Journalism Club is the newest club offered to fourth and fifth grade students at Mokena Intermediate School. Student journalists meet once a week after school to learn about the field of journalism and ways to present news to readers with the goal of publishing a monthly digital school newspaper called MISFLEX.
Fifth grade student Emma Carter had the idea to start the club. Emma shared she had the desire to start the club because, “there was a book I was reading and it had newspapers in it and I thought it would be a good idea to have a club about it at MIS.” Emma asked a teacher to sponsor the club and then took the lead on advertising the club to her classmates.
During the club meeting time, student journalists work on articles related to topics of interest to students in the school. They work on research, drafting, and publishing skills as they develop their articles and interactive multimedia content. Students also work on taking photos and finding pictures to support the content of their articles.
Liz Nwanojuo, 5th grade student journalist, shared, “Journalism Club has helped us achieve a lot of our goals in writing. Our goals are to spread awareness about how to solve problems in our school and I am now writing about topics in history.”
The first issue of MISFLEX included articles and multimedia content about skin care, monarch butterflies, Indigenous Peoples Day, and playing soccer at recess. The issue also included a trivia section testing the knowledge of their peers and teachers in an interactive form.
“Journalism Club is extremely fun. All of us are here to bring news and knowledge to the brain,” stated 5th grade journalist Benjamin Aquite about his experience in the club.
One of the first news pieces written by six of the club’s journalists outlined problems needing to be solved in order to play soccer at recess. Through their investigation and thorough article writing with proposed solutions, the principal purchased new balls and flags for the students to use at recess and repaired a broken soccer goal.
“When Emma C. showed her passion for journalism, I knew it was time to create the MIS Journalism Club. Her enthusiasm reminded me that young voices deserve to be heard and deserve the best tools to amplify them. Drawing from my tech experience, I wanted to give this generation more than traditional reporting skills. I wanted to expose them to the digital platforms, multimedia storytelling, and innovative features that can transform how they share their perspectives with the world. Emma's spark ignited something bigger: a space where journalism meets technology, and where students can discover new, powerful ways to express their voices," Journalism Club sponsor and Mokena Intermediate School teacher, Ms. Nisrin Al-Takriti, shared about sponsoring the club and the larger impact she hopes the club has on the students and the school community.