found stock images online. And now when they have access to (most if not) all the yearbook photos they still refuse to submit relevant photos along with their articles. Forget the photography lessons, forget the teaching of composition, these students (myself included) need a complete overhaul; one that comes with a lesson on not being quite so darn lazy all the time. Sports is the number one offender when it comes to this. No other section could have a simpler job getting relevant images. If they go to the game so they actually are able to report on it, they should be able to snap a few photos while they’re there. And yet they don’t. One solution to this is to
Allow them to use photography form their phones. Now with photography, ecpecially from the sports section, using the large prfession cameras is much preferable, but having only a few cameras at the ready makes this difficult. So by allowing the staff to use their cellphone pictures it could allow for more articles to be turned in with photography rahter than havng the editors go fishing through the files of yearbook to find something to stick on before publishing. Another reoccuring problem is that the writers have a hard time chosing photos that are relevant to the piece they just wrote or are writting. When this happens either they just select a picture at random that somewhat relates to the topic, or they choose something bland and lacking in photgraphic relevance (forgetting all their rules of photo composition in the process. Thus I think the matter of photography should be adressed as if it is a part of the writing process rahter than just something extra to be added on at the end of the writing processs. If writers were to brainstrom what they were going to photograph when drafting perhaps this problem could be avoided.
But wait there’s more Now I’m not going to just rag on sports the whole time. Now it is time to talk about my own faults. For this particular article I did not have any photography. I’m not a huge fan of homecoming so carying around the camera would be far from something that would ruin my night, more than anything I was worried it would be stolen, but when it came to the type of photos an unsocialable nerd cold come across at such an event like homecoming, well lets just say they do not capture the true nature of homecoming. So when I sat down to write this piece I thought “perhaps focus more on the hangover part”. And thus I proceded to not actually go out and take any photos of students or classrooom proceedings. Nothing seemed to be just the right photo for the occasion. And so this poor little, naked article went without a photo mostly because I did not have the camera ( nor did I want it in the first place) and because I did not have any idea what exactly I should photograph. So perhaps allowing for more types of photogaphy and planning in advance could put an end to this problem. Alas, it is far too late for me and my sad little article.
E S S AY
How where I grew up defines me. than the knowledge of just who I was at that age when I left the snowy shores of Lake Michigan and opened the door to a bright new future.
I never really had the chance to “grow up� in one place. Every few years my family would pack our bags and move house, to some new location for some new life. I felt almost as if I was part of witness protection a new life, a new start, over and over again. Michigan, Illinois, and now Florida, I have called several places home, but now for more than a fraction of my life. I began to leave things behind, simple things really, a strawberry shortcake doll that smelled like lemon and glimmered like sunshine, a gray hoodie that sits somewhere in the Joliet Public Park, a friendship bracelet long forgotten like the friendship it once symbolized, parts of myself, fractions of my life. I have left many pieces of my past in the past. But what I failed to realize at the time is that with each place I went and even with all that was left behind, I carried something with me too. While it is true that I have moved more times than I can count, each place I can remember but unlike a rolling stone, that which I did gather has come together to make me. I do not remember some of my first moves, which may be for the best. At ages three and five the memories are no more available to me now
It is said that children are like sponges; they absorb any and all external information and internalize it. This is how they form their own identity form an early age. If this is truly the case I must have been quite the over eager sponge, ready and willing to squeeze out all these memories out as soon as the opportunity presented itself. All this water over and over again flooded out that little light of mine for a good while. But once my sponge decided to stop its weeping, and I have memories that linger enough to know who this littler me truly was, this fire got its chance to grow. In Lombard I learned that people are all very different. I learned that the world is big and even if you know one place inside and out, there will always be more to learn. IT made me an inquisitive little girl who got her nose into business in which it didn’t belong. I was spitfire and sunlight. In Joliet I learned to be tough, that little girls can be big, that every time you fall you must get up. The fire inside grew out of control. I misbehaved often and never seemed to learn.By then I had mastered the art of object permanence and thus that which I carried with me changed dramatically. When I moved once again that fire inside died, starved for oxygen I became small in a new way. Only when I began to get comfortable in Mt. Vernon did that fire grow again. I was a bossy little brat, it seemed I had once again not learned my lesson. When time came again to leave all that I had known, only then did the realization come to me. For many years I had never thought much of the move, but when I had finally grown to have a home someplace I truly belonged I felt the weight of this reality upon me.
E S S AY
How where I grew up defines me. In that moment I considered moving to be a new death, a new time I must lose my old life, my old friends, everything I had ever known, it all would become dust; that which gathers in old corners of my mind, forgotten to remedy the pain. I even reached a point in which I felt as if I could no longer cry. I tried and tried but no tears would come. Later I would learn that while a place you grew up can make you who you are, having many, many places to call home could do the same. It makes you accustomed to change, makes it easy to become something even greater, above all it makes you strong. I could not bring myself to cry when leaving Mt. Vernon because I had no more tears to shed. Those memories did not sit in vaults gathering the dust of time rather they were my kindling. I had learned to keep a tiff upper lip, to hold my chin high and accept all that life has thrown at me. The fire had become something entirely different. No longer would it grow beyond me, not it was my pilot light, that same kind of light I lied about blowing out in Mt. Vernon. Now this small but powerful light keeps me going. In the darkest points of my life I can rely on all that I have learned in every one of the places I have lived. That strength, that joy, that life, my youth all of it. Now after living securely in the tiny town of DeBary for more than six years I find that settled feeling I have never felt before to be somewhat problematic. These people I have come known so well, this home that is mine, has made me too used to the safety of having somewhere to
belong. Now I must trust this light of mine to guide me into some of the most uncertain times of my life, the beginning of adulthood. Thus I look back onto all that I have ever learned and put faith in all those that have ever had a hand in my upbringing. All that I am and all I will ever will be is because of who I was. I stand here now a conglomeration of everything I have ever experienced. I am not one trait that is easily defined. My being is as complex as my past. Who I am today does not have to be who I am tomorrow
Everything I’ve seen, every single event of my life, every single home, had had a hand in shaping me into the person who I am today. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT
EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT
Thank you for a great year in news Its been quite the experience Im super proud of how these two spreads came out. I will admit that I did have quite a lot of help on them, the first from Grace and the second from you, but for the most part that which I did manage to do for myself turned out better than I had expected. The overall apperance is pleasing, at least to me, and I think that I did alright for my first time working in InDesign, but that even if I had had more experience I still would have done something similar in design composition. The first one was made in photoshop and then put into inDesign. Teaching myslef how to use each of these programs was tough, but I think that is why they bring me so much pride; because really they’re nothing special, but to me they represent my ability to adapt and learn quickly. I also like the first graphic because it took so long to finish, having been the topic I had struggled with for months and after finally completing the project I felt not only releif but a sense of accomplishment. I wish I had gotten more days to work on the second spread because 1. I was unaware of the deadline 2. I really like the article and 3. I feel as if I owe it to both of those writers to create the best possible spread for them in their school magazine.
These spreads were very important to me because I actually had a part in working on the magazine. The first magazine I didn’t do much for (because I had no idea how to use any of the programs on this computer) and I felt bad for being such a let down. But after the spring magazine I feel that I have actually contributed something tangable (something more than just text on a web page) to this club. However both are very text heavy, which as you can tell seems to be how I prefer visual design. I would not chalk this up to laziness, rather this is a personal prefrence that seems to be noticable in all of my works. So in the future if I had more projects to do I would try to add more bells and whistles to my design habits to practice things which are beyond my current comfort zone and thus teach myself all the ways of design. Overall my grasp of InDesign is beyond beginner. I’m fumbling along, learning what I can as I go, but I do seem to be getting better. From having started out staring at this program like some three headed monster, to actually being able to use the program (even if I have to do everything the hard way, all my boxes are sloppy, and the only design I can create is some geometric abomination. As long as I am happy with the outcome and I learn somethign along the way, I think every time I try to create something in InDesign, will make me just a tad bit better at using this program I now sit and stare at only like some two headed monster.