Onekama Elementary Fourth Grade Interviewing

	We asked Nikki Mezeske from Manistee News Advocate, many questions. We had strips of paper with questions on them. Each classmate got one or two. Like for example we asked her a question like, "How long have you worked at the Manistee News Advocate." She said she worked there for one year and eight months. We also thought of questions when we were asking them . We didn't know what to think when she first came in, but she was really good at answering questions. We all said goodbye and she went back to reporting. We all were very happy that she came in and wish we could see her again. ...Brittany T.
In Social Studies we are learning about philanthropy and the news. A journalist named Nikki Mezeske came in and talked to us. Nikki said that she likes animals. She wanted to be a vet or a journalist. She had to go to college 5 years. She said she works from 3 PM to 8 PM I think having Nikki here was cool because I learned a lot. ...Mikella On Wednesday Mrs. Eichberger and Emily came in to talk about the school news. We asked them questions about their job. It was Mrs. Eichberger's idea to start the newspaper. ...Faith		Last week Emily and Mrs. Eichberger came to our class and talked to us about the Elementary Newspaper. We asked them questions like, "Is it hard to be a writer?" Some of us had to think up some questions because we did not have slips of paper that had questions on it. It was fun to have them come in. Someday I might think about being a writer. ...Sierra W. Mrs. Eichberger and Emily came in. Mrs. Eichberger is the one who started the newspaper. Emily is the editor. They talked about how they started the newspaper, how they made their comics and how they get their information. Their hope is to make the second issue bigger. ...Lauren
	For the last couple weeks in Social Studies we've been talking about Philanthropy. Philanthropy is giving up your time, talent and treasure. So on January 26, 2006 Nikki Mezeske from the News Advocate came in to our class to talk about being a reporter. She wanted to be a reporter or a vet. She became a vet because she wasn't good at math and was afraid she might not pass all the class. She was a really nice lady and I learned even though it sounds like an easy job, it takes a lot of time to type all the stories and get them to Big Rapids by 10:30. I also learned that they hours are hard to work. She doesn't get a lot of sleep. I hope we have another cool guest speaker that is as cool as she is pretty soon. ...Nisha.
Nikki Mezeske said when she found her old journal from 4th grade she wrote she wanted to be a vet or a news reporter. ...Brandon Without our news we would not know what is going on in the world. If you are a reporter, don't forget boots. ....Joshua Nikki writes articles and she lays out the paper and she sometimes works on ads. I think I want to become a journalist. ...Lauren		I learned about being a news reporter. It is hard work typing the things that are happening. Then after everything is typed out they send it to Big Rapids and they make 5,000 copies of the newspaper. ...Cady More on Interviewing plus photographs of us writing our reports

1/3/06

Dear Families,

We are learning about current events and the news. We have learned that "news" provides a service that we all need in order to understand the world and prepare for the day (or longer). We are making current events a regular part of our daily routine for the next couple of weeks.

In addition, we are learning about philanthropy, which is the voluntary action of giving your time, talent, and treasure for the common good. We think that helping others is an important part of our world. This is something we hope to find in the news.

At this time, we are asking for family involvement in this project. While you are reading the newspaper, please try to find the time to share interesting stories with your child. Keep your eyes open for articles about people helping others. Briefly discuss the article with you child using the following questions as a guide:

What was the date of this event?
Did it happen in the past, present, or future?
What happened and where?
Who benefited from the act of kindness?

We would appreciate it if you would send any current event articles from the paper that are age-appropriate and tell about an act of philanthropy to school with your child any time during this week. We will read and discuss each article and place the event on a class timeline.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Tracy Bennett and Bonnie Brown